Icon Audio HP8/MP 3

[jonathan c]

Other aural benefits from the HP8 capacitor upgrades, in my experience, are: lower 'noise floor', expanded 'dynamic range', 'clearer transients'.

 

[WorksUnit]

^Looking forward to those potential improvements...^

Going to skip the reliability mod based on the high labour cost.
Nice to think newer production will come with it though.

 

[jonathan c]

The 'Signature' version of HP8 Mk II comes with capacitor upgrades. [That is how I ordered mine -- via Audioarcan in Ontario, Canada.] A long time ago, I owned HP8 Mk I.

 

[cats4cans]

I’ve always been curious what percentage of people actually get the Bluetooth input. I just can’t figure out that use case.

 

[Marcellus1980]

Happy new owner of an HP8 Sig which arrived last week. Very happy with how it sounds so far.
Question on tube fitting. My 2 larger tubes (apologies for the caveman description, I'm a tube noon) fit into their sockets with some expected resistance before being seated correctly. However my smaller single tube has no resistance on the way in, and seems to just sit in the socket. Is this normal or does that sound like it could be a loose socket? Thanks.

 

[lauthoerer]

Question on tube fitting. My 2 larger tubes (apologies for the caveman description, I'm a tube noon) fit into their sockets with some expected resistance before being seated correctly. However my smaller single tube has no resistance on the way in, and seems to just sit in the socket. Is this normal or does that sound like it could be a loose socket?

That’s normal. My V1/2s at the start were hell to change, but the clamps settled into it after sth like 5 tube rolls. V3 never gave any resistance.

 

[Marcellus1980]

That’s normal. My V1/2s at the start were hell to change, but the clamps settled into it after sth like 5 tube rolls. V3 never gave any resistance.

OK great, thanks so much!

 

[jonathan c]

.... still with the Sylvania 6SN7GTB pair / RCA 12AX7 .... ongoing excellence ....

.... casting with Nitsch/JAR HD-600. Vocals, male and female / solo and chorus are . So is everything else .

 

[lauthoerer]

with HP8 Signature, I truly enjoy Caldera Closed (B&W Ebony): on "L" impedance setting when "V1" tube is RCA 'black plate, triple mica' 12AX7; on "M" impedance setting when "V1" tube is NOS Telefunken 'smooth plate' 12AX7.

Bringing this thread back up again…

Of course, personal listening preference and tubes used being of singular importance, would the Caldera Closed’s own impedance of 60 Ω not signify that the Medium setting at “30-300 Ohms (nominally 100)” should be the “more correct” setting vs. the Low setting at “8-40 Ohms (nominally 16)”?

 

[jonathan c]

Bringing this thread back up again…

Of course, personal listening preference and tubes used being of singular importance, would the Caldera Closed’s own impedance of 60 Ω not signify that the Medium setting at “30-300 Ohms (nominally 100)” should be the “more correct” setting vs. the Low setting at “8-40 Ohms (nominally 16)”?

.... more correct vs personal preference. Yes, CC should (?) be run at the medium setting. Perhaps a more à propos term than 'correct' would be 'recommended'. In any event, because a planar-magnetic h/p has a flat 'impedance curve' vs frequency, running CC off the HP8 low impedance setting does not, to my ears, have any untoward frequency or damping effects. To the contrary.

 

[michael2v]

Bringing this thread back up again…

Of course, personal listening preference and tubes used being of singular importance, would the Caldera Closed’s own impedance of 60 Ω not signify that the Medium setting at “30-300 Ohms (nominally 100)” should be the “more correct” setting vs. the Low setting at “8-40 Ohms (nominally 16)”?

I found the Caldera Closed fell apart once I got to the 100-ohm tap on my Bigger Ben (it was the most dramatic impedance effect I’ve heard yet); 16 or 32-ohm taps were the sweet spot. I realize it’s a totally different amp, but I would expect the impedance matching effects to be comparable.

 

[lauthoerer]

Appreciate the insight, guys. I just upgraded my HP8 to the SE and am still at the very beginning of exploring it. It’s off to a great start with the “stock” tubes already and if I didn’t have a number of alternatives to roll, I would actually not be in a hurry to get any other tubes for the time being. Rolling through my HPs is already giving me a lot to play with…

 

[Pharmaboy]

running CC off the HP8 low impedance setting does not, to my ears, have any untoward frequency or damping effects. To the contrary.

I found the same thing--also with the CO and any other planar.

Maybe there's something wrong with my ears (or donor brain)--but no matter which headphone (regardless of impedance) I use with this amp, I hear no real sonic differences between the 3 impedance settings beyond volume differences. So I generally stay with the medium setting for everything.

 

[rage3324]

What’s the rule for switching impedance? Can it be done while the amp is on or should it only be done while the amp is off?

 

[Pharmaboy]

What’s the rule for switching impedance? Can it be done while the amp is on or should it only be done while the amp is off?

I've done it while the amp is on. Nothing untoward happened.

No doubt doing this is a bad thing--the audio equivalent of running with scissors (the manual is silent on this issue).