[Eee Pee]

OOoooh nooooo!  Hah, Mr. Bill.  
 
That metal base Mullard is nice.  Wish I had one.  The regular brown base is nice.  What's the other tube?

 

[bonesnv]

  OOoooh nooooo!  Hah, Mr. Bill.  
 
That metal base Mullard is nice.  Wish I had one.  The regular brown base is nice.  What's the other tube?

 
Reflektor 6H30P-DR, not sure of the exact year of it, came with the amp so its got some use.  Falls within that apparent "Supertube" date range from 79-86 or whatever it was.  Been looking at the 6N6P's floating around as well based on some of the earlier responses.

 

[Eee Pee]

Supertube is nice.  Clear, extended and defined.  The Electro-Harmonix is a good.  Not quite as defined and adds a bit of warmth at the bottom.  Slightly more mellow up top.  The 6N6Ps are an entertaining change, like an entire frequency balance shift towards the bass but a tad bloaty and muddy on the bottom.

 

[bonesnv]

For the 6N6P's, do you know if people find a difference between the older box plate design from early 60's as opposed to the 70's gold grid wire design, or do they both more or less present the same qualities?

 

[Eee Pee]

Nope, don't know.  I have two.  One was OTK marked.  They sounded the same as far as I could tell, but I used the OTK marked one more just because.  I would guess they are from around the same year.  The guys I got them from have posted up in this thread, come to think of it.  I bet the dates are buried in here somewhere.  

 

[bonesnv]

Will look around a bit more, thanks for the info.  They aren't terribly expensive from what I see, so worth it to mess around and see how it sounds.  

 

[bonesnv]

So, I finally got my balanced headphone cables in the other day and have been testing out the Alpha Dogs with the Sonett for a few days now. 
 
I have it on the low impedance setting, volume knob set to 7-8 and the sound is exceptionally good considering it is powering a set of somewhat inefficient planar's.  I don't listen to a lot of bass heavy music, but even on some of the songs where there is notable bass it is very well defined and succinct without any bloat or compression to the sound.  All sounds very spacial while listening to CCR's greatest hits album this morning, along with some Black Keys.  Will try out some acoustic albums later along with some heavier hitting music just to see the little amps capabilities.
 
Sure the tubes need some burn-in love but color me thoroughly impressed considering the headphones I am using.  The difference between the Asgard 2 and Sonett isn't even quantifiable, it just produces the sound better in all aspects and I love the sounds the GZ34 metal really bring to the table over solid-state amps.  Adds some nice smoothness to the sound all around, mids are coming out perfectly and treble isn't hitting the highs enough to cause any fatigue after multiple hours of listening now.
 
Going to order up some of the 6N6P's to check out some differences, they don't appear terribly expensive.  Really really curious now to hear the Stratus with LCD3's after hearing the Sonett.

 

[EVOLVIST]

......

 

[EVOLVIST]

  Even though the Auditor's sound is a little more refined than the Sonett (at least at this moment) the Sonett is able to produce a slightly wider soundstage with a little more 3D presence than the Auditor. What is your music of preference?

 
Sorry, several year old post...but, in theory, couldn't you run RCA from your DAC into the Sonett, then from the balanced XLR outputs on the Sonett into the XLR inputs of your SPL Auditor, and then use your Auditor as your headphone amp, effectively making your Sonett a pre-amp? So, it's a simple, not uncommon chain between: DAC - > Pre-amp -> Amp - > Headphones. In effect you're "auditing" the whole rig with the Auditor, set at unity gain, yeah?

 

[Eee Pee]

What's the point in a pre amp here?  Why double amp?

 

[EVOLVIST]

What's the point in a pre amp here?  Why double amp?

Thank you for your response. Well, in theory only - since I'm having a difficult time with the math, as far as inpedence, I/O etc and in direct response to the users who have Auditors, like I do - the thought is to let the Auditor do what it does best, to "audit" the sound, let's say on unity gain, while the Sonett is a high-end tube buffer/pre-amp, which supplies the real power to your cans.

The SPL Auditor is super clean, yet to varying degrees opens the sound up a bit; therefore, allowing the end-user to really dissect the sound coming out of the Sonett. Again, in theory. What would blow apart my theory is if a.) It sounds like crap and/or b.) The signal feeding from the Sonett is too much for the Auditor's XLR inputs, which are rated at 20k ohms, +24dbU...all of which I do not fully understand.

Does any of this make sense? I'm fairly a noob, so sometimes what I think I have a handle on, I don't.

 

[bonesnv]

Well, only kept it for a few months, as it is going to fund a new amp purchase.  Figured I would post the link here in case anyone was interested in a balanced Sonett to add to their collection(s).  If it isn't "PC" to post the link in here, let me know and I will remove it.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/752578/dna-sonett-balanced-extras-free-shipping
 
Excellent little amp, but time to move on, as Mr. Bill waves goodbye.

 

[deniall83]

Sorry to revive an old thread but I just bought a lightly used Sonett and was hoping I could get some suggestions on the best headphones to use with it. How does it go with efficient planars?

 

[deniall83]

Just got a Sonett (mk1) and I have a few questions. Firstly, it sounds absolutely fantastic. I'm using it with my Zero Carbo Tenore IEM's until my new cans arrive. I noticed I need to turn up the volume to about 6. Is this normal for efficient IEM's? How much will I need to turn up the volume with 300ohm Senns and 600ohm Beyers? I also noticed they're doesn't seem to be a change in volume when switching from low to IEC. Is this normal? I'm using stock rectifier and 6H30D-PR. Thanks.

 

[Eee Pee]

Low impedance IEMs with an amp with an output impedance of 28 ohms (or 120) doesn't really make sense in the first place.  I notice less of a change in volume when I change the switch between Low and IEC when I use lower impedance headphones.  There's definitely a difference when I use 300 ohm Senns.