Congrats on the purchase, I hope it meets your expectations!

In my experience,there are some things the 2a3 does better than the 45 in amps, like the macro-dynamics and thrust. But for tonality, pureness, and mid-range, to my ears there's no comparison. With that said, I've never tried the NOS 2a3's or the EML 2a3's so take my comments with a grain of salt. Maybe Lukasz or one of the Lamp guys can offer some advice.

I think you made a great choice, and for the L7 to come stock with the world renown EML 45 is really awesome! I wouldn't worry about heat, both these tubes run pretty warm compared to the big 300b's and 845's.

I would love to roll in different caps at some time just to compare. Let me know how the Jupiter's sound. I thought the Jensen's sounded great too in the L4.

Sounds like your L7 will be fully decked out, that's really cool. Maybe someday I will source some Yamamoto teflon sockets, those are really sweet and high quality. I haven't used any expensive fuses like the Synergistic, but felt the Create Audio fuse made a worthwhile difference ($10 shipped on Ebay). But I've heard from several folks that I trust say that the Quantum fuses are definitely worth the coin. Go for it and report back!

shawbros3 June 11, 2014 18:27

Sorry for the delay Agear, as you can see no one ever posts to my system thread, it's been almost half a year since the last one!

I currently run the Big 7 (one box) Lamp DAC. Mine has a switch that enables the DAC to operate with the 2a3 or 45 tube. It came with the 2a3's because at the time the 45's were out of stock. These Lamp DACs require lots of break-in, most likely largely due to the big Duelund caps. In my experience the sound didn't fully open up until 500+ hours. I know that is pretty extreme, but to my ears that was the reality.

The Big 7 is no different. I could tell when I first fired her up that it was going to be another long ride. The stage was smaller than the Big 6 and the sound was a bit flat and constrictive. I have a healthy stash of 45's, but decided to keep running her with the 2a3's in place 24-7. I listened for progress daily, but the improvements were slow. After 100+ hours I heard more depth and decay in the music, which are some of the more prominent characteristics of the Lamp house sound. But still the sound didn't grab me emotionally yet, the connection was missing. The night before the Newport Audio show, I decided to throw in my National Union 45 ST pair just for fun.

This tube change really threw me for a loop. My sound was transformed. The tone, decay, depth, vocals, everything just sounded so much livelier and full of life. I was finally drawn into the music, this was exactly what I was waiting to hear from the Big 7. With more break-in, I could only imagine how much better it could get.

At the Newport show, Lukasz gave me a pair of Emission Labs 45 Solid Plates to take home. I am trying the EML's in the Big 7 now and will soon provide some commentary comparing them to the different 45 NOS tubes I used...

45 ST - National Union, RCA Cunninghams, Tung-Sol
245 RCA Globes

Happy Listening!

shawbros3 June 10, 2014 17:29

Charles1dad,

I didn't mean to insinuate that you thought the Yamamoto equaled the Lampizator level 7. I was just merely trying to say that both have the ability to convey music with deep emotion and it says a lot about the Yamamoto's prowess since its so much more affordable than the higher level Lamps.

That's pretty cool that your friend is going to get a Lamp. Finally you get to hear one in your own system, which is always the best way to kill the curiosity. Let me know how it goes!

I'm not sure my system is playing at the high level you are accustomed to, but I will say that I now just listen to my music instead of trying to find things wrong with it...

shawbros3 January 15, 2014 05:44

Charles1dad,

I'm happy you were able to hear the Lampizator sound and meet Lukasz. I had a good feeling that the "house" sound would be sweet to your ears. I've only tried level 4 and 6 and they were both sounded different, so I'm sure the level 7 is another awesome sounding DAC. I also have Duelands in my Big Six and although I did prefer the sound of the Jensens in my level 4 (just so holographic - unmatched 3D), the Duelands have microcope level resolving power and the best bass.

That Yamamoto DAC must be pretty special if it sounds as good as the the level 7 Lampizator DAC, Shigeki-san is a smart man too, but I'd rather call him an artist. If you ever want to swap DACs for awhile, just let me know, the offer stands as you've been very helpful for sure.

My Melody preamp also uses DHT tubes and I love the sound! At this point I think I'm completely happy, maybe a few more tweaks here and there to correct grounding and RFI/EMI residuals but what I'm hearing now is truly convincing.

Happy Listening...

shawbros3 January 12, 2014 20:49

Thanks Dan. I agree, the cool thing about this hobby is the willingness of folks to help out. Charles was the one that compared my Sophia's to his EML's and I went with his recommendation. I know our systems are vastly different, but at least we shared the same amp and he highly values naturalness and emotional pull from a system, so it was an easy gamble for me which paid off big.

I just took a look at your system, wow, it must sound pretty spectacular. Congratulations on your successful journey! If I was to make a change to my system it would be getting a pair of horns. There's just something about a good horn sound that gives me goosebumps. Like when a magician says, "open sesame", that's how I feel about horns, it just lets the the music out magically and the dynamics can't be touched by conventional drivers, at least in my experience. Too bad my listening room is too small to realize a horns true potential...

Happy Listening!

shawbros3 January 10, 2014 03:07

I added a few things to my system which really made a marked improvement.

Sistrum SP3 stands - more focus and better dynamics

EML 300b XLS tubes - improvements across the board, more robust sound and super dynamic, isn't as warm as the Sophia's but definitely more true to the music

PC server running Windows 2012 Server - running in minimal server mode with Jriver/Jplay using Audioplile Optimizer tweaks. This machine sounds much better than my old Windows 8 server which I thought was excellent already. The overall tone is more natural and the noise floor is extremely low now. I can hear those little subtle nuances that were masked before and music just sounds incredibly CLEAN.

Thanks again to Charles1dad for his killer recommendations! I'm totally stoked by what I'm hearing now...

shawbros3 January 08, 2014 20:04

I totally agree with your comment on Shigeki-san. Talk about beauty of tone at its best, for me there's an ease of flow that infects all of his creations.

My Big Six has Dueland CAST capacitors and I'm patiently waiting for them to settle down. It's been over 200+ hours and I'm still hearing some major peaks and valleys. I do hear some promise as the resolution is now the best I've had so far, but the "pull" factor and musicality is not there yet. My L4/G4 Lamp (Jensen Caps)was more musical and involving with an uncanny 3D-ness to the presentation, just a tad bit too polite and relaxed (candy-coated) with some genres of music. I'm still hopeful the Big Six can turn the corner and better suit my personal tastes.

shawbros3 September 23, 2013 18:55

Thanks Abruce, your system must sound killer and I wish I could have a King's chair in my space, unfortunately it's a pretty small listening area and shared with my family.

Charles,

Thanks for the kind words. I do believe my system sounds natural, and these speakers do a great job at making music sound real. The Super V's aren't the last word in accuracy or imaging, but the open baffle design sounds less forced to my ears than conventional box speakers. I also prefer open baffle bass, it just sounds more textured and realistic.

I've actually followed your system thread and your rig must sound out of this world and I think your passion has just as much to do with the beautiful sound than the system components.

I heard the Franks (MKI) at a friends house a long time ago and immediately heard the magic and left very impressed. I was looking to replace my Yamamoto A06-3 (4 watts) with something that could be on par sonically with a bit more headroom. In came the Frankensteins...

The Frankensteins sound very natural and transparent, have great tone and weight. I lost some beauty and "sex appeal" with female vocals in the switch, but gained more dynamics, bass, and headroom. Shigeki-san really knows how to make his amps sound different than the competition. The Yamamoto amps IMHO are vocal champs, nothing I have heard in my house can beat them in this regard. I see you know a bit about the Yamamoto sound as well, that's one DAC I would love to hear in the future.

I have the stock Shuguang 300b tubes and Sophia Princess Mesh tubes. My friend owned the MKII twice and he liked the Black Treasures and EML's a lot, but in his system said the synergy with the Sophia's reigned supreme. Those Takatsuki tubes are supposed to be the holy grail of the 300b world, wow, you are a lucky camper!

Yes, I also like the 101D tube. I was thinking about the Coincident line-stage, but opted for the Melody preamp to gain remote control volume. It's a great preamp, and is the only one I have heard that can trace the "swells" in vocals giving voices a dynamic quality which is very appealing.

Thanks for the tip on the stands and fuses! What value fuse does it use?

Happy Listening!

shawbros3 September 23, 2013 16:58