[baronbeehive]

I am proud to be the first customer of a future Infinity amp.

Really looking forward to your review.. and anyone else's.

 

[SonicTrance]

@DecentLevi @OctavianH @UntilThen
Thank you so much for the kind words guys! It means a lot to me!

Now onto the question that must be languishing in the back of all our minds - just how does the Infinity sound different than the former Oblivion and Citadel?

I'm no good at describing sound with words. But, Infinity sounds as expected with more tube sound, warmer than both Oblivion and Citadel. It also has more bass (both by measurements and listening). Is the bass better and more refined? No, but it has more quantity than the other amps and is still tight! I enjoy listening to it very much, I can tell you that =) I don't want to say much more regarding SQ because I think it should come from potential customers instead.

As well, the factor of amp burn-in can make a huge difference on amps, so if you don't mind to mention about how many hours does your 'new baby' have on it? Further as I've recently discovered the "feet" absorption material can actually make a solid difference under the amp, something I will experiment with later vs. the existing ones.

Not many hours I'm afraid. I don't have time, lol. I did listen for a few hours when I just finished it.
Infinity comes with anti-vibration feet!

But the single/dual triodes will not run in parallel, there will be an input switch

They will be hooked up in parallel but you can only use one or the other. Either 2 x 6J5's or a single 6SN7. It's the same with Levi's amp.

However, from what I understood from Tomas all three will light up even if the one not selected as input will not have the plate and grid connected.

Correct! Since you'll have the input selector switch you can have all three tubes in the amp at the same time. I'll not switch out the heaters so all tubes will glow.

The reason I am posting is that I want to ask you regarding the mA meters from which you will be warned about dying tubes. It is not clear for me how this mechanism works. As far as I know you measure the plate current during operation and you expect it to have a constant value. When a tube starts to create problems the current goes lower/higher and at that time you stop the amplifier and remove it? I think the mA meter is more for checking if the bias setting was correctly done and I am not sure if it will show signals of aging tubes.

You are right! The biggest reason for the mA meters is to show that the bias is set right! But, it "can" show signs of a tube going bad also, just like you say.

More than this, I have no idea what impact has a dying tube on the circuitry and if there is a risk to damage the amplifier using problematic ones.

A dying tube will not have an impact on the amp. A dead tube however could if it shorts grid to anode for example. Pretty unlikely though.

Could you summarise the differences in architecture between the Infinity and the Eternity, and the Infinity and Oblivion?

Eternity is a low power version of Infinity. It's the same SET design. Totally different from Oblivion which is a balanced amp.

 

[UntilThen]

I'm no good at describing sound with words. But, Infinity sounds as expected with more tube sound, warmer than both Oblivion and Citadel. It also has more bass (both by measurements and listening). Is the bass better and more refined? No, but it has more quantity than the other amps and is still tight! I enjoy listening to it very much, I can tell you that =) I don't want to say much more regarding SQ because I think it should come from potential customers instead.

That is something I wanted to hear. Warmer with more quantity and quality bass, at the same time tight. I imagine clarity and details and soundstage still as outstanding as Oblivion?

 

[DecentLevi]

That is something I wanted to hear. Warmer with more quantity and quality bass, at the same time tight. I imagine clarity and details and soundstage still as outstanding as Oblivion?

You took the words right out of my mouth, UT , precisely what I was going to ask our master builder @SonicTrance / Tomas...
Also something myself and others in the hobby do occasionally is to leave the amp or other on for about 12 hour sessions with music playing even when you're not around. This can help expedite burn-in, then the cooling off periods can be important as well for it to 'breathe', depending on the circumstance. Of course caution is exercised in case of excess heat.

Also @OctavianH welcome to the club and congrats on your future amp! I'm surprised to see you around this thread! You, me and UT / UntilThen are part of a crew on a similar journey going back all the way to Feliks Elise around 2015, or even before with the Garage1217 amps?

 

[UntilThen]

I don't leave my new tube amps on for 12 hours just to speed up 'burning in' though. You never know what will happen when you're not around. I'd exercise patience and just let it burn in as I enjoy it. Gradually it will be 'burn in'. What's the rush. I might leave solid state on to burn in but I'm cautious with tube amps.

 

[OctavianH]

Also @OctavianH welcome to the club and congrats on your future amp! I'm surprised to see you around this thread! You, me and UT / UntilThen are part of a crew on a similar journey going back all the way to Feliks Elise around 2015, or even before with the Garage1217 amps?

I am not using tube amps for so long as you, but before Elise I had a LittleDot MK2. It was a funny small amp for that time.

 

[UntilThen]

I'm overdosed with tube amps and the end is still not in sight. Starting to be interested in solid states.

 

[joseph69]

I don't leave my new tube amps on for 12 hours just to speed up 'burning in' though. You never know what will happen when you're not around. I'd exercise patience and just let it burn in as I enjoy it. Gradually it will be 'burn in'. What's the rush.

I totally agree with this. I'll run music without listening through my new amp/tubes for a +/-2hrs for the first week, then shut down.
If I'm actually listening to the music I'll listen for up to 4hrs then shut down. I enjoy hearing my amp/tubes opening up and sounding better & better.

 

[UntilThen]

I enjoy hearing my amp/tubes opening up and sounding better & better.

Spot on. Why would you miss the opportunity of witnessing the amp develop in the early stage. Once burn in, you can never sample that again.

More importantly never take a risk with electrical stuff like potent tube amps unattended. Could start a fire burn down your precious gear - expensive streamer, dac, amps and headphones and perhaps your cat or puppy. Poor thing.

 

[joseph69]

Spot on. Why would you miss the opportunity of witnessing the amp develop in the early stage. Once burn in, you can never sample that again.

More importantly never take a risk with electrical stuff like potent tube amps unattended. Could start a fire burn down your precious gear - expensive streamer, dac, amps and headphones and perhaps your cat or puppy. Poor thing.

It would be like having an 18yrs new born.
You would've missed everything in between and have never seen them growing up.

 

[UntilThen]

It would be like having an 18yrs new born.
You would've missed everything in between and have never seen them growing up.

Ok that make me laugh Joseph. Yup we'll just 'burn in' the kids real fast so they will become adults real quick and we'll be free to indulge in head-fi instead of taking them to soccer matches, swimming, taekwondo, etc, etc.

 

[SonicTrance]

I always run the amps 48h (with some small breaks), with music playing into dummy loads, before shipping. That's because I want to stress the amp and get it as hot as possible. Heat is electronic components worst enemy. If there's gonna be a component failure I want it to happen before shipping!

With that said I don't recommend any of you to do so

 

[UntilThen]

I always run the amps 48h (with some small breaks), with music playing into dummy loads, before shipping. That's because I want to stress the amp and get it as hot as possible. Heat is electronic components worst enemy. If there's gonna be a component failure I want it to happen before shipping!

With that said I don't recommend any of you to do so

Usually I just pack my Oblivion with ice cubes in Summer so that it's cool and look cool. Mr Cool.

Speaking of cool, Oblivion is a cool dude. There's hardly any heat even after hours of operation. The fan at the bottom is still running very quietly. Sometimes I feel the fan isn't necessary but since it's so quiet it didn't bother me. Perhaps have a switch to switch it on or off, Tomas? Like if I needed to cool myself, I just switch it on.

 

[SonicTrance]

Usually I just pack my Oblivion with ice cubes in Summer so that it's cool and look cool. Mr Cool.

Speaking of cool, Oblivion is a cool dude. There's hardly any heat even after hours of operation. The fan at the bottom is still running very quietly. Sometimes I feel the fan isn't necessary but since it's so quiet it didn't bother me. Perhaps have a switch to switch it on or off, Tomas? Like if I needed to cool myself, I just switch it on.

I haven't shipped an amp with a fan for almost a year! You can disconnect it if you want Just make sure the connections doesn't short to something on the inside.

 

[UntilThen]

I will get a technician to do it. Left to me I might create a new amp.

Or I might keep it. Makes mine Oblivion special !