Rethm Tube Amp. Its finally here

[prem]

Hi Asit

I am sure the Leben 300 is very transparent. In fact i had shortlisted it for the Rethms but unfortunately never got around to hearing it. It is the Leben 600 which did not impress me.

I just saw your speaker stands. They are lovely.

If i come to Calcutta, will definitely try to come over and listen to your set up.

 

[square_wave]

Awesome ! As usual, the amp looks exactly like what I would expect Jacob to design. He is an iconoclast !

Will try and check this one out at Jacob's in cochin if he is around during the year end.

Prem, how would you describe the change from the redwine integrated ?

 

[prem]

Hi Square Wave


More 3 dimensional, which is expected of tubes. More open as compared to RWA. The RWA was a little dark and closed in. The Tubes are still not broken in but on leading edges and attack RWA was better. Probably because of battery. Tonality is more or less the same.

 

[square_wave]

Thanks prem. Please do post back once the tubes are burned in.

 

[SKR]

Hi Arj

The rack is awesome. The best that i have had.

Prem which racks are these ? Are these Solid tech rack of silence shown in your previous post.
But what i saw here was a different one. May be they have many models.
So u got your new amps. Are these power amps or integrated and howmany tubes and output power.
System looks really nice.
I am also in burning process of McIntosh 402+2300 pre and power. Mac solidstate gears take more than a month about 300 hours to fully burn-in. My bad luck i had to first burn-in Mac integrated MA6600 and now after 4 months again i am burning in these new monsters. Looks like going to be a wonderful match for my Quads 2805. Surprisingly McIntosh solidstate amps sound warm and lush more like tubes then solidstate. Will be in Delhi around cristmas time.
SKR
SKR

 

[prem]

Hi SKR

The rack is not Solidtech. I used to own the Rack of Silence about 5 years back. Since then i have upgraded to SRA Craz rack which is what you see in the picture. Additionally i also use their bases for the transport and dac. The bases are model specific. Hence tomorrow if i change my source the bases become redundant. Even without the bases the SRA Craz rack completely outclasses the Rack of Silence. Which is to be expected considering the price differential. The Grand Prix Audio racks are also very very good.

The amp is an integrated one with two inputs. One chassis is the power supply and the other the amp. It uses two KT 88 Gold Lion Reissue tubes and two 6BL7 GTA tubes for the preamp section. It is a single ended design in ultralinear mode and is a 12 watter.

 

[SKR]

Thanks Prem for the feed back. Let me know about the sound of your new tube amps after full burn-in. Specially compared to RWA as I also have these amps. Do u listen to CD's or Lp's or both.
Keeping the power supply in a seperate enclosure will have a big impact on sound quality of rethm tube amp. and will also give quiter noisefloor.
My new Mac 2300 pre-amp. is very quiet and has extremely good MM & MC phono stages which I am enjoying very much. Right now i am listening to Kenny Burrell, Midnight Blue. Its a very good Lp and a must have in case you do not have it yet.

 

[Asit]

Hi Prem,

How much did you pay for that rack and where did you get it from? Looks really very elegant.

On the subject of the Lebens and the 300 and the 600, although some people on the net has expressed that they like the 300 better, my ignorant view is that they should be quite similar, and if anything the 600 should have more dynamics and better control of bass because it gives out around 30 wpc while the 300 is rated only at 12 wpc. I know this argument is perhaps too naive, but I cannot ignore the specs entirely.

It's a pity that the Indian brands (while some of them well-known and marketed in the West) do not care much in terms of dealership in other Indian cities.

You are very much welcome at my place.

Regards.

 

[arj]

Hi Asit
It is the Leben 600 which did not impress me.

.

You have just made me very very Sad

 

[prem]

Hi SKR

As of now i only listen to cds. Want to get into vinyl soon.

Hi Asit

The rack costs $10000. It was a moment of madness when i placed the order. Please do not ask me if its worth the price. Its a heavily engineered rack. You can visit their site for more details. It is Silent Running Audio markers of World-class audio isolation product for high end audio equipment.
The guys who design this rack are the guys who design isolation stuff for NASA and the US Defence. What you see on the outside is wood but inside the wood are cavities with titanium rods and stuff like that. I have heard the Finite Elemente racks. The SRA Craz IMO is way superior. There is a lot of science and engineering gone into the rack. I guess you are paying the price of that. The rack with the shelves weigh close to 150 kgs.

 

[odyssey]

Hi Asit
the 600 and the 300 are actually not that similar. They use different tubes to start with (EL34/6L6s) vs EL84s. They both have their strong points but I personally like the sound of the CS300 or 300xs better (provided ofcourse that the speakers can be driven) compared to the 600.

Prem did request me to listen to the combo of the 300 and the Rethms, however, Prithvi's Rethms have been out on a loan for a while, and in the meantime my last pc of the 300xs has been sold. I will try this out after our new stock comes in.

cheers
Sridhar

 

[prem]

Hi Arj

My not being impressed with the 600 had probably to do with the tubes. I think even you were not initially very pleased with the stock tubes. Its only after you did a little bit of tube rolling did the performance go up a few notches.

Hi Sridhar

I would still like to know how the Leben 300 sounds with the Rethms. So when you get your next consignment pl do not forget to hear it with the Rethms.

 

[odyssey]

Hi
Yes tube rolling will surely change the sound. At the risk of stating the obvious, Prem, how are you coming to a conclusion of the CS600s based on the combo you heard with other speakers, the living voice or others? Yes, we all have to make a guess (try to put 2 and 2 together ) but is there something else that I am missing?
With the few speakers that I have tried it out with, the 600 is a more neutral amp and I would guess more transparent too, however I really like the tone of the 300. Overall for the money, the 300 series is a better buy IMO

cheers

 

[AMITNOIDA]

and in the meantime my last pc of the 300xs has been sold. I will try this out after our new stock comes in.
Sridhar

Perhaps that last piece of cs300xs is with me:lol:

 

[Asit]

Hi Prem,
You have started to scare me now. Anyway thanks for providing more details. You see there are some advantages of being a physicist. In my moment of madness, I go to Mama Mia for a few scoops of Italian Gilato costing a few hundred rupees . Please do not take it otherwise. The rack indeed looks quite gorgeous, and it better have extreme goodies inside for it to cost so much.

Sridhar,
Thanks for your views on the matter of the 600 and the 300. However, I am still puzzled about one thing and that is prem's impression on the 600. That audition must have been set up in a very wrong way for a Leben to sound not transparent and without appreciable microdynamics. I have heard a few mid-level to high-end set-ups in my time (perhaps not quite reference level, hope I get to hear Arup's new set-up some day), but my impression on the Lebens (based on my amp and rereading many of the reviews on 300, 600 etc), some of their strengths are precisely what was lacking in prem's audition as reported by him.

Arj,
I am sure you are joking when you say you are very sad. I am sure that audition was not set up properly.

Regards.

 

[prem]

Hi Asit, Sridhar

At least the two systems i heard the Leben 600, i felt it was a little veiled. One was in Mumbai with the Living Voice. The other in Singapore with Devore Fidelity. In Singapore i asked the Leben 600 to be replaced by an entry level Zanden integrated. I do not remember the model. The Zanden was definitely superior. Then i had the Zanden replaced by Kondo Neiro integrated. It was something else. Thats when you realise what $20000 can buy. Even the Singapore dealer felt the Leben 300 was more magical.

I was also very surprised by Jeff Days review of the Leben series. I agree Harbeth is a great speaker but using Sony Playstation 1 as a source is kind of weird. In fact based on his review i went and got the first model Playstation 1. It was quite disappointing. No details, no transparency, just pleasant sounding.

 

[arj]

Arj,
I am sure you are joking when you say you are very sad. I am sure that audition was not set up properly.

Regards.

Just kidding but really appreciate the concern. Prems setup is leagues above mine..and it is very possible that the transparency he is used to might not be given by the Leben

Prem, tube rolling does change the tonal quality quite a bit. currently have Russian 6N3C-E tubes and they are so much more balanced and "Airy" compared to even the highly recommended SED 6L6GCs

 

[prem]

Guys at the end of the day its all about enjoying the music. I genuinely do not think it matters what system one has. Each one hears differently which is why there are so many amp and speaker manufacturers, world over. When it comes to television and other gadgets you will only find a handful of manufacturers.

 

[Absolute Phase]

Guys at the end of the day its all about enjoying the music. I genuinely do not think it matters what system one has. Each one hears differently which is why there are so many amp and speaker manufacturers, world over. When it comes to television and other gadgets you will only find a handful of manufacturers.

Very True Prem, many tend to forget that its the music that comes first. Am very happy with my Rethm Saadhana and will be getting the Gaanam soon will be worth a compare with the S6 from UR.

With the Rethms, I have started enjoying so much of my music and I have no words to express my self.