[Deleeh]

Hello,
I also wrote to him briefly today.
He said that for low impedance headphones, a custom made would be more advantageous.
I fully agree and have tried to put my requirements with the request to check this, and whether he might have a suggestion himself.
For example, I have no knowledge of such things.
I hope I will get an answer from him about possible ideas and implementations that could be realised.

That would be great if it were feasible.
I don't know anyone else who would offer such a service.
And if you're honest, it would be great if you didn't have to use mainstream stuff.
I have already searched the whole net for tube amplifiers and hybrids where, for example, planar headphones can play back cleanly without costing an arm and a leg.
I'd rather pay $500 for something that's tailored to my needs in the end.

 

[hakunamakaka]

From $$$ perspective Eufonika tube amplifiers are very affordably priced, but the question is how well they perform. Through few reviews that I've read it says their lower tier tube amp perfectly stands against Bottlehead Crack with speedball upgrade.
It looks that Wieslaw knows what he is doing and we can expect good bang for the buck with his offerings. If their amps are good I won't be surprised if their pricing will increase accordingly in the same way as happened with Feliks amps

 

[kvik]

My experience is you more or less get what you pay for, the amps are not giant killers or bargains of the year. In Poland Sinus Audio and White Bird Amplification have similar priced offerings. True, Feliks Audio and Fezz Audio are slightly above the rest, but both have a dealer network to support. The 3 others are one-man shows, and here the major challenge will be to keep up with demand. Of course one way to do that is make the amps more expensive than anyone is willing to pay, but in their cases it probably just kills the market completely. More likely there will be waiting line, and lead time will grow considerably.

 

[hakunamakaka]

My experience is you more or less get what you pay for, the amps are not giant killers or bargains of the year. In Poland Sinus Audio and White Bird Amplification have similar priced offerings. True, Feliks Audio and Fezz Audio are slightly above the rest, but both have a dealer network to support. The 3 others are one-man shows, and here the major challenge will be to keep up with demand. Of course one way to do that is make the amps more expensive than anyone is willing to pay, but in their cases it probably just kills the market completely. More likely there will be waiting line, and lead time will grow considerably.

In your opinion which tube amps are really worth it and are available in Europe ? Eufonika feels promising and looks stylish in those wooden boxes

 

[kvik]

I think Wieslaw's amps could be better, if he used better parts. The thing is higher quality parts come with an equally higher price, which again would raise the final price quite a bit. Some people might not be willing to pay a premium price for a 'diy amp'. I think he is aware of this, and have chosen a budget friendly base line. In my amp I opted for a couple of upgrades (TKD potentiometer, miflex caps), and the stock EL34 tubes were not my cup of tea, so had to roll a few to find my favourite. All this added to the final price.

Don't read this the wrong way, I am not saying the parts are cheap and the amps are not worth it - I am happy with mine, both in terms of looks and performance. I am saying they could be even better, though that would also mean higher prices.

I think all 5 polish manufacturers have interesting amps to offer. Which ones are worth it is not for me to say. If I had the funds there are many on this list that I would have loved to try out

If you are set on H22M (OTL or OPT), start a dialogue with Wieslaw about possible upgrades from the outset (what, why and how much). Shipping within EU is not that problematic, but it is still a nuisance to have to ship the amp forth and back for upgrades later on. And, believe me, shipping anything into Poland from outside EU is a nightmare since Covid-19.

 

[hakunamakaka]

I think Wieslaw's amps could be better, if he used better parts. The thing is higher quality parts come with an equally higher price, which again would raise the final price quite a bit. Some people might not be willing to pay a premium price for a 'diy amp'. I think he is aware of this, and have chosen a budget friendly base line. In my amp I opted for a couple of upgrades (TKD potentiometer, miflex caps), and the stock EL34 tubes were not my cup of tea, so had to roll a few to find my favourite. All this added to the final price.

Don't read this the wrong way, I am not saying the parts are cheap and the amps are not worth it - I am happy with mine, both in terms of looks and performance. I am saying they could be even better, though that would also mean higher prices.

I think all 5 polish manufacturers have interesting amps to offer. Which ones are worth it is not for me to say. If I had the funds there are many on this list that I would have loved to try out

If you are set on H22M (OTL or OPT), start a dialogue with Wieslaw about possible upgrades from the outset (what, why and how much). Shipping within EU is not that problematic, but it is still a nuisance to have to ship the amp forth and back for upgrades later on. And, believe me, shipping anything into Poland from outside EU is a nightmare since Covid-19.

Thanks for the info kvik, I will query Wieslaw about possible upgrades.

I'm mainly finding tube amps made in USA which supposed to have amazing synergy with Utopia. How is H16M ? Have you got anything to compare it with ?

Would love to try eddie current zds, DNA budget offering, but these are hard to find in Europe. My only tube experience was with Feliks Echo 2 which did not impressed me much. It warmed Campfaris Cascade highs and made it actually listenable headphone, gave romantic vocal to Hd650, but I missed so praised imaging in tubes, bass was as well too loose. It was like a warm blanket over whole headphone sound signature and I do not want to end up with just warm poop with poor technicalities.

 

[Deleeh]

I think Wieslaw's amps could be better, if he used better parts. The thing is higher quality parts come with an equally higher price, which again would raise the final price quite a bit. Some people might not be willing to pay a premium price for a 'diy amp'. I think he is aware of this, and have chosen a budget friendly base line. In my amp I opted for a couple of upgrades (TKD potentiometer, miflex caps), and the stock EL34 tubes were not my cup of tea, so had to roll a few to find my favourite. All this added to the final price.

Don't read this the wrong way, I am not saying the parts are cheap and the amps are not worth it - I am happy with mine, both in terms of looks and performance. I am saying they could be even better, though that would also mean higher prices.

I think all 5 polish manufacturers have interesting amps to offer. Which ones are worth it is not for me to say. If I had the funds there are many on this list that I would have loved to try out

If you are set on H22M (OTL or OPT), start a dialogue with Wieslaw about possible upgrades from the outset (what, why and how much). Shipping within EU is not that problematic, but it is still a nuisance to have to ship the amp forth and back for upgrades later on. And, believe me, shipping anything into Poland from outside EU is a nightmare since Covid-19.

@kvik I don't have a bad impression of his products.But thanks for the tip.
I will take into account if he should get in touch again.

My requirement is but a bit different I must say.
Still, the suggestion came from him if you want to listen to low ohm planar headphones like the Aeon 2 or Lcd-x it needs a custom setup.
I agree with him.
As someone mentioned above, if you are alone the whole thing is more difficult to design.
As if a team stands behind it.
White Bird Ampflication looks promising but also there again a thank you from me.
Maybe they have an idea to fulfill my wish.

With the Feliks Euforia I am satisfied so far.the will also remain in my possession.
Also the service is very good and professional.

 

[kvik]

Thanks for the info kvik, I will query Wieslaw about possible upgrades.

I'm mainly finding tube amps made in USA which supposed to have amazing synergy with Utopia. Which amp did you get from Eufonika ? Have you got anything to compare it with ?

I have the H16M since Feb 2020, I have high impedance headphones, so wanted an OTL design. The challenge during this time has been to get hold of good a enough DAC to hear what the amp is really capable of. Someone was going to build me one, but Covid-19 slowed the whole process down, and I just recently received that DAC. I am a believer in source-first, so for me a proper DAC is an essential part of the chain. I also think personal preference trumps everything, ‘It don't mean a thing, If it ain't got that swing’. As indicated previously I think the amp performs just fine, I am not blown away, but expect performance to up it a notch or two with the right DAC. Whether the current one is that DAC, is too early to tell. I am not changing the amp, though, see no reason for that. Not a direct answer to your comparison question, more of a ‘this is where I am at these days'.

 

[hakunamakaka]

I have the H16M since Feb 2020, I have high impedance headphones, so wanted an OTL design. The challenge during this time has been to get hold of good a enough DAC to hear what the amp is really capable of. Someone was going to build me one, but Covid-19 slowed the whole process down, and I just recently received that DAC. I am a believer in source-first, so for me a proper DAC is an essential part of the chain. I also think personal preference trumps everything, ‘It don't mean a thing, If it ain't got that swing’. As indicated previously I think the amp performs just fine, I am not blown away, but expect performance to up it a notch or two with the right DAC. Whether the current one is that DAC, is too early to tell. I am not changing the amp, though, see no reason for that. Not a direct answer to your comparison question, more of a ‘this is where I am at these days'.

I'm not much into believer in headphone cables, but source does matter. I can hear difference between dacs, though mainly tried delta sigma ones, was skeptical with USB interfaces between dac and laptop as per my understanding it just passes 0101, but denafrips IRIS made a huge difference in my chain. Better controlled bass and no more glare in treble with Chord Qutest dac. I think I'm at the end game regards dac's as of now, as i'm enjoying highly detailed presentation of Qutest.

With amp I was considering to go uber budget with "Night Blues Mini" russian tube amp, which seems to be a killer bang for a buck. Firstly to see if tubey flavor pairs well with utopia and in case otherwise I could sell such without large loss.

 

[kvik]

Being curious by nature I tend to open up things and have a look inside. I am not an amp builder, but to me both layout and soldering looks tidy and well executed. As far I am aware all Eufonika amps are done with pcb-boards.

 

[Deleeh]

Being curious by nature I tend to open up things and have a look inside. I am not an amp builder, but to me both layout and soldering looks tidy and well executed. As far I am aware all Eufonika amps are done with pcb-boards.

looks so Sexy I like it.Everything nice and tidy

 

[tubebuyer2020]

Being curious by nature I tend to open up things and have a look inside. I am not an amp builder, but to me both layout and soldering looks tidy and well executed. As far I am aware all Eufonika amps are done with pcb-boards.

Thank you for the photos! I guess it's a PCB-point-to-point hybrid - just like Bottlehead amps.

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,
Wieslaw called today.
He will think about it and see what is possible and get back to me.
I'm curious to see what ideas he has.
I hope he has one.

 

[lawrence2357]

Just an update on my testing of the H1 with my M1060s. It sounded a little "cuppy" at first in comparison with the HD650s, but I got used to it. Certainly no issues with volume level which didn't get above 20%. I then tried them with the H6M2 and found the sound more full and enjoyable. I suspect that, despite the power of the H1 the H6 was more able to deal with the low impedance of the planars, but this isn't scientific.

Just as a teaser I'm showing you a pair of his custom balanced monobloc amps . Unfortunately I haven't got a cable for any of my headphones so I had to resort to using them as a single ended pre into my H20 with fixed volume. But once I get the cable (any ideas where, I need dual 3 pin XLR into HD650 or M1060, or M1570 (takes non standard mini XLR) which is on order, they will rock I'm sure

 

[kvik]

Nice to see he actually got to build the monoblocks, nearly three years ago he talked about wanting to do so. Do they have a model designation/number? Are they capacitorless (like he spoke about then)?