[TK16]

Can you list all the other tubes you tried? Is tough getting a bearing on what people like when you don't know what they prefer their current choice over. Thanks.

What I have currently are in my profile page, tried a lot more over the years.

 

[VintageAudio]

I've recently invested in the Hifiman Susvara and have an ADI-2 DAC on order.

Need a low cost amp that can help me make the most of my Susvara and DAC.

The Susvara's need lots of juice to make them shine. I'm currently running them off of a NAD C 315BEE integrated amp via speaker taps.

I was considering the Massdrop THX AAA 789 and now more recently the Monoprice Liquid Platinum.

According to this spreadsheet, the LP should have enough power...but will it be a pairing that help me squeeze the most out of my Susvaras?

 

[Articnoise]

Tube rolling doesn't make an amp better or worse, assuming all the tubes you use are high quality...there is some junk out there. They simply provide coloration.

Whether or not those differences are big or small depends on your preferences and chain synergy.

For instance, you might find the mids to be slightly peaky with the stock tubes, and a new set of tubes tames that a bit. It's a small/subtle change in the grand scheme of things, but it may take a system from un-listenable to listenable for a particular person given their chain and their preferences.

So they'll come back and describe the difference as night and day, dramatic, etc.

You have to take all those things with a grain of salt. Good data points, but not gospel.

Tubes are essential parts of a tube amp and can make a big SQ difference IMO. Not all tube amps are the same thou and don’t change equally when changing tubes. Some amps just sound a bit different while some are more like chameleons and sound very different depending on tubes.

 

[MikeW]

I've recently invested in the Hifiman Susvara and have an ADI-2 DAC on order.

Need a low cost amp that can help me make the most of my Susvara and DAC.

The Susvara's need lots of juice to make them shine. I'm currently running them off of a NAD C 315BEE integrated amp via speaker taps.

I was considering the Massdrop THX AAA 789 and now more recently the Monoprice Liquid Platinum.

According to this spreadsheet, the LP should have enough power...but will it be a pairing that help me squeeze the most out of my Susvaras?

While not super powerful, the Amp section of the ADI-2 is quite potent. A recent member who owns both the ADI-2 and THX 789, compared them and prefered the Headamp section of the ADI-2. You might want to give it a serious listen before investing in 300-500$ amps. As I think you need to spend significantly more to better it by a worthwhile margin. Though that particular headphone may be a bit starved with "only" 1.5 watt into 32 Ohms. I will say the ADI-2 has no problem driving my HD650 with relative ease. I found the reports of the ADI2's amp to be of only "mediocore" "convenience" to be highly exaggerated. As it's quite capable, and competitive with my Jotunheim, though not as powerful. As compared to the JOT, the ADI-2's amp definitely has a different sound profile, but really gives nothing up in technicals, perhaps better. It is very dry and flat though, but it's easily tailored to your needs with it's excellent built in PEQ, Crossfeed, and Filters, it's a little "underwhelming" at first, which in my experience can be a good thing, as gear that gives an instant "wow" factor often finds itself grating and annoying in time. Gear that i've been less immediately impressed with often show's it true color in time and wins the race.

Anecdotally, there was a recent THX789 sale whereby the seller's reason for the sale was the purchase of a Liquid Platinum. Should be noted that Schiit LYR3 is stupid powerful too, more then either of these options by alot. (9 watt into 32 ohm), kind of a nice middle ground between 789 and Liquid Platinum, at 499$ it's available to ship today as well.

 

[VintageAudio]

While not super powerful, the Amp section of the ADI-2 is quite potent. A recent member who owns both the ADI-2 and THX 789, compared them and prefered the Headamp section of the ADI-2. You might want to give it a serious listen before investing in 300-500$ amps. As I think you need to spend significantly more to better it by a worthwhile margin. Though that particular headphone may be a bit starved with "only" 1.5 watt into 32 Ohms. I will say the ADI-2 has no problem driving my HD650 with relative ease. I found the reports of the ADI2's amp to be of only "mediocore" "convenience" to be highly exaggerated. As it's quite capable, and competitive with my Jotunheim, though not as powerful. As compared to the JOT, the ADI-2's amp definitely has a different sound profile, but really gives nothing up in technicals, perhaps better. It is very dry and flat though, but it's easily tailored to your needs with it's excellent built in PEQ, Crossfeed, and Filters, it's a little "underwhelming" at first, which in my experience can be a good thing, as gear that gives an instant "wow" factor often finds itself grating and annoying in time. Gear that i've been less immediately impressed with often show's it true color in time and wins the race.

Anecdotally, there was a recent THX789 sale whereby the seller's reason for the sale was the purchase of a Liquid Platinum. Should be noted that Schiit LYR3 is stupid powerful too, more then either of these options by alot. (9 watt into 32 ohm), kind of a nice middle ground between 789 and Liquid Platinum, at 499$ it's available to ship today as well. With such a nice DAC and Headphone, I I think your really selling yourself short with any of these options, as Sub 1k amps don't really "match" the rest of your system. Might consider Felik's Elise/Euphoria, or other high end OTL.

I pulled the trigger on the LP. I’ve owned the ADI-2 Pro Anniversary before so I’m well aware of how clean the HPA section is. It’s really a matter of power. Susvara is another beast, even more hungry than Abyss and HE6. I guess I’ll find out of the LP is up to task. If not I may just keep it on speaker taps and drive it from my vintage marantz.

 

[MikeW]

Yeah, I actually did not realize what a beast Susvara was, until after my post. So it's a special phone with unique requirements. Most of what I said kind go's out the window with this one. My bad. It's hard for me to understand the allure of these types of phones in today's world. Kinda ham-string's all your options when you need to drive a Unicorn headphone. There are so many great options these day's that just don't have the limitation.

 

[Zachik]

Re-opening the attenuation topic:
Who uses Schiit Sys, Nobsound or any other gadget to attenuate the input signal into LP?

I have been trying (and posted about it in the LP tube rolling thread) WE396A tubes with the LP, and experience background noise issues.
I strongly suspect (and want to test this theory) that by attenuating the input signal - I will reduce or eliminate this noise issue!
Quite some time ago there was this discussion, and @atomicbob 's thread on the subject was linked, and @runeight mentioned an idea for 9V battery powered attenuation...

So... did anyone make any tests / experiments with ANY options? Passive and/or active?
And do you guys think that could be a solution for tubes that are noisy on LP but test good?

ANY feedback is appreciated!

 

[TK16]

Re-opening the attenuation topic:
Who uses Schiit Sys, Nobsound or any other gadget to attenuate the input signal into LP?

I have been trying (and posted about it in the LP tube rolling thread) WE396A tubes with the LP, and experience background noise issues.
I strongly suspect (and want to test this theory) that by attenuating the input signal - I will reduce or eliminate this noise issue!
Quite some time ago there was this discussion, and @atomicbob 's thread on the subject was linked, and @runeight mentioned an idea for 9V battery powered attenuation...

So... did anyone make any tests / experiments with ANY options? Passive and/or active?
And do you guys think that could be a solution for tubes that are noisy on LP but test good?

ANY feedback is appreciated!

I would return the 2 noisy tubes, keep the good one and try your luck buying a single. I got a noisy WE pair or single (did not investigate more). Was using the Nobsound NS-052 when testing for noisy tubes this morning. Others may help you more on the attenuation fiddling around if that is even possible.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Re-opening the attenuation topic:
Who uses Schiit Sys, Nobsound or any other gadget to attenuate the input signal into LP?
...
So... did anyone make any tests / experiments with ANY options? Passive and/or active?
...
ANY feedback is appreciated!

I’m using my Emotiva XSP-1 (active) preamp right now, but I’m not thrilled with it. Seems like I’m getting some coloration from this chain which I did’t notice with my SS amps. I’ve got a Hattor Mini (passive) preamp incoming which I hope will be an improvement.

I’ll report my results one the Hattor comes in — probably a couple weeks out though.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

I've recently invested in the Hifiman Susvara and have an ADI-2 DAC on order.

Need a low cost amp that can help me make the most of my Susvara and DAC.

The Susvara's need lots of juice to make them shine. I'm currently running them off of a NAD C 315BEE integrated amp via speaker taps.

I was considering the Massdrop THX AAA 789 and now more recently the Monoprice Liquid Platinum.

According to this spreadsheet, the LP should have enough power...but will it be a pairing that help me squeeze the most out of my Susvaras?

The LP, with Amperex Tubes, was a fantastic pairing with my OG Abyss 1266. I never had the volume past 10:30.

 

[Zachik]

I would return the 2 noisy tubes, keep the good one and try your luck buying a single. I got a noisy WE pair or single (did not investigate more). Was using the Nobsound NS-052 when testing for noisy tubes this morning. Others may help you more on the attenuation fiddling around if that is even possible.

Are you saying that even with the Nobsound NS-052 between DAC and LP, noisy tubes are not tamed down? Did you try to lower input level with the Nobsound NS-052 to say 50% and still noisy tubes are noisy?
You definitely benefit with much more useful range on the LP volume knob, though - right?

 

[TK16]

Are you saying that even with the Nobsound NS-052 between DAC and LP, noisy tubes are not tamed down? Did you try to lower input level with the Nobsound NS-052 to say 50% and still noisy tubes are noisy?
You definitely benefit with much more useful range on the LP volume knob, though - right?

You get more range with the Nobsound but the tubes exhibited noise with volume at o on both or maxed out on the volume controls. I don't think the noise increased with changes in volume. Constant iirc.

 

[Wheel Hoss]

Newb question:

How does this amp connect to a DAC?

Looking at the Lyr 3 and this. But LP has no DAC. So if I get a Gumby or something and connect that to my MacBook, how does the Gumby interface with the LP?

Having trouble figuring it out by looking at pictures of inputs.

 

[kumar402]

Newb question:

How does this amp connect to a DAC?

Looking at the Lyr 3 and this. But LP has no DAC. So if I get a Gumby or something and connect that to my MacBook, how does the Gumby interface with the LP?

Having trouble figuring it out by looking at pictures of inputs.

LP has balanced and RCA input. So either you can get pair of RCA Interconnect or balanced interconnect (XLR) from Schiit directly when
You order Gumby from them or you can get those from Amazon for $10

 

[Pharmaboy]

I am using a pair of Brimar CV2492, and they sound quite a bit different than the Amperex 7308. I think these differences are quite noticeable. When tube rolling, I try to experiment with tubes, that are known to sound completely different, and then dial in from there. I suggest rolling tubes from different parts of the world, to get different flavors. For instance British vs. American vs. German, all different house sounds. Difference will be more subtle, when comparing a German to a German for example. There are exceptions, but as a guide, this should help.

Whenever I read a post like this (featuring a tube I never heard)...I always wonder how you knew to pick these particular tubes.