[Dipesh]

To be honest I am not a reviewer. I do not go down the path of measurements. I trust my ears. I listen to what I love. About 4-5 months ago , I decided to upgrade my Mogwai SE. It was a beautiful versatile powerhouse. Before Mogwai I owned ZMF pendant and before that woo audio amps.
After debating for about 5 minutes I decided to invest into Nautilus. Justin s insta feed showed his hard work and meticulous build.
Justin is probably one of the nicest person I have met in audiophile scene. Extremely cordial and helpful.
When the amp arrived , I was blown away by it's weight. Fully packaged the amp is around 95 lbs. Amp by itself is around 65 lbs. It is built like a tank like a M...F...Tank.
The design speaks to my aesthestics. Bold chrome hiding the beefy transformers reflects the mesmerizing glow from the tube. Slightly rounded corners provide an elegant tactile feeling. The only change I will probably make will be to placement of the logo . I ordered a self adhesive custom chrome lettering. I am super excited about them.
Beside that tiny issue amp is gorgeous.(see pics).

Amp is pitch black , No hum , no buzz , no crackle .I am using deep core ' s power conditioner which justin provided.The Nautilus allows for a wide range of tubes, including 6l6gc through KT90s, 6L6GC STR or KT88, a single 12AX7, and two 5AR4 or 5U4 rectifiers.(from ampsandsound website)

As I commented before Naulilus is transparent and dynamic but maintains the romantic and delicate nature.Clarity/ detail is insane. Bass you can feel inside your heart. Provided incredible detail , layered and textured sound. I love the tone and delicacy I get with different tubes. This Amp is a seducer and I quickly became very addicted. (I have Focal trio 11be for home listening. I actually miss my office setup on weekend when I am home.) I found it hard to stop listening.I could listen to this amp for hours without fatigue regardless of music. It was always so smooth and pulled me into the music. Pulled me into the stage, into the studio. With my eyes closed I forgot I had any audio gears. The only reminder was the warmth of the tubes. Nautilis is extremely dynamic and powerful, easily drove my susvara. Music is put forward with authority , finesse and heavenly harmonic texture.With Susvara on Nautilis I can touch the instruments , I can feel every kick drum. I can feel the singers breath, I can feel the room. All of that at the same time . Other Amps did not provide the level of musicality that Nautilus did . I am running Nautilus fully open.I will be trying ZMF VC in few months. Abyss TC ' fit was odd and uncomfortable.

Final word: ENDGAME

SONG :
Hard Time Killing Floor - Buddy Guy
Tool - Entire Discography
Maximum the Hormone
River - Bishop Briggs
Tand Alla Ljus - Silvana Lmam
O Death - Ralph Stanley
wayfaring strange
Magic Sword
Muse
Little submarine - The Black Keys
Many many many more...too many to list.
P.S - Metal fans should give maximum the Hormone a listen.

 

[Dipesh]

What is up with audio science review forum. Loads of assholes who like linear sound? or just assholes in general

 

[ampsandsound]

Dipesh,

ASR isn't interested in subjective assessments... they like all things measured as I understand it.
Additionally, I don't think they are fans of tubes. Sorry you got flamed. Im supper pleased you're enjoying the amp, it represents several years of development and is our finest work.
The nautilus and all ampsandsound amps are decidedly old school and antiquated from a technology standpoint.
To my ears, tubes do it better and I like amps I can repair with a volt meter and an account form Mouser or Digikey. Many SS technologies continue to develop at breakneck speeds, its has been a historic issue servicing SS components as parts have planed obsolesce.
There are many paths and technologies with supporters and detracts alike... sorry they left a bad impression. Given your love of tubes, I don't think you will find them supportive.

 

[me2621a]

Hey guys,
I know we are a headphone loving group but I did want to share something kinda fun, yet maybe a bit off topic. As all of us know in this thread Justin builds incredible headphone amps. Having had the privalage to listen to and own pretty much his entire line (except the Casablanca and the Zion) I can say when it comes to amps he constantly over delivers. However today I want to briefly talk about something that many of us may not know about, which is that Justin also builds horn loaded speakers, both big and small.

For a long time, Justin has suggested that I should try a set of horns with his amps, espacially with the Nautilus. Now I have great speakers (Anthony Gallo Ref 3.1s), however they are far to inefficient and the wrong load for the the Nautilus and I have limited space so I kept say “eh one day”. However with the pandemic, and finding myself spending more and more time at home I decided to look into a set of horn speakers that I could pair with his amps when I wanted to. Given that I have never owned them before, I thought to myself why not try the Klipche Heresy IVs, they are smaller, I can put them in the corner of my room, and bring them out when I want to listen. So I got a pair from a local dealer to demo, and I learned three things. The first, is Justin’s amps are excellent headphone amps, but they are probably one of the best speaker amps I have ever heard. The second is that I like the sound of horn speakers. Finally the third was that the Heresy IVs were still to big and to heavy for me to move every time I wanted to listen to them.

When Justin and I caught up, he offered to send me a pair of his Figure 8s, these are his custom built horn loaded monitors, 8 inch woofer, and an 8 inch conical horn. His promise was at least as good if not better performance then the Heresy IV, in a package that is about half the size (18Tx14Dx10W) and much lighter. They arrived on Friday and I have been listening to them non stop since then. Here are a few thoughts:

Finish: The black finish is beautiful, just as good as any satin black finish you can get from the big name manufacturers.

Performance: One thing that concerned me was that these are 92db efficient speakers, and most things I have read say if you have 8 watts, you need 98+dB efficient speakers. I can tell you right now that these are dynamic and awesome off the Nautilus, and Justin actually drives these with a Kenzie. Switching more specifically to the speakers performance. These monitors deliver deeper and more powerful bass then the Heresy IVs even when placed out into the room. You can feel it in your chest, and for me that is the biggest surprise. They go down to about 35hz and while that is not quite full range, I feel no need to add a subwoofer. When I had the Heresy IV in house, I really liked the presentation except when I didn’t. To be more specific, at times the Heresy IV sounded like someone was shouting through a horn, especially with certain octaves in the midrange. The Figure 8s never have that effect, they do provide a forward and engaging presentation, but they are always controlled. Female vocals sound especially great, and everything from Liz Fair to the Gorillaz sound real and engaging.

Initial Conclusion: I still have more time that I need to spend with these, but I can that these were one of the best deals I have ever gotten in audio. They sound great, look great, and reasonably sized, and perform really well with the A&S amps. If any of you are thinking about trying speakers with your A&S amps, be sure to ask Justin about what he has, I think you will be really surprised. Of course, here is a pic of my temporary setup, even with this sub-optimal placement, they simply wow.

 

[ampsandsound]

Super kind words.
I love building speakers but only built 1-2 a year due to all the labor involved.

 

[Traiguen]

Okay, here are some goodies. For my first listen I decided on Pink Floyd's Animals album. To establish a point of reference, I first listened all the way through on my GS-X Mini, then again on the Mogwai SE. The only headphones I have at the moment are the Sennheiser HD800S, so that's what I used. This is just a seat of the pants impression on a brand new amp with new tubes, and no burn-in time.

The Mogwai SE sounds terrific (no surprise there, right?). It gives up a little in treble clarity and detail to the Mini, but it has more bass energy, punch, and dynamics. There's more weight from the bass through the midrange. It just sounds warmer and fuller. The midrange is more forward. The bass is not quite as articulate as on the Mini, but sounds more extended and has more slam. So in general, compared to the Mini, which is very transparent and neutral, the Mogwai SE has a warmer and more dynamic presentation. Soundstage and imaging were about the same. Both amps provided a very enjoyable listen, but the Mogwai and its tube complement need many more hours of use before I can form any solid impressions. In fact, all my components do. The Mini, HD800S and Mogwai all are brand new. The HD800S and Mini have less than 8 hours on them so far, so everything needs some burn-in time.

I should also mention that I only used the 32-ohm tap on the Mogwai. I suspect the sound would change slightly using the 8 or 300 ohm tap, but I'll have to experiement a little.

The Mogwai was dead silent even with the volume control at full, with no music playing. And this was with my wifi router 8 feet away.

I am waiting on my Mogwai SE also with Juniper caps and I have the GSX-Mini as well.... Funny coincidence!

 

[Little Bear]

I am waiting on my Mogwai SE also with Juniper caps and I have the GSX-Mini as well.... Funny coincidence!

Well you have excellent taste then The Mogwai SE is easily my favorite piece of gear. And tomorrow, Fedex will be delivering my new ZMF Auteur so the Mogwai will have another playmate.

 

[tholt]

I have a Mogwai SE that I use with my Abyss 1266 Phi CC. These planars are not very sensitive and love power, and the SE does a good job with them. I use KT88 power tubes and connect directly to the speaker posts for max power.

I recently acquired Sony MDR-Z1R, which are considerably more sensitive than the Abyss. The issue I have is now is very little play with the volume knob before it gets too loud, i.e. too much gain. I assumed using either the low or high z outputs would lessen the gain, but surprisingly not really. I'm only able to turn the volume knob about 1/4 turn before it gets too loud, regardless of which output I use.

Any suggestions on how to lessen the gain? Should I be using less powerful power tubes? And also curious why I hear so little difference (sonically and gain-wise) between the different outputs?

 

[omniweltall]

I have a Mogwai SE that I use with my Abyss 1266 Phi CC. These planars are not very sensitive and love power, and the SE does a good job with them. I use KT88 power tubes and connect directly to the speaker posts for max power.

I recently acquired Sony MDR-Z1R, which are considerably more sensitive than the Abyss. The issue I have is now is very little play with the volume knob before it gets too loud, i.e. too much gain. I assumed using either the low or high z outputs would lessen the gain, but surprisingly not really. I'm only able to turn the volume knob about 1/4 turn before it gets too loud, regardless of which output I use.

Any suggestions on how to lessen the gain? Should I be using less powerful power tubes? And also curious why I hear so little difference (sonically and gain-wise) between the different outputs?

You can use a passive pre-amp, like the Sys.

 

[ampsandsound]

I can give a ton of options later tonight. Not infront of my computer but will type it out tonight.
inshort look at how hot your input source is. Look at using 5u4 rectifier. Also might try other taps. The Sony will likely pair better on the 32ohm tapp. One of the nice aspects of the Mogwai se is tube rolling. May not be helpful for changing between headphones within a istening session but changing to 6l6gc tubes will increase your sweep of the volume pot as the power will be halved.

 

[tholt]

You can use a passive pre-amp, like the Sys.

I really don't want to introduce anything else. Rather stick with just the Mogwai if I can.

I can give a ton of options later tonight. Not infront of my computer but will type it out tonight.
inshort look at how hot your input source is. Look at using 5u4 rectifier. Also might try other taps. The Sony will likely pair better on the 32ohm tapp. One of the nice aspects of the Mogwai se is tube rolling. May not be helpful for changing between headphones within a istening session but changing to 6l6gc tubes will increase your sweep of the volume pot as the power will be halved.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[ampsandsound]

Feel free to give me a call as time allows. But here are thoughts.
The Mogwai SE doesn't use switched in resistors to attenuate input signal, just the volume pot.
Selection of output and rectifier tubes was thought behind best system matching.
You can scale upto max power with a plug in SS rectifier and KT90s.Kt88s (KT90s sound like crap).
Our you can shrink it to least power with 6l6gc and 5u4 reciters.
I personally love the sound of Tungsol 606gc str and Russian coke bottle 5u4s.
As a quick aside, if you have a Mogwai SE later revision with the 8ohm tap, you have the same power output as the binding posts.
You might want to look at your dacs output... some are selectable re voltage out.
Parts express sells RCA input attenuators... $25 for a pair. Harrison Labs 12 dB RCA Line Level Audio Attenuator Pair.
Additionally... not that I love these choices but people do it and it works... run a 6SN7 or get a 12AX7 to 6SL7 adapter on eBay... try the 12AU7s.... They are less musical to me but are less microphonic too.

 

[tholt]

Feel free to give me a call as time allows. But here are thoughts.
The Mogwai SE doesn't use switched in resistors to attenuate input signal, just the volume pot.
Selection of output and rectifier tubes was thought behind best system matching.
You can scale upto max power with a plug in SS rectifier and KT90s.Kt88s (KT90s sound like crap).
Our you can shrink it to least power with 6l6gc and 5u4 reciters.
I personally love the sound of Tungsol 606gc str and Russian coke bottle 5u4s.
As a quick aside, if you have a Mogwai SE later revision with the 8ohm tap, you have the same power output as the binding posts.
You might want to look at your dacs output... some are selectable re voltage out.
Parts express sells RCA input attenuators... $25 for a pair. Harrison Labs 12 dB RCA Line Level Audio Attenuator Pair.
Additionally... not that I love these choices but people do it and it works... run a 6SN7 or get a 12AX7 to 6SL7 adapter on eBay... try the 12AU7s.... They are less musical to me but are less microphonic too.

Hi Justin, these are awesome insights, thank you. I might just give you a ring.

Good to know about how the Mogwai works regarding attenuation. FYI my Mogwai has Low and High Z outputs toward the front and an 8 ohm output next to the binding posts.

I checked my DAC, it doesn't have adjustable voltage, aside from using RCA or XLR out. I use RCA, so I assume that's the lowest voltage out I can get.

Sounds like I need to do some tube rolling for less power. I'll look at those Tung Sol 6L6GCs. How do you feel about Psvane EL34 or new Tungs Sol KT66?

 

[ampsandsound]

Hi kt66 are Great.
must tungsol a are really lovely too.
move had psvane kt88 and didn’t love.

 

[Little Bear]

Additionally... not that I love these choices but people do it and it works... run a 6SN7 or get a 12AX7 to 6SL7 adapter on eBay... try the 12AU7s.... They are less musical to me but are less microphonic too.

I hadn't thought of that...a 6SN7 is a direct sub for a 6SL7, no adapter needed. This is good news, as I have a great NOS Sylvania 6SN7 "Bad Boy" on the way that I bought for my Bottlehead Crackatwoa OTL. I'll have to try it in the Mogwai SE too.