I tried one at home for a weekend, thanks to my local dealer. Beautiful unit, though I feel at that price point a Chinese manufacturer should offer more than a 1-year warranty. I'm glad you're enamored of it, though I personally would avoid the "can't be beat or rivaled for less than 5x its price" hyperbole.
Using an Audio Research front end, and switching back and forth between Proac and B&W Nautilus speakers (I had both, for different rooms), we couldn't tell the difference between the 502CA and a Peachtree Dac-itx. This comparison was done using the solid state output, just to keep it apples-to-apples. The tube output does sound dramatically different, of course, but the tube output runs at 3V (I think the SS output is 2 or 2.5) so there's a not-insignificant volume bump on that output. To compare against the tube output you have to adjust amp volume to correct for the tube voltage jump, just to get the listening levels equal, and that makes comparing against the tube output more difficult and, to me, less accurate.
Once we realized that strictly on the SS side the $1800 unit wasn't doing anything the $350 Peachtree wasn't doing, it became difficult to justify and we brought it back at the end of the weekend, which was a bummer because it's an awesome-looking DAC and I was excited to buy it.
Again, I'm glad you're enjoying the heck out of yours, but from my experience you don't need to spend 5x the price of one (which would be about $10K at current prices) to rival it. We ended up spending $350, though the Peachtree doesn't have tube output (not important with a tube front end) and surely doesn't look as pretty!
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Bcgator-
thank you. I am really loving the 502. I must mention, with the 5x statement, and i should have mentioned this initially, i meant this in regards to the price i payed which was just under $900 brand new. And like you said, the tube stage sounds significantly different, and to almost all reviewers, better. |
Bcgator- the tube stage is very much superior to the ss stage in the 502, as im sure you experienced. The difference in the swapping of the 12AU7's and the 6z4 was tremendous. A very audible impact. I just do not believe this DAC can be rivaled at near its cost. It outright embarrasses every quality of the oppo 105. |
" It outright embarrasses every quality of the oppo 105"
jkull, Is it fair to pity Oppo 105 against a dedicated DAC? IMO, Oppo is a versatile media / disc player at its core with a decent DAC on board as a bonus. What other dedicated DAC's have you compared with LM 502CA?
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Good luck to you jkull...I'm glad your hyperbole festival is in full swing, and I appreciate the invite, but I'm skipping this one. When you assert that the LM dac "embarrasses" the Oppo 105, I'm out. You may as well be trying to convince me that children should eat Happy Meals 7 days a week - it's not going to happen.
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Bcgator. - Yes, Its in full swing just for you buddy.. I notice your thread, directly pertaining to acquiring feedback regarding the 502. Hmmmm.. The happy meals 7 times a day is not quite the right comparison here. Sure, the oppo is not a dedicated, stand alone dac, but there are many who use it, or own it for the DAC that it contains, and thus utilize it as the single DAC in their system. My opinion however, is that it completely betters the oppo. To my ears, it is significantly better, which did surprise me. Ive owned both side by side. I feel as if the oppo never sounded relaxed. If you have anymore intellectual comments to toss in, I welcome them whole heartedly.
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lalitk- the only standalone DACs i have heard in my setup/room are the wyred4sound DAC 2 and a Cary Audio 100t. Sure, i may be exaggerating to say 5x the cost of the 502. I understand there are many great DACs in the 4-5k range. However at that point, if improvement is to be, i feel that diminishing returns may start to come into play to a greater extent. I am no expert and perhaps sure, it can be beaten by DACs at roughly ~ 3 times its $900 cost. This can be supported by my initially statement that i dont know if it can be rivaled as opposed to a definitive statement. I would love to hear more DAC’s myself to compare. |
The LM 502ca is a discontinued model; according to Jeff Halpern, Tone Imports &US LM distributor, a new Line Magnetic DAC may be out late this year; no information available yet on the model or pricing |
Line Magnetic Audio is one of a few Chinese audio companies making high-end gear that is getting serious attention. My local audio dealer told me about them and stated LM Audio was going head to head with ARC and Shindo. The older brother of the company had been influenced with Western Electric gear from the early days in America.
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2psyop- Yes, the brothers who started line magnetic ran a western electric restoration and repair business prior to engineering their own amps. Thus why they are very symbolic of WE amps, from the selection of valves to the quite industrial appearance.
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hi jkull. a question for you. i just purchased a used LM 502CA dac. my source is a mac mini connected to the dac via USB. i'm able to get music with the transistor output option but the tube output option is dead silent. what does this suggest to you? does this sound like blown tube or something more serious? thanks in advance for any information you can provide. |
Bakufu.. Did you consult the previous owner about the issue? The tube output should work of course. You could try a new tube first off yes. Get a 6X4 replacement instead of a 6z4. There is a little jumper beside the tube that you switch over the 6x4. There is a nice sonic difference. For me, a very very obvious improvement. Just snag one off ebay. Try that first and take it from there...
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I'm going to jump in on this resurrected thread... I recently picked up an LM-502ca. I pair it with a Node 2i, Manley Shrimp, Cary CAD808 & Equation 7 speakers in my main setup. Its replacing a Rega DACr and I'm using a coax cable to connect the streamer & DAC. It's clearly a better playing piece than the Rega although I like that DAC a great deal as well. Has anyone had better performance with a different connection? Optical? USB? I also enjoy the SS output stage as I have a lot of tubes in my system and the SS stage tightens it all up. The tube stage is creamy thick and has real weight that I enjoy a great deal as well. All in all a very nice piece especially in my modest kit. Just wondering about connection performance one vs the other. |
