If I hadn’t been spoilt by using the MZ3 as a preamp, I probably would have been fine with the UL+, but going from silent to just a little noise was striking, as you say. LTA did tell me that this shouldn’t be an issue with a sub. I can’t even imagine how much better the Preamp could be.
I did sell my MZ3 to a friend, who fortunately is not in a rush to get it, so I’m still using it with my monitors for at least another week or two. In the meantime, I’ve sent Louis at Omega a couple of emails saying that he’s said my speakers are “almost ready” since February, and that I need a date that he can commit to. Dealing with one man boutique companies has its pluses and minuses LOL.
Best customer service I’ve ever experienced. Not only with handling issues, but also arranging my private demo at Axpona, and even answering random questions about tube rolling.
PSA, if using your LTA MZ3 as a pre-amp and feeding a single subwoofer from the second output do NOT use RCA Y adaptor to sum the RCA output to the sub. This will also sum the output to your amplifier and you WiLL experience a mono-summed output from your speaker amplifier. You will lose all sense of space and soundstage left and right and probably spend more time than you should figuring out what the heck happened This is truth, trust me
Just bought a MZ2+LPS and was contemplating what DAC to go with. According to the Shit List, the Lampizator Amber 3 pairs well with the MZ3, but it would be a bit overkill for the MZ2 I reckon* (?) Is there an option in the MZ2’s price range that leans warmer and synergizes well? I’d prefer something in the “Oh Shit?!” Tier, the 1-2k range is pretty barren, the MHDT Orchid sounds like it could potentially work or maybe something that isn’t on the list but just happens to work really well with it.
*I could buy a 6 year old Lampi Amber 3 for 2k if there’s nothing that comes close to that combo lol
The main goal would be to have fun, nothing too analytical, that’s why I’d go with a warmer DAC option. A huge soundstage isn’t needed, neither is super precise imaging. I tried the MZ2 with the Metrum Amethyst, fun combo, liked it more than a 2nd option, a brighter studio DAC (don’t know the name but it was twice the price), a bit narrow sounding at times, could have used slightly more width, and as M0n pointed out, it had plenty of depth, especially apparent on something like an Arya.
Oh awesome, will be curious what you think of it when you get it in
It very much does
Depends, if you can find one used for a good price, it can be worthwhile, but also depends on the headphones you’d be using, and what your later plans might be
It is on there lol, and it absolutely fits the bill of leaning warmer with decent synergy. I do think it can potentially be a bit sloppy for my tastes on some pairings but I think with the mz2 you can get away with it, would also depend on what tubes you have in it
An amber 3 for 2k imo is worth, that would be a huge jump up from something like an orchid, I’d personally just go for it if you want to stick with LTA especially in the future, and also because you’re in an awkward price range for a lot of dacs imo
Gotcha, well the orchid is larger leaning on the stage but more vague on the imaging aspect. The amber 3 is on the larger side of things but still balanced and accurate, much more defined than an orchid. The orchid is also warmer, sweeter, looser, and more rolled on either end, where I don’t really find that to be an issue whatsoever with the amber 3, and while warmer leaning is still reasonably balanced
Nice, if that’s the case I’ll try to go for it. Now that I’ve heard the MZ2 vs the Paltauf amp (that costs 5k btw - I realize it can drive electrostats but still) and the MZ2 was way more fun in comparison… let’s just say I was impressed what the “little” guy could do (it’s not that little but whatever lol) - makes me curious as to how the other stuff you recommend sounds. Maybe a BHA-1 for planars in the future. I’ll report back once I have the Lampi (hopefully).
From my experience the paltauf hpa 100 was something I liked with the mysphere for the price (not the stat version) but was a bit underwhelming for the price for other cans imo
LTA have a pretty unique sound, and pretty enjoyable imo
Honestly doesn’t drive harder to drive planar as well as you’d think, it’s a solid state that more excels at dynamics and more efficient planar from my experience
At recent shows, LTA have paired their MZ3 and Z10E headphone amps with the MHDT Orchid, Denafrips Pontus II and their own DAC (don’t know when that is going to be released).
If you can find a cheap used Mojo Mystique within your budget, I think LTA and Mojo have good synergy, based on my own experience, and also based on the fact that Benjamin from Mojo used to mod LTA MZ2’s.
Would agree, really my favorite dac pairings for the unit are basically lampizator and mojo, just end up being the best balance of something really enjoyable but very capable for that amp. Also really like the totaldac stuff on the higher end side of things too
I was going to suggest looking for a used or demo mojo v2xa. Theyre usually $1000-1500 so theyre in the budget and give a good idea what higher up mojos can do. They are also decently sized so they wont hog too much space.
@dB_Cooper or other LTA or tube experts, can you please help figure out where the preamp 12au7’s are in my Ultralinear+ and how I can remove them?
The power amp 12au7 and 12ax7 tubes are easy to spot but I can’t find the pre tubes. If you look at the picture below, there are 2 grey cylinders at the top, with what looks like tubes inside. Is that them? In which case, can you please explain how I get them out?
Edit: I found an old email from LTA that described them as “the shielded, horizontal pair that look like two silver cans” so it must be them. But LTA didn’t tell me how to get them out. Do I pull the cylinders, twist them, unscrew them? I’ve never seen anything like this before.
Those are shields that if you look at their end have a twisting mechanism that you twist and then you’ll be able to pull out to expose the tube. Then it’s just a normal pull out replace with whatever you have and get it back on.
Thanks, I appreciate it. I’ve never seen a tube shield before and was hesitant to pull or twist anything.
I’ll try it later as the amp is on right now, testing some other tubes. I just took out the stock Ei (Telefunken clone) 12ax7’s and put in some Sylvainia grey plate triple mica 5751’s to try out.
Everything that @orrman said! Just don’t move the preamp board too much the shield should twist off and if they don’t they may be a little cock eyed, straighten it and then try again. I would even support the board with one hand to limit any movement.
I wouldn’t fool around with the power amp tubes, because I’ve only seen GE or RCA of those so there’s not much variety and they’re going to be much harder to take out so rolling them might put a lot of stress on the board.
You may need to push down towards the board a little then twist. Youll see near the base there should be a “track”, think of it like a safety lock on a medicine bottle. Hold on as there is a spring to keep tension and it can pop off.
These are extremely common on guitar amps, worst comes to worst google changing tubes on a guitar amp and im sure there will be a video of it.
Thanks everyone for the tips on the tube shields. As you all intimated, the were pretty easy to get off: a gentle push and twist. Unfortunately the first tube I rolled in the preamp section is a Sylvania 12bh7, which is much longer than a regular 12au7, so I couldn’t get the shields back on. I’ve left them off for now and there doesn’t appear to be any negative consequences.
Tube rolling is so fun and frustrating at the same time. On my other tube amps (Nautilus and Pendant), I’ve really only rolled a single 12au7 to dial in the sound that I want. Now I have to contend with 2 pairs of 12au7 and a pair of 12ax7, and it’s the equivalent of getting the recipe right when creating a new dish in the kitchen.
This is truth, trust me 
