The Gemini is a great amp. The stock tube is very good too. I tried tube rolling but so far keep going back to the original as it’s excellent. I bought the amp with the intention of comparing it to my Auris Nirvana, and it’s very good - 95 percent of the nirvana with a very nice mid range… at a...

I’ve had the pleasure of picking up some truely great music tips on this thread… things that synergies with the 1266. Now I’ve got a suggestion to repay the favours. criteria for me include the following: 1. sparkling treble 2. “full” bass sound, no flab but punch. Delineation of the bass...

It’s great to hear of tube amps that work well with the Abyss 1266 TC. My experience is limited, and I guess most of us haven’t spent a lot of time with a lot of tube amps. But I can add a couple to the list of exceptional, and great ones for the Abyss: Exceptional is the Auris Nirvana. The...

That’s actually an interesting question to answer accurately. The bigger Ben was a lot of fun, very tubey, to the point of being mildly bloated to my ears. But bear in mind I’m making comparisons to a much more audiophile amp in the Auris nirvana. The thing is for some music I just couldn’t stop...

I’ve only tried a handful, and owned three… a bigger Ben, an Auris nirvana... and a Prima Luna 200, purchased in that order. The EL34 tube is what I chose because of how it handles vocals and midrange. Cheap to replace and readily available, I chose Sophia EL34 tubes because of the 5 percent...

Thanks. Great information on the differences or lack of them between models. Personally i would choose based on aesthetics… the day my beloved and king suffering headfi wife saw the mk2 nirvana when it arrived she simply said: “wow it can stay” and that’s on our shared desk. Might not sound...

Yes the right tubes do it for me… sparkle and slightly better mid range while retaining the Abyss bass… bass that is hard to beat. It took me a while to appreciate the value of a good amp, and I prefer resolution, neutral presentation and accurate textured bass. I found the Auris nirvana...

Good question Acomera, I did look around for the Headinia before buying the Nirvana but they were not readily available to audition a year or so ago. At the price I can understand why… nor too many would be sold here I think. T

Sorry to hear, I can say the Sophia EL34 have been working flawlessly for me and have had a year of extensive use without issue. I do have Psvane EL34 in my prima Luna Evo 200 amp used for speakers, and I’ve had no issues with these either. I had a black treasure KT88 fail in the first ten...

I have not heard the Cayin but I can attest to the synergy valves can have with the 1266. I have an Auris Nirvana and I highly praise the synergy. The 1266 is just “sweeter”, fuller. I still prefer my Sparkos Aries solid state for crystal sharp resolution in some music like electronic, eg...

Likewise dead quiet for me… and so blue :)

I tried the Auris HA-2SF and liked it, not too tubey, not too lean, just tubey nice. I did pull the trigger on the Auris Nirvana because of the added clarity, resolution and with the right tubes “top end sparkle”. But I could have enjoyed the HA-2SF a lot if I bought it, it had fun factor for...

I appreciate your point… and I can say average amps give less than average results with the 1266. But some spectacular amps can not suit it as well too. I didn’t want to be controversial but I don’t find for instance that the chord TT2 amp is equal to the other amps I have tried when used for...

Amps I own and use with 1266 for their synergy include: - sparkos labs Aries, plenty of power. Some things excel, classical, piano, jazz. If you want to experience something special tubular bells with this setup is it. Bass is excellent and non fatiguing listening, I stopped looking for a...

It’s just been announced… a Sparkos tube amp. It was mentioned in a newsletter email from Sparkos that I got last week .It is likely to be awesome and I consider myself on the wait list of interested enthusiasts once details emerge. The only other headphone amp I use after I got the Sparkos...