I had the pleasure of stopping at the Ampsandsound table at T.H.E. Show this weekend and have detailed some quick impressions below.
LeeLoo
LeeLoo is a product of the latest collab with Headphones.com and it was paired with the HD 800S. The pairing sounded neutral to my ears and it was notably inoffensive in anyway. During previous listens, I found the treble on the 800S offensive at times, but paired with the LeeLoo I didn't have that issue. It was incredibly detailed but added a touch fun (a descriptor I don't often find associated with 800S).
Forge and LeeLoo. A&S x Headphones.com collab amps.
I love the Forge. So much so that I purchased one shortly after I heard the 32/300 variant at CanJam SoCal last year. It's just a wonderfully dynamic amp that reaches to soul of the music and is able to deliver it to you with all the microdetails. It seemed to have more soundstage width to my ears compared to LeeLoo but I was also using an HE-6 (OG 4-screw EP) which
@Netforce graciously provided for demo. Yes, Forge can drive it. And yes, it can do it to satisfaction. One last thing I want to mention is that I've had my fiancé listen to some of the latest by "T-Sweezy" on the Forge using my VO. She told me it was creepy how realistic Taylor sounded on it.
Kenzie Ovation
Ampsandsound Chief Mensch Justin described it perfectly when he compared the synergy of ZMF and Ovation to peanut butter and jelly. Indeed, hands down the Ovation was the best pairing with my VO. Compared to the Forge, it brought more density/body to the images without clouding anything up while focusing the image even further for greater detail. It's doing this while delivering macrodynamics galore. This one's a must-hear for ZMF owners.
Jinx
Jinx features the ability to drive 6V6 tubes which makes this a great amp for NOS tube enthusiasts. I got to pair it with the VO and the HE6SE. The Hilton hotel unfortunately had dirty power which was audible when I was listening to the Jinx. Fortunately, as soon as I hit play, the dirty mains noise was quickly forgotten. "Rich" is the word that comes to mind when listening to this headphone. It was absolutely rich in tonality and macrodynamics. And yes, these descriptors came to mind when listening with the HE6SE. This amp was the black sheep (sonically) of the lineup for me due to the overt richness. If the LeeLoo prioritizes detail with added fun, the Jinx does slam (*
ahem*, I mean fun) with added detail.
Bigger Ben
Any description I provide won't do the Bigger Ben any justice since I wasn't able to get a good impression due to the hotel mains noise.
Nautilus
The word "rich" comes to mind. Alright jokes aside, it was undeniably the most detailed and natural sounding amp in the ENTIRE room. Not sure what else to add here. It's a must-hear.
Thanks to
@Netforce,
@Sebastien Chiu, and Chief Mensch
@ampsandsound Justin for hosting the tables. Hope to get some 300B love at CanJam SoCal later this year