Line Magnetic 518?

Hi Doug,

Thank you so much for taking the time to guide the befuddled. Oh! I know those reviews by heart! Do you think Steve got rid of the 219 because of the heat only? Kinda strange. Other folks don't really mention that as a deal-breaker. Maybe driving Sfs were too much to ask. Also, although Steve has the only 1:1 comparison between the 219 and 518 I could find he did jump from those to SS Yamaha, then to PP ARC and loved each component better than the last. I hope Steve will forgive me but I'm a little leery of making a $7500 decision based on his impressions alone.

I live in the Caribbean so the freight charges of the 219 will be considerable, so there's that. I did hear that the 518 sounds warmer than the 219. I, of course, just love how the 219 looks. I have to work abroad for a couple weeks and I will make a decision when I return. I will let ya know! Thanks again, Doug!

dlb2 said:
Hi Rory, if I recall the 216 is 4xKT88's with either 22 or 34 watts depending on the mode you use. The 518 is very similar to my 218 with the addition of tube rectification and the option to use a separate pre. The 219 is the big dog as far as I'm concerned. It's a beast big in size and weight. If it were me, after reading reviews and talking to my LM dealer, I would go with the 219. It's supposed to be everything my 218 is (which is absolutely amazing) and then some. Of course you will have more heat to contend with, but I think the trade-off is well worth it.

Check these reviews out:
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Ha!

Too funny!

Liuto are great speakers.

It's funny, I've found that you can not always go by the numbers. Some combos just work and sound awesome. Experience and trial and error are better teachers.

Snoober said:
Hi Joe, thnx for the input. Um, speakers? Uh, I'm using Sonus faber Liuto Monitors :blush:. Now before I get a lecture on sensitivity and impedance and all of that just let me say: "I know"! :D If I posted this at the SET asylum the folks over there would blow gaskets, I'm sure: hence "asylum". Anyway, if the LM can't handle the Liutos then I will just switch to something more appropriate. I hope it doesn't turn out that way, though.

My model is a push-pull 38Wpc.
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Thanks, Joe. I won't feel too badly when the SET folks hammer me then. Hee.

joeinid said:
It's funny, I've found that you can not always go by the numbers. Some combos just work and sound awesome. Experience and trial and error are better teachers.
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LOL! What a small world! I lived in Barbados for 2 years while I was at University: used to enjoy riding round the island in a big blue bus every now and then. Ah, Crop over. Trinidad Carnival is better (just don't tell your wife I said that).

Mike said:
A Trini? My wife is a Bajan. Crop over soon? ;)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Snoober said:
Hi Joe, thnx for the input. Um, speakers? Uh, I'm using Sonus faber Liuto Monitors :blush:. Now before I get a lecture on sensitivity and impedance and all of that just let me say: "I know"! :D If I posted this at the SET asylum the folks over there would blow gaskets, I'm sure: hence "asylum". Anyway, if the LM can't handle the Liutos then I will just switch to something more appropriate. I hope it doesn't turn out that way, though.

My model is a push-pull 38Wpc.
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i think youll be fine. monitors seem to be able to handle the less watts better. i do 90db floorstanders with 15w and have no issues unless i really want to turn it up loud. now the 102db speakers im trying out id be able to cut those watts in 1/2 no problem. but i really think unless you really want to push it, or have a huge room the 22w will fill your fabers fine. id really love to hear the beast 219ia. thats a big beauty.
 
dlb2 said:
Rory, PM sent.
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Doug...I want to know also what the deal is with that reviewer. PM me too please :D I suspect I know what his deal is just from reading his errr shall I call it a review?
 
Snoober said:
Hi Joe, thnx for the input. Um, speakers? Uh, I'm using Sonus faber Liuto Monitors :blush:. Now before I get a lecture on sensitivity and impedance and all of that just let me say: "I know"! :D If I posted this at the SET asylum the folks over there would blow gaskets, I'm sure: hence "asylum". Anyway, if the LM can't handle the Liutos then I will just switch to something more appropriate. I hope it doesn't turn out that way, though.

My model is a push-pull 38Wpc.
Click to expand...

The LM big 845 SET isn't powerful enough for your Liutos. Dudley in the Stereophile review even said the Guarneri Evolutions needed at least 50 watts (he was using 25w P/P monoblocks and still was underpowered)- and yours are more inefficient at 84db efficiency according to other readily available measurements. The guy in that review (Steve Huff) went from LM to Ayon to ARC? That makes no sense.

If you want to go SET, you need different speakers. There are many suitable substitutes for your SFs- Reference 3A might be an option.
 
I tend to agree with Keith. I thought that Steve Huff's review was poor all around and even though he blames the heat from the amp for not sticking with it, I can't help but feel there was a speaker-amp mismatch here (it's definitely a mismatch on paper). He may be right, and the LM-219's over-engineered power supplies may have supplied ample current to the speakers so that the speakers were tonally balanced and that the wattage limitation simply meant you could not drive the speakers to insane SPL levels or that the amps ran out of headroom on dynamic peaks occasionally but I can't help but thing that there are better speaker matches for that amp, preferably 8 ohm rated speakers that do not dip below 6 ohms and rated at a minimum of 90dB sensitivity. Maybe something from DeVore or Coincident or Zu or many other tube SET-friendly speaker brands.
 
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