[shabta]

 
Quote:

Do you guys use the Bass Boost? The HD800 phones really came alive when I started to use the Bass Boost.
 
Some CDs sound better with it off, but I can't imagine not using it for some other CDs.
 
Just wondering if other owners are using it.

I only use it sometimes when I am listening at low volume levels. Never with classical, but with rock'nroll.
 
I have also found that the leben pairs fantastically well with proac tablette 8 speakers. I set it up for near/mid field  listening and again I use bass boost sometimes at low volume.. What is kinda cool is that in a near field set up i don't get much room or placement issues and I can listen at neighbor friendly volume. I listen to music some days for many hours. As comfortable as the HD800 is sometimes  it is nice to get it off my head for a bit.

 

[Anders]

I often use the bass boost with K1000, but only the lower level of 3 dB. These headphones have a steep bass roll-off and I imagine that bass boost was designed to compensate for small speakers with steep bass roll-off. I have almost always found the 5 dB level to be too much.
 
Listening at low volume is another instance where bass boost can be useful.

 

[vert]

Anders, you've got some nice gear there to feed the Leben. I've always been interested in how the Reimyo and Accustic Arts sources sounded like.
 
I've replaced the tubes on my Leben with Genalex Lion & Sylvania 5751 (thanks Rob). When I added the Genalex, I definitely noticed a golden hue to the sound. The combination of the Genalex/Sylvania pair has shifted the tonality of my setup and smoothed it out, which is something it needed as the Chord DAC was overpowering with its resolution. Amazingly though, the new tubes have added texture, resolution, and transparency - they've really take the Leben to another level.
 
Of course it's all relative to what was there (or not there before). It's amazing at this level how every change makes a difference. I'd like to thank everyone for suggesting the change of tubes.

 

[dminches]

vert, what EL84/6BQ5s were you using before?

 

[vert]

Hi dminches, I was using vintage Russian EL84 & Groove Tube (current production Chinese) 12AX7.
 
The new tubes are definitely more immediate sounding and have less distortion than the ones above.

 

[Skylab]

Vert, glad the new tubes are working out well for you! There is no doubt that the Leben will sound different with different tubes. I've been really digging my current set - Philips Holland EL84's and Sylvania Gold Brand triple-mica black plate 5751's. Provides a very vivid but balanced sound.

 

[Anders]

Quote:

Anders, you've got some nice gear there to feed the Leben. I've always been interested in how the Reimyo and Accustic Arts sources sounded like.
 

vert, It is always difficult to tell how something sounds but I hope you get the general character by saying that the Reimyo has a very smooth and natural sound with a slight warmth. Details are there but not emphasized or edgy and dynamics is good. I bought a demo a short time before the current model was released and price was not unreasonable. It is said to sound best with the Reimyo drive but that is excessively expensive and I don't  consider it. Probably the time for CD transports will come to an end and will be replaced by computer transports. I recently got a Halide Bridge and will test it with the Reimyo, the first impression was good I but I have not yet compared it directly to the CD drive.
 
I used Chord CD64 DAC for a short time and think that sounded very good in the memory buffer setting, although the other setting was not sounding that good. The QBD76 is the latest version of the Chord DAC if I remember right. vert, I see you also have the Halide Bridge and just wonder if sound improves with the bridge also if you use the memory buffer setting?

 

[KevinR70]

Just picked up a quad of 1950's Holland Amperex Bugleboy EL84's and a pair of Sylvania blackplate triple mica gold labeled gold pin 5751's from Brent Jessie (super nice guy to deal with btw).  I was going to go reissue gold lion, which he doesn't sell, but he talked me into the Amperex.  I may pick up a pair of gold lions as well for comparison since they are fairly cheap and Brent offers a money back guarantee if I decide there isn't much difference in the EL84's.  The wait for the Leben is killing me!!  At least I'll be geared up by the time it arrives.  

 

[vert]

Hi Anders, yes the Chord sound is improved with the Halide Bridge versus toslink connection from the Mac. I also use the buffer setting which definitely improves the sound and makes it more relaxing to listen to.
 
I'm thrilled with computer transports, however, there is the problem with jitter (which degrades the sound). I haven't bought a masterclock, but I think you might need one to get the most out of a DAC hooked up to a computer. Whereas with an all-in-one CD player, like the older Reimyo, you don't have to worry about the jitter created by the SPDIF connection. There are a lot variables and having asynchronous USB on the DAC might help.
 
Even if I change to another source, I'm still keeping the Leben. 

 

[Anders]

It seems that jitter has to be reduced as much as possible in every step. Computer hardware, software and settings, cable etc to get it as low as possible before it enters the Halide Bridge (or the DAC input). Asynchronous only seems to reduce, but not remove jitter. The measurements in John Atkinsons review of the Halide Bridge in Stereophile support this. The Bridge obviously reduced jitter but the lower it was before it entered the Bridge the lower it was at the output of the Bridge.
 
Leben has an advantage in that it is relatively permissive of shortcomings in the source and recording quality, the difference is clearly audible but bad quality doesn't suck as much as with many other amps. And I like many albums with great music but less than stellar recording quality.
 
 

 

[InnerSpace]

Quote:

Just picked up a quad of 1950's Holland Amperex Bugleboy EL84's ...

Great choice.  I use those tubes in my Leben and couldn't be happier.  Enjoy!

 

[KevinR70]

Quote:

Quote:

Just picked up a quad of 1950's Holland Amperex Bugleboy EL84's ...

Great choice.  I use those tubes in my Leben and couldn't be happier.  Enjoy!

That's good to hear.  What input tubes are you using?  Did you try other EL84's before the Bugleboy's?  Thanks!

 

[InnerSpace]

Quote:

What input tubes are you using?  Did you try other EL84's before the Bugleboy's?  Thanks!

Well, bear in mind I turned my Leben into a highly specific partner for one particular pair of HD800s.  (Long story short, I tried many pairs on and off, and kept two.  The pair I use with the Leben has its treble spike a little higher in frequency than normal - my by-ear estimate is about 7k.  Sample variation is quite broad.)  I think they're wonderful phones and totally worth working with, but there's no denying their FR tilts away from the bass toward the treble.  So I optimized the Leben as a partner.  I used BugleBoy drivers too, which when feeding the BugleBoy output tubes is a definite chocolate-chocolate chip approach in terms of bass and warmth.  Not like turning a tone control, exactly - it's much more subtle than that - but the drivers "lean warm" a little, and so do the outputs, so when cascaded as a whole, they really slam in the lower registers - energetically, enthusiastically and joyously.  Roll off is already happening around 7k, and the phones' treble peak just perks up the start of the last octave.  (I can't hear much above 12 or 15k anyway.  Too old.  Plus I saw - heard - Led Zeppelin's first tour.)
 
If it was a general-purpose amp I would have used 50s or 60s Telefunken EL84s after the BugleBoy drivers.  That's a pretty perfect balance, IMO.

 

[vert]

Quote:

Leben has an advantage in that it is relatively permissive of shortcomings in the source and recording quality, the difference is clearly audible but bad quality doesn't suck as much as with many other amps. And I like many albums with great music but less than stellar recording quality.

Do you really think the Leben is forgiving? I haven't compared it to other amps, but it's obviously transparent. I'm going to make some tweaks to my source and interconnects and I'm sure the Leben will respond. 
 
Besides the Halide, you can also look into the Audiophilleo2, which has the lowest measured jitter. There's also the M2Tech Evo, that you could run off a battery. I'm seriously considering going to a one box solution with CDs to avoid all of this.

 

[heathfucmh]

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Basically, you can not go wrong with Mullards, however depends on what is your taste of the sound of course is, so, you may like Telefunkens or Siemens more. Teles, in general, are great overall tubes with great balance overall, but some folks find them "hard" sounding, while Siemens are very spacey/airy where details are top notch, but can sound bit to extended/sterile. Mullards are warm sounding with nice detail and great mids, bass can be "loosy" with some headphones, but the best ones are NOS from the earlier 50's, actually all of them, and that's make them quite expensive to buy.
Well, if you going tubes you should know that.Not sure if there any EL84 Tung Sols, but if yes, try them to, cos they are like Teles, but with softer/richer touch. Also Brimars are one that have quite rich/musical sound, so you have some work to do, which is very fun, imo.

Check here for more info https://www.tubeworld.com/6bq5.htm

It's very useful, Thanks for your answer! It's helpful to me.