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LSA the gem of a good system

I've had an LSA Statement integrated for a few years now and every now and then I have the urge to replace it with separate components or with a "better" integrated. I even called up the owner/director of the company that makes my speakers (Reference 3A de Capo) and he essentially told me that unless I was willing to spend $15K or so, I wasn't going to get any better.

The other day I bought a pair of the Class D-rated but still well-reviewed Pioneer SB-BS122 monitors for a fledgling A/V system in the livingroom (for context, my wife and I have had the same flat screen for eight years now, and with two toddlers rarely have the time or energy to watch full movies), but I did miss having a music source upstairs besides a Tivoli radio that could also hook up to an iPad.

For kicks and giggles, I took the de Capos off their stands and replaced them with the diminutive (by comparison) Pioneers and started playing CD's (my phono platter is being replaced by Pro-Ject at the moment). Wow. These little, cheap ($129) thingies were awesomely transparent and clear. They rolled off where they should roll of, and they were nowhere near the de Capos in terms of presence and holographic projection, but the LSA made them sing.

A few days later I took the LSA with me to a local dealer (well, his house actually, from where he conducts his business), to compare Leben and Line Magnetic to the LSA (brought to you by the letter L, of course). Our speakers were Harbeths and Devores.

Maybe it was listening bias, but the LSA simply crushed both Leben and Line Magnetic, both of which are fine components in of themselves. The music bloomed in the former much more colorfully and palpably; I felt with the LSA and the Devores that I could walk around the living room and pinpoint different instruments if I had to.

I'm not a shill for LSA by any means; I bought the amp sound unheard off of audiogon several years ago and then had it upgraded to the Statement series. I've owned ARC's, Blue Circles, CJ's and Sophia Electric. But these past few months have made me realize that it's the LSA, not the de Capo's, that's the gem of my system.

Now, maybe to commit audio adultery on the de Capo's and start auditioning Devores...
128x128simao
lrsky
1,118 posts
 
Rolling tubes is, for me, essential.
The supplied tubes sound ok, but are not to my taste. I prefer the actual tube 'sound' to the solid state sound. Well, not true. I love the control and extension of solid state, when coupled with the 'sweetness' of the tube midrange. For many years, I would use a good solid state amplifier with a tube preamp, which to me was the best of both worlds.
Theres nothing, (to me) like the warmth and low level res of tubes to bring out, what for me is the most musical sound.
I chose 6dj8 pre tubes for my LSA Statement. They are Amperex (made in Holland circa 1964 August, and are very 'rich' sounding. The Telefunken are good, but more sterile sounding.I believe they were costly, but I can't remember what I paid, something like $250 for the pair. I got them from Brent Jesse as I recall.
You can completely change the sound of the LSA Amp with really good tubes.
Thanks for asking, and I hope you make the switch, you won't regret it.
Best,
Larry
simao's avatar
simao OP
1,817 posts
 
When I got the Statement back after Mr. Tucker upgraded it, I rolled the 6922's out and replaced them with Amperex 7308 gold pins ($109/tube) from Upscale Audio. It definitely widened the sound and gave it more presence. I wonder if the 6DJ8's would be an upgrade (even though they cost less ($90/tube)?
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Ah yes tube rolling. I have the Statement amp but have never used it as an integrated amp other than a brief comparison versus the Exemplar XP-2 and using the amp section only. The combination was, of course, much more expensive but it also was just out standing. I only used John's tube selection in the XP-2.
lrsky
1,118 posts
 
Simao,
This is a puzzle within a puzzle. You are looking at not only tube types, but brands as well. In other words, all 6dj8's are not created equally. I would suggest that you talk to Brent Jesse about your tastes and he can steer you to the best choice.
As I said, mine are Amprex dating back to 1964. For whatever reason, the nos tubes of that era seem (to me) to sound better than contemporary.
Brent's knows his stuff.
Good luck.
Larry
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