Line Magnetic quality

@willmacc and 2psyop

I’ve changed almost everything in my set up (speakers, interconnects, DAC and amp) so it’s kind of hard to say what does what.

What I can say is that LM34IA gives you very much for the money. I think it sounds almost as good as my old Tube Technology Unisis Signature (but this is a EL84 amp and I miss the EL84 sound that is a little faster and more glimmering treble). 
Unfortunately there is a problem with one of the LM:s power sockets that doesn’t grip the pins tightly enought. But if I don’t touch the tube it’s OK. I’ve talked to the dealer so I will get it fixed.
But I hate the fragile glossy surface. Urrrgh.

The tubes I have installed right now are Tung-Sol EL34B, Mullard ECC82 (NOS) and Electro Harmonix ECC83.
I’ve also tried Gold Lion ECC82:s and ECC83, but it sounded a kind of sterile. Maybe they need more than 100 hours to bloom.
I really like what I hear. Big and deep soundstage, nice treble, sweet mids and warm bass. I have some problems with the bass in my room, so it’s hard to tell how good/bad the bass really is.

I’d like to add something here. I bought an early model Line Magnetic Audio 216ia as I had mentioned earlier in the thread. I auditioned the piece at a dealer many years back when he first started carrying the line. We listened to Leben and Audio Research and Line Magnetic audio. I had agreed with my dealer that the 216ia (I ended up buying) sounded right to both of us. My dealer was excited about the brand because he liked the sound, he liked the price point he could offer the line and he told me LM Audio completely agreed to back up the line and fix ANY issues with a customer. Even though they are a Chinese company and as such I thought I would be taking a risk, I bought the amp anyway. I really enjoyed this amp for many listening sessions! Fast forward 3 years and the amp had a problem. It was a power issue and when I brought it back to the dealer he told me he thought it was a transformer and he would send the amp back to an authorized repair center. So he loaned me a very nice LM Audio SET amp and when my amp came back I just paid for one way shipping. I was very pleased because it was fixed just fine and LM Audio honored their promise.

@migueca  Are Line Magnetic amps made in a government factory like Cayin or do they have an independent workshop?

Tone Imports/Johnathan Halpern have high character, which makes alot of difference. Have you played with speaker positioning and output taps? Each amp acts differently and your speakers may need to come away from the wall some more to mitigate what you describe a a veil. If you have only used the 8 ohm taps, the 4 ohms should tighten it up. Also, by its very nature, an EL34 tube will be more bloomy typically than an EL84. Also consider that 50 hours doesn't quite cut it in many cases. If your speakers are bi-wire capable, you might consider plugging your cables into the other set of inputs. Even if they have jumpers. Good luck.

Chinese garbage.