Laconic Lab Night Blues Tube Transformer Coupled Amp

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by purr1n, Jan 12, 2016.

  1. MattRG

    MattRG Facebook Friend

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    Shortly after purchasing the NBM I went on Ebay and found some of the 6J1P-EV driver tubes, specifically ones made in the 1960's. I thought I read this auction as being for 12 tubes but no, it turns out it was for 12 PAIRS of tubes!
    [​IMG]

    As you can see, I had a little party opening all of the tape and foam cocoon's that the tube pairs shipped in. All of this bounty cost about $38 dollars US shipped from the Ukraine. Most of the tubes are from 1966 - 1969 but a few were from 1960 and 1962. The two you see on the far right are both labeled II / 60 (which I am guessing is Feb. of 1960). They have the exact same graphics and markings but were not packed together - I had to go through and check all the date codes before I noticed that not only were those two the oldest they also had the same codes. Good find there!

    The matched tubes in my NBM are from the early 70's (although it also shipped with a mid 80's pair and I believe the 1980's vintage are the most commonly received with this amp) so of course I was curious what the difference would be and immediately plugged them in. First impressions: WIIIIDE soundstage! Definitely wider than before. What a nice and surprising improvement!

    My perception is that this pair is also quieter and has a blacker background than the original, matched pair but I am not going to swear to it until I have more time to listen. At any rate, this pair is a keeper for the soundstage improvement if nothing else.

    For anyone else out there with a NBM it might be worth it to sniff out a few pair of older, 1960's tubes just to see if you get a positive result. They are certainly cheap and plentiful (and yes I remember that @Marvey discouraged tube rolling in this amp) so it is a very minimal investment.
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2017
  2. MattRG

    MattRG Facebook Friend

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    Update on the new tubes: They are Svetlana tubes (with the "winged C" logo) as opposed to the Voshkod that ships with the amp. I knew the graphics on the tube were different but until yesterday hadn't looked further in to it. The Svetlana tubes are smoother and more euphonic sounding and very much my preference over the stock tubes which almost sound solid state to my ears.
     
  3. hackmac28

    hackmac28 New

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    In case someone's interested - I'm travelling to France in 3 weeks time from Moscow, Russia. I have several amps, all with 220v input.

    1. Laconic Night Blues NB-3A - 500 EUR + shipping cost
    2. Laconic Night Blues Mini - 350 EUR + shipping cost
    3. Laconic Zana Deux Micro HA-08 - 300 EUR + shipping cost

    From France it will be slightly easier to send, than from Russia.
     
  4. powermatic

    powermatic Friend

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    Sounds great! I could only feel safer sending my money to a one-post rando if the amps were coming from Nigeria.
     
  5. hackmac28

    hackmac28 New

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    Well, I understand your concern. I can upload the amps to ebay if this helps to overcome the trust issue.
     
  6. powermatic

    powermatic Friend

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    I'm not sure how applicable the ebay sales plan is to posting here, but step 1 for the trust issue would be to read this:

    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/must-read-for-new-members.3/

    and then introduce yourself here:

    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/new-members-introduce-yourself.17/

    This is a great site, but it's important to start out on the right foot. Saying that:

    welcome aboard.
     
  7. hackmac28

    hackmac28 New

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    Thanks, I've followed your recommendation.
     
  8. allegro

    allegro Friend

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    These are now being sold on eBay for $515 from Russia, listing notes shipping usually 40-50 days to USA but also says "Express EMS shipping can be arranged, ask the quote please, starts from 50$."
     
  9. JimL

    JimL Tongues KG's hairy starfish for fun

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    Hmm, besides costing more than the Massdrop, they do not specifically mention what AC voltage they are made for (although the pictures show 220VAC), In addition, the 97.2% positive feedback is on the low side for an eBay seller with > 1000 feedbacks.
     
  10. bilboda

    bilboda Florida boomer

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    Put a LNBM into the rotation today. Other amps are the phonitor e and the Crack/Speedball with minor tweaks. Headphones are the Verite and HD650k+.
    With the Senns, the LNBM has more resolution, sound of the Crack is not too far off but drum hits and their reverb are much better on the LNMB. Crack seems a little hazy in comparison.
    The Verite have more detail with all 3 amps. Those drum hits are clearer, the echo better extended on the LNBM. On the phontor e the drum strikes are incredibly distinct but the echo is more controlled ending clearly in space, the LNBM lingers a bit. Crack is out of the running here as both p e and lnmb out perform it, even though it sounds great, I get more from the LNMB and phonitor e
    Vocals have more authority and beauty? with the LNBM, sound stage is more closed in but very comfortably so,
    LNBM is equally enjoyable with the phontor e. Glad I have it.
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2019

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