[foefoe]

If SonicTrance says February it means February. I ordered my Oblivion in Feb, was Mr. November and I received the amp in the middle of November a few weeks ago

 

[UntilThen]

Thanks for the kind words! I won't comment on your Glenn build but if you want an amp from me I can build it in February!

Like all professionals, Sonic won't comment about another builder. Neither would I, especially on another amp thread.

A little story. When I over used my Glenn OTL amp sockets by excessive tube rolling I brought the amp to http://www.thefactoryaudio.com/ to have the sockets replaced and some capacitors and resistors replace with better quality ones. When it's finished and I went there to collect it, I ask the engineer how it sound? Here's the reply.

'I won't tell you whether McIntosh or Audio Note sound better. That's not my job. That's for you to find out for yourself'. Also when he had finished the repair, I ask him whether he listen to it using a headphone and how he like the sound. He told me, 'I don't listen to it'. I looked at him in astonishment !!! I said, 'What ! then how do you know it works?' Smiling he took me over to the oscilloscope and connected the amp to it. He then showed me the signal waves and said, 'That is how I know it works and works well. As to whether it sounds good, that's for you to decide'.

So that's a lesson learned. Never try to impress your technician that your amp sounds superb because he has heard them all and he is not going to tell you which sound the best.

It's 20 days to Christmas ! I hope you're enjoying life, especially audio ! I can tell you though I am and I still love and enjoy the Oblivion.

Ah another comment. Sonic told me that I will have Oblivion for review before Christmas of 2019 and he's right. It came on the 23rd Dec 2019. How's that for precision.

Another thing. If you ask Sonic a question here, he will answer and usually very promptly. Communications from him is top notched, pretty much like how his amps turned out.

 

[baronbeehive]

It's 20 days to Christmas ! I hope you're enjoying life, especially audio ! I can tell you though I am and I still love and enjoy the Oblivion.

Excellent to hear .

Yes feeling good, Christmas shopping done, more or less, a month earlier than usual, now relaxing to Sandrine Kiberlain which has put me in such a good mood!

Nice friendly thread, great products, good to hear people enjoying their audio, covid 19 on the way out, we're having our first vaccine doses rolled out here in the UK now, why wouldn't you feel good!

I hope you haven't changed the name of your beehive stack to something silly lol!

 

[UntilThen]

Hey Baron you're in UK. I'll come visit and you can come visit me too. As for Beehive stack, I don't think it will last beyond 2020. I have to call it something else.

 

[UntilThen]

Btw Baron, I play golf on the weekends and if you're wondering how I play, watch this video.

 

[UntilThen]

This is my friend and he loves Dire Straits. I hooked up my Rega RP8 to Oblivion and his tail never stops wagging.

 

[baronbeehive]

Hey Baron you're in UK. I'll come visit and you can come visit me too. As for Beehive stack, I don't think it will last beyond 2020. I have to call it something else.

Yes, sounds like a good idea .

 

[Maxx134]

Someone on here mentioned they didn't like the Oblivion or Citadel pairing with the HEDDphone - I would be very interested to see the pairing tried again being the new amp is supposed to put out even more power around 50 ohms, which is just what those need

From hearing the hedd with various units, I personally don't think it had to do with the amp pairings at all, but instead to its own signature sound.

For me, the criticism was only viewed in direct comparison to the other reference headphones(abyss, Hd800) at the time, so actually was an observation of where it stands as a reference, in regards to the others, not in general.

So in general, I believe it should be regarded as an above average headphone, as it had an initial alluring & impressive sound.

All top headphones have their own "presentation".
I actually think the Hedd would help alot with softer or less resolving amps.

from what I gather from the impeccable reviews on this thread, the Ultrasonic amps are incomparable to basically anything out there bar-none.

I think more like performance per dollar. Getting end-game level sound without the multi-thousand dollar price tag.

What the most elite tube amps, have in common, are all the refinement of tubes (imaging, soundstage, holography, etc) without the excessive harmonics or thickness of the majority of the others, but instead, harmonic cleanliness.

To me, this is what you get here with ultrasonic studios amps, and why it is in this league with the best.

having around $1,000 already invested in rare / top-flight vintage tubes, as well as a huge box of handcrafted adapters specifically for it.

That investment would not be lost with custom request on any tube amp manufacturer.

So that's a lesson learned. Never try to impress your technician that your amp sounds superb because he has heard them all and he is not going to tell you which sound the best.

That's a wise person that realizes the amp is a link in the chain and bigger picture would be the whole system/headphones synery.

 

[UntilThen]

That's a wise person that realizes the amp is a link in the chain and bigger picture would be the whole system/headphones synery.

Absolutely and furthermore I might add - depends on an individual preference.

 

[baronbeehive]

Absolutely and furthermore I might add - depends on an individual preference.

Correct!

This is the main reason why I'm very happy with my amps atm, because the sound signature is one that I absolutely love and wouldn't want to change... except for the Oblivion of course.
.

 

[baronbeehive]

What the most elite tube amps, have in common, are all the refinement of tubes (imaging, soundstage, holography, etc) without the excessive harmonics or thickness of the majority of the others, but instead, harmonic cleanliness.

Yes exactly, which is what we have been trying to achieve on the LD Supermods thread I think with a degree of success.. and what the amps on this thread achieve spectacularly by all accounts!

 

[UntilThen]

Correct!

This is the main reason why I'm very happy with my amps atm, because the sound signature is one that I absolutely love and wouldn't want to change... except for the Oblivion of course.
.

You wouldn't happen to have a McIntosh or Audio Note, would you?

I have a Sansui - or Mountain Water.

 

[Maxx134]

You wouldn't happen to have a McIntosh or Audio Note, would you?

I have a Sansui - or Mountain Water.

Lol, I have noted when testing with some good older model, solid state amps, is that while they have realism, they do not have the clarity of the newer gear about last 5yrs.
It was an observation when trying out speaker amps for the Raal headphones.

Many I know moved on from the raal, but the point is that the old stuff no matter how expensive it was, is pretty different from today we have such clean and clear amps out.

I believe even old school amps had great sound but alot more harmonics than most amps today, and it was normal back then. Yet now, not the norm.

 

[UntilThen]

Lol, I have noted when testing with some good older model, solid state amps, is that while they have realism, they do not have the clarity of the newer gear about last 5yrs.
It was an observation when trying out speaker amps for the Raal headphones.

Many I know moved on from the raal, but the point is that the old stuff no matter how expensive it was, is pretty different from today we have such clean and clear amps out.

I believe even old school amps had great sound but alot more harmonics than most amps today, and it was normal back then. Yet now, not the norm.

Only a mother can love vintage amps / receivers and that's a joke because some vintage receivers look gorgeous. It's definitely not the last word in clarity and details in the year 2020 - incidentally also the year known as COVID-20. However vintage amps have that unique sound loved by many - hearkens back to the golden age of the 70s audio.

Skylab himself stated that he has 2 audio systems. A very nice digital modern system with the B&W Nautilus speakers but he spends more time enjoying his basement vintage system of Pioneer sx1980, Denon TT and vintage speakers.

When I mentioned McIntosh and Audio Note, it's because they were brought up by the technician. I'm not necessary a fan of either but wouldn't mind if they were thrown my way. However I do like the alpha range of the Sansui amps just like some will like the Yamaha NS1000 speakers or NS2000.

 

[SonicTrance]

Here's another Oblivion complete! This one has more of the Silver Citadel layout with the small meters and tube layout. I think it came out great!