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I finally got a Leben...


MeloManiac

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1 minute ago, ricktate said:

How does it stack up against the HK receiver???  Those Heresy's would sound better on floor with furniture grippers on the bottom. 

 

It beats the HK on every level, except volume. Mind you, my hk is in original state and over 40 years old. 

I do miss a built in phono stage in the Leben, though. 

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13 minutes ago, MeloManiac said:

 

It beats the HK on every level, except volume. Mind you, my hk is in original state and over 40 years old. 

I do miss a built in phono stage in the Leben, though. 

sounds like you ought to spend the coin and have your HK rebuilt as it won't be hard to sell with all new caps in it no matter what you think! Forty year old caps gonna sound like crap warmed up!

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Hi @MeloManiac

 

Congratulations on this wonderful Leben, it's one of my current favorite amps, although I haven't had the chance to listen to it. I like the possibility of using the bass boost and I find this function great. It is indeed possible to make the selector operate correctly again with specific product for the contacts.

 

https://www.reichelt.com/fr/fr/nettoyant-pour-contacts-a-rosol-100-ml-kontakt-2010-p9462.html?PROVID=2810&gclid=CjwKCAiAi_D_BRApEiwASslbJxJu6Ft4rL5ewO9utb03Xx_NHGIE1dxJPGDRYQdBFvdl6P5anL2kIxoCLuwQAvD_BwE

 

https://wd40.fr/produit/nettoyant-contacts/

 

So on the Heresys with the bass boost, is that a good thing, the bass is better?

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49 minutes ago, MeloManiac said:

 

It beats the HK on every level, except volume. Mind you, my hk is in original state and over 40 years old. 

I do miss a built in phono stage in the Leben, though. 

There are phono amplifiers now that will probably be much better then the one in your HK if you do not already have a stand alone one. 

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Noise from a seldom used potentiometer is usually from oxidation between the shaft and its bushing as opposed to the resistive element.  Pick up some Caig D-100 Deoxit with needle dispenser, remove the knob, and put 2 or 3 drops at the base of the shaft where it enters the bushing.  Then rotate the shaft fully a few times.  You can do this with the quiet controls as well as the rotary selector switches.  
 

WD-40 may not be safe to use on electronic controls, although some have claimed good results with it.  I never use it.

 

 

Maynard 

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18 hours ago, tube fanatic said:

Noise from a seldom used potentiometer is usually from oxidation between the shaft and its bushing as opposed to the resistive element.  Pick up some Caig D-100 Deoxit with needle dispenser, remove the knob, and put 2 or 3 drops at the base of the shaft where it enters the bushing.  Then rotate the shaft fully a few times.  You can do this with the quiet controls as well as the rotary selector switches.  
 

WD-40 may not be safe to use on electronic controls, although some have claimed good results with it.  I never use it.

 

 

Maynard 

Hi,

 

WD40 exists in a version for cleaning the contacts, take the correct version : WD40 CONTACT CLEANER

 

https://www.wd40.com/products/contact-cleaner/

 

😄

 

 

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Fine Tube Amp the CS 300 . Loving the " Leben " Tube amps . I´m familliar with them since over a decade, as my cousin owns a CS 600.

 

F Y I .......Steve Hoffmann wrote about Tuberolling with the CS 300 ....

 

With the stock tubes in place, I felt that too many recordings had a bit of harshness or glare. I have since changed the driver tubes and power tubes and found that changing the driver tubes is probably more important. The combinations I've enjoyed the most:

*My dealer recommended the reissue Gold Lion 12AX7/ECC 83/ gold pins for the driver tubes and New Old Stock Mullard EL84s for power tubes. I currently use this combination and find it's the best balance of strong bass, slightly warm tone, and open mids/highs.

*Driver: Sylvania Triple Mica Black Plate 5751, Power: Tungsram E84L Similar tone to the Gold Lion/Mullard combination but bass was stronger and imaging more focused. I
have not yet tried the Sylvanias with the Mullards.

*Driver: reissue Gold Lion 12AX7, Power: Amperex D-Getter EL84 Best mids/highs, but slightly weaker bass performance.

-Conclusion about the Leben, tube rolling, and transparency: you can tailor the sound greatly through tube rolling, and if pressed, you could probably replace the stock Sovtek driver tubes with reissue Gold Lions and get decent performance just from that one change.

 

If I got it right , you have a Problem with the Volume Control ? If so ...They´re using Alps Potis in the Leben Amps, a contact cleaner not matter which brand isn´t the answer.  My cousin's CS 600 had the same problem over and over again. In the end, only a technician could help. This has the Alps Poti disassembled, completely cleaned and reinstalled. Since then he never had a problem with it again. But I don´t know whether you bought the CS 300 brand new or sec. hand ?

 

However @MeloManiac  you did it right .....smilie_op_007.gif

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4 hours ago, mustang_flht said:

Hi,

 

WD40 exists in a version for cleaning the contacts, take the correct version : WD40 CONTACT CLEANER

 

https://www.wd40.com/products/contact-cleaner/

 

😄

 

 


Yes, I am familiar with it. It is primarily a degreasing agent which will remove all lubrication from a potentiometer resulting in a worse situation than you had in the first place.  Lots of complaints about this from the tech community.  Research it if you want more details.  But, if you like it I will not try to change your mind.....

 

Maynard

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Deoxit has a lubricant in it......Also it is recommended to clean the problem twice use it one day then the next day.....first time loosens crap up and then its worse. Second time it cleans it better.  

I would like to re-cap one my HKs not sure how much it would be or who is good at it though. Are you going to sell your HK now???

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1 hour ago, MicroMara said:

Fine Tube Amp the CS 300 . Loving the " Leben " Tube amps . I´m familliar with them since over a decade, as my cousin owns a CS 600.

 

F Y I .......Steve Hoffmann wrote about Tuberolling with the CS 300 ....

 

With the stock tubes in place, I felt that too many recordings had a bit of harshness or glare. I have since changed the driver tubes and power tubes and found that changing the driver tubes is probably more important. The combinations I've enjoyed the most:

*My dealer recommended the reissue Gold Lion 12AX7/ECC 83/ gold pins for the driver tubes and New Old Stock Mullard EL84s for power tubes. I currently use this combination and find it's the best balance of strong bass, slightly warm tone, and open mids/highs.

*Driver: Sylvania Triple Mica Black Plate 5751, Power: Tungsram E84L Similar tone to the Gold Lion/Mullard combination but bass was stronger and imaging more focused. I
have not yet tried the Sylvanias with the Mullards.

*Driver: reissue Gold Lion 12AX7, Power: Amperex D-Getter EL84 Best mids/highs, but slightly weaker bass performance.

-Conclusion about the Leben, tube rolling, and transparency: you can tailor the sound greatly through tube rolling, and if pressed, you could probably replace the stock Sovtek driver tubes with reissue Gold Lions and get decent performance just from that one change.

 

If I got it right , you have a Problem with the Volume Control ? If so ...They´re using Alps Potis in the Leben Amps, a contact cleaner not matter which brand isn´t the answer.  My cousin's CS 600 had the same problem over and over again. In the end, only a technician could help. This has the Alps Poti disassembled, completely cleaned and reinstalled. Since then he never had a problem with it again. But I don´t know whether you bought the CS 300 brand new or sec. hand ?

 

However @MeloManiac  you did it right .....smilie_op_007.gif

 

It is the Bass Boost nob that makes the noise, only when I turn it. 

 

I've noticed there is a minimal constant hum present. I can hear it when I put my head close to the amp and I can hear it when there is a silence or in between tracks. It is not affected when I turn the volume. A friend says this is typical for a tube Amp. When the music plays, I can't hear it. 

 

The Gold Lion tubes were bought by the first owner in March 2020, they've had 200 hours playtime now. I have the old Sovtek tubes too. He replaced them because in March the volume went up and down 'on its own'. 

 

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3 hours ago, tube fanatic said:

If you only hear the hum when you are near the amp, and do not hear it with your ear in front of the woofer, it is likely a little power transformer hum which is not unusual.

 

Maynard

 

That's what it is. No hum in the woofers. 

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5 hours ago, ricktate said:

Deoxit has a lubricant in it......Also it is recommended to clean the problem twice use it one day then the next day.....first time loosens crap up and then its worse. Second time it cleans it better.  

I would like to re-cap one my HKs not sure how much it would be or who is good at it though. Are you going to sell your HK now???

 

No, not selling. I'm going to have the HK recapped by a professional in spring. Will cost 150 euro but they are worth it. 

 

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After a couple of days of use of the CS300, I came to realise something interesting about the volume nob of the CS300. And this is about the agreeable handling and feel of it when I turn it.

Here is the thing. Heresy speakers are very powerful and sensitive. So with my modern Marantz (PM5005) and with my vintage H/K 430, I seldom turn the volume beyond 9 o'clock. The twin engine H/K will blow the tiles off my roof if I turn it slightly higher than that (or my wife and 3 teenage kids will give me the evil eye... )It seems the H/K volume is exponential, almost.

Not so with the CS300. I can easily use the full range of the volume nob. Yes, it will play loud at 12 o'clock, but it is producing a decibel level that is still suitable to my den. It makes it so much easier to set the volume just right.

 

As for a phono stage preamp, I'm currently using a cheap made-in-China  'I am nobody' brand (this is truly what is written on it!). When I turn the volume of the CS300 to 12 o'clock, without a record playing, I can actually hear the innards of that little pre-amp at work. Not a good thing. This is does not happen with my Denon microsystem. So I guess, when I purchase  a phono preamp, I'll have to invest in something better. The iFi Zen Phono is on my shortlist.  'I am nobody' then will move back downstairs.

 

Both the CS300 and the H/K 430 have something in common: no standard spacing between the analog in (rca) sockets. When using cables, it's a non-issue. But I own an advance acoustic WTX Microstreamer, which can be plugged in directly into the rca sockets. But here it doesn't fit. Right now, I'm using a switch as an in-between temporally, but I have ordered a male-female rca cable (5cm) and then I can get rid of the switch. When did this stardard came to be? Is it world wide? I don't know.

 

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Although they are much cheaper, the Klipsch RP600M (and their predecessor, the RP160Ms, which I own), are often compared with the KEF LS50 (Meta) speakers. The LS50s are less efficient (85dB) and 4ohm speakers so they need a powerful amplifier. On their own, they are really good speakers, of course.

 

I came across this video of the Leben CS300xs (15 watt) and the LS50. It is *not* a good combination. You can hear the distortion in the high spectrum clearly. The sensitive Klipsch speakers are a much better match.

 

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5 hours ago, MeloManiac said:

After a couple of days of use of the CS300, I came to realise something interesting about the volume nob of the CS300. And this is about the agreeable handling and feel of it when I turn it.

Here is the thing. Heresy speakers are very powerful and sensitive. So with my modern Marantz (PM5005) and with my vintage H/K 430, I seldom turn the volume beyond 9 o'clock. The twin engine H/K will blow the tiles off my roof if I turn it slightly higher than that (or my wife and 3 teenage kids will give me the evil eye... )It seems the H/K volume is exponential, almost.

Not so with the CS300. I can easily use the full range of the volume nob. Yes, it will play loud at 12 o'clock, but it is producing a decibel level that is still suitable to my den. It makes it so much easier to set the volume just right.

 

A trick making one think the amp you bought from them is so powerful. Knob being at 9:00 and loud. One thinks they have so much power left when you can turn it much more. Still being used today in commercial products. Much better to have full range and listening level around 12:00. 

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Today, I have been listening to Klara, the Belgian Klassikal Radio station, using the Advance Acoustic WTX Microstreamer. This little wifi streaming device is connected to my Leben CS300 directly and streams in the highest available quality. The speakers are the RP160M.

I must say that the sound quality is absolutely wonderful. Not just the music, but I'm hearing all kinds of ambient sounds too, which are also recorded, like a deep rumble, or a truck passing by outside the recording venue, or a distant door slamming, or in case of a live recording, all kinds of distant, ambient sounds from the orchestra and the public. This really puts you as a listener really close to the music...

Screenshot_20210118_101302_com.wifiaudio.AdvancePlayStream.jpg

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