[parbaked]

  So anyone here have any experience with Mullard and Tele El84 and which one is better? Thank you

Scroll down to find good information on different EL84 tubes....including how to spot fake Telefunkens
http://www.audiotubes.com/6bq5.htm

 

[dminches]

  I just acquire a Leben CS300 with 4 Telefunken El84 tubes , the two 12AX7 are also from Telefunken. However my local tube supplier just offers me a good deal on Mullard EL84 tubes. So anyone here have any experience with Mullard and Tele El84 and which one is better? Thank you

 
My favorite tube combination in my CS300SX is a pair of Sylvania 5751s (black plate, windmill getter) and a quad of Mullard EL84s.

 

[setavn]

So far my experience with Leben CS300 has been really awesome, both the speaker and headphone section of the amp are top notch. With my old Tannoy SRM 12X, the bass is tighter, much more deep, on all vocal songs the voice is more forward and it really make you feel the singer is right in front of you. I never heard such great bass from my tannoy since i parted with my old copland 402.
 
I have a pair of   Sylvania 5751 black plate, i wil try to put it in my leben tonight and see how it goes. So far i definitely become a fan of Leben, i'm thinking about getting their phonobox as well, are they any good compare to Ear 834P? Thanks

 

[dynavit]

Hallo,
Does anybody have experience with Leben cs 300 ( any Model, but especially F) in combination with Abyss 1266?
Will it be strong enough to drive the Abyss?
Hoe about the HE6?
Many thanks for reply!
Tom

 

[ardilla]

Just posted a review - comparing the Leben CS300XS with the Cary SLI-80 Signature:
 
http://www.headphoneer.com/cary-sli-80-sig-vs-leben-cs300-xs-review/

 

[parbaked]

  Just posted a review - comparing the Leben CS300XS with the Cary SLI-80 Signature:
 
http://www.headphoneer.com/cary-sli-80-sig-vs-leben-cs300-xs-review/

It is always better to have someone edit your work before you post it.
 
"Tubes in the Leben CS300XS: Golden Lion EL34 and RCA Wurlitzer Black 12AX7 (neither original)."

Your Leben has EL84 tubes, not EL34...whoops!
 
 

 

[ardilla]

 
It is always better to have someone edit your work before you post it.
 
"Tubes in the Leben CS300XS: Golden Lion EL34 and RCA Wurlitzer Black 12AX7 (neither original)."

Your Leben has EL84 tubes, not EL34...whoops!
 
 

 
Thanks - fixed ,)

 

[Purnendu]

Leben as a general purpose amp
 
Not to divert the thread, but on another note. Has anyone tried running the Leben through an active preamplifier. I did this first some years ago with a symphonic line preamp and found that there was a lot more drive to the sound of the speakers (Proac tablette 86db ). Last week I have had a Xindak 3200 II with me and again I find that the sound is much more unstressesd and engaging through the speakers (Contrast audio AS 3), at lower as well ashigher volumes. 
 
Although I do listen through headphones (Beyer DT 880 and Senn 595), for the most part I listen to speakers. If any one has experience in running the leben through a preamp, I would like to hear from them. The volume pot in the Leben is a passive device, and as I understand it its function is that of attenuation and not amplification. An active preamp brings something to the table which the Leben benefits from, especially when driving the speakers. It could of course bring also about a change for the worse! Such as a light hum, which I can hear through my headphones but not the speakers.
 
Even though this is head-fi, since it is a Leben thread it would be nice to hear from those who also use the Leben for general listening on speakers. After three years of ownership i find that it is underpowered even for a speaker rated at 91 db or so. Recently I heard the leben on a 97 db rated speaker (Davis acoustics Monitor one, and although it was a bit honky, the dynamics were huge. the size and price of those speakers prevent me from going that way unfortunately
 
Thanks for any responses

 

[BugleBoy]

Hmmm...I read somewhere else that Leben CS-300 sounds much better with the NVA P90 passive pre-amplifier.
 
I also use the ProAc Tablette Ref 8 Sig with my Leben 300x and find it has adequate power; though admittedly I listen to it in low volume as it is set-up for near field listening. I hardly ever go above 9 o clock with the volume knob.

 

[Purnendu]

Interesting: A passive sounding better.The Leben volume pot is already a passive attenuator I thought. 
 
Anyhow I have been listening to the active pre mentioned above and it does sound much fuller. If you have access to a decent pre do try it out. 

 

[fr9ncisco]

Scroll down to find good information on different EL84 tubes....including how to spot fake Telefunkens
http://www.audiotubes.com/6bq5.htm

Hello all, i am a happy leben cs300 owner i got here as a second hand for half the price for a 8 year old amp in a mint condition Sound was nice but tubes where worn out and i really got to see improvements with tube change : i use E84l 1968 siemens from ebay and mazda ecc83 Nos. But getting the phase from current right made a big improvement, with shuko plugs where it is possible to invert phase. If you make sure phase is right, sound comes frm nice to fantastic. A good pair of cheap mogami modulation cables made a big difference, i personally use 2497 mogami interconnect. On the link you provided,there are really good info about spotting fake tubes, but for us in europe we can get better deals with a few serious sellers in europe with no import taxes from usa sellers due to customs policies. About microphonics, you can use dampers that limits them. About the gear im wating for a k701. Ill let you know

 

[mrtim6]

Hi I have used my leben cs300xs to drive headphones & speakers. I have had good results with Zu Soulsuperflys. However surprisingly I found a recently restored & tweaked set of old classic Polk Monitor 7s sounded even more dynamic. Not too sure why however results for the price ( of restoring the M7s) are stella.

I sold the Zu's and now own the much superior Yamaha NS-2000. Sonic masterpieces and appear to be on the net an unknown gem.

I have not tried the Leben with the NS-2000 yet however I will give them a try next month.
I have used the Cantata DAC/preamp/cd player as a preamp with the Leben with excellent results.

 

[BugleBoy]

If you make sure phase is right, sound comes frm nice to fantastic.

 
I added Audience Adept Response AR12 to my system couple of years ago...it made a big difference.
 
you can read up on it here: http://www.stereophile.com/powerlineaccessories/407aud/#UIVkyZcuG4ZTVIMc.97

 

[zoroastra]

I actially have compared the Mjolnir and Taurus here: http://www.headphoneer.com/mjolnir-vs-taurus/ I also compared the Taurus to the Conductor, and the Conductor to the Leben om the same site, http://www.headphoneer.com/the-burson-conductor/

Hope it can be of any help

About the hum issues mentioned avove, it is the only drawback for the Leben. But i have had no hum with lcd3, 2, He500, q701 among others. But for high impedance and especially sensitive headphones i do notice some hum. Do you have a chance to try it at home before you buy? I believe local mains power conditions matter on this. It is a magical amp, worth a little extra effort

Ardilla, what about the local mains power conditions? Would a mains conditioner, filter, with everything plugged in to it help, or cause the hum? In other words, is the grounds of each device looping with the return on the RCA cables causing a ground loop? Do others with a history of a hum with this amplifier use a mains conditioner, or lift the ground prong off their plugs and use the star grounding lug in the back of the Leben, or all three?

 

[ardilla]

I have not tried any of that, I might be getting a DC filter, I think, but mostly I don't bother since I have different amps for the high imp headphones. Local power does seem to vary on such things, I have only tried it three places in the same area of my home town, so I shouldn't generalize, I am under the pression that 230v users such as myself are more at risk for hum than 110v.