[Rossy007]

They are Tung-sol 6AH6, Its been a constant problem for me, I seem to have a sensitivity to harsh top ends. One thing I have noticed since I put the muse02 in is every now and then, I hear a click/pop, not overly loud and not all the time...strange. I may give your tubes a try, i'll look on ebay today.

 

[Rossy007]

I was wondering if there was a frequency I could cut in foobar to take away the hard highs. I don't use the eq but was wondering if this would help before I get some new tube?

 

[rovopio]

^ Just use EQ?

 

[MunkyOne]

  Sounds like fun, I wish I knew how to do all that  I read on one of the reviews here that changing the potentiometer made a huge difference in sound and they also used an ALPS version.  You'd have to de-solder and solder the ALPS one on yes?

Yes, the new pot will need soldering to the board, if the contact spacing is correct, or wired if it is not.  Actually, the standard pot on the LD1+ is an ALPS model, but an older, less advanced design.  Changing the pot did make a noticeable difference, but I would not say a huge difference.  The biggest difference I heard was after the Vbe mod.  But collectively, the mods have made quite a difference (to my ears), more refined.  In terms of dynamics and soundstage etc, the op-amp and tubes make a bigger difference.
 
If you have, or can acquire basic soldering skills, the mods I have made are quite easy to do.  The biggest problem is the lack of space in the LD1+ chassis, which means you have to be very careful not to short anything.  It is fun, and I would encourage anyone who is interested to try modding.  The manual skills are easily acquired, although the technical knowledge takes rather longer to build.  There are some very good books and online electronics pages available, should you want to get a taste of it.  Some of the LD1+ mods are very well described in various forums.

 

[MunkyOne]

  They are Tung-sol 6AH6, Its been a constant problem for me, I seem to have a sensitivity to harsh top ends. One thing I have noticed since I put the muse02 in is every now and then, I hear a click/pop, not overly loud and not all the time...strange. I may give your tubes a try, i'll look on ebay today.

If you like a more mellow top-end, have you tried some of the Mullard tubes?   
 
I have not noticed any clicks / pops since installing the MUSES02 in my LD1+  Maybe what you are hearing is from the source?  Those MUSES are very revealing.

 

[Rossy007]

 
If you like a more mellow top-end, have you tried some of the Mullard tubes?   
 
I have not noticed any clicks / pops since installing the MUSES02 in my LD1+  Maybe what you are hearing is from the source?  Those MUSES are very revealing.

Thanks, it is very revealing. What mullards would you recommend?

 

[Rossy007]

Looks like I was able to stop the clicking, I had the latency on the cambridge audio asio set too low..fantastic now.

 

[Michael V]

null-

 

[MunkyOne]

  Thanks, it is very revealing. What mullards would you recommend?

I found the Mullard M8161  (CV4015 version) to be very smooth in the high registers.  I can't compare them to your Tung-sol 6AH6, as I have yet to try them.   The M8161 are readily and inexpensively available as NOS.

 

[MunkyOne]

  When I first got the LD1+ I couldn't tell a difference in sound quality whether i had my headphones hooked up to my iphone, into my asus xonar stx, or into the ld1+. They all sound the same. I then upgraded the tubes and then got the burson v5 op amp two days ago and I still don't hear a difference. This is the same reason I sold my schiit bifrost uber and lyr 2 last year when I bought them. I figured I'd give it a try again this year but there is literally not one difference no matter what I connect my headphones to or what mods I do to the ld1+.

I think that this may be as much to do with the human factor in the audio world.  I have experienced this personally with some tubes that others say sound different, yet I cannot hear the same difference.   It is all so subjective; we all hear things so differently.  I think that sometimes when we make changes to our equipment, we have some expectations of how much audible difference we should hear, which are not always based on sufficient understanding of the change or mod we are making.  Sometimes the changes are extremely subtle.  I would say that most of my LD1+ mods were subtle, yet collectively they are very noticeable when compared to my un-modded LD1+ that I use as a reference.
 
I built a new DAC recently and changed the (very good) op-amps for Burson descrete amps, if there is a difference, it is very subtle, to my ears.  Yet some of the other changes I made were like night and day.
 
I suppose, in the end it is all about finding a sound yuo like and sticking with it, unless, like me, you are addicted to trying to make something as good as it can be (subjectively, of course).

 

[Michael V]

 
I think that this may be as much to do with the human factor in the audio world.  I have experienced this personally with some tubes that others say sound different, yet I cannot hear the same difference.   It is all so subjective; we all hear things so differently.  I think that sometimes when we make changes to our equipment, we have some expectations of how much audible difference we should hear, which are not always based on sufficient understanding of the change or mod we are making.  Sometimes the changes are extremely subtle.  I would say that most of my LD1+ mods were subtle, yet collectively they are very noticeable when compared to my un-modded LD1+ that I use as a reference.
 
I built a new DAC recently and changed the (very good) op-amps for Burson descrete amps, if there is a difference, it is very subtle, to my ears.  Yet some of the other changes I made were like night and day.
 
I suppose, in the end it is all about finding a sound yuo like and sticking with it, unless, like me, you are addicted to trying to make something as good as it can be (subjectively, of course).

Could it also be because I'm using 32ohm Grado RS2e's and that they don't require an amp? Also I still haven't tried just a normal tube amp. I've only ever had solid state or hybrids.
 
Does anyone here have experience with the little dot mk2? Thinking I should get that and try it and maybe use it as a pre amp to the 1+(Not sure if that will better the sound or not).

 

[gulakpi]

The LD Mk2 sounds good (the Mk3 is an even better value), but both of them are not suitable for low impedance phones like the RS2e.

 

[gibosi]

IMO, the MK2 should be considered equal to the LD1+. The primary difference is the LD1+ was designed to run low-Z cans, whereas the MK2 was designed to run high-Z cans.

 

[Michael V]

  The LD Mk2 sounds good (the Mk3 is an even better value), but both of them are not suitable for low impedance phones like the RS2e.

 

  IMO, the MK2 should be considered equal to the LD1+. The primary difference is the LD1+ was designed to run low-Z cans, whereas the MK2 was designed to run high-Z cans.

Both the lyr 2 and ld1+ are hybrids and sound no different than solid state amps to me. I just need to hear what an actual tube amp sounds like to compare(if it even sounds any different). Other than headphones sounding different, this whole dac and amp game is a joke to me.

 

[nahpungnome]

   
Both the lyr 2 and ld1+ are hybrids and sound no different than solid state amps to me. I just need to hear what an actual tube amp sounds like to compare(if it even sounds any different). Other than headphones sounding different, this whole dac and amp game is a joke to me.

I questioned buying a DAC myself since 99% of the music I listen to is through Amazon Music.  On the high quality setting, it's supposed to stream at 256kbps.  Through my headphone jack on my laptop, I could hear hiss/cracks that I didn't really care about, but when I decided to buy a cheapy DAC/Amp (Micca Origen), all those cleared up and things just sounded clearer.  Now, going from my cheapy to another high end DAC or amp, I don't know that it'd be worth it for me, but going from headphone jack to external DAC definitely was.
 
I also like you, when changing OPAmps and tubes on my LD, didn't notice a big difference.  Mostly more controlled bass on my X2, but on my 400i, I noticed more bass and fuller sound overall since they aren't as efficient as the X2.  Was the difference mind blowing?   Not at all.  Like you said, changing cans makes the most difference.