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LSA VT-70

This is a repeat of a post I made over on AudioAsylum, but thought some would find it interesting if they did see it over there.

I've had a LSA VT-70 for about a week now and probably have about 15 or so hours on it, so these are initial impressions, not a long-term assessment.

The unit was ordered in mid-July knowing that Underwood was out of them and waiting for the next shipment. It finally arrived about a week ago. On unboxing, the amp is a simple cosmetic design, but nicely built and attractive. It is also heavy at 46 pounds.  A tube cage is included, but easy to remove and put back. A remote is also included -- it only adjusts volume and has a mute button, but no other functions.  One side-note, the remote does not include a battery, so you'll need to buy a CR-2032 cell for it if you want to use it.

This is a basic integrated tube amp with EL34 output tubes, producing 35 watts a channel. It has three line-level inputs, a volume control and an on/off switch. The front panel also has a 1/4" headphone jack and two VU meters with switches for the meter lights and and using them for tube bias adjustment.  All of the tubes (four EL34 outputs, one 12AX7 and two 12AU7s) are LSA branded so not sure who is the real manufacturer.  The rear of the amp has three sets of RCA inputs, a single pair of preamp outputs for a sub, and connections for one pair of speakers, with both 4 and 8 ohm options. The owners manual also says that you can use 6550 or KT88 output tubes in place of the EL34s if you wish to tube roll.

The amp is currently in my second system, hooked up to a pair of Spendor 4/5 bookshelf monitors I recently acquired. (This is Spendor's current interpretation of the classic LS 3/5a speaker.)  The results? Excellent.  The amp is effortless in driving the speakers to my desired listening levels, generally about 85 dB max, in the room. (Though not a big room at 12' X 12', it is completely open on the right to a larger room.)  The sound is clean and balanced from bass to treble. Transients and percussion are well presented with no sense of brittleness.  Midrange is smooth and clear; voices are excellent.  It has that 3-D quality that good tube amps give, but is not syrupy or muddy. I played a wide variety of music -- folk, rock, jazz, classical (from solo piano to orchestral) and found myself in that delightful spot of wanting to put on yet one more track after I thought I'd just put on the last song for the session.

In summary, this is a very good tube amp. I'm in agreement with the several professional reviews out there that say this is quite the deal.  List on the amp is $1,399 and, since it was only introduced this year, there is an intro price of $1,299. Shipping is extra. If you are looking for a tube amp that sounds good and looks good, I doubt that you'll find anything new that competes without spending quite a bit more.

 

mlsstl
johns21's avatar
johns21
20 posts
 

Any comparisons of the LSA vs the similarly priced Willsentons that are around $1500?  What are the other big competitors at this price?  Seems to check all of the boxes, just wanna make sure I'm not missing something major.  This would be my first piece of tube gear. 

 

Hopeful chain

bluesound node > black ice dac FX wifi > int amp > la scala

garyalex
117 posts
 

I had the opportunity to hear this amp at the Capital Audio Fest last weekend.  Of course when you’re listening to a system with unfamiliar components it can be hard to isolate how an amp sounds.  I do know that what I heard sounded great.  The bass was taut and punchy, the mids warmish and the top end clean and non-fatiguing.  Build quality appeared to be excellent.  It’s amazing what you can get for a reasonable amount of money these days.  The $1500 I spent on my Willsenton R300 is unequivocally one of the best audio purchases I’ve ever made.

buellrider97's avatar
buellrider97
945 posts
 

Thanks for your review. FWIW some years back I got back into stereo with an Antique Sound Labs integrated that was similar to the LSA. The other option back then was the Jolida. I haven’t played with the LSA but it appears to be superior to the ASL and Jolida’s of back then. What I will share is the HUGE IMPROVEMENT in sound quality I experienced tube rolling. Back then you could get the Svetlana Winged C’s for about $30 per tube and they were the factory first’s not the junk seconds in plain white boxes. I was on a budget and purchased Tungsram nos small tubes and the Winged C’s for power tubes. I paired that little amp with JBL 4312A’s and ran Zu cables and upgraded power cords. I was amazed at what that little integrated could do. Since then I’ve progressed to a couple tube systems. One single ended pentode with a tube pre running low power to Zu omens or modded Heresys. And the other a balanced two piece tube pre to 180 wpc tube monos powering Tekton DI’s.  But where you are at with the LSA takes me back to the ASL and that period of discovery. That period was one of the most fun times I’ve had in home audio. As a teen in the 70’s I had Dynaco and came back to tubes in the 90’s with the ASL and have progressed to the Had Inspire and a bunch of Rogue gear. There is unlimited stuff I could progress to but I’m old and that better gear is incredibly expensive. But I applaud you as you share “ The Fun Zone “ , and taking me back to my youth. Much Respect, Mike B. 

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