[cradon]

Thanks for sharing Paul. 

 

[cradon]

@froger How long have you been using the WE275 in your Stratus now? How do they compare to the Natural Sound? 

 

[froger]

@froger
 How long have you been using the WE275 in your Stratus now? How do they compare to the Natural Sound? 

I have used them for over 200 hours. To me, they are more refined as they are more detailed, have tighter bass and a more enveloping soundstage, compared to the Natural Sound. I like both very much with HD800, as I find them making HD800 sounds musical and enjoyable, while retaining its strength.

 

[budx3385]

^^
Here's a very firm plug for froger's position!
 
Based on his recommendation, I've had the WE275 in my Stratus for over a week now. They produce spectacular sound -- as he said, outstanding texture and musicality, dimensionally layered, and excellent clarity, coherence and bandwidth. For voice and live ensemble, they're the best I've heard with the HD800 (and I've tried nearly all except for AVVT and KR). A very enthusiastic 10 out of 10, without any hesitation.
 
And I haven't heard a single hint of the painful sputtering that made me return the WR2A3 tubes three times.
 
Highly recommended.
 
A great big THANK YOU again to froger.

 

[froger]

You are welcome! Glad you like it! Coming from you makes it a strong testimonial for the tubes

 

[bigfatpaulie]

I am just glad to hear that the WE275's are actually working....  They had reliability issues IIRC.  Did something change with their manufacturing process? 

 

[Bigsecret]

  ^^
Here's a very firm plug for froger's position!
 
Based on his recommendation, I've had the WE275 in my Stratus for over a week now. They produce spectacular sound -- as he said, outstanding texture and musicality, dimensionally layered, and excellent clarity, coherence and bandwidth. For voice and live ensemble, they're the best I've heard with the HD800 (and I've tried nearly all except for AVVT and KR). A very enthusiastic 10 out of 10, without any hesitation.
 
And I haven't heard a single hint of the painful sputtering that made me return the WR2A3 tubes three times.
 
Highly recommended.
 
A great big THANK YOU again to froger.

How do they compare to the WR2A3s? I had the same problem with the WR2A3s but really enjoyed their sound when they weren't acting up. It worries me a bit to see the comment that WE275s have had reliability issues too.

 

[listen4joy]

any chance Donald to send Stratus to Tyll from innerfidelity for a review?
this is one of the best amps for hd800 and not everyone familiar with it, wish it had some fine review in innerfidelity!

 

[shun0321]

I used DP-777 before the Yggdrasil. I think Yggdrasil and Stratus matches very well. The transparency of Stratus allows you to hear what Yggdrasil is capable of. To me, the stronger bass and details of Yggdrasil matches the Stratus better compared to the DP-777 even though the soundstage of DP-777 offered more depth. Together with HD800, you will hear so much details and yet remained highly musical and engaging and never fatiguing.

i have amr dp777 and he1000. in the little future i'll buy the stratus. 
did you try dp777-he1000-stratus combo?
You advice to change the dac with yggdrasil or i try to do upgrade my dp777 to SE?

 

[froger]

I have not swapped back the dp-777 since I got the Schiit yggy. I would think with HE1000, the combination might be a bit too smooth. I have not heard of the SE version, so I won't be able to comment on that. All I can say, Yggy >Stratus with EML mesh >HE1000 has left me very very satisfied.

 

[shun0321]

thanks.
maybe if i go to a full EML stratus , can i bring more dynamic sound versus smoothness.

 

[froger]

It might work for you. If you are so keen on getting the Stratus for HE1000, it is worth a try.

 

[RubyTiger]

Has anyone tried the http://www.sophiaelectric.eu/us/b/princess-300b-25v-mesh/0?r=165  or  http://www.sophiaelectric.eu/us/b/carbon-princess-300b-25v/0?r=164? Impressions?
 
They look tempting. I could not afford them now but one day maybe. Donald would there be any problem with these and the Stratus? Carbon or Mesh?

 

[Frihed89]

   
Yes.  Yes it can.
 
 

 
Actually, it can ridiculously well. I plugged it in thinking it was going to be a Code-X type experience (I didn't care for the pairing in direct contrast to my SuSy Dynahi) but this was a "woah" moment for me.  
 
I typically drive my AB-1266's with a Pass Int-30a.
 
The Abyss lost some slam and impact that the Pass has but that (at least in based on my few hours of listening this evening) is the biggest thing taken away.  The Stratus made the Abyss more polite.  The Abyss are very sharp in the high registers and the DNA amp smoothed that out a lot.  That's not necessarily bad or good, just more a characteristic of my Stratus with the 2A3's I have.  I bet with something like EML mesh's the the treble would be similar sonically to the Pass. I find the Abyss to be very transparent cans so it's no surprise that the characteristics of both amps shine though.  I think the mids are improved on the Abyss with the Stratus (mind you by a small margin, the Pass does an excellent job) and the bass is hands down better on the Pass - but I don't think that would be a surprise to anyone.   Keep in mind there is a huge price difference between the two amps.  I would have to spend more time with the AB-1266's plugged in to the Stratus and really focus certain on things like imageing, etc to really compare the two, but the Abyss sounds great with both amps.
 
Basically, I think that you could get the highs to be similar on both amps with the right tubes, the mids a little better on the Stratus and the bass would be better on the Pass (no matter what you did in regards to tubes).
 
The tubes did bring that "life" to the sound in a way that only tubes can.  
 
Honestly, if someone said that their end game was the Stratus and the Abyss I would have snickered, but not now.  With the right tubes I think it would be a force to be reckoned with.   It was a surprise for sure.

I am not surprised by the results you have heard.  I think the Abyss cans are a far better fit for sand amps.  I have tried the Stratus with a variety of headphones and the ones that work best are those that don't try to jam their frequency response curves into the Stratus.  The Stratus behaves best for me with K-701, K-702, HD650, DT770 Pro and HE400, because they let the soul of the Stratus dominate.
 
This will become even more true with the new Stratus (whatever it's called) with AN(UK) UHiB dual C-Core OPTs. This amp will sound smoother; the parts of the whole sonic picture better integrated; and more resolving.  It will be a considerably larger departure away from the sand amp sound and towards SET tonal realism and beauty.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

  I am not surprised by the results you have heard.  I think the Abyss cans are a far better fit for sand amps.  I have tried the Stratus with a variety of headphones and the ones that work best are those that don't try to jam their frequency response curves into the Stratus.  The Stratus behaves best for me with K-701, K-702, HD650, DT770 Pro and HE400, because they let the soul of the Stratus dominate.
 
This will become even more true with the new Stratus (whatever it's called) with AN(UK) UHiB dual C-Core OPTs. This amp will sound smoother; the parts of the whole sonic picture better integrated; and more resolving.  It will be a considerably larger departure away from the sand amp sound and towards SET tonal realism and beauty.

 
Don't get me started on the Solairs, Sapphire, whatever it will be called....  I am really excited for it and can't wait to hear/see what it can do even with the humble HD800's.