[UntilThen]

Back home in Sydney and gear all setup. Don't go selling off your EL34 metal base just because I praise the EL156 endlessly. These skinny metal base can hold up a candle to the fat boy and they do so with less heat on the mains transformer. These 2 tubes are really good but so are my other NOS tubes. Odyssey is well served.

 

[Maxx134]

Looks like you nearly spent your last pennies

Actually yes I did, on a nearly "perfect" & portable source for my amps.
The iBasso 300max Dap, which replace my dx220max, and both have dedicated balanced line out...


You can still find some if your patient & look hard enough.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

After spent more time with Oblivion, time to switch DAC to Qutest to understand more about this amp.

(Drasitcally) character become drier, narrower staging, with thinner body overall and now fluid + effortless feel also missing.

My impression become more linear with many other's impression here, Oblivion definitely at close to neutral side, with nice bloom on midrange and bass that remain fast and far from being syrupy. Soundstage is the main point here, the imaging accuracy, and 3D depth is excellent.

Back to TT2, I thought Oblivion is kind of thick and slight on mellow side, but apparently they just amplified the TT2's sound (TT2 has the sweetest sound of Chord products).

To my system, my playlist and my preference, TT2 is easily my better choice here.

So to add my finding, I'm more than sure that Oblivion is a highly transparent amp (and I love this fact!). Good source is definitely the key to enjoy this product.

 

[baronbeehive]

Nearly there or there already. But I keep thinking about what Tomas can do with a 300b amp using Sowter irons, Yamamoto sockets and some boutique caps.

The impending arrival of that 300B amp in your living room must be the worst kept secret here .

 

[UntilThen]

Actually yes I did, on a nearly "perfect" & portable source for my amps.
The iBasso 300max Dap, which replace my dx220max, and both have dedicated balanced line out...

My son bought the 300max with Empire Ears Odin. I have not consider them as source in my setup.

 

[UntilThen]

After spent more time with Oblivion, time to switch DAC to Qutest to understand more about this amp.

(Drasitcally) character become drier, narrower staging, with thinner body overall and now fluid + effortless feel also missing.

My impression become more linear with many other's impression here, Oblivion definitely at close to neutral side, with nice bloom on midrange and bass that remain fast and far from being syrupy. Soundstage is the main point here, the imaging accuracy, and 3D depth is excellent.

Back to TT2, I thought Oblivion is kind of thick and slight on mellow side, but apparently they just amplified the TT2's sound (TT2 has the sweetest sound of Chord products).

To my system, my playlist and my preference, TT2 is easily my better choice here.

So to add my finding, I'm more than sure that Oblivion is a highly transparent amp (and I love this fact!). Good source is definitely the key to enjoy this product.

Thanks for the feedback. It's a refreshing change to get another opinion.

I've just received the 6AV6 tubes in like new condition. Oliver the seller refunded my money when I told him the tubes didn't come after a long time. Soon as I do that the tubes came. I need to refund his refund because he's an amazing seller and French man. Even enclosed a thank you note in the box. Such curtesy is rare these days.

I'll roll them in Oblivion after I check out the neighbourhood.

 

[UntilThen]

The impending arrival of that 300B amp in your living room must be the worst kept secret here .

That ain't going to happen ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. yet.

Each dot is a week.

 

[UntilThen]

I was willing to put Odyssey aside for Oblivion today. The aim is to test out the 2 new pairs of 6av6 drivers. They have top getters which according to Tomas have a tendency to be noisy. First to go in is the Dario Miniwatt 6av6 with green letters. The tubes are so new, the green letters are perfect and the boxes are like they have come out of the press. To my delight, they are totally quiet. To my further delight, they sound very good. It's one of those moments when I think to myself, why didn't I use Oblivion more because this is outrageously good with both He1000se and LCD4. As Maxx and Middle Sky have pointed out, Oblivion soundstage is incredibly wide and enjoyable. My unit must be fully burned in because the midrange bloom is as beautiful as a budding flower in early Spring. What I hear is an amp that is very clear with great instruments separations.

I even hook it up to my Axis Voicebox S speakers and I was able to watch the 2021 US Open Women Final between 2 very talented teenagers. Emma won and what a match.

 

[UntilThen]

Mazda 6av6 .... wonderful ! Both Dario and Mazda are dead quiet and sound lovely. Now this could be Oblivion sounding lovely regardless. Power tubes are Siemens EL81, the original tubes supplied by Tomas. That was 1 year 9 months ago.

Next step is to get Tesla and Mullard EL81 as recommended by Maxx.

 

[baronbeehive]

I even hook it up to my Axis Voicebox S speakers and I was able to watch the 2021 US Open Women Final between 2 very talented teenagers. Emma won and what a match.

A bit off topic, but since you mention it.. Emma Raducanu is an amazing British teenager, just left school after having taken her exams, straight into the US Open, won without losing a set, the first person ever to win a grand slam after having to go through the qualifiers!!

Not like me to go off topic .

Edit: She's already won her first £1,000,000.. enough to keep you in tubes for.. at least a week .

 

[UntilThen]

Yes I know. Somethings are special and Emma is special. Winning 2.5 millions at 18 is special.

 

[UntilThen]

One month anniversary for Odyssey tomorrow. Odyssey and Oblivion. I'm pretty much done as far as amplification goes. Both amps are very revealing. Oblivion soundstage is better but not by much. Both amps soundstage are outstanding. A common trait here is crispy treble. Very addictive. Odyssey is better in the mids and bass, No surprise there.

 

[baronbeehive]

One month anniversary for Odyssey tomorrow. Odyssey and Oblivion. I'm pretty much done as far as amplification goes. Both amps are very revealing. Oblivion soundstage is better but not by much. Both amps soundstage are outstanding. A common trait here is crispy treble. Very addictive. Odyssey is better in the mids and bass, No surprise there.

Very interesting indeed to see how the amps compare and your observations .

I don't know how Sonic has done it, I was expecting the "old skool" amp, notice the "I'm down with the kids" spelling, to be easily not as good as the "nu skool" Oblivion.

 

[UntilThen]

Very interesting indeed to see how the amps compare and your observations .

I don't know how Sonic has done it, I was expecting the "old skool" amp, notice the "I'm down with the kids" spelling, to be easily not as good as the "nu skool" Oblivion.

2 weeks after I had Odyssey, I message Tomas and asked, 'Are you sure Odyssey is strictly old school? You didn't slip in some new school did you?' He replied and said it's all old school with a smile.

This is the tone that I want. A tube amp with all the traits of an old school design but with fast transients and quick attacks. It has to be revealing at the top end with some bite to the tone. I want the midrange to be right there front and centre. I want the bass to be felt. It has to be tight and controlled but have enough bloom to keep it interesting. It needs to have a wide soundstage and 3 dimensionality at it's best.

On the first day of Odyssey, I heard all that and my eyes opened in disbelief The gamble to pour all in on Odyssey has worked, thanks to Tomas who knows how to build the amp, to make it incredibly quiet with headphones and have massive power to drive speakers. The amp remain cool after 8 hours of operation. Tomas make sure of that as one of my requirement. It's turned out better than I would have imagined.

I've reached nirvana. There's nothing more except the thought of how that 300b amp from Tomas would sound with a mixture of old and new school. Secretly I hope he will craft it to suit both 300b and 2a3.

 

[vcoheda]

these ultrasonic studios amps are gorgeous.