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LampizatOr- Amber-3 Manual
Directly heated diodes
are older in design, physically larger, and have 4 pins versus 5
and use 5V heaters versus 6,3.
PINOUT: 2-8 is heater 5,0 V AC. Pin 8 (or2) is also cathode. Pins 4 and 6 are two anodes.
Other pins - even if existing - are not connected. To test - just use a meter and check
resistance in ohms between the pins. IN A RECTIFIER THE ONLY TWO PINS WHICH
SHOW ANY OHM READING AT ALL, ARE HEATER PINS. THE READING SHOULD BE
IN SINGLE OHMS like 2 Ohm.
Some people report back that the directly heated diodes sound better than their indirectly
heated counterparts, but this hasn't been verified in any semi scientific way. Generally we
expect the directly heated diodes to have up to 400% higher current capability as well as
voltage max. It al depends on the DEMAND of our circuit. Some Lampizator tube stages
demand only 2 mA in total, some can demand 40mA and more. Amber-3 DAC demand in
total for 2 channels is 20 mA for the SE or 40 mA for the balanced version.
To change music tubes you must switch off the amp. DAC can continue to work.
The rectifier can be changed safely DURING LISTENING without even turning down the
volume.
Aging problems
As already explained above, the DAC should age very very slowly.
The digital PCB should last a lifetime. The transformer, the output caps, the cables,
plugs, sockets – should last a lifetime. There are only 5 electrolyte caps which we
selected from premium brands and they should last circa 20 years. Other than that we
suggest to change tubes every 10 years.
So - short of a thunderstrike – we expect no failures or ageing problems before 20-30
years.
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