[RubyTiger]

Thanks for clearing that up. Reading about all the tube swapping I was worried.  I hope one day soon to hear for myself.

 

[jsgraha]

Anyone in Australia own this amp? Would love to hear one with view to ordering from Donald.

Hi MoatsArt,

I bought the amp used from my friend here at Melbourne. Recently, the amp was upgraded by Donald and the experience in dealing and communication with Donald was very very positive.

Very happy with the result as well.

 

[MoatsArt]

Have only heard good things about Donald and his designs. The pity is I live approx 1,500 km from Melbourne, otherwise I would be keen for a "mini-meet", jsgraha. I may have to just take a leap of faith.

btw, what upgrades did you have done?

 

[bigfatpaulie]

Have only heard good things about Donald and his designs. The pity is I live approx 1,500 km from Melbourne, otherwise I would be keen for a "mini-meet", jsgraha. I may have to just take a leap of faith.

btw, what upgrades did you have done?

 
I don't know if there are better amps for the HD800's than the Stratus.  Different, sure.  But I have yet to hear better.  It may be a leap of faith buying one un-heard, but it's a pretty safe leap 

 

[MoatsArt]

I don't think I need much convincing......

 

[jsgraha]

Have only heard good things about Donald and his designs. The pity is I live approx 1,500 km from Melbourne, otherwise I would be keen for a "mini-meet", jsgraha. I may have to just take a leap of faith.

btw, what upgrades did you have done?

Mirroring bigfatpaulie, the pairing with hd800 is GREAT, even on stock form.

My amp was 2 years old, one of the first generation. So in order to take a full advantage of current design, I decided to upgrade it to current design. When you buy the amp new, the upgrade which I just had, will be included on the new amp.

If you happen in Melbourne, please feel free to pm me as well.

 

[MoatsArt]

Went to Uni in Melbourne and have friends there I should catch up with some time. Would be great to discuss your experiences face to face. Can't see this happening any time soon, though.

Your help (the help of you all) is much appreciated.

Out of interest, how does the Stratus fare with W3000ANV, TH900 & LCD3? I found the W3000ANV to be quite sibilant driven by my Yammy, and wondered if it was an amp issue, an inherent problem with these phones, or whether the synergy just wasn't quite right.

 

[Frihed89]

  Does this (fantastic looking) amp sound good the way it comes or will I need to buy more tubes? No offense to Donald. I'm sure he put's every bit of SET magic into it he can. My headphones are HD800's. They sound very neutral.

"Need to buy more tubes"?  Absolutely not.  The amp sounds simply lovely with the stock tubes.

 

[Sorrodje]

Out of interest, how does the Stratus fare with W3000ANV, TH900 & LCD3? I found the W3000ANV to be quite sibilant driven by my Yammy, and wondered if it was an amp issue, an inherent problem with these phones, or whether the synergy just wasn't quite right.

 
If the stratus fare with the TH900 as well as the Sonett does, it will be a match made in heaven.
 
 
I think I should unsubscribe of this thread for the safety of my wallet and my bank account .... the safety of my mind too .

 

[drheadphone]

Out of interest, how does the Stratus fare with W3000ANV, TH900 & LCD3?

Match made with all three, depending on tube. I'd go Sophias with the W3000Anv and EML mesh plate with the TH900 and LCD3.

 

[RubyTiger]

Recommended interconnects?

 

[third_eye]

  Recommended interconnects?

 
I'm running a complete WyWires chain, Silver RCAs, Blue power cable, and Red HD800 cable. Highly recommended!

 

[RubyTiger]

I have the Draug 2 for my cable but thanks for the other recommendations. How about a dac that wont break the bank? Oh, and I need it to play my hi-rez files.

 

[third_eye]

  I have the Draug 2 for my cable but thanks for the other recommendations. How about a dac that wont break the bank? Oh, and I need it to play my hi-rez files.

I like the X-Sabre a lot and especially for the price.
 
http://www.matrix-digi.com/en/products/49/index.html

 

[preproman]

  I have the Draug 2 for my cable but thanks for the other recommendations. How about a dac that wont break the bank? Oh, and I need it to play my hi-rez files.

Trevor can make you some Draug 2 interconnects as well.