Bansaku
1000+ Head-Fier
I got my review unit earlier on in the week, and after a few days of breaking in I am ready to make some impressions. Simply put: WOW! As someone who has owned several eBay Chinese tube filters/pre-amps as well as tube rolling, I 'thought' I had a good impression of how the iTube2 would sound. I was dead wrong, and not prepared for absolute pure musical bliss!
iPurifier2--> iDAC--> iTube2--> iCAN SE = Magic!
The first thing I noticed was just how black the iTube2's sound was when added into the chain; I heard absolutely no discernible difference. That in itself is pretty remarkable. The came the sound itself, which hit my ears like a hammer. That weight, wow! It's not just in the low end, but the whole frequency range! I love weighted treble, and the iTube2 adds body yet simultaneously retaining any airiness, sparkle, and shine. Midrange becomes remarkably smooth, yet zero detail and texture is lost. And bass, that bass... Glorious! The iTube2 in no way boost the low end, rather enhances with added pressure, resulting in a harder hitting impact for the mid-bass and a more weighted sub-bass but no bloat or looseness whatsoever. In fact, bass detail in general has been increased! Lastly (for now) the soundstage and instrument separation/focus can be summed up in one word: Natural. While width, depth and height have been expanded, to a degree, the biggest change seems to be more to do with how the sounds "bloom" within the soundscape. It is rather hard to describe this aspect, partly due to the SET, Classic, and P/P options which change the behaviour of the sounds in the soundscape, and partly due to how each source track reacts, or interacts with the enhancements caused by the tube itself. I guess you can say it's magic!
I did hook up the iTube2 to my Lepy LP-2020A/ Mission Model 70 monitors desktop setup and messed around with the various settings. I love how the + (recommended) setting sounds, adding natural width to my setup and creating a more natural presentation. Later tonight, once the wife goes to bed, I am going to add the iTube2 to my TV setup which included a decent class A/B 20W receiver and a pair of Nuance N100's which sit flush with my TV. Can't wait to hear what the 30 degree setting will add! I still haven't figure out how I am going to include the iDAC and iTube2 to my home theatre setup (Yamaha Natural sound receiver and Klipsch RW-25 Icons). I opted for the iDAC over the iDAC2 simply because I didn't think I would need a digital input (nor DSD) yet here I am with my PC connecting to my receiver 15' away via digital.... I think perhaps I am going to have to cannibalize a few RCA cables and just run it across my living room (like the good'll days).
That's it for now. Things to do...
iPurifier2--> iDAC--> iTube2--> iCAN SE = Magic!
The first thing I noticed was just how black the iTube2's sound was when added into the chain; I heard absolutely no discernible difference. That in itself is pretty remarkable. The came the sound itself, which hit my ears like a hammer. That weight, wow! It's not just in the low end, but the whole frequency range! I love weighted treble, and the iTube2 adds body yet simultaneously retaining any airiness, sparkle, and shine. Midrange becomes remarkably smooth, yet zero detail and texture is lost. And bass, that bass... Glorious! The iTube2 in no way boost the low end, rather enhances with added pressure, resulting in a harder hitting impact for the mid-bass and a more weighted sub-bass but no bloat or looseness whatsoever. In fact, bass detail in general has been increased! Lastly (for now) the soundstage and instrument separation/focus can be summed up in one word: Natural. While width, depth and height have been expanded, to a degree, the biggest change seems to be more to do with how the sounds "bloom" within the soundscape. It is rather hard to describe this aspect, partly due to the SET, Classic, and P/P options which change the behaviour of the sounds in the soundscape, and partly due to how each source track reacts, or interacts with the enhancements caused by the tube itself. I guess you can say it's magic!
I did hook up the iTube2 to my Lepy LP-2020A/ Mission Model 70 monitors desktop setup and messed around with the various settings. I love how the + (recommended) setting sounds, adding natural width to my setup and creating a more natural presentation. Later tonight, once the wife goes to bed, I am going to add the iTube2 to my TV setup which included a decent class A/B 20W receiver and a pair of Nuance N100's which sit flush with my TV. Can't wait to hear what the 30 degree setting will add! I still haven't figure out how I am going to include the iDAC and iTube2 to my home theatre setup (Yamaha Natural sound receiver and Klipsch RW-25 Icons). I opted for the iDAC over the iDAC2 simply because I didn't think I would need a digital input (nor DSD) yet here I am with my PC connecting to my receiver 15' away via digital.... I think perhaps I am going to have to cannibalize a few RCA cables and just run it across my living room (like the good'll days).
That's it for now. Things to do...
