DNA Sonett Review - Page 38

My pleasure! I have all these cars myself by the way. They're in my garage on a shelf. You can fit three of them in the new Stratus. 

I just received your email, thank you.

Besides very interesting this amp is going to be quite impressive as well. It has roughly the same footprint as my P-1u so it will fit well on top of that one.

I am also kind of glad it doesn't have speaker outputs and is built as a dedicated headphone amplifier.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donald North 

Thanks for posting all these beautiful photos!

 

Regarding the Stratus, the production chassis will be 17" W x 14" D with 8.5" overall height including tubes. It will have 2 sets of RCA inputs (no XLR balanced inputs for cited reasoning). For outputs there will be 1/4" stereo, dual 3-pin XLR, and 4-pin XLR. The XLRs will be selectable between balanced and unbalanced drive.

 

The stock output transformers custom made by Edcor are really good. To improve upon them would require custom Hi-B or nickel double C core units made by Audio Note which cost $$$,

 

Most of the components have arrived for the first units. The major gating item is the chassis which I'm following up daily.

I am sorry to hear about the delivery problems. Any progress to report?

I wonder if someone could give me some advice regarding buying either the 2A3 or the Sonett.

Feel free to jump in Donald!  :)

The amp would be used only to drive phones that are very sensitive and have a low impedance (40-60), in other words all my Audio Technicas and maybe the D7000.

I wonder if the 2A3 won't be overkill and too powerfull and if the Sonett wouldn't serve me better.

There is a big price difference of course but that isn't my main concern, I'm more interested in what will sound best with my phones, the Audio Technicas thus. I don't care how it will sound with any other phones I have.

Also, there is the matter of the legendary 2A3 sound signature which simply intrigues me.

There are two other options I know of, being the Moth which has too much noise for sensitive cans and the EC. I would prefer the DNA version though as I already have a fantastic Zana and the different interpretation (sonically and cosmetically) will give me more variation which is something I enjoy.

For low impedance headphones I recommend the Stratus because it has lower output impedance than the Sonett. For the 1/4" output there will be a toggle switch to select between full and -6dB gain from the amplifier to better accommodate higher sensitivity headphones.

Ah, thanks Donald. In a way I am glad since I am intrigued by the 2A3 sound.

My wallet on the other hand is a bit less enthusiatic.  ;)

The Stratus is certainly an amp I will need to get this year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donald North 

For low impedance headphones I recommend the Stratus because it has lower output impedance than the Sonett. For the 1/4" output there will be a toggle switch to select between full and -6dB gain from the amplifier to better accommodate higher sensitivity headphones.

hello donald, can you tell us what the output impedance of the 2a3 amp is?

obviously above 32 ohms, but hopefully not much higher. thanks

Through the XLR outputs and 1/4" set for full gain, the output impedance is 8 ohms on the Stratus 2A3 amp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donald North 

Through the XLR outputs and 1/4" set for full gain, the output impedance is 8 ohms on the Stratus 2A3 amp.

wow, that is something!

Any news on the Stratus?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frihed89 

Any news on the Stratus?

I'm interested in an update on the Stratus as well.  Really enjoyed the prototype at the Norcal meet and sounds like it would be a good match for my stable of headphones. 

Last I heard (I think from Purrin) last week his first production unit was ready to ship.

I received the production chassis last week and started building the first unit. We're working to have it finished by the end of the week and post photos. It's looking good

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donald North 

I received the production chassis last week and started building the first unit. We're working to have it finished by the end of the week and post photos. It's looking good

It was very impressive looking at the Bay Area/NorCal meet.

Oh my.  I'm very interested in the stratus.

I've been checking for this thread to appear in my Subscriptions every single day of this year.  

My heart skipped a beat when I saw it just now.

I had a great evening last night with my Sonett with the stock tubes back in place and a pair of Senn HD 600s.  Everything was just clicking all night, no matter what I threw at it.  Usually I'm using a Mullard CV1377 and Reflektor  Supertube and the Senn HD 800s.  Maybe my brain made the switch from critical mode to just enjoy the music mode, because I certainly was enjoying everything.  As I turned off the amp, I gave it a little pat on the side and said, "Good job, sleep tight."

Or, maybe it was the few beers.  

Now, to search for this meet thread and see if anyone made any comments about the Stratus.