[Palyodgree]

The prices are getting silly now for some NOS valves and consequently valves of "unknown authenticity" are appearing in increasing number as it is worth their while now to make money. That and the uncertainty of what timescale they may last for has me concerned. I know you generally don't get much warranty on brand new valves but generally you are at least a bit protected if they go pop.

Your not kidding however there will always be someone that will pay their asking price , One tube dealer in the US I have dealt with pre internet, Vintage Tube Services the owner Andy told me he himself had purchased that turned out no good to some being fake including with silk screening on the tubes themselves . The popularity of tube based components has exploded over the years and comes along with a parade of dishonest sellers however there are still treasures that can be found .

 

[Wes S]

This is the answer if you are looking for the best.

That's one of them for sure. I don't think there is really a "best" though, as synergy is key.

 

[Erwinatm]

That's one of them for sure. I don't think there is really a "best" though, as synergy is key.

Agree.

There is no consensus on what best sound is, because each human is unique, the way our brains translate / perceive beautiful sound is different to each other.

However, the more you hear good sound system will raise your standard bar.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Wes S]

This amp is insane! I only have about 40 hours of burn in, and this is the sound I have have been dreaming of for years. The crazy deep/wide staging combined with holographic life-sized imaging, explosive impact, and details/nuances galore is so addictive, I have not gone to bed yet (it's 4am in my part of the world).

I can only imagine how crazy good this amp is going to sound once fully burned in and with the Elrog ER300B. . .

 

[Erwinatm]

This amp is insane! I only have about 40 hours of burn in, and this is the sound I have have been dreaming of for years. The crazy deep/wide staging combined with holographic life-sized imaging, explosive impact, and details/nuances galore is so addictive, I have not gone to bed yet (it's 4am in my part of the world).

I can only imagine how crazy good this amp is going to sound once fully burned in and with the Elrog ER300B. . .

Welcome to the club Wes.

The ability to convey liveliness of music from this amp is superb. If you like large classical music with fast pace, Crank it up man, truly amazing :

Part 1, 6 & 10

 

[paradoxper]

This amp is insane! I only have about 40 hours of burn in, and this is the sound I have have been dreaming of for years. The crazy deep/wide staging combined with holographic life-sized imaging, explosive impact, and details/nuances galore is so addictive, I have not gone to bed yet (it's 4am in my part of the world).

I can only imagine how crazy good this amp is going to sound once fully burned in and with the Elrog ER300B. . .

You're going to the moon with the ER300B. Try out the AN 4300E as well.

 

[krude]

Anyone tried Susvara and or 1266 TC with MK2? How's the headroom? Do you feel you need to push the amp at all?

I'm running HA6a and I'm fairly happy with it, but I do feel I'm always just under the power limit.

Also is there any hum or noise on Utopia if anyone tried? (Again another HA6a downside I got used to, but it would be nice to get a pitch black background on sensitive sets).

 

[dadracer2]

Anyone tried Susvara and or 1266 TC with MK2? How's the headroom? Do you feel you need to push the amp at all?

I'm running HA6a and I'm fairly happy with it, but I do feel I'm always just under the power limit.

Also is there any hum or noise on Utopia if anyone tried? (Again another HA6a downside I got used to, but it would be nice to get a pitch black background on sensitive sets).

I'd have thought there was plenty power on tap from the HA6A. Are you using SE or balanced headphone outputs? If you are using SE you will get more power from balanced. The same is true in the HA300 mk2 but you will be getting more output power than the HA6A on all settings.

 

[krude]

I'd have thought there was plenty power on tap from the HA6A. Are you using SE or balanced headphone outputs? If you are using SE you will get more power from balanced. The same is true in the HA300 mk2 but you will be getting more output power than the HA6A on all settings.

Yeah you'd think that looking at the numbers, but the numbers are just numbers sadly. There is enough, don't get me wrong, and sound from HA6a with different tubes is great, but you are always dancing around distortion when trying to get Susvara loud. I am experimenting with HA6a for over a year now and used it in all the ways imaginable

That's why Im asking people for actual experience, bc the numbers don't really say much especially with tube amps.

 

[dadracer2]

Yeah you'd think that looking at the numbers, but the numbers are just numbers sadly. There is enough, don't get me wrong, and sound from HA6a with different tubes is great, but you are always dancing around distortion when trying to get Susvara loud. I am experimenting with HA6a for over a year now and used it in all the ways imaginable

That's why Im asking people for actual experience, bc the numbers don't really say much especially with tube amps.

I cannot help you in regard to the Susvara or Abyss as I don't have those particular headphones, but I do see people that are reviewing the HA300 and do have those and are not having any issue for insufficient power. Maybe best to go to a dealer with you headphones and then you can try it for yourself and make sure it's powerful enough.

 

[ARCXENOS]

Yeah you'd think that looking at the numbers, but the numbers are just numbers sadly. There is enough, don't get me wrong, and sound from HA6a with different tubes is great, but you are always dancing around distortion when trying to get Susvara loud. I am experimenting with HA6a for over a year now and used it in all the ways imaginable

That's why Im asking people for actual experience, bc the numbers don't really say much especially with tube amps.

My Holo May (DAC) outputs 5.8 vrms balanced, personally I find 12'oclock of the XLR output + M impedance to be loud enough with my Susvara, powers everything else easily. IMO, it has enough headroom. And I do enjoy the resulting tonality, stock tubes or otherwise, in my subjective opinion.

I have talked to another Susvara owner regarding this before, he comes from a power amp background (whereas I have only ever used headphone amps for headphones), and he didn't like the bass definition, so ymmv. For what its worth, I like it enough to waste money on tube rolling for fun

For the utopia, I demoed it awhile back with the mk2, I don't really remember hearing any hum that was loud enough, but there was some environmental noise at the location, it could have been masked. Regardless, in both my setup (with the hd600) and the demo unit (with the utopia), I didn't really hear hum that is loud in my experience, but it is best you find a demo to confirm it yourself, don't discount the other negative experiences other users have, there might be other issues involved (qc? I don't know). In a roundabout way, the Susvara's insensitivity became a boon in this case...

 

[krude]

My Holo May (DAC) outputs 5.8 vrms balanced, personally I find 12'oclock of the XLR output + M impedance to be loud enough with my Susvara, powers everything else easily. IMO, it has enough headroom. And I do enjoy the resulting tonality, stock tubes or otherwise, in my subjective opinion.

I have talked to another Susvara owner regarding this before, he comes from a power amp background (whereas I have only ever used headphone amps for headphones), and he didn't like the bass definition, so ymmv. For what its worth, I like it enough to waste money on tube rolling for fun

For the utopia, I demoed it awhile back with the mk2, I don't really remember hearing any hum that was loud enough, but there was some environmental noise at the location, it could have been masked. Regardless, in both my setup (with the hd600) and the demo unit (with the utopia), I didn't really hear hum that is loud in my experience, but it is best you find a demo to confirm it yourself, don't discount the other negative experiences other users have, there might be other issues involved (qc? I don't know). In a roundabout way, the Susvara's insensitivity became a boon in this case...

Nice one, thank you glad that it takes the 5.8v well sounds like a nice chunk of headroom. The only thing that bothers me is people describing this amp as "bass light" or "sub bass light", but maybe this can be tweaked with rolling tubes. I know in HA6a it can make a huge differemce from sounding dry and safe to obscene amounts of bass and treble extension.

 

[ARCXENOS]

The only thing that bothers me is people describing this amp as "bass light" or "sub bass light"

In my opinion, if all they heard are the stock tungsol GTB, I can see it to a certain extent

I know in HA6a it can make a huge differemce from sounding dry and safe to obscene amounts of bass and treble extension.

This is me right now with the mk2, tube rolling really do make a difference, and I haven't even started changing the 300b yet (which I do note that the changes will not be as pronounced as 6sn7 rolling). Its also why I do value/enjoy reading other people's opinion on the different tubes, especially for the same amp, you might just find "the" combo for you.

Of course, the ideal situation is you like the stock setup as well, so you at least have something to fallback on / act as reference, before going into the deep end

 

[krude]

In my opinion, if all they heard are the stock tungsol GTB, I can see it to a certain extent


This is me right now with the mk2, tube rolling really do make a difference, and I haven't even started changing the 300b yet (which I do note that the changes will not be as pronounced as 6sn7 rolling). Its also why I do value/enjoy reading other people's opinion on the different tubes, especially for the same amp, you might just find "the" combo for you.

Of course, the ideal situation is you like the stock setup as well, so you at least have something to fallback on / act as reference, before going into the deep end

Perfect, thank you for your help! I'll grab the amp later this year and share comparisons with the rest of my gear

 

[mfgillia]

Nice one, thank you glad that it takes the 5.8v well sounds like a nice chunk of headroom. The only thing that bothers me is people describing this amp as "bass light" or "sub bass light", but maybe this can be tweaked with rolling tubes. I know in HA6a it can make a huge differemce from sounding dry and safe to obscene amounts of bass and treble extension.

From using headphones from Focals, Audeze and especially ZMFs, I find it hard to believe most will conclude the Cayin is "bass light" or "sub bass light" unless of course they mean in comparison to running their Susvaras with 1-2 AHB2 power amps. In that scenario, I would expect the bass to hit harder with the power amps than really any tube amp except maybe the Nautilus.