LAMPIZATOR THREAD COMMENTS REVIEWS TUNING

[leftside]

Quick little review on the Siemens F2a to El34 adapter from Takasz & Pinter:

Laszlo, AKA @takacs75 was kind enough to QUICKLY send me a pair of adapters for my Lampizator Golden Atlantic TRP after reaching out to him with an inquiry about them. After letting these break in (they went through a set of tonal changes similar to a brand new set of tubes or capacitors) and adjusting to their sound, I did a quick swap with the old pair of adapters I was using (the ones often suggested on ebay).

The most immediate thing noticeable to me when I first installed the new adapters and that has remained an improvement after break-in is a more robust foundation to the bass. While I felt that my original adapters rendered bass very well, the TP adapters simply have more heft and extend deeper with more texture. For example, the bass in Erykah Badu's song Didn't Cha Know feels more fleshed out and the fundamental is much more present/balanced with the harmonics.

Vocals sound more natural. Initially, when swapping to my old adapters, I thought that there was more clarity, better attack, and better imaging. This was an illusion as a result of a tonal shift towards the upper mids/treble. I'm sure most of you know what I mean here, that false sense of resolution due to the sound becoming harmonically "thin" and lacking body. I am happy to say that these adapters elevate the Lampizator's rendition of all instruments--they simply sound much more natural.

I think a great summary of the improvements would be that there is more body, more weight, a blacker background, and overall better timbre throughout the entire frequency range.

I highly recommend everyone to give these a shot, they are the real deal. Another plus is that they look fantastic:

If you open up any adapter you will see they are just tiny little wires/connectors. These do look nice though, and I'm all for nicer looking adapters.

 

[Nimzerz]

If you open up any adapter you will see they are just tiny little wires/connectors. These do look nice though, and I'm all for nicer looking adapters.

Yes, that's correct. And if you open up any tube you will see they are just tiny little wires/connectors. They do look nice though, and I'm all for nicer looking tubes.

 

[ronfint]

But seriously — there are only a few things that might make the TP F2a adapters sound better than generic ones. Do you have an opinion as to what is improving the sound? Could it be the choice of socket, base, or wire used (or even solder)? In adapters where resistors are used it could be the type of resistor. I think that TP uses Shinkoh, and they are difficult to find in the values necessary. But the F2a adapter doesn’t use resistors, does it? I’d be interested in hearing the opinion of anyone that owns these adapters.

 

[highstream]

I found taking advantage of the grounding holes in the TP adapters added another dimension to their benefits on a Lampi GG 2/3: more quiet.

 

[ronfint]

What tube are you talking about and what part of the tube (or adapter) is being grounded?

 

[highstream]

Any tube that needs an adapter TP makes -- e.g., Tlfkn RGN2004 & 2504, Valvo AZ12 & G2504, Philips PT14. Dave at ZenWave made me a nice 3-into-1 ground cable to hook onto the ground screw on the GG, but there are others that do so. I'm forgetting the one I saw the other day, but Russ Andrews Audio in the UK has a 3-way that could be made into one (or they could make one up for you), as I suspect so could Scott Berry at CAD cables in Oregon.

 

[mordy]

Any tube that needs an adapter TP makes -- e.g., Tlfkn RGN2004 & 2504, Valvo AZ12 & G2504, Philips PT14. Dave at ZenWave made me a nice 3-into-1 ground cable to hook onto the ground screw on the GG, but there are others that do so. I'm forgetting the one I saw the other day, but Russ Williams Audio in the UK has a 3-way that could be made into one (or they could make one up for you), as I suspect so could Scott Berry at CAD cables in Oregon.

Could you show pictures how these cables connect to the adapters and to ground?

 

[BlakeT]

The TP adapters have a small hole in the back of the adapter, and TP makes a grounding wire with a small plug on one end, you just plug it in the back of the TP adapter and then fix the other end of the grounding wire to the chassis or whatever it is you are grounding to.

 

[highstream]

I see Blake got to it..The TP adapters have a small banana style plug hole on the back of the wood casing. So Dave made me three cables that come together into one after the back pair of tubes. That one has a spade connector because that's what the ground screw on the back of the Lampi dac takes. If no dedicated ground screw is available, a case screw should do, or one could try a signal ground, that is, for example, a male RCA connector plugged into one of the empty input sockets (see below). The quality of ground wire is vital; it does carry current(!). OEM cables and stuff from China off Amazon don't cut it, and the difference sonically is night and day. That's why I asked someone like Dave at Zen Audio to make a custom cable.

Separate from what I'm describing, for system grounding I use two Russ Andrews plug-in RF routers (US model), with a mix of Andrews' ground cables making (mostly) signal grounds (RCA's + one RJ-45) and one chassis (screw spade) ground. I also added a Gutwire Ultimate ground cord, which has an RCA connector. I preferred the sound frequency balance of using almost all signal grounds. For power, all are hooked into a 4-outlet box from Home Depot that doesn't have any filters or breakers and is plugged via larger gauge electrical cord (~8'), also from Home Depot, into a non-system electrical circuit outlet. Good thing about Russ Andrews is they have a no-question 60-day return (and I found their plug-in routers sonically much better than the Puritan Audio version).

 

[Nimzerz]

But seriously — there are only a few things that might make the TP F2a adapters sound better than generic ones. Do you have an opinion as to what is improving the sound? Could it be the choice of socket, base, or wire used (or even solder)? In adapters where resistors are used it could be the type of resistor. I think that TP uses Shinkoh, and they are difficult to find in the values necessary. But the F2a adapter doesn’t use resistors, does it? I’d be interested in hearing the opinion of anyone that owns these adapters.

Well you alluded to many points that could contribute to an improvement. Quality of the wire, quality of the solder, quality of the sockets (I believe these are gold plated rather than the generic adapters that don’t seem to be using high purity metal), and likely also additional damping due to the actual size and material of the adapter itself.

 

[Fox88]

On my Poseidon I have a Telefunken RGN2504 and 4 E81L with TP adapters. I'm not knowledgeable in the making of an adapter and if the way they're built contribute to sound quality, with that aside, they are high quality adapters and Laszlo is a great person to talk to and he's very hands on. I have nothing but nice things to say about him.

 

[BlakeT]

Pics of the backs of the TP adapters in case it is helpful (these grounding wires are all TP silver ribbon grounding wires, you specify the number of wires needed, type of wire and distance measurements, then he combines the grounding wires into a single connected array of grounding wires that merges into a single wire that then goes to the ground source, which, in my case, is to the grounding screws on the back of my Pacific 2 and my Golden Gate 3:

In my Lampizator Pacific 2:

..and in my Lampizator Golden Gate 3:

 

[simorag]

On my Poseidon I have a Telefunken RGN2504 and 4 E81L with TP adapters. I'm not knowledgeable in the making of an adapter and if the way they're built contribute to sound quality, with that aside, they are high quality adapters and Laszlo is a great person to talk to and he's very hands on. I have nothing but nice things to say about him.

I am using the same rectifier with my Horizon, and recently Laszlo @takacs75 let me try the EL81, which I compared to the P17c (my daily driver pentodes) and the E55L.

TP adapters are beautifully made, and further expand the already countless tube rolling options on Lampizator DACs, which is a fun exercise (I mean, if one is inclined to this kind of madness) especially when people like Laszlo and Tibor find unusual combinations to experimet with.

Here are my findings in my current system (see signature).

The E55L is the most dynamic, it conveys energy to the music with a sense of cogency and purpose without being fatiguing or strained. Transients have sharper attacks, yet still a natural, rich decay. Upper midrange, and treble are the most neutral, with a touch of shimmer on top which illuminates details in the music. Instrument separation and the rendition of spatial cues are top notch.

The EL81 is softer and bloomier. It emphasizes body in the bass and midrange response, losing some focus in comparison to the E55L, yet making listening pleasingly relaxed, and more tolerant of less-than-perfect recordings.

The P17c is somewhat in between the two, it has the most refined and naturally organic midrange response. Bass is not as tight as the E55L but it has more volume and still retains articulation and tunefulness. Treble is perhaps a hair less prominent than the E55L. Soundstage presentation is on par with the E55L, but different in style, lending to a more cohesive blending of instrument on display.

I could not declare a clear winner. For example when listening over my Immanis headphones and using the Taiko Extreme, I sensed that the E55L was a bit overwhelming, and - on the opposite - after I moved to the Olympus, using the Aura loudspeakers and a configuration of my room treatment with a lot (too much) of absorption, the E55L became my favorite.

Now I tend to believe that the P17c are the best balance in my current setup, but this exercise confirmed me how system-dependent (let alone subjective factors) tube evaluations become at this level.

​

 

[ronfint]

It would still be nice to know what is being grounded. For example, on a rectifier adapter is it one of the unused pins?

 

[Polygonhell]

It would still be nice to know what is being grounded.

On the C3G adapters and I assume all the Loktal tubes there is a ground on the central locating pin that also grounds the metal housing for C3G tubes.
It's an intended ground connection in the original telecom use case.
I don't know what he's grounding on the other adapters.