Integrated Amp Reviews

LSA VT-70 integrated amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max running Roon 1.8 as remote. Roon ROCK (Lenovo ThinkCentre). Naim Uniti Atom, controlled with iPad Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Bluesound Node 2i streamer, WiiM Mini streamer. Benchmark DAC3 B, RME ADI-2 DAC FS, Auralic Vega.
Preamplifiers: Benchmark HPA4, Topping Pre90.
Power amplifiers: Krell FPB 200c (recapped 2020), PrimaLuna EVO 400 integrated, Schiit Ragnarok, McIntosh HPA-100, Peachtree Nova 1500, NAD C 700.
Loudspeakers: Tekton Moab, MartinLogan Odyssey, Monitor Audio Bronze 100, LSA Signature 50.
Subwoofers: Hsu VTF-2 MK5, Canton 12.3.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-4, HiFiMan HE1000se, Focal Clear.
Cables: AudioQuest, Amazon, Blue Jeans, Monoprice, Tara Labs.
Accessories: Core Power Technologies Equi=Core 1800 MkII and Deep-Core 1800 power conditioners on a dedicated 20-amp circuit. Townshend Seismic Isolation Podiums for speakers and power amplifiers.
Listening room: 22' × 14' 6" with 9' 8" ceiling, lath and plaster. Hardwood floor over reinforced joists. Moderately damped by large, medium-thick rugs, furniture, and a tall bookcase. Wooden stairs on rear wall lead to an open second-floor landing of about 16' × 10'.—Rogier van Bakel

COMPANY INFO
LSA/Underwood HiFi
underwoodwally@aol.com
(770) 667-5633
underwoodhifi.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
Jack L's picture
Submitted by Jack L on September 22, 2022 - 3:50pm

Hi

Don't hold yr breath on Chinese-made tubes. Lower cost shorter life-span. No miracles !

Such 6-month short short warranty should have already hinted the consumers what would happen sooner or later.

FYI, the 50-plus-year-young Telefunken ECC83s & then-brand-new made-in-Geat-Brtain Mullard ECC82s used in my phono-preamp for some 7 years, operating quite many hours week-in week-out. They still make me good classical music - nooo problem.

Brandnames speak !

Listening is believing

Jack L

Bill Leebens's picture
Submitted by Bill Leebens on September 22, 2022 - 8:31pm

Ir's worth noting that a great many audio products are only warranted for 90 days until the warranty is extended when the product is registered with the manufacturer.Those warranty terms don't apply to tubes included with a product---
that six month warranty on tubes is the de facto standard---Chinese, Czech, Russian, whatever. The longest warranty I know of for tubes included in a product is one year, and that was only for the small signal tubes. I've seen power output tubes with as little as 90 day warranty coverage.

Jack L's picture
Submitted by Jack L on September 23, 2022 - 6:08pm

Hi

Really? So please name a few brandname audio products in the marketplace today only provide "90 days" warranty.

I am all ears

Jack L

Jack L's picture
Submitted by Jack L on September 23, 2022 - 3:06pm

Hi

Guys, No politics in this open venue please.

As posted in Stereophile forums since day one a few years back, I am on 'quality" only.

While we are still on this tube amp, suppose you were the owner of this amp, just arrived & put on test run - it broke down in no time!
What woud you feel ? You would still love its design/quality control ?????

It could be built in the Silicon Valley, CA, or the Brazilian rain forests or whatever. It "happened" to be made-in-China ! This unfortunately reflects on the "ethnics" issue as seen by some politically knowledgeable readers here.

In fact, I fixed a few "high-end" tube power amps made-in-China, using bigboy tubes, e.g. 300B & 2A3 just within a few years & surely I know how good were those made-in-China were. Even after upgrading it with expensive audiophile-grade caps, interwiring etc etc as requested by their ownes, the upgraded sound quality did not impress me at all vs tube amps built in Japan/USA which I auditioned before.

I quote basing facts being an electrical engineering guy.

Listening is believing

Jack L

johnnythunder1's picture
Submitted by johnnythunder1 on September 24, 2022 - 6:53pm

Hungarian music (Bartok string quartets) on my French, Canadian, German, Italian and British system.

Jack L's picture
Submitted by Jack L on September 25, 2022 - 2:59pm

Hi

I love Chinese ethnic cuisines bigtime, not those cheapie 'alien' chinese food in foodcourt takeawys or in foodcups !! Like tubes, money talks !!!

Yes, I pretty like Brahms' music, particularly his Violin Concerto in D Major. Soooo romantic !!

His Hungarian Dance No. 5 is also my favourite, not the other Dances though.

Listenig is believing

Jack L

JaredBeebe's picture
Submitted by JaredBeebe on September 24, 2022 - 4:59pm

I noticed the Crazy Eddie reference or Easter Egg, does this reference "The Mote in God's Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle?

RML's picture
Submitted by RML on September 27, 2022 - 9:04am

Hi all - as a potential newbie to tube amplification, I'd appreciate any views on whether the knocks on the LSA VT-70 with respect to midrange vocals, etc. could be affected (or resolved) by using a tube set other than what is supplied?

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