I don't read this thread consistently ... Strange, yesterday I was just thinking haven't seen any post from Pubul57 lately.
My sincere sympathy to Paul's family and friends. I will miss our discussions and his sense of humor. Rest in peace Paul. |
Mine was delivered today. Transit time was 15 days to USA. George shipped within 2 weeks as promised after placing my order. It's nice to deal with someone with a HONEST and accurate estimate. No BS why estimates are constantly revised ... blab blab blab
I bought it out of curiousity and also been looking for a non tube preamp for the summer that is good enough that I will enjoy. Initial impression is VERY VERY positive. |
RCA ICs finally arrived and here's my .02. LSA is a very good match for my system. For most of my listening, the volume control is between 8 and 9 o'clock and 11 max.
My 2 sources are MW Transporter rolling 6sn7 and TRL Sony SACD player, EW Andra II speakers, TRL Samson mono amps and all ASI Liveline cables with several TRL power cables.
I find the LSA very transparent and detailed where complex and poorly recorded compress passages are easily deciphered. Excellent bass, big sound stage, extended highs and surprising excellent dynamics that plaque many passives.
Compare to my VAC Signature MKIIa preamp, in MY system, I find the VAC is in another league. Not 30x better but SUBSTANTIALLY better in every way. I CANNOT imagine selling it for the LSA in terms of sonics.
The boundaries around images are better defined and more separation from each other. Images and sound stage are much more 3D, layered and textured (I guess the magic of the Telefunkens), there is a sparkle to the sound, better dynamics where everything sounds tighter, airier and faster ... LSA sounds soft and 2D in comparison.
Probably not unexpected, I much prefer the Transporter than the TRL Sony with the LSA having some tubes in the chain. With the LSA, I prefer rolling the sweeter sounding Sylvania 6sn7GT "Bad Boy" and Shuguang BT CV181-Z with the VAC.
Bottom line, LSA is an excellent preamp regardless of price. I could easily live with it as my only preamp as long as I don't play the VAC back to back :-). I was looking for a cool running SS preamp for the hot and humid summer months and the LSA will fit the bill nicely with only a little sacrifice. |
Pubul57, now it's cold, just cleared 18" of snow and heating oil is up $1 a gallon since last refill, it's a good excuse to shop for a very hot and big mono tube amp again :-) |
Paul told me the TRL Samsons input impedance is 68kohms.
From my experiences with many Krells and Pass amps in the past using different tube preamps, there are NO impedance issues between the TRL Samson and LSA. |
12-28-10: Fiddler
Knghifi,
Question. Are you listening to the LSA with new RCA IC's?
Fiddler (Threads | Answers | This Thread)
Both RCA ICs are dealer demos and I've logged ~250+ additional hours on them so are fully broken in. |
I just report what I (and several audiophile friends) hear and didn't felt I was attacked. But I do understand Grannyring point in Georges questioning of the Samson input impedance, which can be construded negatively, after it was confirmed by multiple sources it's well above 47kohm and my personal listening experiences eventhough I don't have golden ears.
3 more points:
1. My MW Transporter has the ability to drive amps directly so it has more than enough gain.
2. Liveline IC between LSA and Samson is 1M.
3. TRL Dude has a tube regulated power supply so it makes no sense for the Samson to have an input impedance below 30kohm. |
12-30-10: Georgelofi
OK now here's the truth from the horses mouth, the Lightspeed was seeing a happy load and Grannyrig check your facts before you double swear it was 100k input Grannying was talking about his Atma-Sphere Ma-1 OTL Tube Amps in his LSA evaluation so his facts are correct. 12-30-10: Pubul57
So Knghifi heard it under "appropriate" conditions and prefered his excellent VAC, fair enough, and a valid preference. The TRL amps are all SS? Not hybrid? All SS as far as I know :-) |
12-30-10: Clio09
$13,550 is a lot of spare change. The way things are going right now I might be able to turn that into $50,000 here in Las Vegas by the end of football season:) Don't forget all the tubes :-) It's the law of diminishing returns ... in this case, the last 25% is well worth it. Last week had friend over that's familiar with my system pleaded with me no more changes. The system never sounded so good after rolling in some Tele 12au7 ribbed plates and 1960's Tele e88cc. I still want to roll some 1960 Siemen cca or e88cc and Paul is making me more goodies. Odds of a stock market correction is better but is tough to fight the fed printing $$. LSA is my 1st preamp without a remote for volume since my SF SFL 2 many moons ago. In serious listening I like to fine tune the volume on each track and it's a PITA without it. The last thing I need is more exercise :-) |
George, I don't understand how the preamp not altering the signal from the source will accomplish what the recording engineer wants you to hear? Is it even possible?
By the time the signal gets to the preamp, it has already been altered (tone controlled) by the source (cdp, phono ect) / interconnect. For me, I want a preamp to improve the signal IF necessary so the overall performance improves.
With the LSA, I much prefer my MW Transporter than TRL Sony having some tubes in the chain. Also I prefer rolling the sweeter sounding Sylvania 6sn7gt than Shuguang BT CV181-Z. So which one of the 3 the recording engineer wants me to hear? Probably none due to my inferior sources? For an end user, do I really care or just configure my prefer setup? With the VAC, I like both source almost equally despite the very very different sound.
I think a passive preamp is more dependent on a good source/interconnect than an active preamp. If a signal is poor, passive just pass through while active can attempt to improve/bandaid.
In a sound system, the signal gets altered as it passes through a chain of components. My goal is to select the combination of components that best create the sound base on my personal preferences. |
That's my point, there are no perfect cds (over 80% are compressed. I like the music but recording sucks), source and interconnects. By the time the signal reaches the preamp, it has been altered. So what you are saying is if you like the sound of a passive, you prefer how the source and interconnect altered, amplified, added / subtracted ... tone controlled the signal.
I don't understand the statement if you prefer active, therefore you prefer a tone controlled signal. This is only TRUE if the preamp is the only component in the system. The signal gets altered as it travels through the chain of components. But I do see an advantage of a passive preamp in an integrated amp.
Let's agree to disagree and move on. |
Wow!! Out shopping and dinner and missing all the fun.
For the record,
1. I highly recommend the LSA and I plan to use it in my system ... it's all in my initial report.
2. I never said my stuff is the best. I can only report what I hear in MY system. I always emphasize "MY" system.
3. I never questioned anyone preferences ... whether tube, ss ... is the best and frankly I don't care. I buy and keep what I like.
I was simply asking for an explanation on the statement ... the signal from the source will accomplish what the recording engineer wants you to hear. It makes no sense to me since not aware of a PERFECT source or interconnect.
Pubul57 and Fiddler
Can you boys recommend the source and interconnect with consensus from all the recording engineers that will accomplish what the they want me to hear? I want to take the technology and implement it in all the cables, amplifier, speaker ... and then have a perfect system. We can nationalize if like Obama care, one size ...no, I mean one system fits all. Think of all the $$ and time we will save. Then finally all the "Best" and "King of MONO" threads are no longer dumb.
Pubul57, did you really sold your Lamm, CAT, Ferrari 458, Joule, Porsche 997, Atma-Sphere, VIVA ... for the LSA? Only seen it in 5555 threads so wasn't sure.
Bye Fiddler, Happy New Year. |
Pubul57, you a good guy. Thanks for having a good sense of humor :-) |
I don't have an issue with George attracting sale via Agon through his participation in the thread. The man is in business to make a living so however sales are generated, it's fine with me. I don't agree with some of his statements and wish he could answer some of my questions. I'm still stuck on " ... is the closest you will get to playing music that's truest to the source (cdp, phono ect), and the truest way to hear the way the recording engineers wanted you to hear how they have recorded the music.
As it adds nothing and subtracts nothing ..."
The internet is great where one can exchange ideas from anyone in the world ... no borders. Fiddler, before you get offended again, please hire a new translator that understands English.
After all the debate, I decided to play LSA last night for some serious listening. I'm finally hearing the lights so I've decided to sell my BVDs, Wilson Jack Kramer, Schwinn Varsity Sport and yes, my Calvins. Nothing ever came between my Calvin except, LSA!!!
If anyone is offended, it's the Shiraz and I'm not responsible. Boy, I like being a Democrat. |
Clio09, I see you point. Removing one sonic signature will improve the overall accuracy of the orig source ... one less to muck it up. For me, when dealing with so many sonic signatures in a system, removing one is not very significant to the overall result. Finding the correct combination is more important. |
01-06-11: Pubul57
"LSA is not an empty box..." Pretty close though. So another passive with less parts count than LSA is superior? |
I ordered 2 Lithium battery supply on ebay, Item number: 190459066434, recommended by George when I ordered my LSA. It's only $13.45 shipped from HK and I too prefer it over the wall-wart for the same un-describable reasons :-) |
Yikes!!! Thanks for the info Pubul57. Mine works fine so far but will keep an eye on it while charging from now on.
Maybe there was a bad batch of chargers ... |
Just read the review on the Ypsilon active and passive preamp. Anyone compared the passive one to a LSA? Only a $25,500 price difference :-):-) |
Tony, I only have a hard copy Stereophile sub and is in the current July issue. I've only skimped through MF review ... basically it best his reference, his darTZeel. |
10-05-13: Glory
Well well we have a winner here in the crib. Will report further truth shortly. Well well well, it's been a month now so what's the verdict Gary? I got $$ riding on this so don't let me down. I need the winnings to pay for the Porsche. LOL!!! |
So I hooked up some ASI LL SC/IC's to my system and it was an ear opener. I will keep them hooked in as they work well with my amps/speakers. I've been using ASI LL SC/ICs for years and no plans to try anything else. Happy to hear LSA is working out for you ... |
I use a SB Touch digital out to DAC only for internet radio. I could not believe the improvement after replacing the Touch noisy SPS with a LPS. It appears SPS is adding noise even when not in used. Removing it from the system was one of the best inexpensive tweaks. |
Fiddler
If you have a Lightspeed, open it up. Then open your active. See which one is closer to a straight wire. You already know the answer. It's not even close :) Is LSA the only component in your system? What if the total parts count in a system (speakers, amp, IC ...) with an active is less then one with the LSA, is it always superior? Design, synergy between the components, quality of components ... there are many many factors. LSA is not an empty box and has parts so it too has a sonic character. |
Georgelofi,
What comes after the source can only be corrupted by more electronics, it cannot fix a "bad" cdp dac or cd. It can only add corruptions, colourations, distortions and euphonics.
There is no magic preamp that can add bits or remove distortions from a cd or re-design a bad output stage in a cdp or dac, you can however falsely add colourations, euphonics, and tonally change things, but this is not "being true to the source".
I believe if you have a source that needs this sort of treatment, you need to get a better one, and one you like, without having to bandaid fix it.
Every component has a sonic signature. It's not bad or good but just a sonic signature. By the time signal reaches the preamp, it has sonic signature of the source and IC. The signal still needs to pass through the amp, ic, speaker cable, speakers, PC .... and will get altered and altered again. In a sound system, you are hearing a combination of 10+ sonic signatures, not just the source and interconnect. Let's try this, apple juice is the taste all the chefs want you to experience. Once it's mixed with 9 different juices, you are tasting a combination of all the juices. Use water for LSA and is added after the apple juice, apple taste is preserved until you add the 8 different juices. At the end, the taste is the combination of all the juices. Now if the 9 juices have the properties of water, NEUTRAL, then apple will be prominent. I guess this is the reason everybody claims their product is neutral. It appears my view is more at the system level than yours.
01-03-11: Pubul57
Which Shiraz?
2buckchuck. Wine is like audio. Price does not equate taste. I have 2 friends that own liquor stores, even with discounts I was spending too much $$ on wine over the years. I was reluctant at first but after I tasted 2buckchuck, I sold ... ok I won't list them :-):-) This is what I drink most of time at home. Doesn't taste like an cheap wine but actually best many more expensive ones. |
01-06-11: Pubul57
I understand why a moving coil cartridge would need gain (and RIAA equalization) to create a sense of drive and dynamics, but why would a 2 volt signal need any gain to drive an amp that plays at maximum output with 1v of input? Is "drive" something different than simple voltage which is either sufficient or insufficent to drive an amplifer? I suppose a source could have a weak output stage, but I would think that would be as much of problem for driving an active preamp as a more direct connection to the amp. There is something appealing about "horsepower", but does it really serve any purpose where input sensitivity is simply not an issue? Does an active really provide something "in reserve" for hearing micro and macro dynamic inflections?
01-06-11: Georgelofi
Sources these days, esspecially CD can drive (have enough output) by themselves (without the need of a preamp) a poweramp into cliping, there is your strait wire with no gain (the interconnects only).
All we need is something so we can attenuate that source so it doesn't blow the amp up, we do not need a preamp that preamplifies again on top of the source that can already by itself blow an amp up with the amount of output it has. ...
Years ago I had a Krell FPB300 and FBP600 at the same time. They are identical in design except for the power rating. Both are high current and power doubles down to 2 Ohms. My speaker at the time was Gallo Nucleus Reference ... forgot the exact model but one with 2 balls and a can on top. On paper, the FPB300 was more than enough to drive them that can blow out the drivers. But the FPB600 was much much superior in every way. You can feel the extra power, dynamics and sound was more relax with an ease. Sometimes what's on paper doesn't tell the whole story in a real world application. |
