I am beginning to agree with this statement. Got my Stratus in last night and I've been using the EML 2A3 meshes with the Marconi U52 so far. The bass is not as tight as I'd want it to be, and there is a little bit of hotness going on in some songs. I'll mix the meshes up with the stock rectifier later this weekend to see how they play together. Otherwise, I'll need to swing for the solid plates. Is there a rectifier pairing with the meshes that would have the same effect? Add tighter base, and bring the mid-range forward some, but maintain the transparency and resolution of the Marconi U52 rectifier?
DNA Stratus 2A3 amplifier - first impressions
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I am beginning to agree with this statement. Got my Stratus in last night and I've been using the EML 2A3 meshes with the Marconi U52 so far. The bass is not as tight as I'd want it to be, and there is a little bit of hotness going on in some songs. I'll mix the meshes up with the stock rectifier later this weekend to see how they play together. Otherwise, I'll need to swing for the solid plates. Is there a rectifier pairing with the meshes that would have the same effect? Add tighter base, and bring the mid-range forward some, but maintain the transparency and resolution of the Marconi U52 rectifier?
I think EML 5u4g or Ken rad CKR Vt-244 should tighten the bass. I personally find U52 a bit too smooth and bass lacking for my liking even though its soundstaging was very nice.
So, I purchased a used Stratus from a generous member last Friday. I've been doing some critical listening, and although the sound isn't where I want it to be, I am enjoying it nonetheless. It was definitely worth the upgrade, and I just need to get my tube complement nailed down. In the meantime, I got a helper in the mail today; a balanced (XLR) to single (RCA) cable to go from a Schiit Gumby (and future Yggdrasil) to the Stratus. Robert Lee from Acoustic Zen advised me that I'll need to connect the red cables seen in the images below to one of the screws on the chassis of the Stratus. This will ensure that the connection is truly balanced. He also suggested to listen to it 'non-balanced' since it may sound better, then choose my preference. I don't intend to start a balanced vs. unbalanced flame fest. Simply put, it is common knowledge that the Gumby and Yggy balanced outs are their best outputs. So I simply wanted to take advantage of that. Anyone have any experience grounding a cable this way in the past?
Sorrodje
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yage
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So, I purchased a used Stratus from a generous member last Friday. I've been doing some critical listening, and although the sound isn't where I want it to be, I am enjoying it nonetheless. It was definitely worth the upgrade, and I just need to get my tube complement nailed down. In the meantime, I got a helper in the mail today; a balanced (XLR) to single (RCA) cable to go from a Schiit Gumby (and future Yggdrasil) to the Stratus. Robert Lee from Acoustic Zen advised me that I'll need to connect the red cables seen in the images below to one of the screws on the chassis of the Stratus. This will ensure that the connection is truly balanced. He also suggested to listen to it 'non-balanced' since it may sound better, then choose my preference. I don't intend to start a balanced vs. unbalanced flame fest. Simply put, it is common knowledge that the Gumby and Yggy balanced outs are their best outputs. So I simply wanted to take advantage of that. Anyone have any experience grounding a cable this way in the past?
This is not a true balanced connection, it is still single-ended. The red wire lead is most likely attached to pin 1 of the balanced output, which should be chassis ground and should be attached (as advised) to the Stratus chassis to avoid ground loop problems. Center pin of the RCA is probably wired to pin 2. Better solution would've been a transformer that converted balanced to single-ended. Best would be from Gumby SE out to Stratus SE in - no need for complicated setups.
EDIT: Looking at the picture again - could be true balanced up to the RCA termination if there's an inline transformer. Can't tell.
It is mostly tube-related. I purchased a Marconi U52 rectifier, and EML 2A3 meshplates prior to taking possession of the amp. Ultimately, the EML meshplates were a bad decision to be paired with the HE1Ks. Overly brittle highs, recessed mids, and bass-wise - baby ain't got no back. It did a lot of things great. Details galore, great soundstaging, loads of harmonious reverb and air leading to nice decay. However, the highs hurt on some songs, there was a lack of body all around, affecting the tone of instruments. In short, it just unnaturally had too much air and nothing grounded. So, after thinking it needed some burn-in and giving it time, up until last night, I gave up and put in the stock power tubes, and SPLADOW! Tone - much better. Weight and mids - check. Strident high frequencies - Tamed, but still glassy on some material. The bass though - much improved and satisfactory for my music preferences. To put things into perspective, I have been enamored by the amp from the moment I pressed play. The resolution, soundstaging, imaging, transparency are phenomenal, and leaves everything I have owned in the dust. But I needed more of that SET sound, like I had on my Bottlehead SEX, in addition to these great technical things, which is why my relatively new pair of EML meshes have to go. Now, I'll be looking to the EML solids to provide me with the warmth, smoothness, bass punch, and shift the mids forward. It's always a fine balance, I know. I switched from a NOS Novosibirsk 6N1P to a cryo 6N1p-EV Voshod driver tube this morning and some of the glassiness has subsided. I love the transparency and linear nature of the Marconi U52s, so I would rather not mess with two variables at the same time, but I am willing to listen to suggestions on what to try in their stead. However, Ideally, I would rather introduce changes with the power tube right now. Thanks for reading this long spiel, but you did ask. Lol.
@yage. Yes it is a ground wire that will ensure that the connection stays grounded and truly balanced. It doesn't have any implications on the internal workings of the Stratus - the manufacturer did say to try it with and without the grounding to see which sounds best. I'd like to repeat that I only went this route to ensure that I could use the most optimized outputs of my intended future DAC, the Yggdrasil. It wasn't done under the illusion that balanced is best or that it will render the entire setup truly balanced.
yage
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Ok - well, I sure hope there's an inline transformer somewhere, especially in light of this post from Jason Stoddard.
Thanks for that link. I'd like feedback also from others who may have tried this sort of thing in the past. Jason echoed what Acoustic Zen told me, it will not damage anything, it just may not sound better than a single to single connection. In the specific case of the cable at hand even XLR to single (non-grounded) may sound better than XLR to single (grounded). It'll require experimentation on my part to decide what works best. Worst case, I'll go back to using my old interconnects.
yage
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I'm interested in the results, whatever they are. Hope you don't get too lost in the music and post your findings!
Sorrodje
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drheadphone
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Have you tried the EML Mesh Plate 5U4G? It's more mid-forward than the U52 and has tighter bass. One my favorite setups on the Stratus is all EML Mesh plate 2A3 and 5U4G tubes paired with the HE560.
Bigsecret
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I agree that the EML Mesh 5U4G and 2A3 are a good pairing with planar magnetic phones. The EML rectifier seems to fill out the thinness of the EML power tubes and create a lot of depth to the sound. Last weekend I kept messing with my best tubes and, honestly, I liked many of the combinations for different reasons. I was really enjoying Marconi U52, Shuguang Natural Sound 2A3s and Novosibirsk box plate 6N1P then swapped out the Natural Sounds for WE275s and liked as much for different reasons. The WE275s seems to have a little less gain than other 2A3s but when you push them a little they sure sound sweet.
bigfatpaulie
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EML Mesh? Sure it sounds good, but when a tube looks like this, who cares how it sounds??
Amirite???
Nice pics there. I must admit, they are sexy to look at, and their aesthetics did force me to stick with them longer than I normally would. The stock tubes, as boring as they appear, suit my system better relatively speaking. I will take all suggestions into consideration. I need to be cautious regarding generalizations about planars. I had the LCD-3Cs prior to getting the HE1Ks, and admittedly they would have gotten along very well with the EML meshes. Unfortunately, the HE1Ks have as much of a higher frequency presence as they do the lower frequencies, with a slightly recessed midrange. Overall, I consider them to be very neutral. Their classification as warm, I suspect, is due to the amount of bass they present.
Is the consensus that the EML 5U4G is a smooth, bassy tube, and hopefully not to the detriment of transparency? I would really love to keep the EML 2A3 meshes, like bigfatpaulie said, they sure are beauties, and I don't hear the descriptors they garner used for any other 2A3 tubes. I would surely like to maintain their best attributes coupled with another tube.
Is the consensus that the EML 5U4G is a smooth, bassy tube, and hopefully not to the detriment of transparency? I would really love to keep the EML 2A3 meshes, like bigfatpaulie said, they sure are beauties, and I don't hear the descriptors they garner used for any other 2A3 tubes. I would surely like to maintain their best attributes coupled with another tube.
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