Lyrita EL84 : My first simple tube

[Deleted member 38504]

Picked up a Lyrita EL84 few days back. Shipped from Kolkata. Used for about a year.

This is my first dip into the world of tubes. Very basic entry setup for me.

Has Russian gold plated pre, power and rectifier tubes.

I have a few questions. The amp seems to run hot,especially the tubes in the front. Is that normal?

What i have observed is that I have to open up the volume dial a little more than i had to on my Cambridge pre/power combo amp. That's understandable given that the el84 is not very powerful and entry level.

Also, a lot of the crackling/ static has mellowed down compared to my Cambridge again. Again, is this a trait of a tube amp?

I'll post a couple of pics tomorrow in daylight. My hunt for EL84 tubes begins. Along with pre tubes 6n2p (currently on this amp).

Thanks guys. Appreciate your inputs.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[tuff]

Picked up a Lyrita EL84 few days back. Shipped from Kolkata. Used for about a year.

This is my first dip into the world of tubes. Very basic entry setup for me.

Has Russian gold plated pre, power and rectifier tubes.

I have a few questions. The amp seems to run hot,especially the tubes in the front. Is that normal?

What i have observed is that I have to open up the volume dial a little more than i had to on my Cambridge pre/power combo amp. That's understandable given that the el84 is not very powerful and entry level.

Also, a lot of the crackling/ static has mellowed down compared to my Cambridge again. Again, is this a trait of a tube amp?

I'll post a couple of pics tomorrow in daylight. My hunt for EL84 tubes begins. Along with pre tubes 6n2p (currently on this amp).

Thanks guys. Appreciate your inputs.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Cool pic's. What do you mean by crackling sound from the Cambridge amplifier? What have you paired the tube amplifier with?

Sent from my SM-A910F using Tapatalk

 

[Deleted member 38504]

I meant the pops and crackles of an lp are much much less with the lyrita as compared to my solid state Cambridge amp I had. Right now the Cambridge is disconnected. The lyrita is in the limelight.

 

[Deleted member 38504]

Am going to try putting on the BEL tubes that came with the amp today and see if I can notice a change in signature.

 

[efernand1]

Congrats celester340.....i am sure you have achieved another Milestone in your audiophile journey......hope to come over to catch up and get a warm demo....

Cheers!

 

[Deleted member 38504]

Come anytime ed, anytime.

Put in the BEL 84 power tubes today. I like the sound very much. Also had a word with Viren sir. He will help me set her up slightly better with a couple of rectifier tube options.

Only thing is the gain and heat. Have to get use to the fact that is is a small 8 watt push pull and hence will need lot more gain than my previous solid states.

 

[Deleted member 38504]

Spoke to a few of our more learned folks on the forum, shafic, Prem Joshua and Viren sir. All have now convinced me that if there is no distortion when gain is increased, then there is no issue at all. Heat is a part of tubes. Now Im satisfied. I think for me it was just a psychological issue with the gain and heat.

Highest order of customer service. Viren sir has sent me a rectifier to try at no cost. He didnt even charge me for shipping. All at his own cost. Even though Im the second owner of the lyrita.

 

[apk]

Highest order of customer service. Viren sir has sent me a rectifier to try at no cost. He didnt even charge me for shipping. All at his own cost. Even though Im the second owner of the lyrita.

Congratulations on the PP tube amplifier! I had heard this model at Viren's place in Delhi around 10 years ago when I started out on my 'audio' journey. Paired to a fostex based full ranger (Harmony 1), they made sweet music. I have since heard a few of his more recent creations (SET amps, horn speakers etc). Viren is a wonderful gent and has a great reputation for personalized customer support. You are in safe hands with him.

The heat is one of the reasons why I have not gone down the tube amplifier route. With summers touching 47 degrees in Ahmedabad, I can literally barbeque with a tube amp here!

best,
apk.

 

[Deleted member 38504]

Not very worried about the heat as I normally listen to music with the ac on. I also love the glow of the tubes at night! Its quite a sight! Thanks for your response.

 

[Hari Iyer]

IMO, the red hot tubes could also be due to over biasing of the tubes. In a push-pull amp the bias are adjustable. In a SET its more of self-bias i think.

 

[Deleted member 38504]

I think my lyrita has a fixed bias. Anyways, enjoyed some nice warm sound for a couple of hours last evening with the lights turned down. Dire straits and Eric Clapton got standing ovations.

 

[srinisundar]

Enjoy for time being and get ready for next upgrade..

 

[Hari Iyer]

Someone told me once that Lyrita Amps have a annoying AC hum which can be heard in the Speakers. Is that true? Can you confirm this?

 

[prem]

My Lyrita was dead silent even through a 102 db efficient speaker. Even if you kept your ears against the speakers it was pretty much dead silent.

 

[hifiashok]

My Lyrita was dead silent even through a 102 db efficient speaker. Even if you kept your ears against the speakers it was pretty much dead silent.

premji, ur version of the amp (if i am not wrong) is heavily modded/made to order with specifically chosen, hi qual parts, may b so......?

 

[prem]

Yes it was. But I dont think that was the reason the amp was quiet. Its the circuitry and layout that matters. The base Lyrita uses very good parts to begin with. The parts I used improved upon the resolution and bandwidth.

 

[hifiashok]

Yes it was. But I dont think that was the reason the amp was quiet. Its the circuitry and layout that matters. The base Lyrita uses very good parts to begin with. The parts I used improved upon the resolution and bandwidth.

the hum referred to may have been experienced in a different model vis-a-vis what u use. this seemed attributable to the transformer core in the one/many in production, but since i believe you had yours swapped out with a hi qual one(/s), that may be a change in variables. however, once the music starts, this sort of may take a back seat.

 

[Rajiv]

Hi,

My Lyrita amps do not have any hum through my 100dB + Altec horn loudspeakers. My amp has the stock Lyrita transformers.

I know a few others who use the stock Lyrita amps with Altec and other horn loudspeakers and they too do not have any problem with hum from the amplifiers.

Regards
Rajiv

 

[prem]

Hifiashok, even when silent and amp is on, its dead quiet.

 

[srinisundar]

I do have Lyrita 2A3 ( One of the first model of Lyrita which is about 8 years old) & Lyrita GM 70, never had the problem of hum with my Altec speakers or Isophon or Philips which i have tried with.

I change frequently the driver tubes / Rectifier to see the different combination of brands of tubes in the market. That time also never heard hum...

Regards