[minimus]

I am currently using a Woo 22 headphone amp with JH16s and LCD-2s. The Woo is very transparent/holographic. It is a good amp, but I miss the "euphonic" sound of my now defunct Singlepower Extreme, an OTL tube amp that sounded surprisingly good with my low impedance JH16s.

In a sense, I am looking for a tube headphone amp that offers something similar to the "house sound" of Conrad Johnson or McIntosh, rather than of Audio Research or VAC, if that makes any sense. In other words, a rich, slightly "fat" midrange with decent frequency extension. I previously owned a Luxman P1-u and a DNA Sonett, and neither really floated my boat the way the Singlepower did.

Are there any tube amps on the market that offer a more euphonic sound than the Woo 22? I have been thinking the Decware CSP-2 or the Leben CS-300SX might be good choices, although I fear both might sound quite similar to the WA22.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[CEE TEE]

Eddie Current Balancing Act fits your description.
 
I found it much more "euphonic" than SinglePower Extreme.

 

[purrin]

You can get the fat midrange with certain 300B tubes on the BA. Most BA owners run PX4s I believe. Frequency extension at both extremes is not an issue with the BA provided you use good quality tubes. Overall, my sense is that the BA isn't as lush or romantic sounding as the some of the Woo amps. With certain tubes, the BA can sound 90% solid state if that makes any sense.

 

[dyl1dyl]

In my experience, the Eddie Current BA, the Woo Wa5 and the Woo Wa2 have euphonic sound sigs.

 

[minimus]

Quote:

Eddie Current Balancing Act fits your description.
 

Thanks for the suggestion, but I am wary of Eddie Current amps and the Balancing Act.  Eddie Current amps are rarely described on Head-Fi as "euphonic".  Reading between the lines, I get the impression that the Zana Deux is good but it sort of adheres to the "straight wire with gain" approach.  Having read about the Balancing Act, the adjective most commonly used to describe its sound signature is "holographic".  And the BA is a bit of a non-starter for me considering the cost of the amp and of 300Bs.  Impressions of the new Eddie Current Super 7 leave me wondering whether that new amp would fit the bill, since a lot of people who have heard the prototype say it sounds warm and lush in comparison to the Balancing Act.  The only issue is that the Super 7 may not be suitable to drive low impedance headphones. 
 
Any suggestions besides the Balancing Act?

 

[Acix]

Quote:

 I previously owned a Luxman P1-u and a DNA Sonett, and neither really floated my boat the way the Singlepower did.
 

Maybe you should try the Violectric's amps, I have the V-100 and is more on the Singlepower side, warmer compared  to the Luxman, and even to the Sonett. The V-100 have a great sound stage and sound dynamic.  

 

[purrin]

 
Quote:

Thanks for the suggestion, but I am wary of Eddie Current amps and the Balancing Act.  Eddie Current amps are rarely described on Head-Fi as "euphonic".  Reading between the lines, I get the impression that the Zana Deux is good but it sort of adheres to the "straight wire with gain" approach.  Having read about the Balancing Act, the adjective most commonly used to describe its sound signature is "holographic".  And the BA is a bit of a non-starter for me considering the cost of the amp and of 300Bs.  Impressions of the new Eddie Current Super 7 leave me wondering whether that new amp would fit the bill, since a lot of people who have heard the prototype say it sounds warm and lush in comparison to the Balancing Act.  The only issue is that the Super 7 may not be suitable to drive low impedance headphones. 
 
Any suggestions besides the Balancing Act?

 
The Super 7 may not be it. A lot of the initial impressions of the Super 7 were based on Craig's HyperDAC as source, which after hearing it another time, I've realized it's on the dark side. A more recent listen of the S7 prototype (Anax stole it for a few weeks) out of my PWD DAC sounded neutral. Although the S7 does give you the ability to roll different combinations of tubes to get a warmer sound.
 
You are right that the Eddie Current amps tend to sound less lush, gooey, romantic, etc. than other tube amps. The ZD is probably the most "wire-with-gain" sounding among all this amps though.
 
Try to get a listen on the WA2 that someone recommended above.
 
 

 

[MusicRules]

I am looking for a high-end headphone experience and have narrowed my choices down to WA22 or the Balancing Act. My cans are HD 800s. I love the out-of-head soundstaging of this head-phone but definitely want to tame the highs, warm up the mid-range and add a little bottom-end heft. I also am committed to balanced from source to headphone.
 
My question is - what are the primary benefits of going "the extra mile" with the Balancing Act?  I would very much welcome any impressions on the differences between these two amps (ideally with balanced phones and source) and what the BA offers that the WA22 does not.