Iām running the LP with a Geshelli JNOG2. Highly recommend, but my only comparison was a Modi 3.
JNOG2 is $300 too.
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I did not mean to sell the Modius short. It is not a bad DAC at all, as a matter of fact, I think for under $300 its hard to beat considering all the features it has, and it would be my go to. IMO youād have to step up into the $700 plus range (Bifrost 2 / Ares II) to do better for a balanced DAC. But, if I could afford it or was looking for an upgrade path - compared to the Modius the BF2 is more resolving, with better detail retrieval, and has a smoother presentation. Soundstage is bigger (height & width & depth) with better imaging and separation. Also, for the money I have yet to hear a DAC that has the punch/slam of the BF2. But again I prefer that Schiit house sound warm signature, and I like a bit of slam - YMMV
EDIT: I have not heard any of the new offerings from Geshelli or any of the recent releases from Topping or SMSL so my experience with more modern < $400 DAC/AMPs is limited. But I did own Modius & Bifrost 2 and for a while at the same time so that is where I am pulling from.
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For the first several months that I owned this amp I ran it out of an SMSL SU-8 V2 and was quite happy. I then moved on to the BF2. While it was a difference, it was Not a night and day difference. Especially for triple the price, landed in Canada.
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Yeah looking at canuck audio mart it seems to be about 3x the price. I think I will roll with a modius then!
@BigBoyBrown I am using a jnog v1 with my Platinum and very much enjoy it coming from the topping E30 before it.
Hey folks. I had my MLP modded with upgraded capacitors including:
3 large capacitors replaced with: Elna SILMILC II 63V 470uf Capacitors
2 small capacitors togethor replaced with: Elna SilMILC II 35V 10uf Capacitors
1 small capacitor by the balanced headphone port replaced with: Nichicon MUSE 50V 100uf Capacitor
I hear a HUGE increase in clarity, resolution, dynamics, detail-retrieval and BASS SLAM!
Highly, highly recommended!
BTW, I canāt solder so had someone do the surgery for meā¦
This was not my idea and both the picture and supply list came from a post on head-fi that pointed me in the right direction. Apparently there are a few different options for capacitors that all slightly change the sound in different ways. This combination is supposed to have nice balance of increased clarity without being sibilant.
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Wish I knew someone who could doctor mine like this if it truly helps improve the unit alotā¦
On a side note, anybody by chance manage to try the liquid plats dac? Not even a thread for itā¦ shows out of stock so I assume it finally came out but I havenāt heard a word about them
My guess is it never came out because of the AKM factory fire. This and other COVID supply problems either caused a delay or straight up killed it.
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@WaveTheory I saw back in this thread you were discussing the channel imbalance during tube burn-in period. Well, I just got my LP today. The first hour of listening was pure bliss but then suddenly I noticed the left channel not as loud as the right. I turned everything off, unplugged, powered back on and it was better but only briefly. I donāt notice it as bad at lower volume. I did turn my pre-amp down on my ADI2DAC to -10db so the volume jump from 10-11 was much more smooth.
You had said you had some imbalance during burn in but it went away. What is typically a burn-in period that you know of for this amp? Iād hate to think I gotta send it back after just getting it! I was enjoying the sound so much with the Radiance too.
*I should specify this is all listening on the balanced XLR. I should try SE to make sure its the same.
**actually when I push in the right button to the SE, the imbalance goes away though Im still listening through XLR. So, Iām hoping it is just a burn-in thing.
It could be the tubes, they are not match or just settling in.
Itās likely the tubes, yes. I donāt remember the stock EH tubes taking all that long, but they needed nonzero burn-in time. Most NOS tubes burn-in in 12-24 hours I find. New production tubes can take 100 hours or more. I had a pair of Genalex Gold Lions for MLP and I have to leave them in and the amp on for a solid week before they stopped stabbing my ears with treble daggers.
For tube burn-in you donāt need to play music. Just leave them in with the amp powered on overnight until everything sounds balanced and harshness goes away (or gets as good as it appears it will get). Leaving them on is no more dangerous than leaving an incandescent light bulb on. Once burned in, though, power them down if youāll be away for awhile. Most tubes last 10000-12000 hours, but you chew through that a lot faster if you never turn them off.
Itās a good amp. Bifrost 2 + MLP + HiFiMan Edition X V2 was the chain that made me go āoh, thatās what all the fuss is aboutā
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Great info, thank you. Iāll leave them on for the night and see if things even out, literally.
Alright - putting this out there knowing that I could sound very dumb in my questioning here, but thatās how we learn right?
So with the LP, I am finding that when I have the button on the right depressed I get channel imbalance with the left channel definitely quieter. My headphones however are plugged in via XLR.
When I press the button in, which I understand to be the RCA inputs on the back, I then get full channel balance.
Should I worry about this at all? I understand I am still in tube burn-in phaseā¦but would that have anything to do with this? I just assumed the best way to plug in my LP would be using the XLR inputs from my ADI2DAC with the ones to the LP. I do, however, have both the XLR and RCA plugged in.
To test my questioning, I went ahead and unplugged the RCA inputs. So now when depressed I get no sound at all, which would be accurate. It also confirmed that it is the XLR inputs that are having the imbalance. I am going to try another set of XLR cables also just in case it is just thatā¦though I doubt it as these are the same cables used for my Jotunheim2 without issue.
At this point I would hate to return the unit since it seems to work balanced just fine with the RCA, but not getting the full benefit since the XLR so far is gimped.
Anyone found this on their unit? If so, did it resolve itself with burn-in?
UPDATE 12/3
I went ahead this morning and switched the XLR L/R input cables to see if it was possibly a cable fault. Same result. The left channel has a slight distortion every now and then and I do notice an imbalance.
I am thinking the LP I got could be defective just on the XLR inputs on the back, specifically the left. I know I could just always listen using the RCA inputs through the XLR balanced on the front, but I feel that is just settling for an amp that functions 50% of how it should.
If anyone else has had this issueā¦or similar issue with another amp and was able to correct, I would love to know.
Itās funny how things can come around full circle. I have always been curious about this amp and at one point wanted one. But at that time the price was over 700 dollars US. I couldnāt really do that at the time, so I went for the XDuoo TA-20 instead. And itās been a great amp. I was able to get some great replacement tubes for it and it really performed well.
Imagine my surprise when the Liquid Platinum showed up for under 300 bucks? I had to get one. I have been saving for something else, but I could not pass on it this time. And here we are. Iām glad I got it, too. Itās turning out to be everything I thought it might be. Maybe a little more.
First off, the unboxing ceremony was fun, as they usually are. The amp comes in this nice cloth bag. As I took it out of the bag I was impressed by the build. It has a good solid feel to it. Itās also a very good-looking piece, The silver-grey and black matching the other pieces in the system beautifully. I was able to secure a matched set of Gold Lion 6922s, and installed them straight away, leaving the stock Electro-Harmonix tunes in the box. I might try them one day, but for now the Gold Lions get the call. Cabled her up via XLR and fired it up. I let it sit for about 5 minutes and then connected the EDXS and started running the reference tracks to see what it could do.
I gotta say, Iām very impressed. This amp makes an insane amount of power. Some say itās too much power, and itās hard to argue the point. But I like it. And so does the EDXS. And so does the Sundara! This amp woke those right up. Not quite to XS level, but better than I had ever heard them. The LP is definitely a great match for planars.
Because of the tremendous power, I have read about the gain surge issue as you pass through the 10 Oāclock position on the control, but I am not experiencing that. There are spots on the dial where you sense gain, but I am not finding it to be excessive. I am not ham-fisted with the knob anyway and find that I can make very precise gain adjustments.
And the sound? I happen to think this a beautiful sounding amp. Very sweet, deep and engaging and yet extremely clean and resolving. The imaging and the way it presents the stage is really nice. Height, width, depth - all really nice spatial qualities. These tubes are in fact making their presence felt. Vocals seem like they are not as forward as say the TA-20 and other amps I have heard, but how it places instruments and brings things like the percussion and other effects to light more than make up for it. Beautiful bass, strong, clear mids, nice trebble response - You just want to keep listening to it. And that is what matters.
I know itās early, but I think this amp is a winner. Itās a wonderful addition to the system, and a worthy successor to the TA-20. I canāt believe I got this thing for the price I did. Tremendous value.
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Congratulations!
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With what prices you can get this amp for these days, itās an awesome value for what you get, definitely stand out in the category for me personally, glad youāre liking it @Raptor168
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Yessir, thank you. The value proposition is off the charts, and that is what strikes you the most I think. Beyond that, it just sounds so darned good. Iwas up till 0130, and after 6 hours of sleep I am back at it! With a special guest, tooā¦ The 660ās! 
The Senns sound amazing on this amp. So much so that I think they may have made their way back on to the system in here! Even better than the Sundara. The ZMF pads really helped that cause. There is something about the shear grunt of this amp that is bringing out things in these headphones that I was wasnāt hearing before on the TA-20. No knock on the TA-20, that was a good amp. This one is just better.
The sound is so engaging and fun, and yet you can do some critical listening on it. Iām enjoying it very much. And things stand to get even better over time. Not too bad, man!
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Thanks, Tim. Pretty exciting stuff for sure. And surprising in that it exceeded my expectations. I mean, I figured it would be good, but this thing is really good to my ear!
Not sure what I am going to do with the TA-20 now. Itās still a really good amp, with great tubes to go with it, but I donāt need 2 hybrids. Weāll see. Right now itās all about the LP!
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Got my replacement amp today. This time there were NO packing materials inside and the top of the box was opened. 
The amp is good and cold so I just hooked everything up, turned it on and am now giving it time to warm up. I will try it in a while.
Currently enjoying my Grado GH2ās out of my LD MK9 with a bit of EQ from my Loki.
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Wow. I have to say that my LP was not packed very well, either. But at least the box was not open! I was concerned at first, but it has been trouble-free since I deployed it.
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