Mini Meet at Eddie Current 4/13

[jp11801]

Wow another great mini at Craig's house, I wanted to come down to hear Joe's (Dreamcomposer) balanced Zana and A/B with the HD-2 that I own. Well I got to do that and a whole lot more.
Rounding out the amp line up was
Eddie Current HD2
Eddie Current Balanced Zana Duex
Eddie Current balancing act (prototype)
We also had a singled ended Zana and a EC proto amp with C41 power tubes that sounded great.
David (909) was nice enough to bring his amazing source the Reimyo 777 CDP, if you get the chance this is one great sounding source. We also had the pleasure of going back to the future and hearing to well regarded linear tracking turntables from the late 70/80s the Sony ps x 800 and the Harman Kardon st-7.
For me the HD2 and the balanced Zana were tops at the meet it was hard for me to say which I prefered as they each did different things better. The HD2 wqas faster and more dynamic while the balanced Zana has a huge soundstage (best I have heard) with a more lush sound. The Zana balanced favored classical music and the HD2 favored rock and jazz. although I would thing the the balanced Zana would also be great with classic era jazz.
Craig as usual had a few tricks up this sleeve and had a new proto of the balancing act amp. This amp is a tube rollers dream come true with a 6sl7 up front with the option to run either 300b or 45 tubes in the power section. The 45 or 300b is switchable by the user with a knob upfront in the proto it is a switch on the top of the amp. We tried the amp with graphite plate tubes from China and we also had AVVT 300bs as well the AVVTs sounded great. This amp will be a winner, if it comes out... Also in the design stage is a proto of a scaled back version of the HD2 amp. The amp that sounds best will in all likelihood go into production.
The linear tracking turntables were a real treat the Sony is so advanced it is amazing. The arm constantly checks to ensure it is aligned properly with sensors and tracking force is knob adjustable as the table can measure the weight and adjust accordingly. The Harman Kardon was far simpler with a Rabco arm and stainless/aluminum chassis it looked really cool. The HK sounded a bit better but I really felt it was more of a case of being better dialed in with a cart that matched the arm better. I am looking forward to hearing this deck again with a better cart match. I like the HK so much I found one on line today and bought it.
We took some pics so hopefully they will go up soon. I am leaving out a bunch but more to come.

Oh and for the surprise of the day Foome was in town also and stopped by with his Zana, it is always great to see a him.

[zippy2001]

[zippy2001]

[zippy2001]

Pure sonic orgasmic bliss!

All of the amps were outstanding, from the HD2 to the balanced Zana Deux to the Balancing Act. The Reimyo CDP was a first class source to drive all of these wonderful tubed Eddie Current amps.

909's L3000 were fantastic, very rich, organic and everything just sounded right about them.

It was a pleasure listening to some vinyl through both the Sony (with it's complex electronic linear tracking) and Craig's Harmon Kardon (simple mechanical linear tracking) turntables. The Blue Note 45 RPM reissue (i forgot the artist) sounded great.

Craig was a first class host, thank you so very much!

It was a great day spent talking with other head-fi enthusiasts and listening to some super fantastic gear!

[Killercrush]

What's that black tube pre-amp?/amp?! besides Craig's left shoulder in the 7th pic if you count from below ?! (Did anyone actually tried it ?) You got a nice lovely house by the way !

[zippy2001]

Originally Posted by Killercrush

What's that black tube pre-amp?/amp?! besides Craig's left shoulder in the 7th pic if you count from below ?! (Did anyone actually tried it ?) You got a nice lovely house by the way !

That would be the new scaled back HD2 that Craig is working on. He is hoping to get that completed for CanJam. It is still a work in progress at this time.

[foo_me]

Was I lucky or what!
Perfect timing to visit my folks in LA
First of all, huge thanks to Craig for his hosting and providing lunch as well.
And always, it's the people you meet and get to know at the meets that make them really enjoyable.
Nice to have seen some familiar faces again (909 and JP#s) and a new face in Zippy2001 (thanks for the CD...actually very good...I've been listening it in my car ever since)

My focus was on craig's balancing act since I am considering going balanced.
Unfortunately, only got to hear it single ended, but it held its own and you could hear the potential especially with the AVVT 300bs. A definite improvement in detail/clarity over the chinese branded tubes. Nice to know it can scale well with better tubes.
I'd love to be able to hear it from balanced source to balanced headphone out.
Can't wait till he finally decides which one to build...

That being said...the Zana is still up there as well...for me, there weren't huge differences in performance. Better with the HD2...yes, mostly in terms of refinement. Others I think could just as easily say it's a different sound. I'd have to spend more time with the hd2 to really tell.
I can still very easily enjoy the Zana even after hearing everything else at the meet.
Nice to know though that there are some things in the near future to look forward to!

[krmathis]

Looks like a really nice little meeting.
You obviously had a lot of amplifiers to choose from.

[Jon L]

Originally Posted by foo_me

Was I lucky or what!
it held its own and you could hear the potential especially with the AVVT 300bs. A definite improvement in detail/clarity over the chinese branded tubes.

What, no K1000 out of these amps? Do they have any speaker posts?

Anyway, I have tried both AVVT300B and EML 45 solid plate tubes, and you guys should really try the EML 45 in the Balancing Act. Man, that's what a tube-done-right is supposed to be like..

[foo_me]

Hopefully, Craig will have it or the hd2 ready in a month or two when I visit socal again.

I'll trust he makes the right decision when it comes to picking whichever one sounds better for production.
If it does become the BA, then I'll bring my WE 300Bs to compare and if I get one...most likely will try a pair of the EML 45s.

K1k was absent, but the hd2 does drive very them very very well.