My Line Magnetic Saga: with a happy ending?!

[Guest The Fresh Prince]

Well. My Line Magnetic journey has certainly been long and twisty.

Firstly, massive props to @Grizzly, for trying his utmost to get things right for me!

Lucky for me, he lives in the Adelaide Hills.

Unlucky for him, that he lives in the Adelaide Hills- just because I know he his nearby, to help out!

 

I was looking for an amp that something a bit different to my other amps, and wanted to experiment with high powered SET to match with my Tannoy Cheviots

 

First up- I bought unseen, despite the offer of demoing. My bad.

 

The journey begins....

Tried the 805 integrated (48 W SET). Wow- heavy and hot.  First unit had a very noisy transformer buzz, so was taken straight back. Second unit sounded super, but a little too much noise in my system compounded by a ground loop that couldn't be resolved.

Just in case the noise was a fault, it went off to be looked at, and in the mean time I borrowed a KT88 integrated. Very impressive- but not "different" enough to keep me satisfied.

A hell of an amp for the money, though

 

Return of the 805...

No fault identified, dead quiet at the tech's place. Still too noisy in my system with a ground loop. Fixed with a cheater plug, but no way I was going to use that as a fix.

But, oh man,  it sounds so good, otherwise.

 

The young pretender, 845, makes an entrance...

Anthony took away the second 805 and left an 845 integrated in its place. Very quiet, no ground loop. Hooray!

Unfortunately, the sound wasn't anywhere near as enthralling as the 805. AARGH!!

 

Options running out. What to do...

The 150 integrated arrives and, the 845 leaves. Quiet, no ground loop. Sounds great. Not too heavy, not too hot.

...but, it isn't SET.

Ah well, whilst these multiple amps were in and out of my system I was also experimenting with some new PrimaLuna EVO400 monoblocks running 8 EL34s per side. Surprisingly they sounded awesome with the Magicos and, the Accuphase pre power sounded better with the Tannoy Cheviots. Who would have thunk it?

So, now I have great amps running  my primary speakers.

 

Where for art thou Harbeth...

Now, I have a great LM 150 ia, but it is spare!

Ah Ha! I need something to drive the Harbeths sitting in a different location and looking for some tube goodness.

Off to the Flinders Ranges with the LM150ia where I and the family can enjoy its glow, with dramatic scenery as backdrop.

 

Tantalisingly close to the finale...

AARGH! one of the VU meters doesn't work on the 150ia.

We'll have to delay the relocation to the Flinders Ranges.

New 150ia in transit from the distributor @Line Magnetic Australia to replace my unit. Fingers crossed we have a happy ending.

 

The End?

We'll see, but I am quietly optimistic

 

The Credits...

@Grizzly

Man, this guy has done everything in his power to get this right, and hasn't displayed any frustration.

He has, personally, dropped off, helped install and picked up several different bits of kit. I haven't had to leave the house.

He promises he'll be back for one more visit with a fresh 150ia, without any faults.

 

Epilogue...

Interesting experience. The LM amps look awesome, and sound superb in the right system. For the price (and at any price) they are great. There is very little at this price that would compete.

Luckily, there are a few options to suit a variety of requirements.

Did I end up with a SET amp? Unfortunately not, but it has all ended well, but with completely different configurations to what I expected.

Accuphase and Tannoy

PrimaLuna and Magico

Line Magnetic and Harbeth

A few comments regarding LM. System matching, as always, is key. Being unhappy with system matching is irritating for me, but a nightmare for the dealer- especially, a good one who looks after their customer. I can't fault @Grizzly. Buy with confidence. No excuses from this dealer. He's on it.

A couple of quality control issues may have scuppered us at the end- but with Grizzly's level of service this should be resolved, and we should have a happy ending.

 

When I have the final unit in my system I'll make some further comment.

 

 

Edited September 27, 2020 by The Fresh Prince

[Guest Line Magnetic Australia]

Thanks for the positive write up @The Fresh Prince  

There is a very good reason that @Grizzly is our chosen partner in SA!

 

Just a touch up to the story - The first LM-805iA unit didn't have a faulty transformer, turned out to be a bit of residue on the volume pot circuit board that caused noise after operating a few hours. It was quite a funny one for our tech to track down, but once cleaned up the unit was all good.

Also, the ground loop one is an interesting and hard one to solve, very strange that it was on test for us here in Perth and our tech in Adelaide without issues - but then ground loops are always one of the darnedest things.

The LM-150iA VU meter has me stumped - we test all of the units here in Perth to make sure they make it through the shipping process to us in working order. These things are heavy and fragile, so things can happen during shipping, caught us out with this one between Perth and Adelaide I guess.

 

I hope this demonstrates that we will do what is needed to support the product, which is the major benefit of having local representation for a brand.

[cafe67]

What’s a cheater plug ? 

[Hydrology]

8 minutes ago, cafe67 said:

What’s a cheater plug ? 

Health and safety wouldnt be happy...

[Guest The Fresh Prince]

15 minutes ago, Line Magnetic Australia said:

Thanks for the positive write up @The Fresh Prince  

There is a very good reason that @Grizzly is our chosen partner in SA!

 

Just a touch up to the story - The first LM-805iA unit didn't have a faulty transformer, turned out to be a bit of residue on the volume pot circuit board that caused noise after operating a few hours. It was quite a funny one for our tech to track down, but once cleaned up the unit was all good.

Also, the ground loop one is an interesting and hard one to solve, very strange that it was on test for us here in Perth and our tech in Adelaide without issues - but then ground loops are always one of the darnedest things.

The LM-150iA VU meter has me stumped - we test all of the units here in Perth to make sure they make it through the shipping process to us in working order. These things are heavy and fragile, so things can happen during shipping, caught us out with this one between Perth and Adelaide I guess.

 

I hope this demonstrates that we will do what is needed to support the product, which is the major benefit of having local representation for a brand.

My experience is testament to the fact there is, a massive, value add to having local support.

[Guest The Fresh Prince]

9 minutes ago, cafe67 said:

What’s a cheater plug ? 

Plug without the earth pin. Useful for diagnosis, but definitely not a cure

[fordute]

What causes transformer to buzz?

[tubularbells]

10 hours ago, fordute said:

What causes transformer to buzz?

Can be all manner of things but typically its either

• DC on the mains
• Loose primary/secondary winding
• Being forced to operate close to or beyonds its operating limits (eg. transformer with 220v primary windings being plugged into a socket having over 240v)

 

Great story BTW @The Fresh Prince. great to hear stories of dealers puting in the extra effort when required.

[Marc]

Ground loops can be a royal PITA. I have had to deal with many unexplainable ones in my room - some products more susceptible to them than others.

I tracked down one in the end which was baffling. It turned out to be the TV aerial connected to a Fetch TV box, connected only by HDMI to any other component in the system. Ran it through one of those TV antenna isolators and problem fixed.

 

Props to @Line Magnetic Australia and @Grizzly - both are great assets to our community here.

[Guest The Fresh Prince]

1 hour ago, Tubularbells said:

Can be all manner of things but typically its either

• DC on the mains
• Loose primary/secondary winding
• Being forced to operate close to or beyonds its operating limits (eg. transformer with 220v primary windings being plugged into a socket having over 240v)

 

Great story BTW @The Fresh Prince. great to hear stories of dealers puting in the extra effort when required.

Thanks.

Just to derail my own thread. Is there a downside to supplying 220v to a transformer with 240v windings?

[demoiree]

@The Fresh Prince 

thanks for sharing your experience!

 

was the transformer buzzing audible when connected on a power conditioner vice direct to the outlet? maybe your home outlet power is higher that 240v? 

 

 

 

[Guest The Fresh Prince]

2 minutes ago, demoiree said:

@The Fresh Prince 

thanks for sharing your experience!

 

was the transformer buzzing audible when connected on a power conditioner vice direct to the outlet? maybe your home outlet power is higher that 240v? 

 

 

 

@fordute

@demoiree

@Tubularbells

The buzz turned out not to be due to the transformer. It was related to some other circuitry.

Power is 240v through my Thor power station.

I was asking about 220v to a 240v transformer just out in interest, as the Thor can be switched to 220v output

[demoiree]

@The Fresh Prince

 

I see , I experienced some ground noise(buzz) issue with my Modwright power amp,  found that it became noisier when going through a thor power conditioner , which to my surprised I thought conditioner meant to provide clean power... go figure 

[fordute]

4 hours ago, Tubularbells said:

Can be all manner of things but typically its either

• DC on the mains
• Loose primary/secondary winding
• Being forced to operate close to or beyonds its operating limits (eg. transformer with 220v primary windings being plugged into a socket having over 240v)

 

Great story BTW @The Fresh Prince. great to hear stories of dealers puting in the extra effort when required.

Thank you!

[Guest]

On 27/09/2020 at 8:24 PM, Line Magnetic Australia said:

Thanks for the positive write up @The Fresh Prince  

There is a very good reason that @Grizzly is our chosen partner in SA!

 

Just a touch up to the story - The first LM-805iA unit didn't have a faulty transformer, turned out to be a bit of residue on the volume pot circuit board that caused noise after operating a few hours. It was quite a funny one for our tech to track down, but once cleaned up the unit was all good.

Also, the ground loop one is an interesting and hard one to solve, very strange that it was on test for us here in Perth and our tech in Adelaide without issues - but then ground loops are always one of the darnedest things.

The LM-150iA VU meter has me stumped - we test all of the units here in Perth to make sure they make it through the shipping process to us in working order. These things are heavy and fragile, so things can happen during shipping, caught us out with this one between Perth and Adelaide I guess.

 

I hope this demonstrates that we will do what is needed to support the product, which is the major benefit of having local representation for a brand.

S*** happens - it’s how you deal with it that counts - and it sounds like that part is handled brilliantly at LM and the dealer - good show by all.

[BrownMagic]

Great Story. A lot like my thread which captures my LM journey. I am waiting for my LM150 to be delivered which will replace my LM-88 which I believe is the KT88 amp that you have mentioned. How would you compare the two? 
 

I understand what you mean by the 805 sound. I wanted it too but a lot of factors went against it for me in my setup. If LM can make an 805 and 150 combined amp minus the heat then it would be amazing. 
 

With regards to the hum, do you plug to the wall or a power conditioner? I live in Singapore FYI. 

[Guest The Fresh Prince]

3 hours ago, BrownMagic said:

Great Story. A lot like my thread which captures my LM journey. I am waiting for my LM150 to be delivered which will replace my LM-88 which I believe is the KT88 amp that you have mentioned. How would you compare the two? 
 

I understand what you mean by the 805 sound. I wanted it too but a lot of factors went against it for me in my setup. If LM can make an 805 and 150 combined amp minus the heat then it would be amazing. 
 

With regards to the hum, do you plug to the wall or a power conditioner? I live in Singapore FYI. 

Hi,

I didn’t compare the 88 to the 150, but I remember being impressed by the 88 when connected to the Tannoys.

Those big tubes (805, 845 etc) are so beguiling, but come with their inconveniences.

All my kit is on a Thor PS10. 
I owned a PS Audio PowerPlant, but it didn’t do much for me, and was appallingly unreliable.
The problem isn’t “dirty mains”, but a ground loop.

I’ll be getting my new 150 this week.

[BrownMagic]

6 hours ago, The Fresh Prince said:

Hi,

I didn’t compare the 88 to the 150, but I remember being impressed by the 88 when connected to the Tannoys.

Those big tubes (805, 845 etc) are so beguiling, but come with their inconveniences.

All my kit is on a Thor PS10. 
I owned a PS Audio PowerPlant, but it didn’t do much for me, and was appallingly unreliable.
The problem isn’t “dirty mains”, but a ground loop.

I’ll be getting my new 150 this week.

My findings are well in line with yours with regards to the LM-88IA. They are a damn good amp for the money and will do well if you have a fairly easy speaker to drive which you have noticed with your Tannoys and Cam's Zu Speakers. 

The LM150IA would be a much better match with the likes of your Magicos and Harbeths. I look forward to your Tube Rolling journey with the LM150IA as I am told that the stock small tubes are not really the best and should only be used for breaking the amp in. Cheers 

[Guest The Fresh Prince]

@Grizzly

It's been a little while since I updated this thread.

The LM 150 has been sounding very nice.

Accuphase DC37, LM150, Harbeth SHL5+, DIY rack and cables.

 

Edited December 26, 2020 by The Fresh Prince

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, The Fresh Prince said:

@Grizzly

It's been a little while since I updated this thread.

The LM 150 has been sounding very nice.

Accuphase DC37, LM150, Harbeth SHL5+, DIY rack and cables.

 

 

Good to hear! And nice work on that rack too