[jxb2]

Despite MAJOR problem with ORNEC with other parts of my order, the T-2.6F arrived as ordered and has had over 50 hours burn. It is a tube/solid state hybrid. It is 220 volt and I'm in US so I'm using a step-up transformer.

It has remarkable sound. Previously, only my Supermacro V3 with bass boost could get Etey's to have reasonable bass, and I tended to listen to them mostly as P's, for the added bass. The 2.6 has authoratative enough bass that with no bass boost I can use the Etey's with S (higher impedance) cable and have very convincing deep bass.

Midrange and highs are not "tubey" euphonic, but also not "etched" - reminds me most of the voicing of my Classe speaker amplifier: detailed but polite, sweet but not to point of becoming syrup.

In short, this is looking like a winner! (ORNEC is a loser though).

Will say more as it settles in for a few hundred hours. Also, this is a BIG amplifier, and heavy. And also adding to bulk is step-up transformer.

 

[becomethemould]

here is what i have written in sgheadphones.net:

i managed to find some headphone amps in china (zhongshan and guangzhou)

firstly listened to consonance cyber 20 (headphone only), 10 (pre-amp), 30 (pre-amp). i think it was the 30 which sounded the best, or it could have been the 10, but one of them had hum. the 30 bests the 20 by providing the same sound as the 20, but with more body to the sound given it's more powerful. quite a wide soundstage to the other amps i listened to at the shop. though at that time i didn't think it was great synergy.

i also listened to the korsun u5 and bada ph-1. the former is too slow for my liking, and the latter is quite crap compared to the cyber 20.

i listened to those in zhongshan.

i went to guangzhou a couple days ago. took quite a lot of time finding the audio place as my mum's friend's daughter who studies in guangzhou doesn't know the area that well since its so large.. but we did find one area which sells audio products, though not the largest area which is HaiPi or something like that

but yeah i had a listen to a mingda pre-amp, the headphone amp wasn't in stock. it sounded alright too, not that much synergy. then went to another shop and had a listen to the cayin spark ha-1a. it sounded better than the mingda. i was tempted to buy it given we were running late.. though i perserved and found the g&w amp

it was in the sennheiser shop across the road!

there they had the g&w t2.6f, g&w t2.1A(?), feel hp-100, and feel hp-200. i only listened to the first and last amps in the list. the former has more forward midrange which i prefer and is faster than the feel. also the g&w had more vocal body than the cayin. i can't remember how the cyber sounded, but i think it has a wider soundstage.

as it was getting late and we went so far out, i bought the g&w t2.6f for 2380 yuan.

all were listened to with different sources using the flaming lip's yoshimi album.

now gotta roll some tubes, my relative in zhongshan is a sound engineer i think (i have bad chinese, and he doesn't speak english) gave me some 70s beijing tubes, they don't have as much impact as the stock russian tubes.. but i will leave it to chris (fishball79) to have a closer listen!

-----
i'll have to wait till february for a detailed listening, still on holidays

 

[lordearl]

i read in a few threads that G&W has some quality control issues -- how can I tell if something like this;
G&W T-2.6F Vacuum Tube Headphone Amplifier - eBay, Preamplifiers Tube Preamps, Vintage Electronics, Electronics. (end time 26-Aug-09 23:42:22 AEST)
has quality components?