The Valab LCR-1 Phono Stage Arrived Today.

Pigs also eat shit but I don't think it is their majority dietary intake. The pigs here all seem to have good heads and good ears.
 
Those are bogan pigs.... You get bogans in every race. Please don't define us by the worst of our kind. That's kind of like saying some men are into some sick stuff, therefore all men are filthy perverts.... Or some goats are sooks and faint all the time, therefore all goats are sooks. Simply not true. Poor fainting goats though :(
 
From my little bit of experience with the Valab company they do a nice job, esp with value for your dollar. I owned the 4395 Platinum DAC, very good for the bucks. Interested to see how the LCR-1 finishes. I've looked recently at their interconnects and power cords.
 
5 AM in Vancouver and my eyes are barely open ... Mr. Pig has likely been up all night spinning. If anyone can pull a gem out of the mud it's him. I've been trying to do some reading on the Valab LCR-1 and I'm not coming up with a whole lot. Throw on some James Gang and let her rip! Break-in is no myth ... some capacitors decrease in value (depending on the dielectric) in a logarithmic fashion. Back in the day, I worked designing and building ceramic caps and the high tolerance caps would always get burned in and then re-tested to ensure they would hold their value. Most of the circuit designers would design with this change in mind. It was between 100 and 1000 hours that most of the ceramic caps locked into their value. Not sure about electrolytic caps but I imagine its a similar decay in value.

Go get a bottle of champagne and at 100 hours, pop the cork - there is much joy headed your way!
 
Mark Levinson burned in their components back when he owned the company. It wasn't to affect change in SQ so much as to guarantee that they met performance tolerances over the long term. Sonic changes from burn-in occur in the user's home over time when the component is left on continuously.

Not to start the old debate about burn-in, but if the difference is that dramatic why wouldn't a manufacturer run their gear for a few hours as part of the QC process. Maybe some do this?
 
One thing I will say is that it is important to pay attention to the gain structure of the analog chain. One thing I noticed last night is that my Ortofon Winfeld sounded its best at the 62 dB gain setting versus the lower ones. This is a cartridge with .3 mV output, and so it has noticeably more output than other cartridges I have run at this gain setting previously, some of which have been down to the .18 mV level. Yet if I try a lower gain setting with the Winfeld, and add a bit more volume knob on the Musical Fidelity to get to the level I want, the sound is tonally bland, and the dynamics are anemic.

Now when I get to 62 dB the sound opens up, and things now sound right. I have not inserted the higher gain settings yet to see what happens. I will get to that shortly, and then have a better idea of what is possible. Of course the question needs to be asked about how they are achieving the lower gain settings, or even how the highest levels are created. If it is just an insertion of a larger resistor for the lower levels, then there is still some circuit break in that needs to happen at each gain level. So its just not a matter of flipping a dip switch and saying this is the way it is.

I will say that when I had it hooked up to the SP 10 MK II/Riggle String Theory/ZYX 4D that I got some very sweet sounds. When I had it hooked up to the SP 10 MK II/SAEC 407/Koetsu Urushi Vermillion, the results were not as favorable. Not sure what is going on there, but I suspect the arm and cartridge are a less favorable pairing. Or perhaps I am not a Koetsu kind of pig. There are so many pieces of the chain involved in an analog system that I really hate to say what I think in short order. As changing one piece of the chain may result in a totally different outcome.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
While I'm sure that with endless amounts of time a resources someone could sort out why the interactions between the components in the initial stages of the chain behave as they do they really are so complex that apart from getting the parameters matched it ends up being trial and error.
 
There's also burning in your brain for new components - at least personally I've noticed unless the leap in quality is fairly clear (and sometimes even when it is), my ears most times initially prefer the old and familiar, it is after all that set of compromises and distortions your brain has learnt to listen through. This is especially true for the parts of the signal chain where there's most deviation from the optimal, usually that'll mean cartridges and speakers in a vinyl setup. Phono stages to lesser degree, but I have no idea how big the change going to inductor based RIAA equalisation is. If there's something very fundamental about the sound that changes, even if the change is fairly subtle, it might take some getting used to.

Anyway following this with interest, I hope it works out well for you in the end.
 
I've found the same myself. The optimum gain to get the best from a cartridge gives me more volume than I can achieve through my digital chain.
 
I agree; based on various systems that have multiple gain stages the gain relationship between stages is critical ... in pro sound, you have attenuation/gain on each level of a multiple stage amplification system - if one stage is driven past the point of "balance" for lack of a better term; the following stages can then attenuate the signal; the final result being the same output but a sound quality can seem overdriven or "pushed" as I have heard it referred to. We have been setting up several small bands where I work. We have a sound guy that has about 30 years experience and he is highly regarded in the local area. I have helped him set up from time to time and have started asking questions. A lot of what he has shown me makes perfect sense - you don't overdrive the mic stages and turn down the mains. It's better to find the "magic spot" especially close to the input and boost or cut volume at the end (main amps). I'm just a casual observer - but I think Mr. Pig makes a very valid point: A change to one piece in this delicate chain, can make or break the final result. There are many here with lots of pro sound experience, I'd love to hear their thoughts. To that, I would add ... when you start with a fraction of a millivolt - it's a long way to the top if you want to rock & roll.

Gimmy a break, it's Friday night and it's been a tough week.

PS By now Mr. Pig has been jamming for 15 straight hours ... time for some CCR and a Red Hook

Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!
 
Keeping the gain high - but not too high - in playback is a good idea for the same reason it is in recording...higher SNR and dynamic range.
 
So I have been spending a good bit of time listening to it, and comparing it against my Liberty phono stage.

There are a lot of positive attributes about this phono stage, as it images really well, the top end is remarkably detailed, and it has remarkable focus.

With that said, what I did find is that the upper mids is noticeably forward in my system, and the JBL are pretty unforgiving monitors, at least in this region. I spent a bit of time pairing it with a more forgiving cartridge, such as my ZYX, and I also worked through a few interconnects to see if I could find a favorable pairing. I was able to shade the sound to a certain degree, but this basic characteristic of the upper mids still comes through.

So for me this is a pairing that will not work. I certainly see the value of this piece, and certain types of systems I bet its the cats meow. But with the nature of the studio monitors, and using a hybrid SS/tube integrated, the pairing is just not quite there.

So I am going to work this a bit more, but I have gone through quite a few permutations of analog pieces I have here, and I don't think this is a piece that is going to work for me. But hey, I am a picky pig, and the little things matter to me.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
I'd be leaving it turned on a good month first Mr Pig. Mine is still breaking in and I never turn it off. It does eventually begin to settle down. It has a long burn in time though. I don't think you've given it enough time when mine continues to improve after months of use....

I daresay my amp and speaker choice is very different to yours though it does continue to improve even so. It is a loooong burn in time on the LCR-1 though..... Longer than any other piece of gear I've ever owned. I'd urge you to leave it turned on for at least a month and revisit it.
 
Last edited:
I'd be leaving it turned on a good month first Mr Pig. Mine is still breaking in and I never turn it off. It does eventually begin to settle down. It has a long burn in time though.

I never turn my SS gear off either. I estimate over 150 hours in terms of listening. Now I do accept the idea of burn in, but going significantly over that and seeing meaningful change is not something I agree with. More along the lines of getting used to a sound, or hearing what you want to hear. In every piece of electronics I have owned, a 100 hours has been way more than sufficient, I see no reason why it would be different here.

I can see this working in a lot of systems, just unfortunately not mine.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
So I have been spending a good bit of time listening to it, and comparing it against my Liberty phono stage.

There are a lot of positive attributes about this phono stage, as it images really well, the top end is remarkably detailed, and it has remarkable focus.

With that said, what I did find is that the upper mids is noticeably forward in my system, and the JBL are pretty unforgiving monitors, at least in this region. I spent a bit of time pairing it with a more forgiving cartridge, such as my ZYX, and I also worked through a few interconnects to see if I could find a favorable pairing. I was able to shade the sound to a certain degree, but this basic characteristic of the upper mids still comes through.

So for me this is a pairing that will not work. I certainly see the value of this piece, and certain types of systems I bet its the cats meow. But with the nature of the studio monitors, and using a hybrid SS/tube integrated, the pairing is just not quite there.

So I am going to work this a bit more, but I have gone through quite a few permutations of analog pieces I have here, and I don't think this is a piece that is going to work for me. But hey, I am a picky pig, and the little things matter to me.

Regards
Mister Pig
That is a bandwidth that is really sensitive, both in terms of speakers and hearing. I know I went through about six tube sets to calm that range in my phono pre a few years ago as it was just not quite right to my ears.
 
I'd be leaving it turned on a good month first Mr Pig. Mine is still breaking in and I never turn it off. It does eventually begin to settle down. It has a long burn in time though. I don't think you've given it enough time when mine continues to improve after months of use....

I daresay my amp and speaker choice is very different to yours though it does continue to improve even so. It is a loooong burn in time on the LCR-1 though..... Longer than any other piece of gear I've ever owned. I'd urge you to leave it turned on for at least a month and revisit it.

I can hear what the pig is describing . I have had mine for 3 weeks it has improved but the upper mid forward is there .In my system I can tolerate it . I know some products take longer to break in then others. Time will tell .
 
Might work so well in my system due to a tube integrated amp.... The Aurum Cantus F620 speakers are incredibly revealing though probably nothing like your JBL's. I don't know, works beautifully in this system and I preferred it over my Marantz 7 circuit based Sheer Audio MM-88. Totally different sound though.
 
Back
Top Bottom