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O2 Build Complete: Let the objective, subjective listening tests commence!

Dec 20, 2011 at 11:59 PM Post #662 of 721
You can buy one from Epiphany Audio in the UK or JDSlab in the US
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Dec 21, 2011 at 2:05 AM Post #667 of 721
this is going to be a fun time for me because right around the time this amp comes in, I will also be receiving a Cavalli Audio Stacker II tube hybrid amp, which in case some of you dont know, is supposedly in the ranks of the Cavalli Audio Liquid fire which costs $3250.   It will be interesting to see which amp I prefer... ;-)
 
 
 
Dec 21, 2011 at 7:12 AM Post #668 of 721
Any news on the desktop version front? Not as active here recently, but want to get one as soon as the plans are finalized and someone is building them for retail sale.
 
Dec 21, 2011 at 9:34 AM Post #669 of 721
I think February as far as plans are concerned, maybe April before the first commercial projects, Group buys for DIY in between.
But that's just a guess.
 
Dec 21, 2011 at 1:00 PM Post #670 of 721

 
Quote:
br777 said:
this is going to be a fun time for me because right around the time this amp comes in, I will also be receiving a Cavalli Audio Stacker II tube hybrid amp, which in case some of you dont know, is supposedly in the ranks of the Cavalli Audio Liquid fire which costs $3250.   It will be interesting to see which amp I prefer... ;-)
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Assuming you do hear a difference, you can have fun* with changing the O2's output impedance if the Cavalli's is higher and seeing how much of a difference remains.
 
 
*Our definitions of fun may be different.
 
Dec 21, 2011 at 1:57 PM Post #671 of 721


Quote:
willakan said:
 
Assuming you do hear a difference, you can have fun* with changing the O2's output impedance if the Cavalli's is higher and seeing how much of a difference remains.  
 
*Our definitions of fun may be different.
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I will be surprised if the two amps dont sound different.
 
While i am very much clueless in the ways of understanding anything electronic, and furthermore really know nothing about the stacker II except that it's supposed to sound really good, I cant imagine that the two amps will sound the same.
 
The fact that one has tubes and the other doesnt will most likely make a noticable difference.  let alone what is most likely two very differently built amps.
 
but hey what do I know. 
 
Unless changing output impedance involves flipping a switch and involves absolutely no risk in any way, I'm guessing it might be a bit more than I'm willing to dabble in, but we'll see.
 
I may not even have time to do anything more than very fleeting comparisons anyway. 
 
 
 
Dec 21, 2011 at 2:45 PM Post #672 of 721
Quote:
br777 said:
Unless changing output impedance involves flipping a switch and involves absolutely no risk in any way, I'm guessing it might be a bit more than I'm willing to dabble in, but we'll see.
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All you have to do is put some resistors between your 'phones and the O2's output.  No risk at all.  It probably won't make any difference with the LCD-2 but it will change your ES5s a lot.
 
Dec 22, 2011 at 4:27 AM Post #673 of 721


Quote:
shike said:
The output impedance difference would likely explain the differences you heard.  If I'm right the Crack amp is OTL which could definitely change the sound of a lot of cans - especially Sennheiser since they're known for quite reactive headphone loads (see - low damping factor).
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Not at all.  Most of his description fits to a T a typical Chrome Top 6SN7 sound.  You can try to attribute the richer, fuller bass to a shift in the FR due to output Z, which is likely correct, but not the staging, details, imaging, treble presentation, etc.  No way the O2 will compete with that as I've yet to hear any SS amp do that.  Not really a fair comparison between the two tbh.  The Benchmark HPO is more appropriate.
 
Dec 22, 2011 at 12:44 PM Post #674 of 721
Quote:
anaxilus said:
Not at all.  Most of his description fits to a T a typical Chrome Top 6SN7 sound.  You can try to attribute the richer, fuller bass to a shift in the FR due to output Z, which is likely correct, but not the staging, details, imaging, treble presentation, etc.  No way the O2 will compete with that as I've yet to hear any SS amp do that.  Not really a fair comparison between the two tbh.  The Benchmark HPO is more appropriate.
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I don't really hear differences like that between my Crack and O2.  Just a little tubey warmth.  I don't have the speedball upgrade for mine though.
 
You ordered an O2 right?  Did it come in yet?
 
Dec 22, 2011 at 12:46 PM Post #675 of 721
@Anaxilius
That wouldn't be much fun: NwAvGuy maintains that they (the Benchmark and the O2) are indistinguishable under blind conditions (based on his own ABX testing with a few other unknown people involved) and the O2 measures a fair bit better in most areas anyway (although certainly not audibly better!)*
I'm also a little skeptical about the existence of tube sound as a sound signature which is vastly different from solid state. Even with their higher distortion and wonky FR, I would wager they sound pretty similar to their SS brethren more often than not, especially the more expensive models (which ironically seem to be trying to remove the reason for buying a tube amp in the first place...IDK, never "got" the idea of amps with built-in colouration. We have DSPing for that)
 
 
*Just talking about headamp performance here; the Benchmark's performance as a DAC is beyond reproach IMHO.
 
 
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