Anyone here heard one or have one? I'm intrigued. Toying with the idea of picking up a tube line out of boredom / insanity, not sure which. I just picked up DeVore loudspeakers and it seems a few dealers like the combo. I'll hear it in Vegas, but most everything sounds horrible in a show atmosphere. Would like your two cents.

B

Oh no...

Yet another flat earth dealer going round earth....

Round is the new flat, kuma.

yeah.

A flat earth is a tough sell.

If its good sounding it will sell .....

if it compromises some of the musical info ...you've a problem.

good sounding....

What does that mean exactly? :)

just bored fellas, not to mention LOTS of folks are wanting chitty chi-fi tubes... gotta feed the brood. I sold Audiomat years ago and it was fantastic. Yeah, tubes are a pain in the arse, they're HOT, and they attract less than desirable audio-goobs. Naim isn't flying out MY doors, so maybe it's time for something new. I'm going to CES this year to see what's going on. Half the battle is finding good affordable gear. I really don't think hi-fi is that black and white, flat or round. It either plays tunes or sucks. No worries! Biddy isn't going to sell power cords, conditioners, Walker products or cigar box interconnects. Just coming out of my flattened cocoon to see what else there is...

I have a mate who heard them in a system recently and thought they were great, they certainly look great. I see HiFi News is reviewing a Leben amp this month, just glanced at it, they were favourable, but thought it base light

I'd be tempted on looks alone. Would love to hear one.

I see HiFi News is reviewing a Leben amp this month, just glanced at it, they were favourable, but thought it base light

One of the most inept reviews I've seen in a long time and representative of the appalling level of journalism now common in HFN. To use an amplifer measuring 7wpc into a normal pair of Spendors and then criticise it for being "slightly loose in the very bottom octave" shows a profound lack of audio knowledge. Take such reviews with an enormous pinch of salt and seek out a demonstration from someone more intelligent.

Biddy isn't going to sell power cords, conditioners, Walker products or cigar box interconnects.
Yet. :D

this
One of the most inept reviews I've seen in a long time and representative of the appalling level of journalism now common in HFN. To use an amplifer measuring 7wpc into a normal pair of Spendors and then criticise it for being "slightly loose in the very bottom octave" shows a profound lack of audio knowledge. Take such reviews with an enormous pinch of salt and seek out a demonstration from someone more intelligent.

does beggar belief somewhat - can the hifi press get away with baing that dull?

Darren

PS don't read em myself but assumed they would understand basics of low power benefits from sensitive easy load speakers

PPS interested in this as I recently bought a leben to go with my AN's, can't promise intelligent review but happy to say what I think if it helps Biddy

If Merlin's correct, and I'm sure he is, that's a pathetic attempt at a proper review. I too have wanted a Leben for some time on looks alone.

I'd be tempted on looks alone. Would love to hear one.
Looks are their USP.

Aye, appears that way to me. Very cute though.

-- Ian

Oh well, perhaps one would work well in the bedroom system then. Nice to have something cute in there every night.

I hope they are a bit better than a bedroom system - also 2.5K for the CX version doesn't compare well with yer tivoli and amstrads

Yet. :D

hardy ha Har Kuma! :D

Seriously, I doubt I'll fart with the valve scene just because it will attract the Audio Asylum dweebs. It's tricky! I was burned when I first started out in this biz... remember Aronov? I think I've come a long way, but there is this desire to stir up the pot a bit. Other's on the "check 'em out list" are Border Patrol & Audio Note. Maybe I won't do anything new and have a positive amount in the bank! :D

ps. Kuma, wanna buy some cable lifters? :o Makes it easier to vacuum. :p

Oh well, perhaps one would work well in the bedroom system then. Nice to have something cute in there every night.

Gracious! maybe this will help www.realdoll.com :D

B-Diddy

oh wow.. Aronov... that's a name from the past.

You're not talking necessary a budget stuff, and as a dealer, i would think that it's a bit scary to take on a line that might not be around for long.

A long time Linn dealer I know recently started to carry ARC. I think their kit is so boring but hey, they are easier to sell than Linn/Naim stuff.

p.s. No need for the cable lifters for me, as I do not vacuum. ;)

Many people see tube amps and wonder if they would like to try them out. I currently have a Cary CAD 300SEI single ended integrated tube amp and have owned and used Naim equipment.

I think that if you are used to the low frequency performance and PRT of Naim gear then many of you would find tube gear light in the low frequencies. Also, I can't leave my Cary powered up all the time. I have to give it 15 or more minutes of warm up time prior to listening. The tubes are hot, be careful if you have children or pets in your home. Re-tubing is misunderstood, you can go for years without having to replace tubes. Many non-tube owners think that tube replacement if more frequent than it actually is.

Do tubes out-perform other amps? In terms of midrange and upper frequencies my Cary puts my other gear to shame. The Cary gives me the detail and life like reproduction of musical instruments that puts it out ahead of solid state that I've heard. Contrary to the perception about tube gear, my Cary is dead quiet, there is no hissing and huming from the tubes.

A track I like to play is East West by the Paul Butterfield Blues band. There is a lengthy dual guitar solo that tends to sound hard with certain gear. I remembered playing this track with my re-capped and months run-in Nait 2. The guitar part was excessively brittle through the Nait. Playing this same track through my Cary I heard all of the detail and even bite of the guitar solo but without the harshness of the Nait.

Make sure you do auditioning prior to buying. You can get away with an Internet buy on much Naim gear if you already have owned or heard some, but switching to tube gear is a much bigger change.

Hope this helps you tube curious guys.

Scott

Hi,

I have got both of the CS-300 and 300X in my possession at the moment. Mated with the correct speakers they offer the 'get off the merry go round' sound that many people spend many ££££'s for.

As far as the HIFI review what a complete idiot trying to mate them with Spendor's...probably some political bollocks about using Brit speakers. In fact PROAC would have been the best choice for these by a long measure. That reviewer needs his/her noggin strapped to the cone of an ATC 150Active playing romanian hardcore techno at full voume.

Here's are review on 6moons..

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/leben/cs300x.html

The Leben can rock but you need speakers that allow it...it has an excellent bass boost function (a function that is a sad loss in today's purist amps) that allows the bass to be boosted for late night or low level listening.

You really need to check out these amps...i added upgraded Siemens tubes to the standard version and the performance is very good indeed. You can't buy the 300X version anymore as Leben used up all the NOS Mullard EL84 tubes.

Only issue for me is that it doesnt have phono...but then again most people buy external stages anyway.

Gracious! maybe this will help www.realdoll.com :D

Hey, fantastic. Some new equipment isolation mounts.

Biddy To be honest -- think stealthy expensive low power retro-hip tube amps would be a very tough sell in big hair/big SUV texas (even Austin). Regardless of how its sounds, seems like the already small market of buyers for expensive low power tube gear wants to see those tubes exposed with a lot of chrome/wood for everyone to see so that novice visitors (Best Buy/Circuit City customers) coming over for a visit will notice the bling bling....i.e. Art Audio.

Given the number of techies, college students and hopeful musicians in Austin seems like there would be strong markets for "pro" equipment(Dynaudio/Genelec monitors, Benchmark DACs, etc..), DIY supplies (amps/speakers), low power digital amps/mods (i.e. Red Wine, etc..), DJ gear, or even $$ headphones/hip tube headphone amps (Yamamoto) for the dorm room.

I think that any non i-pod based hifi costing more than 300 bucks to college students is going to be tough.

I just dont see them spending 1k on a DAC. Unless they are a total geeks, then maaaaybe, they might get into the DIY stuff.

How about a valved dock station for an I-pod?

My shop used to be right across the street from the University of Texas. There are basically NO college kids into hi-fi anymore. I have no interest in DJ or DIY gear as I really don't feel like babysitting. I'm used to nobody buying gear here, but the few here who "get it", do. The key is to stock cool gear with few dealers and not piss off the distributors. Some of my best clients I've never even met! So hey! If Leben or whatever sounds good to me, the distributor isn't an arse and it's somewhat affordable, I'll carry it.

My shop used to be right across the street from the University of Texas. There are basically NO college kids into hi-fi anymore.
You could Try putting a pair of beat up JBL 4311s outside the front door and playing young people's music of some sort. Off of an ipod even....
That usually gets the yuuf interested.

They're too daft to even cross the street before looking both ways... honestly, these kids today have been weaned on bad TV and the inability to think or imagine. I know, I just sound like a grumpy middle ager, but seriously. They are pretty lazy. I didn't have a laptop and google growing up. I had to go to an actual library and look up information in Books. Forget about unplugging your head from a bluetooth device and walking into a shop (other than Apple or the Gap) and wondering about something that isn't a ripped up pair of jeans for $200 or the new Diddy CD. College kids today are total Tards.

um..found it.

How 'bout this?
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/27/rockridge-sounds-vts-384-tube-amp-and-speaker-dock-for-ipod/

I have a Leben CS300XS and I love it so much that I am getting rid of my Exposure 3010 and Neat Motive 2s. I am on the search for the right set of speakers and on my short list are the Devore Gibbon Super 8s and the Harbeth Compact 7s. The Leben is the first amp I have heard that combines a superb level of musical flow (PRaT) with the presence and realness of tubes. It is only 15 watts so speaker selection is going to be kind of hard, especially since I will be buying used and I will have a difficult time finding a pair to listen to. If you get a chance to hear one thru some fairly sensitive speakers, let me know what you think about the combination.

Mike

P.S. I just noticed the date on this thread - guess my reply came a little too late :-)

They're too daft to even cross the street before looking both ways... honestly, these kids today have been weaned on bad TV and the inability to think or imagine. I know, I just sound like a grumpy middle ager, but seriously. They are pretty lazy. I didn't have a laptop and google growing up. I had to go to an actual library and look up information in Books. Forget about unplugging your head from a bluetooth device and walking into a shop (other than Apple or the Gap) and wondering about something that isn't a ripped up pair of jeans for $200 or the new Diddy CD. College kids today are total Tards.

Run a Guitar Hero competition in store and advertise it on campus. Play it through a budget amp and a pair of floorstanders and play it louder and better than any plasma TV can deliver. You might be surprised at the number of college kids you'll see, and some might be converted.

On the other hand, you didn't have Guitar Hero in 2006...

Yes, that may be the case Alan but Hi-Fi is not seen a hip anymore by the young. That added to the fact that when they finish their education they will be hocked up to their eyeballs paying off their student loan.

I started this thread a long ass time ago... I've since gotten in the Leben CS-600 and it pairs wonderfully with my DeVore Super Gibbon 8 and the new Kudos C-30... both are 90db.

I still think college age kids are Tards.

I started this thread a long ass time ago... I've since gotten in the Leben CS-600 and it pairs wonderfully with my DeVore Super Gibbon 8 and the new Kudos C-30... both are 90db.

I still think college age kids are Tards.

I'm sure there were a bunch of old farts (even older hippies) who thought the same thing when we were snarfing Whip-Its and listening to Phish.

Transparency, however, is a concept that requires an adult mind to understand.

A long time Linn dealer I know recently started to carry ARC. I think their kit is so boring but hey, they are easier to sell than Linn/Naim stuff.

Weird... my local linn/naim dealer also added ARC about a year back. And, as a diehard LP12 guy, I was also surprised be picked up those big Redpoint TTs.