Ok, disclosure time -
BTW: For those with agenda, I have already emailed Peter with this disclosure, so save the bandwidth. Take anything else somewhere else.
The EA-6 was apparently damaged in shipment - this meet was to eliminate my remaining troubleshooting variables. I had already fully retubed the amp, as I suspected damaged tubes were the real culprit. With some vast bass response improvements in the bass by adding some Raytheon 6CG7 drive tubes (Japan, short-plate), there is still a nasty distortion in any electric guitar parts, checked with other HE60 and both Omega II, though acoustic guitar, strings, piano and vocals are all (relatively) unaffected. Capacitor? Connection? Other failed part? I just can't say, as a quick visual inspection did not reveal anything apparent.
Bottom line: the amp is going back to Peter for troubleshooting, and with some comments on what I was able to hear. This amp can get nothing but an 'incomplete' at this time, as it simply isn't physically able to perform.
I am in full agreement with Rob - the 007t is a much maligned amp, and sounded pretty damn good, both driving the OII and the HE60 (and both at the same time). But, again, the ES-1 is just spectacular, does absolutely nothing wrong, and is, as always, a joy to listen to - I dare say, moreso than the Orpheus. I could gush on and on, but others have already covered that amp ad nauseum.
So, those wanting observations about whether the EA-6 is an Orpheus killer will simply have to wait until another day... my current gut feeling is you get what you pay for, and the EA-6 will be quite challenged to match either the Orpheus, the ES-1, or even the 007t. There is simply no data today to make an observation, pro nor con.
