Rotel RCD-991 CD player by Soren from Denmark


This great job has been done by my first "apprentiece" - Soren from Denmark.
Here are his own words:

"I live in Esbjerg, a danish town located in the south-west at approx. 100.000 inhabs. I work in the metal business, contructing and building machines used in the insulation industry. Play a little badminton just to keep in shape and loves watching football.
I'm 39 years old and as long I can remember, music has had a vital importnance to me. Regular concert-goer and also did a little guitar and bass playing in my teens and early twentys.
My HI-FI hobby dates back to the age of 13 or 14, starting with a B&O reciever, cassette deck and a pair of ITT speakers. Since then I  have had LOTS of different equipment, gradually moving upwards, then downwards, then up again and finally realized that real high fidelity is an ideal that never will be reached in this world. And that if we do get close, it has almost never any coherence to the amount of money spent.

My equipment at this moment consists of a Electrocompaniet Ampliwire 100 power-amp, a pair of  non-commercial speakers named HF-275 Helios, a tweaked Copland 301 mk II pre-amp and a heavily modded Rotel RCD 991 cd-player. Cables are Duelund interconnect and Van Den Hul speaker wire. Photos will follow later I promise.

I've always been curious when it comes to modifying, but must admit that the path quite often leads to nowhere. That though makes the whole price when occationally succeeding.
Switching the tubes in my pre-amp from 6922's to 6H6P's is the most rewarding modification I have ever tried. The difference to the better is simply breathtaking. And it has prompted me to try bypassing the op-amps in my cd-player, adding a 6H6P-based tube stage instead. Luckily such a device exists, and it's called a "Lampizator by the world famous Mr. Lukasz Fikus". Combined with a pair of Sowter trafos it has made my cd-player among the best ever. And thats a fact!"















Soren first converted his copland preamp to 6H6P and loved it. Then he decided to go for the whole thing and make a lampizator in his CD.
He installed it himself with little guidance.
Below are excerpts from our correspondence.
=====================
Hi Lukasz.
 
I have by chance come across your site and read about the "super-tube". Very interesting.
 
I have one small question, which I hope you can and will anwser:
Is it possible to change the line stage 6922 tubes in a Copland cta 301 mk2 pre amplifier to the 6H6P tubes without altering anything else?
=====================
Hello,
I did the same thing in this model of Copland. Difference was HUGE. But I had to remove the two tubes from MM section (unnecessary for the owner). The power supply can handle only 2 such tubes in total, not 4.
You can add separate heating circuit.
Regards,
Lukasz
=====================
Hi Lukasz
 
As promised a report.
 
First of all I must say, I never have had any major complaints about the Copland pre amp as it is with standard 6922 tubes. It has provided me with hours and hours of sheer joy when listening to music. 
Music has always been and will always be far more importnant to me than the technical stuff. So why even try something new, when I'm happy with what I've got? 
Well, curiousity hasn't killed me yet, -and I have read and heard what other tube-lovers think about the 6922... Although I do not agree that it's a useless tube when it comes to music reproduction, I'm not blind or deaf to others experiences, and coming across your site, I suddenly had the chance to try out a new path at a very low cost. So why not? If nothing else, then just for the hell of it.
 
The 6H6P is physically taller than the 6922. Just so tall that it won't fit in a Copland. It doesn't matter to me, since I have no difficulties in having a new cover made, but others could have a problem here.
 
Enough about the the peripheral details, it's the sound that matters!
 
When I first listened seriously to this new tube, I thought: "This is easy!"  A killer tube had arrived. Deeper bass, bigger sound scape, crispier sound, more air and all the other thousands of hifi-clichés came to mind. "I'll write it down so I can remember what to say to Lukasz."
Normally when I listen to new gear, I try out a lot of very well-known numbers and passages, in order to pin out differences and establish whether it's a bargain or not. And then later I'll just enjoy. Thats also pretty much how I started out this time, but very, very quickly I forgot about listening to details and nuances. And I forgot to write down too! I just had to sit down deep in the couch and be a part of the music.
I've listened to my system a whole lot of hours the last five days, and nothing has changed. I simply don't listen to hifi-parameters. I listen to whats inside the music; to the deeper meaning within the music, if you like. It's so cohesive, so fluid. 
Yes the details are there as they were with the 6922s, but they're not an important factor anymore. This is something different. Something else... And certainly something I want to get to know better. It's like listening to my cd's in a whole new way. Damn a cliché!, but I really mean it.
 
The next couple of weeks will bring forth the whole picture. Maybe there will be a few minors that I haven't noticed yet, I don't know, nothing is perfect. But I know the 6H6P outperforms the 6922, and I am not going back. Even if I still don't see the 6922 as a shitty tube, it has given me lots of pleasure in my set-up, I know now there is a better alternative.
 
Lukasz, thank you for introducing this "new" tube. And now I want a lampizator!
 

=====================
Btw the 6H6P tubes in my preamp amazes me constantly. It's the best tweak I have ever tried.
 
Best regards, Soren
=====================

Back to Lampizator:

Bingo!!!!  :-D
There it was! Pure clean music through leg 5.
The whole system is cold now, so I can't say anything about sound quality, -but the signal is way louder than I expected it to be... almost no difference... Funny... What are these op-amps for anyway?

You have a green light from me right away. I just need to know if you send along the anwsers to the where's and why's regarding the exact connection?

Please let me know the total cost and  the payment details. I'll transfer as soon as possible.

I'm very exited. Thanks and best regards, Soren


----- Original Message ----- From: "Lukasz Fikus" <lukasz.fikus@ultrak.pl>
To: "Søren" <soerenkaae@esenet.dk>
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 3:44 PM
Subject: Re: Lampizator


OK, I know now. You have a single op-amp in double package. Try leg 5 then. Guaranteed.

=====================================

Hi

A Lampizator has entered the building!

Nice work Lukasz :-)  I'll spend the next half hour hooking it up properly, and then it's time for some serious music listening. Best wishes, Soren
======================================

:-) Easy now, I'm enjoying.

Well what can I say?  It's flauntless and it plays wonderful. I have been listening to music contantly since the first note came out of my speakers Friday afternoon. Ok I've slept just a bit as well.

I'm not surprised, afterall I knew what I had coming after switching tubes in my pre-amp. There are so many tiny but crystal clear details. So much space that my speakers totally disappears. Sounds like the music doesen't come directly from them, but from around them. Instruments and musicians have life-like size and sound. And there is PUNCH!
I have a rather big CD collection and luckily most of them benefits from being played through this unit. But it shows no mercy on new ones or remasters that are dynamic compressed to the extreme. -Just can't figure out why the record companys do this shit, and spoil probably perfecly good recordings..?
But we can't blame the Lampizator for that! ;-) I'm a very happy man owning one. You have done a hell of a job contructing it Lukasz, and I have made a hell of a bargain. It's worth every cent.

Now I have a few questions:

There is no power switch. Should it just be turned on all time? Or will that shorten the tubes lifetime a lot?

I've checked the Sowter home page, and they recommend another transformer to fit a PCB 63 than you do. Is there a reason why you recommend 9762?

The output from the lampizator is very loud. Will it increase even more when i get the transformers implemented? I think Iwill need another attenuator if it does...

One of the tubes you send look a bit different than the other. The "plate" on top inside the tube is connected to the screen via two cores, just like the one I was send from Tube-Audio. On the other three tubes it's via one core... Is it an I-type?

Hope you'll have the time to answer.

Best regards and thanks for the supreme Lamizator, Soren


FOLLOW UP

Three years later -in July 2008  I discovered the 6N2P tube and now I would recommend to Soren to hookup his I out DACs to 6N2P only.