[jonathan c]

… just breaking in on CD replay … sneak listens are to be expected …

 

[UntilThen]

Congrats Jonathan and Bryant. I’m so glad both amps arrived safely with no issues. I can go on my holiday and celebrate now.

 

[Nick Ryan]

Perhaps I'll try the LCD-R headphone as I had no issue with "Chameleon" driving the LCD-R. But then the LCD-R is rated at 2 ohms!

Wow only 2 ohms, the cable would have more resistance, that’s very low. I’ve never listened to them.

 

[rollinbr]

Wow only 2 ohms, the cable would have more resistance, that’s very low. I’ve never listened to them.

There's only 67 of the LCD-R's out in the wild. They were a very limited run by Audeze. I'm actually the 3rd owner of these LCD-R's. Bought them from @number1sixerfan. They were built to use the Schiit Jot-A amplifier. I've found that my Cavalli - LAu, Wells Audio - Enigma, McChanson - "Chameleon", Auris Audio - Nirvana and Schiit - Ragnarok v1 will drive them with no issues. I'll make sure I have an extra fuse before I try them on Super SilkE UltimatE. Picture of LCD-R with Bifrost 2 and Jot-A.

Using the Shuguang 6C8P single triode driver tubes now. But I will roll tubes much slower than Matt!

The GEC KT77 were bought in August of 2021 to be used with "Chameleon".

 

[UntilThen]

Using the Shuguang 6C8P single triode driver tubes now. But I will roll tubes much slower than Matt!

Of course. I was on a quick experimentation. I don't have the luxury of a slow tube roll. My aim is to quickly determine what tubes could or couldn't be used. Some of them were prompted or requested by Eric to try on his behalf. He was just as curious to know if they will work and work well.

Now you guys can have the luxury to take your time to sample because I have already determine that they can be used.

 

[albertmuc]

The restriction to the essential shows the master.

Looks great! Congratulations

 

[Nick Ryan]

There's only 67 of the LCD-R's out in the wild. They were a very limited run by Audeze. I'm actually the 3rd owner of these LCD-R's. Bought them from @number1sixerfan. They were built to use the Schiit Jot-A amplifier. I've found that my Cavalli - LAu, Wells Audio - Enigma, McChanson - "Chameleon", Auris Audio - Nirvana and Schiit - Ragnarok v1 will drive them with no issues. I'll make sure I have an extra fuse before I try them on Super SilkE UltimatE. Picture of LCD-R with Bifrost 2 and Jot-A.

Using the Shuguang 6C8P single triode driver tubes now. But I will roll tubes much slower than Matt!

The GEC KT77 were bought in August of 2021 to be used with "Chameleon".

Very organic looking headphone stand there

 

[rollinbr]

The headphone stand is a Grumpy Goose Headphone Stand and is only sold through Etsy. He has an auction every few months or once a quarter. You have to request to be notified when an auction is going to take place. You have to be be ready for the auction to start as it only takes a minute or so and they are all gone. The last time I won one of the headphone stands was back in October of 2022. I'd like to pick up a couple more, I currently have 2 of the Grumpy Goose Headphone Stands.

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,

Nice place where your Ultimate's have found and taken.
I am also happy for you that it arrived undamaged.

The Ultigreg is taking a break after his 12-hour shift.
And I also switched over to Feliks Euforia.
I will certainly keep both amplifiers - I know that already.
The Euforia still fills me with its character.
What I also noticed immediately, after listening to the Ultigreg with the Atrium before, the Euforia brings a certain refinement to the Atrium.
Here I am speaking purely on the personal side.
So don't misunderstand, I miss it a bit on the Ultigreg.
And I know that the Ultigreg is still some way off in terms of burn-in.
I can just hear that somehow.

The other side of what I suspect is the capacitor side here.
I can't say if it's because the Vcap simply performs better, it's still too early to say in comparison (but I suspect it is).
And also whether the technical topologies between the set and the Otl amplifier are the factor.
Fact, they both sound very good to me, even damn good.

When I listen to them and make a direct tete a tete comparison, I currently hear nuanced strengths between the two.
Something like the Euforia is a bit more forward in terms of presentation and information.
But the Ultigreg makes more steam in the lower level (but since it is still in the burn-in process, the comparison is still very unfair).
And it is only a pure surface perception of mine, I think.
That's the disadvantage of having multiple amps.
You have to be careful not to compare the two in a way where one was better for you before the new toy arrived.
The biggest challenge is to hear the strengths and weaknesses.
And whether you like it.
That's not easy at all, and when you get to the point where you don't know which amplifier you want to listen to today before you switch it on.
You are where you don't always want to be, but you have the variety and flexibility.

Apart from that, I have to say that there is still a lot I haven't heard from the Ultigreg in terms of its potential, and I have to say that too.
The other thing is the Ultimate is really where you start spending $1000s if you want to go further.
And it offers superb flexibility like no other amp.
And it's also still humanely priced in terms of tubes.
Even days later, I'm still blown away by the Ultimate.
For me, it's what I was looking for, and I'm looking forward to more hours with it.

 

[UntilThen]

@Deleeh just a couple of questions. What tubes are you using with Euforia? What other headphones have you use besides Atrium and Caldera? Which amp is quieter with those headphones? Which amp have a wider soundstage? On a punch and slam factor, which amp is better?

You mentioned that with the Ultimate, you can start spending $1000s if you want to go further. With Euforia, you've already paid more initially compared to Ultimate. You've put in the Vcap in Euforia and that is already spending more. Besides a lot of Euforia owners buy nice NOS tubes for the amp. So in my opinion, you can spend a lot more on both amps if you want. For that matter on any other good tube amps.

I didn't make any changes to Odyssey after getting it. Not even upgrading the fuse because I am still not convince that fuse makes a difference despite having the Aucharm red. The only thing I spend big on Odyssey and Ultimate are tubes.

 

[RobertSM]

That is scratching the surface. Ask @ARCXENOS how much he would have spend in 2 years time.

I have lost count of how much I have spent on NOS tubes but it's a good collection. Took me about 2 years to do that.

I've been using Tung Sol 6SU7gty, Psvane KT88 Tii with Sittard GZ34 in Odyssey for the last few days. The KT88 and GZ34 has been the best purchase for me. I use them a lot without worrying about burning up NOS tubes and they sound good.

I wonder what happen to @NEXTLEVEL5. He was very keen on a McChanson amp.

Agreed on the GZ34. One of the best purchases of a NOS tube. They love to be run and never complain!

 

[UntilThen]

My ranking because I have owned these amps....

Ultimate > Studio Six > Glenn OTL amp > Euforia.

 

[UntilThen]

Agreed on the GZ34. One of the best purchases of a NOS tube. They love to be run and never complain!

I have 3 GZ34. Philips Miniwatt GZ34 metal base, Sittard GZ34 and Mullard GZ34 f33. Love them all. I find it hard to describe the sonic differences between various GZ34 but I know it's there.

 

[UntilThen]

If only Ultimate use GZ34. I have more rectifier variants in this catgeory. GZ34, GZ32, 53ku, 596, 5U4G.

GZ34 is the most neutral sounding of the above lot.

 

[UntilThen]

Having spent some time with Mini, Junior and Super Ultimate, there is no doubt which I prefer. The Super Ultimate which I will getting is a different beast. These options makes a difference - 2 x 6J5, preamp, Silke transformers, dual caps - being able to choose which caps to use by way of a switch is extremely convenient. If you can afford it, you can drop in Dueland and Jupiters.

Mundorf silver gold solder might make a difference but it's hard to quantify that.

Somehow, the wider Super Ultimate chassis have a wider soundstage which is rather bizzare. A fact confirmed by @xitva.