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Lyngdorf TDAI-3400

Well, after reading all the rave reviews of the Lyngdorf TDAI-2170 both here and other places, I decided to order a TDAI-3400 for myself.  I must admit I am still skeptical that such a diminutive piece of equipment can sound better than the Primaluna Dialogue Premium HP tube amp weighing more than 50 lbs, but I have been so intrigued by everything I have read I simply had to pull the trigger. 
I just unboxed it today, hooked everything up, and am listening to it for a while before setting up Room Perfect. 
I really want to hear the what the amp sounds like as-is for a bit to understand it better. 
First impressions:  Without Room Perfect it sounds like very nice solid state amps I've owned in the past, but to be honest, I don't find the sound to be particularly moving.  I moved to tubes after years of solid state, and I swore I would never go back.  That is where I'm coming from.  I should also add that I always try to keep an open mind.  While my initial take on it might sound like I don't like it, I hope folks just read this as me being as honest as possible about what I hear.  I know the tendency when buying new gear is to want so badly to love it in order to justify the expense that it's easy to fool oneself into believing it's an improvement over what you had before, even when it's not.  Of course I really want it to be as mind blowing as it has been built up in my mind to be, but if it's not I am OK with simply moving back to what I have liked so far.   
I have only been playing records through it so far.  Analog makes up 98% of my listening so that's where I am starting with it.  I have a nice CD transport that I will connect to it in the next day or so just to hear the DAC in the unit.  I will also experiment with playing files from USB sticks, computer audio from my MacBook Pro, and whatever else I decide.  I am not prepared to purchase a music server just yet, but it's something I have thought about for a while.  
My system:  speakers are Harbeth Monitor 40.1's.  Turntable is an SME 20/2 with SME IV.iv tonearm and Kiseki Purple Heart cartridge, fed to a Parasound JC-3+ phono preamp.  Power conditioner is Audioqest Niagara 7000.  CD transport is a Wadia 8.  
I will report back as I have more time to experiment and let the amp break in.  

128x128snackeyp
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,510 posts
 
First you need to use cabling noted for natural unforced sound. Cabling that has great midrange bloom and meat on the bones weight.  Cabling that has natural tone and serves up details with smooth and warm personality.  No silver.  No silver over copper.  Cables made from Duelund tinned and stranded copper wire in cotton is ideal.  Absolutely ideal. Yes, I make such cables. Other cables also fit this bill such as Cerious Tech. 

I good power cord and balanced power conditioner. Stay away from silver power cords and too much shielding. I am a big fan of balanced isolation transformers in front of the Lyngdorf. These help deliver a full bodied and natural sound quality.  

Keep the unit on as it sounds best after being on some 12 hours.  Fully on....not in standby. 

Run room correction to at least 98 percent room reading. 

I did some internal mods to mine that really brought out the intimacy and realism. I won’t go into that here as it is not something many would do with warranty issues etc,... 


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emcdade
95 posts
 
Room correction begins with the flawed premise that a single microphone can hear what our ear/brain hears in our room.  It's not even close.

They can do a great job cleaning up unruly bass.  But past 200 hz you're doing more harm than good "correcting" the frequency response that your speaker designer worked so hard for.

grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,510 posts
 
The sound quality after RC is applied is far better in my room.  Not just the bass. Seems your over generalized comment is perhaps flawed. Many owners find the post RC sound quality to be superior top to bottom. Far fewer don’t. Have you owned a 2170 or 3400 and used it for an extended time in your room? Do you have first hand experience in your room? The RC used by Lyngdorf is proprietary and state of the art.  Over generalizations don’t help here. 
freesole
159 posts
 
Quite looking forward to having RC be employed in my room. My living room is open concept so the space is far from ideal - at least 20x30. I expect that the RC will be a welcome adjustment. 
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