LampizatOr Horizon - Tube Rolling Paradise

[Steve Williams]

 

[Steve Williams]

 

[Steve Williams]

So how did it sound......my only comment is you need to hear it in one's own system but this tube as well for my ears is also a game changer and won't need convincing that this become the rectifier of choice

where before the KR 5u4g was open and airy it sounded good but very polite in comparison to the Tak 274 B. There was such a fullness and a feeling of presence that I ran through all of my demo files and there was such a top to bottom clarity. The ambience gave me goose bumps and there were passages that I have yet to find a rectifier that can handle very deep bass. Specifically in the song Duende by Black Light Syndrome which I was introduced to about 20 years ago by KeithR at CES. Everyone stopped to listen to it wherever he played it


early in the track there is the solo bass guitar where he gets so low that I have found that that part always seemed better but never so tight that I could feel the air around the bass strings.......until now. I can honestly say that this rectifier has produced such a tightness to the bass that it was something that I have always felt lacking

Top end is exquisite and the mid bass to die for Compared to the KR 5u4g which is airy and beautiful but polite in comparison to the Takatsuki 274B. I understand finally why people have said to stop comparing, buy this tube and you're done This is a no holds barred sound. It just seems as if everything is there. The fact that there wasn't a hiccup when I played Duende made it obvious to me that this is a keeper

So present tube set

Triode: Thompson CSF open plate 5687
Pentode: KR KT88
Rectifier: Takatsuki 274B

This sound to my ears has everything for which I have been searching and all I can say is that my bet is this tube will be killer in any tube set used in the Horizon

 

[marty]

I have tried the following tubes and perfer the F2a Siemens

KT88 KR
KT 170 Tung Sol
EL 34
F2a SiemensView attachment 90544

Which EL34's have you tried?
Just curious- are you running balanced or single ended?

 

[wisnon]

Lukasz asked us all a question when he was at my house...."how is it that if all a rectifier does is take a sine wave and convert that signal to a flat line , why do they sound different. I don't have a clue but here I am in a tube rolling thread and trying to contribute.

Heating scheme and voltage drop.

 

[Steve Williams]

Thanks Norman ....for me it's my ears and this was immediately apparent

FWIW the bamboo box that the tube came in was so well manufactured with top and bottom so precise that it was like one of those puzzles where you have to figure how to open the box.

I know Lukasz advocated for leaving one's system on and I had been following that but now I understand when guys like alrainbow says his is turned off to preserve tube life. In this case I am going to do as Al does and turn on and turn off when done

 

[wisnon]

Thanks Norman ....for me it's my ears and this was immediately apparent

FWIW the bamboo box that the tube came in was so well manufactured with top and bottom so precise that it was like one of those puzzles where you have to figure how to open the box.

I know Lukasz advocated for leaving one's system on and I had been following that but now I understand when guys like alrainbow says his is turned off to preserve tube life. In this case I am going to do as Al does and turn on and turn off when done

I know the Tak. AlRainbow had it from 2018. Luxury packaging, but it kinda freaks me out as it seems like a coffin. LoL

The NOS WE 274b will give it a run for the money....but the Tak is imperious.

No, you should leave the Dac on, just swap out the Tak for an el cheapo tube recti or a SS recti that costs like $20. Don't leave the expensive Tak recti always running (at full power, unlike the other tubes).

 

[Steve Williams]

I know the Tak. AlRainbow had it from 2018. Luxury packaging, but it kinda freaks me out as it seems like a coffin. LoL

The NOS WE 274b will give it a run for the money....but the Tak is imperious.

No, you should leave the Dac on, just swap out the Tak for an el cheapo tube recti or a SS recti that costs like $20. Don't leave the expensive Tak recti always running (at full power, unlike the other tubes).

what about leaving on but muted

 

[Steve Williams]

I know the Tak. AlRainbow had it from 2018. Luxury packaging, but it kinda freaks me out as it seems like a coffin. LoL

The NOS WE 274b will give it a run for the money....but the Tak is imperious.

No, you should leave the Dac on, just swap out the Tak for an el cheapo tube recti or a SS recti that costs like $20. Don't leave the expensive Tak recti always running (at full power, unlike the other tubes).

Hi Norman

My search started at the WE but I bolted at the entry point which for a used tube with who knows how much life left was $2200

 

[wisnon]

what about leaving on but muted

Fine too. The other tubes run at 5-10% of rated capacity, while the recti runs at 100%. So you weigh the damage of hot and cold recycling with recti vs 100% full run while on. The equation is clear for the other tubes...pros and cons with the recti. Hence my compromise is a SS recti to keep the seat warm. LoL

 

[wisnon]

Hi Norman

My search started at the WE but I bolted at the entry point which for a used tube with who knows how much life left was $2200

Cough, cough....no end to the price limit is there for WE. I recall 10 years ago when one could bet a pair of 300b for $600 lightly used.

 

[Steve Williams]

and just to be clear you can change a rectifier with amp off and DAC muted??

 

[wisnon]

and just to be clear you can change a rectifier with amp off and DAC muted??

Even with volume up and amp on, but I always MUTE out of an abundance of caution...no need to turn power amp off though, when the preamp and/or the Horizon is muted.

 

[dminches]

Does the trade-off between leaving it on and turning it off assume that one is listening to the DAC every day? What if you aren’t going to listen for 2-3 days?

 

[rau]

Which EL34's have you tried?
Just curious- are you running balanced or single ended?

Bal Mullard xf2

 

[rau]

Tried the TAK tonight still perfer the Tung Sol . But the TAK still bests the RK . I'll try WE NOS next week

 

[dminches]

The Tak has been my preferred rectifier in the Pacific.

 

[rau]

The Tak has been my preferred rectifier in the Pacific.

Did you ever try 5U4G Tung Sol ? Curious

 

[dminches]

Did you ever try 5U4G Tung Sol ? Curious

Funny, I have several but I am not sure I did. I still have my Pacific for several weeks so I will try it.

 

[Steve Williams]

The Tak has been my preferred rectifier in the Pacific.

Keep it for your Horizon rectifier. What I find important about it is nothing grabs my attention. Top to bottom linearity.