[Exekuhtor]

I mean, the Envy is a nearly brand new product. If it's not one of the very first models, chances are very low that it's not working as intented. We all love ours, i may actually upgrade mine. If he has clarity issues with Elrogs and decent 6SN7's i don't know what to say.
Maybe he feeds it a too hot DAC output, maybe it's not liking some power conditioner, could be all sorts of stuff...
I remember when Resolve listened to the Susvara on the Envy when it came out and he said "this is the best thing i have listened to today", and that's only with the Fullmusic tubes.

 

[Leto Dal]

Indeed power conditioning could be a factor too.

 

[DeeT79]

I tend to enjoy Koji's reviews but like I mentioned on a Facebook post today, I respect his testing process and the high end gear that he's had the opportunity to review, but his opinion and that of his team is still subjective even if he feels his testing is objective. Just because him and the two other people on his team all feel like the Cayin is better than the Envy, doesn't make it so. There are several others who have spent time with both that see it the exact opposite. It is all subjective.

I have never heard any grain with the Envy and even Koji states quite frequently that system synergy matters. Although he loves the expensive Wavedream Signature DAC, it might not synergize very well with the Envy.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Following the review process of Envy by ConvinceMeAudio which is still in progress I keep wondering about the conclusions Koji and few others guys who tried his unit made so far.

„Grain“ / „lack of clarity“ and lower resolution than amps like Red October but even the cheaper Cayin Ha-300b are some of the critic points so far. The concerns remain with many different tube setups the guys have tried. Its a rather indepth review that is been worked on and I am used to trust Kojis conclusions, thought I am far from being with him on the same page this time.

Envy never sounded grainy to my ear, I cant say its less „clear“ than solid state studio high end reference Zähl HM-1 amp neither.
Envy layered to my ear better than Cayin HA-300b too with more stage depth (not width).

Therefor current suspicion is that the review unit might have a fault or come from an older revision with a different transformer / there is some transformer variation.

I am kinda curious to get to the core of it :]
Did you ever experience any kind of grain or lack of resolution with your unit compared to similar higher end amps? (WA23, Ha-300b, red october and so on)
If so, which edition are you using and what year was it build?

Personally I don't care about Kojis or any other reviewers opinion, since they all fail to somewhat consistently correlate with my own opinion.
Only exceptions here are Sajid Amit and Currawong.

However I had the same Envy as you and also could never find any grainyness or lack of clarity with it.
I had the opportunity to compare it to the Cayin Ha-300 at several occassions, but all under show conditions. To my ears the Cayin is a little tubier with wider stage, but less authority and impact in the Bass Region.
Resolution wise I wouldn't say that either has an advantage, but Resolution is probably the hardest attribute to assess at a show.

I already know what to think about the review, if that is their conclusion...

 

[Somatic]

Listening to 63' Melz 1578 + Elrog 300TMs ... very nice for vocals. I have 2 pairs. Thought I would sale but not now. LOL ...

Edit: I personally felt they were a bit dry with the MOs but the TMs are a great marriage. I will try my other pair and see if I get the same results. Also from '63.

 

[George Hincapie]

Listening to 63' Melz 1578 + Elrog 300TMs ... very nice for vocals. I have 2 pairs. Thought I would sale but not now. LOL ...

Edit: I personally felt they were a bit dry with the MOs but the TMs are a great marriage. I will try my other pair and see if I get the same results. Also from '63.

I have the Melz in my LTA MZ3. Superb tubes, aren't they?

 

[nwavesailor]

OK, i’ll stir the pot a bit here!

I like the 1578, but don’t love them with the TM, MO or EX.

I know I’m an outlier and we all have our preferences and I find the 1578 to be decent but not special or worth the going price . I rotate them in every few months and come to the same conclusion, not for me and overhyped.

I’m sure others will disagree and that’s fine. I prefer many other drivers in the Envy over the 1578: Siemens C3G, G73-R, GEC smoked glass 10E/348 6J5G and even the relatively bargain priced 6S5S with the Sus.

I am braced for the inevitable barrage of slings and arrows………

 

[genefruit]

Siemens C3G, G73-R, GEC smoked glass 10E/348 6J5G

concur, and in this order, with WE & Susvara combination

 

[turbofeet]

OK, i’ll stir the pot a bit here!

I like the 1578, but don’t love them with the TM, MO or EX.

I know I’m an outlier and we all have our preferences and I find the 1578 to be decent but not special or worth the going price . I rotate them in every few months and come to the same conclusion, not for me and overhyped.

I’m sure others will disagree and that’s fine. I prefer many other drivers in the Envy over the 1578: Siemens C3G, G73-R, GEC smoked glass 10E/348 6J5G and even the relatively bargain priced 6S5S with the Sus.

I am braced for the inevitable barrage of slings and arrows………

Haha no arrows from me and I love the Melz. They are still my most used tubes.

Will finally get my Grimm MU2 on Friday. Been 4 weeks without my Envy in action! Can't wait to try out the Ked Rads and the Sylvania Tall bottles once I fire it up.

 

[George Hincapie]

Haha no arrows from me and I love the Melz. They are still my most used tubes.

Will finally get my Grimm MU2 on Friday. Been 4 weeks without my Envy in action! Can't wait to try out the Ked Rads and the Sylvania Tall bottles once I fire it up.

Calm down, Mr Money Bags

 

[Kirklandia]

Haha no arrows from me and I love the Melz. They are still my most used tubes.

Will finally get my Grimm MU2 on Friday. Been 4 weeks without my Envy in action! Can't wait to try out the Ked Rads and the Sylvania Tall bottles once I fire it up.

FYI, the MU2 needs some break in, about 50 hours. I received mine pre-burned in by the dealer so cannot comment on the sound quality in that initial period.

 

[George Hincapie]

FYI, the MU2 needs some break in, about 50 hours. I received mine pre-burned in by the dealer so cannot comment on the sound quality in that initial period.

Something that expensive should be perfect out of the box

 

[jlbrach]

I mean, the Envy is a nearly brand new product. If it's not one of the very first models, chances are very low that it's not working as intented. We all love ours, i may actually upgrade mine. If he has clarity issues with Elrogs and decent 6SN7's i don't know what to say.
Maybe he feeds it a too hot DAC output, maybe it's not liking some power conditioner, could be all sorts of stuff...
I remember when Resolve listened to the Susvara on the Envy when it came out and he said "this is the best thing i have listened to today", and that's only with the Fullmusic tubes.

if he doesnt like it and you do as I do mine...so what..move on

 

[Hiker816]

FYI, the MU2 needs some break in, about 50 hours. I received mine pre-burned in by the dealer so cannot comment on the sound quality in that initial period.

Don't want to derail this thread, but would love to hear MU2 impressions in another thread or via PM!

 

[Doug2507]

OK, i’ll stir the pot a bit here!

I like the 1578, but don’t love them with the TM, MO or EX.

I know I’m an outlier and we all have our preferences and I find the 1578 to be decent but not special or worth the going price . I rotate them in every few months and come to the same conclusion, not for me and overhyped.

I’m sure others will disagree and that’s fine. I prefer many other drivers in the Envy over the 1578: Siemens C3G, G73-R, GEC smoked glass 10E/348 6J5G and even the relatively bargain priced 6S5S with the Sus.

I am braced for the inevitable barrage of slings and arrows………

Burn the witch!