I just got a set of Linlai 101D hifi series to replace my older set of TJ 101D Mesh plate. These TJ 101Ds have been on the Supratek Cabernet for more than 10 years which I used very sparingly over the years.
For the price ($100 a pair from aliexpress) they perform very well to my years. They have a very sweet and full sound for vocals and less muddy than the old set (which really should have been replaced long time ago). I like them particularly with voice and the Eva Cassidy album Live at Blues Alley had a very euphoric quality to it. The amplifier I used was Cary Audio 120s by the way. I replaced all the 6SN7 tubes with some RCA and Sylvania NOS on both units.
Getting the tubes to run at the full potential do take some effort however. TLDR is the tubes archived -70dB THD after tuning the voltages on both channels. If I play at low volume it could even archive -80dB THD wihch mostly 2nd harmonic. This is quite good for a tube design.
I attached an analyzer to the balanced output with 1k input to RCA. I first tuned the 6SN7 bias voltage then adjusted the plate voltage of the 101D and then finally the grid voltage of 101D. There seems to be a feedback in the design and the voltage takes a little while to stabilize after each adjustment. I was watching the FFT of analyzer and voltmeter during the tuning.
After some experiments I found the highest gain setting have the lowest distortion. Lowering the gain will gradually increase distortion for the same output level. I hope this information is useful for those who wonder the effect of the gain on the sound.
Comparing the FFTs of the Linlai and the TJ mesh plate I had the appreciation of the TJ very much. The TJ had very low 60Hz noise and mostly only 2nd harmonic distortion. The Linlai however is quite a bit noiser with 120hz and higher order harmonics of the power noise. The 3rd harmonic distortion is also quite high. I should probably get a set of TJ while it is still available.
For the price ($100 a pair from aliexpress) they perform very well to my years. They have a very sweet and full sound for vocals and less muddy than the old set (which really should have been replaced long time ago). I like them particularly with voice and the Eva Cassidy album Live at Blues Alley had a very euphoric quality to it. The amplifier I used was Cary Audio 120s by the way. I replaced all the 6SN7 tubes with some RCA and Sylvania NOS on both units.
Getting the tubes to run at the full potential do take some effort however. TLDR is the tubes archived -70dB THD after tuning the voltages on both channels. If I play at low volume it could even archive -80dB THD wihch mostly 2nd harmonic. This is quite good for a tube design.
I attached an analyzer to the balanced output with 1k input to RCA. I first tuned the 6SN7 bias voltage then adjusted the plate voltage of the 101D and then finally the grid voltage of 101D. There seems to be a feedback in the design and the voltage takes a little while to stabilize after each adjustment. I was watching the FFT of analyzer and voltmeter during the tuning.
After some experiments I found the highest gain setting have the lowest distortion. Lowering the gain will gradually increase distortion for the same output level. I hope this information is useful for those who wonder the effect of the gain on the sound.
Comparing the FFTs of the Linlai and the TJ mesh plate I had the appreciation of the TJ very much. The TJ had very low 60Hz noise and mostly only 2nd harmonic distortion. The Linlai however is quite a bit noiser with 120hz and higher order harmonics of the power noise. The 3rd harmonic distortion is also quite high. I should probably get a set of TJ while it is still available.