Linlai™ Global 845-D Dream Series vacuum tubes
- Thread starter facten
- Start date
Hi Facten
I have the same amp LM518 like you. I have the Linlai 845DG tube in it , much better then Psvane T mark2 or the Psvane replica WE.
Also I have changed the rectifier Amperex (NOS Holland made 5ar4) to Linlai Elite 274B molybdeum plate. The rectifier gave me audible effect, more tide bass , cleaner subtle nuances. 1 1/2 year since I have them(845,274B) no problem . Comparing DG to what I had is like I would take off the blanket from music. I do not have experience with 845D Linlai , but I heard the 845 Elite molybdeum plate and Elrog . In terms of sound nuances is close to Elroge at least for me. It was different amp and source. I am satisfied with the 845 DG Linlai. Sorry No experience with 845D linlai. I just shared my impression with some Linlai tubes.
@kende Thank you for your response and insights. I liked the sound of the Psvane Black Bottle T 2 but had one tube that just refused to bias properly, it always ran higher than the recommended amp setting so I pulled them out. I'm going to decide on which of the Linlai 845s to go with shortly.
I had no idea that the 274B could be swapped in for the 5AR4 rectifier; I use a NOS 5AR4 presently. . May I ask where you came across the information on the 274B in the 518IA I'd like to possibly explore that option?
Thank you
I had no idea that the 274B could be swapped in for the 5AR4 rectifier; I use a NOS 5AR4 presently. . May I ask where you came across the information on the 274B in the 518IA I'd like to possibly explore that option?
Thank you
Hi
I was reading on one of audiosite here from North America , one member sharing it, but to be sure I asked James from Line Magnetic Audio , China. The Sophia Electric 274B Aqua blue is direct replacement for 5ar4. I have never tried but has Good review on this site. Check it out. Also I am satified with 7581A Tung sol rusian tube for driver tube. before I had Psvane, El34 , Kt 77 .
Regards.
I was reading on one of audiosite here from North America , one member sharing it, but to be sure I asked James from Line Magnetic Audio , China. The Sophia Electric 274B Aqua blue is direct replacement for 5ar4. I have never tried but has Good review on this site. Check it out. Also I am satified with 7581A Tung sol rusian tube for driver tube. before I had Psvane, El34 , Kt 77 .
Regards.
I went ahead and purchased via GrantFidelity the Linlai 845 D Dream tubes for my Line Magnetic 518IA integrated. They arrived last night so I only have about 5 hours on them but I am pleased with the sound thus far. The 845 D Dream is nicely balanced across the frequencies , tone is refined , solid body and image no muddling or softness, clarity without fatigue. These are a definite upgrade versus the stock Psvane HIFi and the T2 Black Body 845s I previously had in the amp. I am looking forward to how they sound after more run in.
Sitting here listening to Melody Gardot's My One And Only Thrill CD , her voice is even more sublime than I've been accustomed to.
Sitting here listening to Melody Gardot's My One And Only Thrill CD , her voice is even more sublime than I've been accustomed to.
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I have a Linlai HiFi Black Plate (6N97) on the input of my AricAudio Transcend P/P amp along with two Psvane CV 181 T (6N97).TS KT120 for power presently. I haven't tried the Global yet.I immediately loved the clarity but it was hovering on being too analytical initially. After it settled in it's become my all time favorite input tube. I actually had to move my speakers around and change the settings on the subs to accommodate it.
Hi Kende,
Your experience in the Linlai 845DG and E845 Elite interests me. How would you compare their sound? I'm looking to acquire either one of these two products from Linlai, and also considering other 845 tubes from China. Thanks and look forward to hearing from you.
Hi jmaktai
The Linlai E 845 is the best from line , comparing to Psvane Acme 845 are the same level but different in sound character , assuming because of molybdenum plate .The 845 Elite according to someone is like the sunrise refreshing , the Psvane like sunset lots of micro detail ,nuances . I do not have the Elit 845 but i have heard in one friend system ,it is better comparing to DG in nuances micro details but depend of system , it might be to analytical with cd player . The difference might be not so big comparing to DG . If my budget would not be issue I would chose Elite. ...or Psvane Acme but acme had lot of issue of red plating. I am happy with DG. Sorry i do not have experiences in my system.
Regards.
The Linlai E 845 is the best from line , comparing to Psvane Acme 845 are the same level but different in sound character , assuming because of molybdenum plate .The 845 Elite according to someone is like the sunrise refreshing , the Psvane like sunset lots of micro detail ,nuances . I do not have the Elit 845 but i have heard in one friend system ,it is better comparing to DG in nuances micro details but depend of system , it might be to analytical with cd player . The difference might be not so big comparing to DG . If my budget would not be issue I would chose Elite. ...or Psvane Acme but acme had lot of issue of red plating. I am happy with DG. Sorry i do not have experiences in my system.
Regards.
Hi Kende,
Thank you for sharing your insights (and coincidentally covering all the tubes that I'm interested in, which includes the Psvane ACME 845, Linlai 845 DG and 845 E).
I also read a lot about Psvane ACME series having quality issues, including red plating (which the factory has now included a note saying this is to be expected, which I'm half convinced). The Linlai E-845 is moly plate which I'm very interested in. And thanks for noting that Linlai E-845 is NOT a no-brainer compared to the Linlai 845 DG (i.e. may not synergize with the system that is already over-analytical).
As my sources are quite balanced (not leaning over critical), seems like E-845 would be a nice candidate.
Do you think there are any benefits of 845 DG over E-845, besides being less analytical in some over analytical systems and lower price? Conversely, are there anything of the E-845 that betters the 845 DG besides having more micro details? e.g. quality, reliability, soundstage, imaging, inner detail, tonal balance, timbre, impact, red-plating etc
Also would E-845 sound cold (vs Psvane ACME 845 sounding warm)?
My Junone 845s comes with Psvane 845 Hifi series (shiny gold color base), which some say are quite good for its price. Should I expect substantial gains by upgrading the 845 tubes to some premium choices (or even a Shuguang 845B with no top mica like Amperex, or slightly more premium option such as the TJ Fullmusic 845SL big bottle/small bottle)?
Other tubes that the Junone 845s run include 300B in the driver stage (comes with Psvane WE300B, which I intend to keep using in the mean time as already belongs in the premium range), 12AX7 and 12AT7 in the input stages (comes with Psvane T-ii seriers triple mica). I've heard input stage tube rolling is very cost effective and brings substantial gains, so I have already purchased early 1960's Philips Heerlan ECC83 (which is purported the same as Amperex Holland ECC83, just different labels), and early 1960's Valvo Hamburg 6201 gold-pin (which is purported to be the same as the Philips 6201 SQ made by Valvo Hamburg, a drop in substitute for 12AT7).
Once again, thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. This is my first tube amplifier as I have been a solid state guy for years and first dipping into tubes so any advice would be appreciated.
PS: to share some of my own experience, I really like the 845 SET setup, after auditioning a few different tube setups such as 211 (Audio Note Jinro didn't do much for me, and sounds kind of thin, maybe due to the audition used Audio Note AN-E and Audio Note CD player 4.1), 300B (Audio Note Meishu Tonmeister, sounds even thinner and less impactful), Mastersound Evolution 845 (not bad, but bass was a little bloated, which may benefit from some tube rolling), Mastersound Compact 845 (quite good, more balanced than Evolution 845, and maybe because the Compact 845 is a SET amp instead of a PSET in the Evolution 845), Unison Research S8 (really made an impression on me, but the used unit had noise/hum on one channel, so didn't want to risk it by getting a tech to fix it given I'm rather new to tube gear), Unison Research Sinfonia 25th Anniversary and S6 Black edition (sounds like solid state to me, and didn't give me the goose bumps like the S8 did).
FYI, I'm buying the Junone 845S online (blind-buying) but from what I gather on the internet's reviews and user experience, seems to gel with my speakers (JBL 4367 94db 6ohms nominal).
Lastly, what gear do you use?
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Hi jmaktai
Since your driving tubes will be 300 b I am assuming will go well with 845 Elite , because the driving tubes can have effect on the sound too , at least in my case . I have a Line Magnetic 518IA , set . when I changed the driving tube from the stock one with 7581a tung sol the clarity and tighter bass was audible.Also the preamp tubes can tailor the sound. If budget no problem I would go with 845 Elite. My next purchase will be the Elite .
I have an old 40 year Sony CDP 333 ESD player modified NOS (not over sampling) and with tube output 6N2P -EB rusian tubes. The dac side has the Philips TDA 1541 chip. Because all the mods done is closer to analog sound . The speakers are Full range coaxial 2 way , Coherent audio gr 10 , 94db 8ohms.(Canadian made) . I bought the linlai from trusted seller , no issue since and fast and safe shipping and good price too. Some site states that on Linlai Global site the tubes are for European market and different than the rest of Linlai Elite without the logo Global. I think is just marketing BS. The price also is better on this site . You will decide . I send you the website .https://www.hifi-amplifiers.com/en/linlai-electronic-tube-valve-c-131/ Good luck and enjoy the amp. Do not judge to early the tubes. They need at least 200 hours to burn in.
Regards.
Since your driving tubes will be 300 b I am assuming will go well with 845 Elite , because the driving tubes can have effect on the sound too , at least in my case . I have a Line Magnetic 518IA , set . when I changed the driving tube from the stock one with 7581a tung sol the clarity and tighter bass was audible.Also the preamp tubes can tailor the sound. If budget no problem I would go with 845 Elite. My next purchase will be the Elite .
I have an old 40 year Sony CDP 333 ESD player modified NOS (not over sampling) and with tube output 6N2P -EB rusian tubes. The dac side has the Philips TDA 1541 chip. Because all the mods done is closer to analog sound . The speakers are Full range coaxial 2 way , Coherent audio gr 10 , 94db 8ohms.(Canadian made) . I bought the linlai from trusted seller , no issue since and fast and safe shipping and good price too. Some site states that on Linlai Global site the tubes are for European market and different than the rest of Linlai Elite without the logo Global. I think is just marketing BS. The price also is better on this site . You will decide . I send you the website .https://www.hifi-amplifiers.com/en/linlai-electronic-tube-valve-c-131/ Good luck and enjoy the amp. Do not judge to early the tubes. They need at least 200 hours to burn in.
Regards.
Thanks Kende for your sharing your experiences. I'll report back once I've had everything in place.
My DAC is also one of the more analog sounding ones (if you can call it that!) so great minds think alike and we have similar tastes - the main DAC is a Marantz Project D-1 which runs a pair of TDA 1541 S2, also have an Esoteric N-05 which runs two AK4490 chips for high res duties, and a Marantz SA-7S1 that runs SACD duties. Analog gig runs a pair of Phasmation EA-500 mono phono pre-amps with a Phasemation PP-1000. cartridge.
You can keep the 845 basic tube just for back up ,in case if you will have issue with Linlai Elite ,but i have doubt.Some time
I have in the preamp 12ax7 too,but i have switched to lower gain tung sol 5751 nos. My music mostly jazz, symphonic , some pop from 80, -90 mostly from Europe. some rock like Dire Straits, Pink floyd, Europe, Scorpions. I am Not fan of hard rock ,metal ,punk ,electronic, I can suggest you one recent pop kind of group ,good lyrics , music and excellent recording,one of the best to todays. They have LP ,and Cd too. very good even for demoing. They go under the name . Haevn . The last album Holy Ground the best.
The symphonic Tales are good too but with orchestra more lean. all their albums are good. here is the site.https://haevnmusic.com/
I am Hungarian living in Canada but i grove up there. When i bought the Line Magnetic 518 also i bought without to listen in live.
Regards.
I have in the preamp 12ax7 too,but i have switched to lower gain tung sol 5751 nos. My music mostly jazz, symphonic , some pop from 80, -90 mostly from Europe. some rock like Dire Straits, Pink floyd, Europe, Scorpions. I am Not fan of hard rock ,metal ,punk ,electronic, I can suggest you one recent pop kind of group ,good lyrics , music and excellent recording,one of the best to todays. They have LP ,and Cd too. very good even for demoing. They go under the name . Haevn . The last album Holy Ground the best.
The symphonic Tales are good too but with orchestra more lean. all their albums are good. here is the site.https://haevnmusic.com/
I am Hungarian living in Canada but i grove up there. When i bought the Line Magnetic 518 also i bought without to listen in live.
Regards.
We have similar tastes in music genres too! I will check out Haevn for sure! Always looking to broaden my musical spectrum.
Also curious if you have ever tried using an active or passive preamplifier connected to the pre-in of the Line Magnetic 518? I'm a little curious whether by improving the volume control in the system via the use of a passive preamp will benefit the transparency. But at the same time, I'm heard the preamp section of the Line Magnetic 518 (or my Junone 845s) is actually quite good. And given I've invested on nice NOS 12AX7 and 12AT7, by using a passive pre, the integrated will bypass these signal tubes? Do you know if you Line Magnetic 518 uses Alps Blue Velvet volume control? I've seen some Line Magnetic factory tour videos on youtube and there was a technician working on the Alps Blue Velvet. If yours is also Alps Blue Velvet, then it may not warrant an upgrade to something like a stepped attenuator say from Hattor Audio, as I heard Blue Velvet is already quite nice (some uber expensive amps also use Blue velvet like FM Acoustic preamps, though there are higher models from Alps say RK-50).
Another concern is the impedance matching. My Junone 845S has input impedence of 100k ohm when using line in, but only 10k ohm when using pre-in, which is not very high. I think Hattor Audio's purely passive preamp is 10k (?) ohm so not sure how that would gel with my amp. One option is to use Hattor Audio's passive preamp + the active buffer option (either OPA2134 or Staccato), but that may color the sound in an unknown direction. Other passive preamps from say Phasemation CM-1500/CM-2000/CM-2200 call themselves hybrid passive preamps and does lower the passive out's impedance to say 250-500 ohm levels, but those are quite expensive. Dilemma!
Also curious if you have ever tried using an active or passive preamplifier connected to the pre-in of the Line Magnetic 518? I'm a little curious whether by improving the volume control in the system via the use of a passive preamp will benefit the transparency. But at the same time, I'm heard the preamp section of the Line Magnetic 518 (or my Junone 845s) is actually quite good. And given I've invested on nice NOS 12AX7 and 12AT7, by using a passive pre, the integrated will bypass these signal tubes? Do you know if you Line Magnetic 518 uses Alps Blue Velvet volume control? I've seen some Line Magnetic factory tour videos on youtube and there was a technician working on the Alps Blue Velvet. If yours is also Alps Blue Velvet, then it may not warrant an upgrade to something like a stepped attenuator say from Hattor Audio, as I heard Blue Velvet is already quite nice (some uber expensive amps also use Blue velvet like FM Acoustic preamps, though there are higher models from Alps say RK-50).
Another concern is the impedance matching. My Junone 845S has input impedence of 100k ohm when using line in, but only 10k ohm when using pre-in, which is not very high. I think Hattor Audio's purely passive preamp is 10k (?) ohm so not sure how that would gel with my amp. One option is to use Hattor Audio's passive preamp + the active buffer option (either OPA2134 or Staccato), but that may color the sound in an unknown direction. Other passive preamps from say Phasemation CM-1500/CM-2000/CM-2200 call themselves hybrid passive preamps and does lower the passive out's impedance to say 250-500 ohm levels, but those are quite expensive. Dilemma!
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Hi
The line Magnetic preamp section it is not realy bypass the signal tubes, you can use passive or active preamp but the signal still goes trough the tubes.Mine has the Alp velvet ,i do not know if is the blue. My amp has no more warranty because i did some capacitor change in the signal path. i replaced the mundorf caps ,with jupiter cooper , and duelund cast pio . regarding the preamp ,yes I have in plan to use passive preamp from Arik but the cheaper line the Khozmo. Arik allready gave me a cote. Get in contact with Arik and give him all the info regarding the amplifier , speaker and cd player impendance so on. He can tailor the preamp to be the best as possible to mach the system .He recommended the best option.Khozmo and Hathor has good reviews.Khozmo and Hathor is made by the same guy Arek. .https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/khozmo-acoustic-passive-preamplifier/
www.tannoyista.com
The line Magnetic preamp section it is not realy bypass the signal tubes, you can use passive or active preamp but the signal still goes trough the tubes.Mine has the Alp velvet ,i do not know if is the blue. My amp has no more warranty because i did some capacitor change in the signal path. i replaced the mundorf caps ,with jupiter cooper , and duelund cast pio . regarding the preamp ,yes I have in plan to use passive preamp from Arik but the cheaper line the Khozmo. Arik allready gave me a cote. Get in contact with Arik and give him all the info regarding the amplifier , speaker and cd player impendance so on. He can tailor the preamp to be the best as possible to mach the system .He recommended the best option.Khozmo and Hathor has good reviews.Khozmo and Hathor is made by the same guy Arek. .https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/khozmo-acoustic-passive-preamplifier/
The Khozmo 'Shunt Relay' Passive Preamplifier - Review
The Khozmo 'Shunt Relay' Passive preamplifier delivers audio for those who want the purist of audio. Handmade and Built with sound as the priority.
Yes he makes both the Khozmo and Hattor Audio products.Hi
The line Magnetic preamp section it is not realy bypass the signal tubes, you can use passive or active preamp but the signal still goes trough the tubes.Mine has the Alp velvet ,i do not know if is the blue. My amp has no more warranty because i did some capacitor change in the signal path. i replaced the mundorf caps ,with jupiter cooper , and duelund cast pio . regarding the preamp ,yes I have in plan to use passive preamp from Arik but the cheaper line the Khozmo. Arik allready gave me a cote. Get in contact with Arik and give him all the info regarding the amplifier , speaker and cd player impendance so on. He can tailor the preamp to be the best as possible to mach the system .He recommended the best option.Khozmo and Hathor has good reviews.Khozmo and Hathor is made by the same guy Arek. .https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/khozmo-acoustic-passive-preamplifier/
The Khozmo 'Shunt Relay' Passive Preamplifier - Review
The Khozmo 'Shunt Relay' Passive preamplifier delivers audio for those who want the purist of audio. Handmade and Built with sound as the priority.
Also if yours is an Alps Velvet, then most likely its the Blue Velvet (RK27), if it's Black then it's called Black Beauty (RK40).
Thanks Kingrex. I re-read the massive "Psvane Acme Series (new flagship series)" thread in which you were a great contributor in the discussions. It seems you had Psvane Acme 845 which you liked (but returned shortly after you noticed the red plating issue), then Linlai Elite E-845 (which eventually also rep plated), and then Elrog 845 (which also red plated and there was some back and forth between you and Thomas that maybe your amp specced hotter than other amps was the culprit). From your impressions in the thread, I recall you mentioned that Psvane Acme has more flesh, richer, and thicker tone than the Linlai E-845, which is also something that I think I'd like to have in my system too.
Alas, I've been deliberating back and forth between Linlai E-845, Linlai 845-DG, Psvane ACME 845 and it's so difficult to come to a conclusion. Since I can read Chinese, I may as well contribute to WBF on what I read from some Chinese forum. There was a guy who bought a Line Magnetic LM-219 Plus (the domestic version of the LM-845 Premium) and his experience on tube rolling. He mentioned swapping out the included JJ 12AX7 to 1950's Telefunken ECC83 ribbed plates yielded "20%" increase in performance. He didn't change the Shuguang 310A's that came with the LM as there aren't many options out there with Psvane being almost identical to the Shuguangs, and Western Electric's 310As weren't worth the cost. He did change the 300Bs to two options: (i) Linlai 300B-H which actually shrank the soundstage, highs/lows became turbid, details decreased; (ii) Psvane 300A which yielded a tiny and almost negligible improvement compared to the stock 300Bs. Lastly he changed his Shuguang 845s to Psvane Acme 845s without second thoughts, reasoning that they were the star in his amp. To his disappointment, they only yielded "5%" improvement (if the Tele ECC83s yielded "20%" improvement, using that as a comparative scale). His final conclusion was (i) 12AX7: must upgrade, (ii) 310A/300B: no need to upgrade, (iii) 845: upgrade to Acme 845 yielded slight improvement.
Here's the original review he posted: https://www.headphoneclub.com/thread-758179-1-1.html
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