[jonathan c]

I haven't been able to make myself pull the trigger on a $200 fuse. Anytime I ask a builder or designer they tell me that it is just a fuse. I know there is probably something to it, I just have never bought one, so I can't speak to the differences between the normal fuse and the SR Purple. Have you put the regular fuse into the HP8 to hear the difference between it and the purple?

No; I just installed it in HP8 based upon what I heard without/with in the LTA MZ3, Lyr 3, Woo WA2, Woo WA3 … Besides, the $200 does not look so bad vs the price of a fine pair of 6SN7s …

 

[geoffalter11]

No; I just installed it in HP8 based upon what I heard without/with in the LTA MZ3, Lyr 3, Woo WA2, Woo WA3 … Besides, the $200 does not look so bad vs the price of a fine pair of 6SN7s …

True. Ok, I will do it

 

[AussieMick]

Hi All
I’m close to ordering an HP8 and wondering if anyone here has experience with it mated to the Focal Stellia? The plan is to have it on my bedside table for those nights when the house is noisy (most nights!). It would be Mojo2/Poly - HP8 - Stellia.
Cheers
Mick

 

[Jay Smith]

Hi All
I’m close to ordering an HP8 and wondering if anyone here has experience with it mated to the Focal Stellia? The plan is to have it on my bedside table for those nights when the house is noisy (most nights!). It would be Mojo2/Poly - HP8 - Stellia.
Cheers
Mick

My Clear OG sounds amazingly good with HP8 at low impedance setting.

 

[geoffalter11]

Hi All
I’m close to ordering an HP8 and wondering if anyone here has experience with it mated to the Focal Stellia? The plan is to have it on my bedside table for those nights when the house is noisy (most nights!). It would be Mojo2/Poly - HP8 - Stellia.
Cheers
Mick

Stellia will sound amazing

 

[AussieMick]

@Jay Smith @geoffalter11 thanks. I’ve never owned a tube amp and all of my reading says this one is an underrated bargain. I really don’t want to go too mainstream with Woo or Feliks or Cayin. I like the idea of something that feels a bit more…bespoke. I know it’s not, but it has that feel of being assembled ground up by an old-fashioned craftsman

 

[jonathan c]

Hi All
I’m close to ordering an HP8 and wondering if anyone here has experience with it mated to the Focal Stellia? The plan is to have it on my bedside table for those nights when the house is noisy (most nights!). It would be Mojo2/Poly - HP8 - Stellia.
Cheers
Mick

HP8 / Stellia should be wonderful. HP8 / Clear is. You can also experiment with the L and M impedance settings for your preferred sound. Just think, “Stellia By Starlight” .

 

[geoffalter11]

@Jay Smith @geoffalter11 thanks. I’ve never owned a tube amp and all of my reading says this one is an underrated bargain. I really don’t want to go too mainstream with Woo or Feliks or Cayin. I like the idea of something that feels a bit more…bespoke. I know it’s not, but it has that feel of being assembled ground up by an old-fashioned craftsman

It is exactly that. Made by hand to order with point to point wiring. I know that is a buzz word, but they really are making them by hand to order. Plus, for the price you will find nothing equal to it sonically or in terms of beauty. That copper plate is just special... I had a friend who reviewed the HP8 yrs ago before they changed the design. Same amp, just different design aesthetics and then the addition of the upgraded caps. When I took pictures of it for the Atrium review he shot me a note that he could stare at the HP8 all day. It is a real beauty. @jonathan c has some amazing pictures of his on this thread. It truly is a special amp. You won't be disappointed.

 

[AussieMick]

HP8 / Stellia should be wonderful. HP8 / Clear is. You can also experiment with the L and M impedance settings for your preferred sound. Just think, “Stellia By Starlight” .

Thanks! What changes can expect between the two impedance settings? Is it a control in the bass type change?

 

[Jay Smith]

Thanks! What changes can expect between the two impedance settings? Is it a control in the bass type change?

At low setting you have tighter bass. At medium setting you have fuller relax sound. Both settings are good depends on music type.

 

[jonathan c]

Thanks! What changes can expect between the two impedance settings? Is it a control in the bass type change?

That is one way to think of it. The difference is noticeable but not mammoth.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I switched back to my Raytheon VT-231s from the David shaw Ceramics. They are faster with more top end resolution and a more integrated sound. The Ceramics have a more boomy bass, and they sure are pretty tubes, but they don't hold up to the better NOS 6SN7s.

I am listening to the AC on the HP8 tonight and the sound is just special. It is such a breath of fresh air. What an amazing amp. I'd love to hear a better tube amp, because the HP8 is the best tube amp I've owned. I am sure that the Nirvana or the Stellaris is better. I dream about the Icon 205D with 300B tubes, but don't feel the need to spend another $4k to get that little bit extra. There is nothing missing in the sound. Everything is balanced, weighty, subtle, and so sweet sounding. I love the way the Hp8 handles guitar tone and the shimmer of cymbals and a holographic stage where the keyboards/organ/piano are floating above the melody and across my head laterally and front to back. This amp kicks ass... As does the new AC!

I've heard TC-tube amps that are larger, more powerful, and in some ways, better than the HP8. I'm thinking of:

• My (since sold) Woo WA22 during the 5"-10" period where the NOS tube set sounded magical and didn't hum
• Several big Auris amps
• Once, a Woo WA33

It's mind-bending to realize how much sonic upside there is in big tube amps--but to get there you have to deal with huge frames (I can't fit most of them in either of my systems); high(er) tube counts & thus far higher cost for NOS tube sets; heat; maybe hum or electrical interference...the list is long.

My mind can only handle so much dissonance, then I flat-line. I made peace with this years ago, pretty much the same way I made peace with big 2-channel stereo gear that was 100X better than any system I could afford: I give myself permission to have less than the best gear, and instead focus on the many good things my gear does.

That's the HP8 in a nutshell. It's a true "Goldilocks" tube amp: compact, not drawing attention to itself, very capable & competent, giving me a taste of the really special things tubes can do. I don't worry about it--just listen to it.

 

[Pharmaboy]

No; I just installed it in HP8 based upon what I heard without/with in the LTA MZ3, Lyr 3, Woo WA2, Woo WA3 … Besides, the $200 does not look so bad vs the price of a fine pair of 6SN7s …

Jonathan:

Sorry to ask for stuff you may have already posted in past, but now I'm curious. You put an SR Purple fuse in the HP8? Did you hear improved (or even just different) sonics afterward? Any comments?

I've twice spend close to $150-$200 on matched pairs of 6SN7s for this amp,. plus outlays for 3-4 12AT7s. I have zero regrets about any of that. Dropping another $200 for a fuse is NP at all so long as there is some sonic benefit.

Note: I got an SR Purple for my MHDT Labs Orchid last year and am so pathologically lazy that I have yet to put it in. A number of people swear by the improvement it makes in that already very nice-sounding DAC...

 

[geoffalter11]

Jonathan:

Sorry to ask for stuff you may have already posted in past, but now I'm curious. You put an SR Purple fuse in the HP8? Did you hear improved (or even just different) sonics afterward? Any comments?

I've twice spend close to $150-$200 on matched pairs of 6SN7s for this amp,. plus outlays for 3-4 12AT7s. I have zero regrets about any of that. Dropping another $200 for a fuse is NP at all so long as there is some sonic benefit.

Note: I got an SR Purple for my MHDT Labs Orchid last year and am so pathologically lazy that I have yet to put it in. A number of people swear by the improvement it makes in that already very nice-sounding DAC...

I have the same affliction. I can’t determine if it is worth the expense. I asked Jan Meier and he told me no. Others swear by their sonic improvements. It is literally the only other thing I can do for my HP8.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Note: I got an SR Purple for my MHDT Labs Orchid last year and am so pathologically lazy that I have yet to put it in. A number of people swear by the improvement it makes in that already very nice-sounding DAC...

Whatever you do, don't blow it, buddy