[LCMusicLover]

The THX AAA is a bright-sounding amp (to my ears) whereas the Liquid Platinum is a lot smoother, so depending on your preferences I'm not sure it will meet your expectations. Also keep in mind that you can influence the sound by rolling a different pair of tubes with more treble energy. YMMV, of course.

@JimmyK -- what he said

I didn't find the LP w/ stock EH tubes compelling. But once I rolled in some Genelex Gold Lions (new production, about $40/pair at the time) I was wowed. Of course that started me on an odyssey which resulted in me paying way more for tubes than for the amp (paid $500).

In the 6922 family, I found Brimar CV-2492 were bright/airy/detailed, and Siemens E88CC/E188CC/CCa were powerful/warm/bassy. Tended to swap tubes when I swapped cans -- Siemens w/ Utopia, Brimar with most everything else, although the CCa (insanely expensive) really came closest to 'best of both worlds'. I tend to use them sparingly, since I only have one set, and I'll never pay the current asking prices for them (as much as $1000/pair).

But eventually I picked up some 12AU7 adapters and found some Sylvania 5814As which are really best-of-both-worlds, although with less thunderous bass than the CCa. Also, Brimar CV-4003 had much of the same character as the CV-2492. At the time, 12AU7 family tubes were somewhat more reasonably priced and widely available.

I haven't shopped LP tubes for quite some time (got my DSHA-3F, got 'enough' LP tubes, got a Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball) so I don't have any current recommendations.

But I wanted you to know that many of us who love the LP needed to find the 'right' tubes before that love came to life, as opposed to those who said:

If I don't like it with the stock tubes, why would I spend more money on tubes to see if maybe I like it better?

To be clear, that's not an unreasonable attitude. Just not where I ended up. I guess it's your wallet/my wallet.

GLTY!

 

[r343]

@JimmyK -- what he said

I didn't find the LP w/ stock EH tubes compelling. But once I rolled in some Genelex Gold Lions (new production, about $40/pair at the time) I was wowed.

Holy crap! These days pair of Gold Lions 6922 seems to be around + $150.

Secondhand market can be cheaper but still nowhere near $40.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Holy crap! These days pair of Gold Lions 6922 seems to be around + $150.

Secondhand market can be cheaper but still nowhere near $40.

Might have been $50, don't recall clearly. But I do know I paid a bit more than $200/pair for the CCa tubes, which is just laughable given current prices.

 

[TheRealDz]

Might have been $50, don't recall clearly. But I do know I paid a bit more than $200/pair for the CCa tubes, which is just laughable given current prices.

This is my only reservation about the LP: I wish it didn't require a matched pair or a relatively expensive tube.

 

[LCMusicLover]

This is my only reservation about the LP: I wish it didn't require a matched pair or a relatively expensive tube.

Yep, starting with the pandemic in spring 2020, tube prices and availability have gone to H-E-double hockey sticks

My guess is that formerly there was a lot of 'going around looking for tubes', and the pandemic stopped that, and as supply dried up, prices exploded. Plus, many/most folks were stuck inside for long periods, which might have driven up demand.

All speculation of course, but prices seem to be up around 4X since I started shopping for these tubes

 

[Odin412]

But once I rolled in some Genelex Gold Lions (new production, about $40/pair at the time) I was wowed.

The Gold Lions were the first other tubes that I rolled into my Liquid Platinum, and they really change the character of the amp. I later settled on a pair of vintage Amperex that I keep enjoying every time I listen to the amp.

 

[Shane D]

Some progress today. I got a shipping label for my return. Taking it the Fed-Ex drop off tomorrow. They said that when receive mine, they will ship out the replacement. Hopefully it has at least some packing materials next time.

 

[D00M]

Dang, I can’t get my volume past maybe 10:30! I know those phones are hard to drive, I didn’t realize how hard!

Haha. I just set LP's volume at 12 o'clock, and controlled the volume using my DAC, which was around 60-70%.

LP volume control is definitely very usable for HE6se V2. But not with my other headphones, like HD660S.

With DAC volume at 100%, HE6se V2 is around 10-11 o'clock on LP. But HD660S is only around 8 o'clock, which is not optimal. Thus, I was using DAC to control the volume.

 

[mformoriarty]

Elna Silmics 2 and the Nichicon KZ Muse caps arrived last weekend. May replace them on my unit later today, giving it a last listen before turning it off.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Holy crap! These days pair of Gold Lions 6922 seems to be around + $150.

Secondhand market can be cheaper but still nowhere near $40.

The new production Genalex Gold Lion 6922 tubes used to be around $40 each ($80/pair). Or about $90 per pair with matching. Or $100 per pair for Upscale Audio's platinum grade matching. Now they're around $150 a pair with matching due to increased tariffs on Russian exports. Blame Russia for invading Ukraine. Ukraine was also a source for NOS Russian made tubes. The invasion has affected the availability of NOS tubes from Ukraine as well. Blame Russia.

 

[jonathan c]

Liquid Platinum, Lansdale ‘long plate’ 12AU7s, ZMF Eikon (cocobolo) are an incredible combination: full-range low-to-high, dynamics to overwhelm, clarity & soundstage to p-u-l-l one in …. .

 

[sacd lover]

I am still using the LP single ended waiting for my Hart balanced cable to arrive. I received my NOS Sylvania 6922's yesterday and single ended the sound is now even more engaging. More detail, but not in your face. A very clear, clean treble that is delicate and in the right proportion to the rest of the sound spectrum. Vocals are nicely fleshed out but not to forward. Bass is very dynamic but again in the right proportion. I do not know how the sound is going to be much better in balanced mode but the consensus is the amp is clearly better balanced. We will see.

I have modded MP M1060 and M1070's and excellent sources so maybe there is some of the synergy. But the extra power should definitely benefit the M1070's low end and overall dynamics. Maybe the M1060 too but the 1060 is a lot easier to drive.

 

[jonathan c]

I am still using the LP single ended waiting for my Hart balanced cable to arrive. I received my NOS Sylvania 6922's yesterday and even single ended the sound is now even more engaging. More detail, but not in your face. A very clear, clean treble that is delicate and in the right proportion to the rest of the sound spectrum. Vocals are nicely fleshed out but not to forward. Bass is very dynamic but again in the right proportion. I do not know how the sound is going to be much better in balanced mode but the consensus is the amp is clearly better balanced. We will see.

I have modded MP M1060 and M1070's and excellent sources so maybe that is some of the synergy. But the extra power should definitely benefit the M1070's low end and overall dynamics. Maybe the M1060 too but the 1060 is a lot easier to drive.

Sylvania 6922 s are great tubes. LP sound will be better when your source / DAC is connected via XLR and when headphone is plugged into front XLR socket. Cavalli optimised the amplifier design for balanced operation.

 

[r343]

I am still using the LP single ended waiting for my Hart balanced cable to arrive. I received my NOS Sylvania 6922's yesterday and single ended the sound is now even more engaging. More detail, but not in your face. A very clear, clean treble that is delicate and in the right proportion to the rest of the sound spectrum. Vocals are nicely fleshed out but not to forward. Bass is very dynamic but again in the right proportion. I do not know how the sound is going to be much better in balanced mode but the consensus is the amp is clearly better balanced. We will see.

I have modded MP M1060 and M1070's and excellent sources so maybe there is some of the synergy. But the extra power should definitely benefit the M1070's low end and overall dynamics. Maybe the M1060 too but the 1060 is a lot easier to drive.

Done some comparing between SE and balanced output with Utopia. I conclude that SE is tad thicker and balanced more clear sounding, kinda apparent in vocals where balanced has more bite.

I think ASR measured amp and SE had quite more distortion.

 

[akgb]

Really enjoying it so far. Running Modi multibit 2 > LP > balanced out LCD-X. Time to spend more money for some new tubes now.