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Line Magnetic 518ia - How Much Heat Does It Produce?

Hello, and thanks for any help with this. I'm helping a very dear friend, who loves music, and good audio equipment, put together a system. He has suffered some very serious personal setbacks of late, and one of the key things he has turned to, is putting together an audio system as a means to attempt to move forward. He is trying to put together a nice audio system in what he has available, a small room.

He travels a fair bit for work, and has had two recent experiences listening to the exceptional Line Magnetic 518ia, and was blown away by it. I can guarantee you that he has heard some very good audio components, but has been captivated by the 518ia. If you have heard it, or read the reviews, you understand, as I do. That's a truly amazing piece of gear, especially for the price.

Here is my concern, Because of serious budget deficits related to his other problems,  he can only afford one of these wonderful integrated amps, used. Okay, they are available  in his price range. I have him set up with speakers and everything else to maximize the quality of his system. But, this is a Class A amp, even if relatively low wattage. He would be using this in a 10x10 room, with the integrated amp only 2.5 feet away from where he sits. There is no other available placement. Is this going to overheat him, and/or the room? 

Any input would be appreciated. If he cannot make use of this amp he loves so much, it could get very difficult to find anything else, given it's price performance capabilities. 
nightfall
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,239 posts
 
Nightfall,
The First Watt S,I,T. amplifier loaned to me was a "push pull" version (Nelson Pass D.I.Y. using the same static induction transitors) that has more power than the single ended versions you cited. It’s still a pure class A circuit with about 35 to 40 watts. It generate more heat than my 8 watt SET which is only 1/5 the power output so less heat is dissipated.

Facten
Yes I agree too bad he’s unable to use the excellent LM 518a. Keep in mind he has far less cubic space than you have. 28x20 versus 10x10 (substantial difference and factor in ceiling height). That small room will heat up quite rapidly and become very uncomfortable. It’s going to be difficult to find a comparable sounding amplifier that also runs cool, just my opinion.
Charles
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,239 posts
 
Fasten,
I looked at your system page, very nice!!
Your room has a 10 foot ceiling. 28x20x10 that’s a lot of open cubic space to handle amplifier heat. No doubt that the LM 518a driving the Daedalus speakers is a pure sonic joy. Do you alternate the LM with your Modwright components?
Charles
facten
2,784 posts
 
Thanks Charles. I haven't updated the photo as I pulled the turntable out (not enought smooth jazz available on vinyl, have it in my 2nd system) and inserted a Finale Audio 7189 MK2 (EL 84 based ) 22wpc integrated on that bottom shelf. I rotate between the Line Magnetic, the Modwright pre/power, and the Finale every 2 weeks to change things up. I enjoy them all with the Daedalus
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
@nightfall

While I can’t speak to how its sonics would compare to those of the LM-518ia, an approach that you may want to consider would be the combination of a Music Reference RM-10 MkII power amplifier, purchased used, with a relatively inexpensive passive preamp. The RM-10 MkII, designed by the very accomplished and well regarded designer Roger Modjeski, utilizes a push-pull pair of the highly respected but low powered 6BQ5/EL84 tube, in a cleverly designed circuit providing 35 watts per channel (significantly more than the power capability of any other EL84 amp I am aware of), while consuming a total of only 70 watts at idle. And its 100K input impedance and 0.95 volt sensitivity make it well suited for use with a passive preamp.

One of these amps has just appeared for sale here. It is stated to have been purchased new only 9 months ago, and has an asking price of $2950. (The list price for a new RM-10MkII is indicated at the manufacturer’s website as $5K):

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis92fh8-music-reference-rm-10-mkii-tube

Links to the manufacturer’s pages on this amp:

http://www.ramlabs-musicreference.com/rm10mk2.html

http://www.ramlabs-musicreference.com/rm10design.html

On another note, @facten , as a fellow owner of Daedalus speakers I certainly second Charles’ praise of your outstanding system :-)

Regards,
-- Al

nightfall OP
185 posts
 
Al, 

Once again, thanks for your thoughts. I have great admiration for Roger Modjeski and his products, and I happen to think his RM-200 is one of the truly great values out there. The problem is that his amps are designed and optimized for fully balanced operation, per my relatively recent discussion with him. Good luck finding a truly good, balanced preamp affordably! 
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