[stemiki]

I am having HPA4 and it is an excellent headphone amp with zero distortion. Sound is perfectly neutral and colourless but not boring at all. However, if you are not satisfied with Soloist 3X on output power, you will not find HPA4 better in this regard. Obviously MHA200 should also have lower power than your Burson.

On the 14 ohm impedance load of the LCD5 the HPA4 delivers about 7 watts. If you get muddy bass it can't be due to the amp. !

 

[parmiep]

Sad that there aren't a lot if reviews on the Forge

So I can provide a little perspective/comparison, though I am not technically proficient enough to provide an in-depth review of the Forge beyond "I really like it". I've had a Schitt Mjolnir 2, a ZMF/Ampsandsound Pendant and now the Forge. The MJ2 was a fun amp and had a ton of "growl" to it with the Rad-0, which made it great for rock and electronic music. I realized with time that it was veiled and somewhat "closed in" sounding. I bought the Pendant expecting it to blow the MJ2 out of the water based on all the praise it gets, and while it was clearly better than the MJ2, it also wasn't jarringly so. The Pendant was cleaner sounding and more open sounding, but lacked that same growl and bite the MJ2 provided that I really enjoyed. Sold the Pendant, kept the MJ2 and waited to try something else.

Enter the Forge, which to my ears even with stock tubes was very superior to the MJ2 at first listen, so much so that I didn't even really feel the need to compare them all that much. The Forge had the bite of the MJ2 with a more detailed, cleaner and more open sound, and providing a warmer sound overall. I've since rolled in a red base RCA 5691 and two NOS Tung Sol 6550s and I couldn't be happier with it. It runs my planars wonderfully and sounds fun and engaging doing so.

To the OP @WoollyGeezer - factor the cost of "optimal"/best in class tubes into the cost of whatever tube amplifier you go with. As an example, the Forge is $2700 base but the NOS tubes I rolled in cost me another $600 to acquire.

I've got a Forge up for sale on Audiogon, hopefully to somebody local in the San Francisco Bay Area who can come and pick it up. I'm sure it's a fine amp but I do not have a fine electrical system in my apartment and the noise floor I get from it makes it unlistenable, and as I rent my apartment, I am not going to have it rewired for the amp. I've tried new power conditioners, tubes that should provide less noise, etc, and nothing is working; I've got other tube headphone amps that do not have this issue, so I'm not going to throw more money at the Forge. It's a 30/300 one and will be a fine, well-built and designed amp for somebody with a good, clean, power source, but not for me, unfortunately.

Yeah, admittedly I live in a very new building so I don't have electrical issues fortunately. I did have noise when I first plugged it in, but it ended up being a bad stock JJ input tube.

 

[helljudgement]

I'm sure it's a fine amp but I do not have a fine electrical system in my apartment and the noise floor I get from it makes it unlistenable

That is very unfortunate. I've been hearing about noise issues with A&S but this is the first time I seen someone saying it's unlistenable. Been tempted to get an A&S amp for a while now and is especially intrigued by the ovation and the new 300b amp but the noise issue I've been hearing has kinda deterred me from placing an order especially since I can't get a demo. Have you reached out to Justin for a possible resolution?

 

[LarsMan]

That is very unfortunate. I've been hearing about noise issues with A&S but this is the first time I seen someone saying it's unlistenable. Been tempted to get an A&S amp for a while now and is especially intrigued by the ovation and the new 300b amp but the noise issue I've been hearing has kinda deterred me from placing an order especially since I can't get a demo. Have you reached out to Justin for a possible resolution?

Yes, and Justin suggested replacing the KT88's with 6L6GC STR's as they should have less noise. But it didn't make any difference. I've also got an Eddie Current Studio B with a couple of 300B tubes, and that has amazing sound, especially after I swapped out the Gold Lion tubes, which were good, with JJ tubes, which I liked a lot better - more punch, more bass, etc.

 

[helljudgement]

Justin suggested replacing the KT88's with 6L6GC STR's as they should have less noise. But it didn't make any difference.

From what I've gathered so far it seems there are users that are susceptible to noise and others that find it pretty much silent. Not sure if this is due to the power supply itself or the users electrical source(i.e home cabling, rf noises etc). The sound at least seem very positive so I'm very intrigued to hear one in the future especially the new 300b amp, Kenzie and the ovation.

I've also got an Eddie Current Studio B with a couple of 300B tubes, and that has amazing sound, especially after I swapped out the Gold Lion tubes, which were good, with JJ tubes, which I liked a lot better - more punch, more bass, etc.

The studio b is a very special amp. I'm using linlai tubes but can easily live with just jjs or gold lion which is part of what makes this amp great. No need for rare and exotic 300b tubes which can easily cost more then some setup. Best thing about this amp is the way it stages. No amp I've heard stages as wide and deep as this.