Very nice! Hope you get a chance to listen during the holidays.
Leben. Thinking something drastic here.
- Thread starter JohnVF
- Start date
airframer85
Active Member
Congrats!
Sound Dragon
Yawns and sets his couch on fire!
Congrats John. I am looking forward to a thorough write up.
just dave
vintage rules!
And I have to go BACK to Los Angeles on Wednesday. And I have some work function Tuesday night.
Damn it John you are holding this forum hostage, even I can't wait to here what this thing sounds like,get your priorities straight man!!!!!!!!:dammit:
Art K.
The Voodoo You Do!
Woo-hoo it works! And boy does it work. I'm kind of amazed at the sound that comes out of this little box. It's quite a bit smaller than the CS-600. It's kind of cute, actually. Reeks of quality. Everything has a nice solid feel to it.
What is even more surprising to me is how similar it sounds with the Harbeths to the Klyne/Levinson/Quad setup, which would seem to be a polar opposite way of getting there. Like that amp/preamp combo, it doesn't sound like its there in the path. Its a dynamic little bugger, more bass than I had thought it would have. I've only quickly scanned two CDs worth of songs, and already I can tell that I'm going to love it. Imaging is outstanding. Vocals are the best I've heard here. While it gives up a certain sense of scale to the Levinson/Klyne, it makes up for it in a certain tangibility to what is there. Without going into syrupy too-tubey land. Can't say that it sounds like tubes or solid state. It just sounds good.
Ok, I need to clean up the stereo-mess that I made hurriedly shoving it in a system. More to come. I'll listen to it while I configure all the gain settings on the Klyne.
What is even more surprising to me is how similar it sounds with the Harbeths to the Klyne/Levinson/Quad setup, which would seem to be a polar opposite way of getting there. Like that amp/preamp combo, it doesn't sound like its there in the path. Its a dynamic little bugger, more bass than I had thought it would have. I've only quickly scanned two CDs worth of songs, and already I can tell that I'm going to love it. Imaging is outstanding. Vocals are the best I've heard here. While it gives up a certain sense of scale to the Levinson/Klyne, it makes up for it in a certain tangibility to what is there. Without going into syrupy too-tubey land. Can't say that it sounds like tubes or solid state. It just sounds good.
Ok, I need to clean up the stereo-mess that I made hurriedly shoving it in a system. More to come. I'll listen to it while I configure all the gain settings on the Klyne.
Robie
Live it or live with it.
John, did you even hear the reindeer on the roof of your high rise (click, click, click as I recall)? Man, it doesn't get any better than this sounds like it's going to be (pun intended).
It would be really nice to be done with the "hunter gatherer thing", even though we all know it's the "journey". I'm hoping you find the combo of equipment that makes you forget about the equipment and just relax and listen to the music (can you do that?).
I expect a full report. Inquiring minds want to know!
It would be really nice to be done with the "hunter gatherer thing", even though we all know it's the "journey". I'm hoping you find the combo of equipment that makes you forget about the equipment and just relax and listen to the music (can you do that?).
I expect a full report. Inquiring minds want to know!
I will get a full report up at some point, hopefully soon. I was just getting ready to sit down to listen, and then Sabah called to meet her for dinner downtown at Elephant and Castle. But I'm back now.
I just set up the gain on the Klyne preamp and dragged my VPI across the room (it weighs about 60lbs)....very nice! I'll have to bring this thing over sometime. Or the Leben (its heavy but small).
The Klyne has a high frequency contour circuit in the phono stage, which is a bit daunting. I set it to bypass that whole mess right now until I can look up all the specs from my cartridge and do some math, and it sounds great.
The big surprise in all of this is how much I like this preamp. I'm glad I decided to have a big separates system and the Leben system with the little CS-300x instead of selling everything for the CS-600. The 300x sounds fantastic.
Thinking the Leben was a little bit bright on the Harbeths, at least how I had them set up in front of my Quads temporarily, I decided to try them in my second system, with the Sony SS-m7s.
Holy freakin' crap man. I keep looking over at it, seeing how small it is, and looking back at these speakers. Um....it sounds as good as my 400wpc Levinson did on these speakers (Levinson actually might sound better on the Harbeths, we'll see). I have only ever once heard these speakers sound this good and that was at an AK get together with another member's modified Dynaco MKIIIs. I'm not sure I want to move the Leben back to the Harbeths. And there is still the case of the Cabasses. They are in the bedroom and I don't feel like dragging them into this. yet.
It's quite literally a showdown here: I'm listening to Morricone's soundtrack work for various westerns. Right now the theme from For a Few Dollars More is playing. This is fun stuff for stereo evaluation. Well recorded, dynamic, lots of acoustic instruments to judge timbre by, and really fantastic soundstaging. Plus it's just really interesting music. This is fun.
I love this synergy thing.
Holy freakin' crap man. I keep looking over at it, seeing how small it is, and looking back at these speakers. Um....it sounds as good as my 400wpc Levinson did on these speakers (Levinson actually might sound better on the Harbeths, we'll see). I have only ever once heard these speakers sound this good and that was at an AK get together with another member's modified Dynaco MKIIIs. I'm not sure I want to move the Leben back to the Harbeths. And there is still the case of the Cabasses. They are in the bedroom and I don't feel like dragging them into this. yet.
It's quite literally a showdown here: I'm listening to Morricone's soundtrack work for various westerns. Right now the theme from For a Few Dollars More is playing. This is fun stuff for stereo evaluation. Well recorded, dynamic, lots of acoustic instruments to judge timbre by, and really fantastic soundstaging. Plus it's just really interesting music. This is fun.
I love this synergy thing.
Cadillac Kid
Addicted Member
Awwww...it is sooo cuuuute!
Having been there that night, I'll attest that that's going to be a hard combo to beat.
Sure wish I could be there to witness this shootout, John. Knowing some of the competitors, this should be epic.
Ok, so some general comments. I've listened to several of my audition favorites on the Leben, but not on all of my systems. I don't feel like moving the Quads and my Harbeths are in dire need of different stands. So I'm using my Sony SS-m7s. Which is a huge surprise to me, as I didn't think this thing would have the grunt to open them up. It does. I was telling my girlfriend about it over dinner, as she names all the stereo gear, and I told her that she needed to come up with a name suggesting a lot of power in a small size. She said she'd have to see it first.
So...on the Sony SS-m7s. It sounds HUGE. Natural, effortless. Big big soundstage. Bass is very dynamic with just a hint of lack of definition (it is, afterall, 15wpc). But just a hint. The last time I really listened to music on these, they had a 400wpc Levinson 432 attached to them. I honestly like this combo better. The Marantz Reference/Levinson combo was really good. This just does something else. I can't put my finger on it. It just sounds better. I want to just say "more natural". This little thing gets timbre right.
Small interuption: my very large cat is sleeping beside me and he just farted silently. Smells REALLY bad. That is how relaxing the Leben sounds. It just makes you let go. You lose all control.
Ok, back to the remarks. Instruments in the soundstage are very defined, specifically placed without losing the bloom that I like in a lot of tube gear. In contrast to my Fisher 400c with my Dynaco, they're much more realistically placed and sized. The Fisher/Dynaco combination really kind of makes things larger than life. The Leben presents a soundstage that extends far beyond the sides of the speakers, out into the room, and behind them...but within it, instruments feel realistic. But overall it reminds a bit of that combination, with better highs, more transparency, and quieter background.
Remember, this is from just one night of listening...quick observations.
Midrange is exceptional. I would say that honestly, its the best I've heard in anything I've had. The new Klyne with the Levinson might be very similar, but I've not really listened to it at length. I checked out the phono stage in the Klyne then moved the Leben to this system, and got sucked into it. I meant to sit for one song, and have sat through this very long album twice. That is the BEST indicator of all. And it just ended so we're going for the 3rd play.
I'm listening to Ennio Morricone's Legendary Italian Westerns compilation.
http://www.amazon.com/Legendary-Italian-Westerns-Ennio-Morricone/dp/B000002WE1
FWIW, my girlfriend named my Fender Jaguar Ennio..so that name's taken.
I'm not sure what else to write at the moment. It sounds as good as everybody says it does. I was impressed on the Harbeths, in a not-ideal setup. I am quite blown away by it on the Sony SS-m7s.
Source gear in the Sony system is a Marantz SA-11s2 CD player. Cabling is Nordost Blue Heaven. Speaker cable is a very long run of audioquest something or other off of a spool at Magnolia. I guess I could dig out my fancy AQ Pikes Peak bi-wire cables but I'd have to move the amp closer to the speakers, and this was about simplifying things. I don't want to move it closer. It sounds great 10' away with 20' of speaker cable attached to it. I really should shorten these cables....but they were the right color to blend into the carpet so that's why they're here in the living room system. And I have a bit of a reputation as an audiophool? I match my speaker cable to my carpet!
So I've rambled on and now I'm going to listen. I can't believe this thread has gone 374 posts. It's been a fun ride. I am so happy with this thing its ridiculous. It even smells nice. That was mentioned in a review and the reviewer was right. It has a strange but awesome smell to it....like tubes and wood and new car smell rolled into one.
Well...I've decided on no big gear shootout. A speaker shootout will come, but it is plainly obvious that this thing sounds better than everything here except the Klyne/Levinson combination. And it's on par with that, just different in a few areas. I have a pair of MKIIIs but one of them is down. I might get them modded like those we heard that night.
It really is.
On to some Bonnie Prince Billy, and a mix I made in 2002. To hear how far the stereo has come since the BOTL Denon HT receiver and NHT SuperOnes I had back then (the NHTs were pretty nice actually).
So...on the Sony SS-m7s. It sounds HUGE. Natural, effortless. Big big soundstage. Bass is very dynamic with just a hint of lack of definition (it is, afterall, 15wpc). But just a hint. The last time I really listened to music on these, they had a 400wpc Levinson 432 attached to them. I honestly like this combo better. The Marantz Reference/Levinson combo was really good. This just does something else. I can't put my finger on it. It just sounds better. I want to just say "more natural". This little thing gets timbre right.
Small interuption: my very large cat is sleeping beside me and he just farted silently. Smells REALLY bad. That is how relaxing the Leben sounds. It just makes you let go. You lose all control.
Ok, back to the remarks. Instruments in the soundstage are very defined, specifically placed without losing the bloom that I like in a lot of tube gear. In contrast to my Fisher 400c with my Dynaco, they're much more realistically placed and sized. The Fisher/Dynaco combination really kind of makes things larger than life. The Leben presents a soundstage that extends far beyond the sides of the speakers, out into the room, and behind them...but within it, instruments feel realistic. But overall it reminds a bit of that combination, with better highs, more transparency, and quieter background.
Remember, this is from just one night of listening...quick observations.
Midrange is exceptional. I would say that honestly, its the best I've heard in anything I've had. The new Klyne with the Levinson might be very similar, but I've not really listened to it at length. I checked out the phono stage in the Klyne then moved the Leben to this system, and got sucked into it. I meant to sit for one song, and have sat through this very long album twice. That is the BEST indicator of all. And it just ended so we're going for the 3rd play.
I'm listening to Ennio Morricone's Legendary Italian Westerns compilation.
http://www.amazon.com/Legendary-Italian-Westerns-Ennio-Morricone/dp/B000002WE1
FWIW, my girlfriend named my Fender Jaguar Ennio..so that name's taken.
I'm not sure what else to write at the moment. It sounds as good as everybody says it does. I was impressed on the Harbeths, in a not-ideal setup. I am quite blown away by it on the Sony SS-m7s.
Source gear in the Sony system is a Marantz SA-11s2 CD player. Cabling is Nordost Blue Heaven. Speaker cable is a very long run of audioquest something or other off of a spool at Magnolia. I guess I could dig out my fancy AQ Pikes Peak bi-wire cables but I'd have to move the amp closer to the speakers, and this was about simplifying things. I don't want to move it closer. It sounds great 10' away with 20' of speaker cable attached to it. I really should shorten these cables....but they were the right color to blend into the carpet so that's why they're here in the living room system. And I have a bit of a reputation as an audiophool? I match my speaker cable to my carpet!
So I've rambled on and now I'm going to listen. I can't believe this thread has gone 374 posts. It's been a fun ride. I am so happy with this thing its ridiculous. It even smells nice. That was mentioned in a review and the reviewer was right. It has a strange but awesome smell to it....like tubes and wood and new car smell rolled into one.
Well...I've decided on no big gear shootout. A speaker shootout will come, but it is plainly obvious that this thing sounds better than everything here except the Klyne/Levinson combination. And it's on par with that, just different in a few areas. I have a pair of MKIIIs but one of them is down. I might get them modded like those we heard that night.
It really is.
On to some Bonnie Prince Billy, and a mix I made in 2002. To hear how far the stereo has come since the BOTL Denon HT receiver and NHT SuperOnes I had back then (the NHTs were pretty nice actually).
Interesting, I bought a pair of modified MKIIIs a while back, power supply and input board upgrades IIRC. Haven't got them yet, but I'm curious as to how they stack up.
I liked mine on my Diatone speakers. Then I lost a tube, or something, and they went into the 'fix' line. The modded ones I heard were awesome. Everybody that heard the MkIII/Sony SS-m7 combo really seemed to dig it.
I can't believe this much sound, of this quality, comes from this little shoebox of an amp.
Frank Sol
Lunatic Member
BrokenHill
Well-Known Member
That is a very nice little EL84 tube integrated amplifier, I was looking at the pictures
of the underside of the amp at > http://lebenhifi.com/products/cs300xs.html
and I really like the way the manufacture built the unit, keeping it simple helps for a
better soundstage.
Those 15 watts from a EL84 PP tube amp can be a wonderful and most pleasurable
experience.:thmbsp:
of the underside of the amp at > http://lebenhifi.com/products/cs300xs.html
and I really like the way the manufacture built the unit, keeping it simple helps for a
better soundstage.
Those 15 watts from a EL84 PP tube amp can be a wonderful and most pleasurable
experience.:thmbsp: