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That's a post RMA model.
As to the EC commentary... why are you guys getting upset? Someone asked if the EC amps were considered goto wins by everyone. I said no, and said what those that didn't think they were their cup of tea cited as the reasons.
Can you buy inexpensive 6sn7s? Well yeah, but the ones I use are $230 a pair. Which is $800 in tubes. My 2A3 loadout would be $700. Which can also be dragged down.
/nicemode on
People are getting upset because you may be misleading other people by talking about stuff that you haven't heard. It's one thing to say not everyone will like a certain amp X, no matter how highly regarded. It's another thing to attribute what "other people" have said about certain amp X to bolster that argument.
I've heard that same criticism you cited about the BA before. Blubliss (who is a friend of my in real life) had once told me that he felt the TungSol 6SN7 BGRP with the KR PX4 output tubes were too grainy and trebly for the Sennheiser HD800 (no surprise - and I agree). It was easy for him to rectify the situation. He switched to the EML 300B solid plates and the RCA grey glass VT-231 and later Brimar 6SL7? (I don't know what he's running now). I actually feel the TS BGRP and KR PX4 is a great match for the LCD2r1 and LCD3, but not necessarily for the more treble oriented headphones (I thought I should mention this since this is an LCD3 thread).
Without qualifying your statements attributing certain sonic traits to the BA, you are misleading people: "Oh, someone said the BA sounds grainy and tipped up." That statement is balderdash. Heck, I could throw in a grainy and bright DAC in the chain, and the "BA" could "sound" that way too. There are things that the BA does not do well, and I know many people who prefer other amps, but the hearsay you cited is certainly not one of reasons why. The BA can cover an extremely wide range in terms of tone, grain, etch, lushness depending upon the version (PX25, PX4, 300B, AD1, 2A3, 45) or kinds of tubes (NOS, Central European, Chinese) used. You may not have known this because you have never heard or used the BA. Again, it's one thing to say not everyone will like a certain amp X, it's another thing to attribute what "other people" have said about certain amp X to bolster that argument. (It's not even necessary)
In terms of the Super 7, Anaxilus and I (who have had access to pre-production versions of the amp) have rolled many combinations of tubes, including some expensive 6SN7s in the output stages. It became obvious that using the most rare expensive rare tubes in six outputs did not necessarily yield the most optimal results. We also found that the most expensive and rare tubes with the most cachet did not necessarily sound the best. However, we did find that the driver tube was the most critical, and that the most transparent tube should be used in that position. For the output tubes, the best results were found by combining different tubes (many inexpensive) with specific characteristics to match the other components in the chain. Even then, the current production Russian Tung Sol 6SN7s in the outputs do yield great results out-of-the-gate.
For you to imply the S7's true price is deceptively low (or cheap tubes will yield sub-optimal results) because it would cost you an additional $900 because the 6SN7's that you happen to use are $230 pair shows that you don't yet have a complete understanding of how the amp works in practice. The S7 does not need $900 in tubes to sound good. You have never heard or used the S7, either loaded with cheap tubes, or rare expensive tubes, to qualify price/performance or whether it would be a good match for the LCD3.
Your argument is sound, but please stop characterizing stuff that you haven't heard or aren't familiar with.
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