[Todd]

Hi All,
 
And did you see on page 116 of The Absolute Sound 2112 High End Buyers Guide that the Pinnacle was listed in the preamplifier section! Not only is it a great headphone amp, but it is also a world class preamp. And that from Dick Olsher and The Absolute Sound.
 
And right now we have one in stock... any takers? I mean, doesn't your system deserve a Pinnacle!
 
Todd

 

[4N6]

Man, I wish I could afford it right now. The Pinnacle was SWEET while I had it on loan and I would love to have one of my own.
 
BTW Todd, I am no expert on this, but some preamps work better with certain types of amps, I believe due to impedance issues. Do you have any recommendations or thoughts as to the right types of power amps to mate with the Pinnacle?

 

[DavidMahler]

The Pinnacle was amazing.....Todd I still miss it sometimes

 

[pigmode]

^ When you're ready for a Pinnacle, I may want your 307a.

 

[rgs9200m]

I am trying a Sophia 6NS7 as the gain tube in the Pinnacle and I was surprised how much I like it at first hearing. It is nice and airy, a trifle brighter than the warm Brimar I was using, but just slightly and not tipped up at all,
even on the warm side of neutral. It has excellent controlled solid bass, with nice bass detail. And this is a tubey-sounding tube (if that makes sense) with a nice bit of shimmer in the highs that I hear with tubes as opposed to solid state.
It seems to mate well with the 2 other Pinnacle tubes, also Sophias (the PX4s). So far, I prefer the Sophia to the NOS Tung Sols and Sylvania 6NS7s I have tried (both the short bottles).

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

^ When you're ready for a Pinnacle, I may want your 307a.

I told him the same thing last year. 

 

[pigmode]

Quote:

Quote:

^ When you're ready for a Pinnacle, I may want your 307a.

I told him the same thing last year. 

 
must...be...patient...

 

[DavidMahler]

haha, I'm not sure I will get rid of it.  It's very good at what it does.  Maybe if my girlfriend can win me over on the idea of me giving up the hobby 

 

[pigmode]

^ Lol, I have time David. There are other interim options--one I have on loan right now from TTVJ. A Pinnacle later on would be very cool...

 

[Todd]

HI All,
 
In reply to the post about the Pinnacle matching up with amps as a preamp... from 4N6
 
[size=10.0pt]"This is a somewhat true statement, especially when talking about tube preamps.  Some tube preamps have high source (driving) impedance, and have problems driving some power amps, and even some interconnect cables.[/size]
 
[size=10.0pt]But the Pinnacle can drive pretty much anything - it has a quite low source impedance -  so I think any power amp would work fine with the Pinnacle as a pre.[/size]"
 
[size=10pt]This is from Pete...[/size]
 
I hope this helps.
 
[size=10pt]Todd[/size]

 

[rgs9200m]

The Pinnace is a superb-sounding preamp, with natural tonality at all frequencies.

 

[4N6]

Thanks, Todd. I appreciate the information.
 
I am running speakers that need a good amount of power (Magneplanar 3.7's), and will likely go the solid state route. Mating this with a great tube preamp would be ideal.

 

[Todd]

HI 4N6,
 
Let me know when you want to give it a try and I will send you my Pinnacle for a week to sample as a preamp. Then there will be no doubt...
 
Todd

 

[budx3385]

 
Todd loaned me his Pinnacle for 1 wk in mid-December. He was incredibly gracious and supportive all the way through. I am still totally enthralled by the memories of the Pinnacle's sound quality.
 
I hooked it up to the XLR i/c output from my Meridian 808.2i. I listened with my balanced, low impedance LA7000 primarily, as well as HD800, T1, LCD-2, and 880/600, balanced and unbalanced. I didn't get around to testing it with my IEMs.
 
It's hard to find words that add to what 4N6 and others have said here - this is one sweet ride, simply the best headphone amplifier I've ever heard. And it makes every headphone sound the best it can.
 
The music comes through clear and clean, with every subtle micro-detail of emotion and presence, with no emphasis anywhere, and with nothing missing. The real truth. With every kind of music.
 
I invited two local enthusiasts over to listen on a Saturday afternoon, they are known here as mikela and eaglejo. They both listen at home using a Balancing Act with KR PX4s, wired with SAA Endorphin all 'round, using LCD-2s. Both like jazz and rock, whereas I like classical, chamber and vocal. They brought some very nice tubes and other such.
 
We had a great time. They were both immediately impressed with the clean, crystal clear sound quality of the Pinnacle. We swapped their KR PX4s in, and we all thought the sound was very similar to their rigs, perhaps cleaner, but without an ABA test a critical judgement was not possible. I thought the Pinnacle sounded best with its original Sophia PX4s, but both of my friends are very attached to sound of their current setups, with good reason. When we swapped the single driver tube out for mikela's black base 6SN7W, the SQ was almost as wonderful as the unobtainium metal base Sylvania 6SN7W that Todd sent, and with eaglejo's Mullard ECC83, I heard a truly gorgeous richness, though it didn't seem quite as spacious and holographic (I immediately declared that it sounded "flat" and watched his jaw drop - LOL). As they left, we were merrily discussing the chances of getting a discount on a group order of 3 Pinnacles! 
 
I miss it terribly. The special quality of my modded Sonett is presence with clarity. The clarity it provides is very similar to the clarity of the Pinnacle, but the deep emotional presence of the Pinnacle is missing. 
 
And I'm saving up now.
 
Thank you, Todd. And a special thank you to Pete Millett.
 
 
 

 

[rgs9200m]

Yeah, once you get a Pinnacle, you really can't let it go.