[leon995]

Hello, question Donald North suggested I post here: Anyone tried a Stratus with Hifiman Arya? Any thoughts on how it sounded? Thanks much.

I didn't tried Stratus with Arya but I had he1000 V2 for a long time with Stratus. They are basically the same headphone with different skeleton. Short answer is it works good with Stratus. You got amazing and very smooth highs, the mid is very well present for vocal. The base is a bit lack but pretty tight.
On the other side, I'd say it won't drive Arya/he1000 to it's full potential either. The lack of speed made the headphone good but feel boring. If you want the ultimate amp for the Arya/he1000. You best bet would be a really good class A solid state amplifier with a high quality headphone convert box.
So if you are a big planner fan and probably will own susvara in the future, you should go for a high end class A solid state amplifier. If you own bunch of planers and dynamics then Stratus should be a good and balance choice can work with both side.

Ang

 

[thehutch]

Thanks @leon995. That was sort of what I was expecting. Sounds like you do get some of the tube magic but lose a bit of what makes those and other planer headphones different than dynamics. I don’t own any planers now – just trying to think holistically as I plan future acquisitions. Are there any planners that you feel are driven to their best or sound particularly great on the Stratus, or do you think only dynamics can near their full potential on amp like this?

 

[ashwinvyas1981]

Hello, question Donald North suggested I post here: Anyone tried a Stratus with Hifiman Arya? Any thoughts on how it sounded? Thanks much.

I actually had the same question in mind..... thanks for stating it..... I have tried the Arya with a 45 DHT based amp.... & the pairing was just too good.... you may PM me if you wish to know more about that 45 tube based amp.

Rgds

 

[leon995]

Thanks @leon995. That was sort of what I was expecting. Sounds like you do get some of the tube magic but lose a bit of what makes those and other planer headphones different than dynamics. I don’t own any planers now – just trying to think holistically as I plan future acquisitions. Are there any planners that you feel are driven to their best or sound particularly great on the Stratus, or do you think only dynamics can near their full potential on amp like this?

I only owned he1000 v2 and LCD3 razor. And to my experience they are clearly not driven to the best. I am not sure other planers since I didn't own them.
Dynamics will really shine on the Stratus. And that is the reason why I am a happy owner of Stellaris.
If you are interested in "best" sound of those planers. You can try HE6/he1000/Arya with First Watt J2. Cavalli liquid Gold with LCD3 or XI audio Formula S with powerman with Abyss. Those are the "best" to my experience. Just my 2 cents.

Ang

 

[thehutch]

I only owned he1000 v2 and LCD3 razor. And to my experience they are clearly not driven to the best. I am not sure other planers since I didn't own them.
Dynamics will really shine on the Stratus. And that is the reason why I am a happy owner of Stellaris.
If you are interested in "best" sound of those planers. You can try HE6/he1000/Arya with First Watt J2. Cavalli liquid Gold with LCD3 or XI audio Formula S with powerman with Abyss. Those are the "best" to my experience. Just my 2 cents.

Ang

Thanks for all this. I hadn’t really thought much about buying a speaker amp for driving headphones but seems like it would open the door to a whole different realm. Any suggestions about where to read more about good headphone converter boxes?

 

[leon995]

Thanks for all this. I hadn’t really thought much about buying a speaker amp for driving headphones but seems like it would open the door to a whole different realm. Any suggestions about where to read more about good headphone converter boxes?

Sorry but I can't help on that one. Got too little experience about it.

 

[helljudgement]

Hello I would like to know if anyone has compared the Stratus to the Starlett? I will mainly be using this with dynamic driver headphones from sennheiser, focal and zmf. Thank you.

 

[GU1DO]

I actually had the same question in mind..... thanks for stating it..... I have tried the Arya with a 45 DHT based amp.... & the pairing was just too good.... you may PM me if you wish to know more about that 45 tube based amp.

Rgds

I would love to know 45 tube amp .. thanks for the input

 

[Bigsecret]

Here's an update on the Acme 2A3's. They took a long time to break in. Probably because I was breaking in the KR at the same time. I did swap in the stock rectifier or stock power tubes as time went by though.

Now that I have a couple hundred hour's on them they changed much. If I had to pick I would say the most remarkable thing about them is their clarity. They are crystal clear instead of being dull and veiled. Every thing sound's good about them but I need to listen more. All I can say is that they're sounding more like the $600 tubes I hoped to get.

If your interested I believe the word "airy" was used by Psvane in their write up. I looked it up on Stereophile's audio term glossary: airy Pertaining to treble which sounds light, delicate, open, and seemingly unrestricted in upper extension. A quality of reproducing systems having very smooth and very extended HF response. It certainly does seem to fit their character.

Tubes I might compare them with would be nos Ken Rad smoked glass, Sophia 300b's. `

I finally purchased a pair of these from Grant. I don't have many hours - maybe less than 50 at this point but I am hoping they will gain a little more body. Paired with a KR 5U4G and one of your 6N1Ps the clarity is astonishing. So much so that I hear artifacts in recordings that I'm not sure the engineers ever intended to be heard. Vocals are amazingly intimate but sometimes have a bit of a sizzle to the edges - hard to explain. I'm impressed by the clarity but overall, so far, I prefer my EML Meshplates or KR's. "Airy" definitely sums it up as the dominant sound quality but without as much substance and body as I was hoping for. I will keep letting them burn in. The EML 5U4G might add some warmth and body. I'm curious if your opinion of these tubes has changed at all since this last post.

 

[kkrazik2008]

Hello All,
Soon to be Stratus owner, well in 5-6 months, and as I have been making my way through the nearly 4k posts on the Stratus I have yet to come across any DAC recommendations. Plenty of tube recommendations here, and honestly it sounds like a secret language that I have yet to crack.

Anyway, what are some good DAC options to pair with the Stratus? Price range can be up to $2.5k, any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[leon995]

Hello All,
Soon to be Stratus owner, well in 5-6 months, and as I have been making my way through the nearly 4k posts on the Stratus I have yet to come across any DAC recommendations. Plenty of tube recommendations here, and honestly it sounds like a secret language that I have yet to crack.

Anyway, what are some good DAC options to pair with the Stratus? Price range can be up to $2.5k, any suggestions would be much appreciated.

First congrats on the coming Stratus, I am sure it will bring years of joy.
For DAC, I would recommend Borderpatrol DAC SEi. It will pair with Stratus really good. The tonality and character really matches. I knew the lack of "high-res" or "DSD" play back would make it sound less attractive. If that is not a deal breaker for you, I am assure you it can blow most of the higher price range DAC out of the door. Those are my humble opinion. Worst scenario you got back by 14 day test run policy

 

[kkrazik2008]

Thank you very much, I’m excited and trying to forget about it for a bit so I don’t get ansty. Appreciate the recommendation, I will look into it. No need for DSD for me, and most hi-rez I have purchased were quite disappointing, of course that could be due to my equipment.

 

[Carlos CPA]

Does anyone have an extra (or not currently being used) Ruby Tiger Select 6N1P tube that they would be willing to sell to me? I would love to try this tube in my Stellaris. I am willing to pay top dollar. Please feel free to send me a PM.

 

[m17xr2b]

You could do the following: Buy 50 common construction NOS 6N1Ps, they're very cheap by the case load, listen to all of them and pick the one you like the most. Brute force but it works.

To get more scientific, check your exact line voltage, ask Donald what the bias point is, check with a multimeter what you got on your tube, you never know if you already have a select perfect spec tube.

I've never known besides wonky tubes for the sound to change in any perceivable way for +-10% differences in plate voltage or grid to ground etc. unless already borderline.
Any tube truly tested to such a degree should include gm, plate resistance and gain of individual triodes and curves provided, the typical type of novice tube voodoo isn't compatible with calculations and tolerances.
I've been stung myself multiple times with expensive holy grail tubes from word of mouth, it's far easier with science.

 

[kokutouqian]

Wondering if it is only me or a common issue. I find my EML 2a3 Meshs played weird impulse sound and replaced them with a new set but the problem is still there. EML indicated that the issue may be related to the compatibility of 2a3M to a headphone amp, and 2a3S most likely to be fine.