LINE MAGNETIC LM-88IA upgrade to LM-150IA

[ajitmoses]

On 12/24/2020 at 1:33 PM, luvmusic77 said:

Have you listen before to those LM amp based on Western electric design?

No mate. I have only had the LM-88 and now the LM-150. Those WE based designs im sure sound magical but it has zero WAF so unlikely, there will be one in my house. Hahaha

[luvmusic77]

On 12/30/2020 at 6:53 PM, ajitmoses said:

No mate. I have only had the LM-88 and now the LM-150. Those WE based designs im sure sound magical but it has zero WAF so unlikely, there will be one in my house. Hahaha

Lol, ugly ducking but sweet sounding I agree and beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. I thought my minister of home affair will hate it when I secretly brought the amp back home. To my surprise, she was ok and through retro is the new trend.

Nice reviews！After trying few tube setups, LM is one of more affordable yet musical amp that truly value for money. I was more impressed by it than the more expensive Japanese Brand’s that I have owned and heard.

 

bro, imho you owe it yourself to compare and listen to WE clones. Met few bro there who were so hardcore into the WE LM... but it was like 3 years ago. Go pester Robert!

 

[bintandream]

On 12/30/2020 at 6:46 PM, ajitmoses said:

So here is part two of my LM journey. After a 3 month wait, The amp was finally delivered by Robert Lai and immediately it made a big visual splash. There is something about the big tubes and those Vu Meters. A lot like the red sox and their pin stripes! Quickly fired the bad boy and there was immediately a difference in how this sounded differently to the LM88. The LM88 was warmer(tubey) and the LM150 sounded more neutral maybe with a hint of warmth overall. I did not want to do any critical listening whatsoever and wanted to give the amp good time to settle in. Played it for about 8 hours a day at low volumes and every now and then id play one or two tracks at a loud volume and I would smile and go back to do other things. No amp ever has sounded so good for me out of the box. Upon checking with Robert, the amp was run in for about 50 hours so that explains. I had no doubts in my mind that this amp is the best match for my speakers so that gave me a big relief and I was not ready for another dance with a new amp.

 

So this amp is not a stock LM amp. There has been some mods that is done which is part of an upgrade package that the SG dealer offers. Upgrades include Mundorf Power Capacitors, Vishay Resistors, Mundorf Silver Gold Oil, Furutec Cryogenic Rhodium AC inlet, etc. The amp also is rated for 230V which is what SG uses. The amp comes with Psvane 12AX7 T series Mark II as stock. All other tubes are the same as the ones that are listed on the website. I was also advised to change the 6SN7 to the PSVANE CV-181 TII which are expected to reach me next week.

 

150 Hours:

 

So once I did about 150 hours, I got into a reviewer mode and I was stress testing the amp to make sure that it can do the things I want it to do. 

 

So let me first list out the things that this amp is not.

 

1. It is not a dreamy, syrupy romantic amp which is usually described with tube amps.
2. It will not make bad recordings sound good.
3. Even though it has 100 tube watts, it will not better a solid state amp in the tightness of the bass so the best of both worlds analogy should be taken with a pinch of salt. 
4. This won’t glow like most other Tube Amps. I am stating this because for many the glow is a big appeal. 

 

And what will be your first impressions

 

1. The LM88 could throw a pretty wide sound stage by itself but the LM150 went much wider. It is also the function of the speaker so if your speaker can keep up then you are in for a treat. I also found the sound stage to be taller.
2. Resolution is intense. Like it picks up the minutest of things. It is really a special feeling when you hear something new in a track that you have been hearing for a long time. It was always there but this amp just presents it to you and then you cannot just unhear it. In billie Jean, you can clearly count the number of times MJ is snapping his fingers throughout the track. 
3. Big Sound – This amp sounds powerful. It sounds big. Everything is life like or even bigger whether it is something you want or not is your choice. The sound just surrounds you. In HFO by Eagles, when the audience claps, you get a feeling that the crowd is clapping from behind you. I have not heard this before anywhere. 
4. Fluid – The amp is super fluid. The music just flows fast. The dynamics are just insane. Even the micro dynamic swings are so easily picked up. It can keep up with Master of Puppets by Metallica.  Foot Tapping guaranteed once you set up the entire chain as per your liking. I found that the power cable made a difference with this amp than the rest of my amps. 
5. Slam – This amp SLAMS hard. It hits you like a sledge hammer. It is not the most accurate bass which one might be used if you had a good solid state amp. The bass is rounded more like what a Mcintosh solid state amp produces. I honestly didn’t find it flabby. In fact, I feel this amp will put many SS amps to shame when it comes to slam.
6. Layering – This amp can layer very well. Each performer clearly has his place in the sound stage and it gives a good sense of distance. 

 

So if I were to break it down to how this amp performs in the diff ranges

 

Highs – The highs extend a lot more than the LM88. Treble is airy and detailed with no sense of harshness at the top. As I had mentioned previously, my wife is uber sensitive to anything that pierces her ear and not once did she ever say that the amp was bright or harsh. This one statement made a big difference for me as I know that if she doesn’t like what she is hearing, I am not going to be listening to music as much. 

 

Mids – Mids are very open. You can hear the air. The mid-range is rich and meaty but not necessarily warm or dark. It has a lot of clarity.  My wife said this amp is a vocalist’s dream. Vocals sound spectacular. Frank Sinatra and Leonard Cohen kind of vocals are surreal. 

 

Lows – The bass hits you hard. Round fat bass but not woolly or flabby. Does not have the tightness that you will get in some good SS amps. If you choice of music is EDM then clearly a tube amp is not going to cut it for you. 

 

Strings, Piano , Electric guitars – Sound Excellent. 

 

Percussion – It is not pin point accurate but for most people it would be acceptable. Some might prefer the fatter presentation of the drums. 

 

Heat: If you are new to tubes, how hot tubes get will be a big concern and I searched the internet but I could not find a simple answer. The LM88 with smaller tubes get hotter than the LM150 with the bigger tubes. If I had known this, I probably would have got the LM150 in the first place. With grills on, they are hot to touch but It won’t burn your pet or kid. I will recommend keeping the grill on at all times (it doesn’t affect the sound ) for the safety of your kid or pet. The LM805  on the other hand is just not meant to be kept within the reach of anyone who it can harm. 

 

LM150 vs 805 – This will all boil down to your speaker and living conditions (heat/safety) The 805 has a golden midrange that is very addictive. You can listen to any source material for hours and not feel tired. The LM150 has a different type of midrange but I can understand why people like the 805. The lows and highs are easily better on the 150. The 805 does not extend at both the extremes. It is the midrange king and it will play to that strength for hours and hours and it is addictive. With an easy to drive speaker, the 805 will be quite the winner but it surely has its restrictions. One cannot say one is better than the other and I guess that is why LM decided to price them exactly the same.

 

One might ask why go with a tube amp if you have a difficult speaker instead it is easier and cheaper to find a good solid state amp and I was on the same boat as well before I made the plunge. There are things no matter what you would like to imagine in your head, only a tube amp can do compared to a similarly priced SS amp. The 3d sound stage is effortless on a tube amp. The layering is much better on tubes. The low level details and the openness that tubes give is quite hard to get on similarly priced SS gear. This is not a SS vs Tube debate. SS have plenty of advantages as well and I’ve been with SS for the longest time. But the more I have heard this amp, I keep asking myself, will I got back to SS and if yes, will I have to spend a lot more? Please also remember that if you are first time tube user, then there is a cost involved. Tubes have to be replaced. Bigger the tubes, more they cost. The Total cost of ownership over a period of time will be much higher than SS so do factor all this in.

 

I hope this helps those entering the world of tubes for the first time or who are confused with the diff offerings of Line Magnetic. Picking the right LM amp for your speaker is very important. 

 

May the Glow be with You! 

 

Thanks for sharing your experience with LM.  I met the originators of the brand a few years back when I was traveling in Zhu Hai, CN.  Very grounded people and their execution of the WE Replicas was really as good as it gets.  Many people claim to replicate the WE circuits but few have been as fastidious in executing almost all aspects of the design language.  I personally think they did a great job.

 

The LM150ia is also something that I am very interested in.  Coming from both solid state and tube gear, I've heard very good things from those KT150 tubes when I compared my Audio Research Ref.75 (KT120) to my friends Ref.75SE (KT150).

 

I've also heard those ELAC Adantes before, they need some juice to open up but they truly are a serious bang for the buck.  The construction is excellent for the price and close inspection reveals thoughtful engineering.

 

Congrats on what I think is a great purchase.

 

Most LM gear allows the use of a pre-amp (via pre-in).  Maybe you could try and borrow a tube pre-amp just for the fun of it.  I think you'll be quite impressed.

[ajitmoses]

2 minutes ago, bintandream said:

The LM150ia is also something that I am very interested in.  Coming from both solid state and tube gear, I've heard very good things from those KT150 tubes when I compared my Audio Research Ref.75 (KT120) to my friends Ref.75SE (KT150).

You are more than welcome to come over for a listen. 

 

2 minutes ago, bintandream said:

Most LM gear allows the use of a pre-amp (via pre-in).  Maybe you could try and borrow a tube pre-amp just for the fun of it.  I think you'll be quite impressed.

Sadly, I have no more space on my rack for any more gear! haha. 

 

 

And yes, the Elac Adantes are great value. They punch way above what their cost indicates.

Edited May 31, 2021 by ajitmoses

[Jsen]

Perhaps you can consider this Amperex Bugle Boy, long plate *Foil D*Δ8L=1958* 12ax7 tube to improve the sound. I have the 12au7 & Ecc88 versions in my collection. Cheers.

Edited June 1, 2021 by Jsen

[BeroGO]

Hi! I am very interested in Adante AF-61. I am considering to buy a pair. Could you please describe how it sounds like compare to Dynaduio or Spendoe d7.2..

Thanks!