[adydula]

All three amps provide a good experience and they all have similarities and differences....you have to decide with your ears and wallet.....

 

[gruedude]

Thanks adydula! I ended up getting one ... and also a crack during the recent sale. My shelf is going to start looking like yours...

 

[adydula]

Awesome!

Enjoy the journey !

 

[palolo]

Same here! Brand new tuba to go with my hemps!

 

[David222]

All three amps provide a good experience and they all have similarities and differences....you have to decide with your ears and wallet.....

@adydula do Focal handle the Crack OK? I have them and know they are low impedance/sensitive.

 

[adydula]

@adydula do Focal handle the Crack OK? I have them and know they are low impedance/sensitive.

Focal Clears are 55 ohm so the match here is not optimal. The BH Crack is designed to match headphones 120 ohms and higher..it wil drive them but the low end might not
be to you liking....the TUBA has a better drive with the Clears.

 

[palolo]

Anyone have some impressions to share about using the Tuba with a ZMF Atticus or Aeolus?

 

[robo24]

Anyone have some impressions to share about using the Tuba with a ZMF Atticus or Aeolus?

I've had every ZMF and found they were all excellent on the Tuba. With tube rolling to my favorite Amperex tubes I was very surprised by how little gap there was between it and the Pendant SE on stock tubes when I first received that. It's pretty neutral for a tube amp, somewhat airy which made for a good combo with the warm Atticus. Sold the Aeolus before I got the Tuba. Especially for the price, I think it would be hard to find a much better amp, though I've not heard the Echo which gets a lot of praise from ZMF owners. I certainly preferred it over the tube modes in the iFi Pro iCAN I had at the time with upgraded tubes.

 

[palolo]

Thanks robo24! Just the push I need to justify a ZMF purchase and some tube rolling!

 

[David222]

Anyone have some impressions to share about using the Tuba with a ZMF Atticus or Aeolus?

I run a Tuba and have a new Aeolus order in final build stage with ZMF...Should have some thoughts on this in the next 30-60 days. My other AMP is Burson 3XP.

 

[warp2600]

Can anyone give advice on pairing the Tuba with the 120 ohm AKG K612 Pro? People say the AGK needs more current rather than high voltage to sound right probably that's why it is not a good match with my OTL amp. So far the best match I found for the AKG has been my MARANTZ PM8005 'current feedback' integrated amp. All fine but it could do with some more punch in the low freq.

Edit: Also, low output impedance is recommended for the AKG. The Tuba specs say that the LOW out is 5 ohm, which should be fine.

 

[David222]

The Tuba can punch (relative to its peer set). You'd likely want to experiment with some NOS 7189 (RCA, etc.) if you want some additional kick. Your DAC of course cannot be overlooked.

 

[ColdsnapBry]

Anyone know what tube I can run through the Tuba to make it a bit richer with a tad more bass?

 

[Mightygrey]

Anyone know what tube I can run through the Tuba to make it a bit richer with a tad more bass?

The stock tubes + EQ. If you're trying to change the sound of your headphones by buying and swapping out tubes you're in for a frustrating and futile journey.

 

[robo24]

Anyone know what tube I can run through the Tuba to make it a bit richer with a tad more bass?

Yes, get these "6BQ5/EL84 Early Amperex white label type OEM, 1950s with "D" getter, Holland, USED" most of the way down the page. $99 for a matched pair, though used, I've had no problems with them. I went through about 10 pairs of EL84 tubes suggested in this thread when I first got mine, trying to get back some of the bass and body I had with the iCan Pro that I was used to. The Amperex did the trick and I had hesitated and tried all the others first because at $200 per pair it seemed way too much until I found these at half the price. Ultimately I spent way more than if I'd just gone directly to an unused pair of the Amperex. Having moved onto the Pendant SE, they're also my favorite EL84s in that amp too.