[sahmen]

Can't wait to hear my Susvara and LCD-4 sing on this unit. How does the Matte black version look?

 

[chaZZZy007]

Just ordered one of these, and it ships tomorrow. I have been eyeing it for some time now among others, but I have got to say your unreserved recommendation of this amp on the Susvara forum acted as a tipping point of sorts. Plus, you could also say that I finally got tired dreaming about the Flux Lab Volot and the Niimbus US5 pro without being able to do anything immediately about them,

I got the Matte Metallic Black version, but that's because upscale Audio had an open box version of the unit in black and i wanted to save some bucks so I jumped on it... For the record, it is also the only color of the unit I have seen in the online photos about which i do not have some reservation...

Regarding the tubes, I already have some great telefunken Nos with golden rods that I could use with them. They are fantastic on my Liquid Platinum, so I hope they sound as good here. I also have some Reflektor Holy Grails, and others, but I am ready to learn from others here about what tubes would work best with these.

Welcome to the thread!

 

[chaZZZy007]

Can't wait to hear my Susvara and LCD-4 sing on this unit. How does the Matte black version look?

I almost bought the paint job black but my BAT is also a matte black so I bought it instead.

It looks great.

 

[xtr4]

I have to agree. My Dave sounds better w/ the SE output. Not sure exactly why though I suspect the InPol likes to see a lower voltage input since the Dave XLR output is 6V. Glad to hear someone else is hearing the same. Thanks.

I will go on record here that the Pathos clips and distorts on certain tracks and recordings especially those with high dynamic range, should you feed it anything higher than the rated 4.4VRMS input.
My May outputs at 5.8VRMS on XLR and I thought I had a faulty unit which I had sent back to my distributor to verify and it was confirmed that the Pathos doesn't do well with higher voltages.

That said, I'm glad to have it back and it works fine off RCA from my May. While it was away, I had more time with my Studio Six. While it is a great amp in its own right, the Pathos has that layering of sound which I've only heard it do on any headphone system thus far.

It drives my HE6SE very well with room to spare as at 125 volume, it's loud enough for my musical enjoyment without harassing my wife next to me hahaha
Sometimes I get carried away and crank it up a bit and suddenly I can feel death staring at me haha

 

[sahmen]

Welcome to the thread!

Thx for the warm welcome.

 

[Slim1970]

Just ordered one of these, and it ships tomorrow. I have been eyeing it for some time now among others, but I have got to say your unreserved recommendation of this amp on the Susvara forum acted as a tipping point of sorts. Plus, you could also say that I finally got tired dreaming about the Flux Lab Volot and the Niimbus US5 pro without being able to do anything immediately about them,

I got the Matte Metallic Black version, but that's because upscale Audio had an open box version of the unit in black and i wanted to save some bucks so I jumped on it... For the record, it is also the only color of the unit I have seen in the online photos about which i do not have some reservation...

Regarding the tubes, I already have some great telefunken Nos with golden rods that I could use with them. They are fantastic on my Liquid Platinum, so I hope they sound as good here. I also have some Reflektor Holy Grails, and others, but I am ready to learn from others here about what tubes would work best with these.

Congrats on the purchase!!!

 

[sahmen]

Has anyone paired the Pathos with a Sonnet Audio Morpheus DAC? That is what I am looking to pair with it now... Later on, perhaps the Yggy A2 as well.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Ahh! You've finally seen the light....

Welcome to the club!

 

[sahmen]

I have a question about this: Does one have to get the optional DAC in order to receive a unit with the 4-pin XLR outputs on the front? I am asking because I seem to have seen the photo of a unit without the 4-pin XLR outputs on the front, and I did not understand why. This is as good as any place there is to ask that question, because all of the photos I have seen on this site seem to have those 2 front XLR outputs, but I haven't heard anyone say anything about opting or not opting for the optional DAC. Here's the photo of the unit which seems to be the 4-pin XLR jacks on the front:

https://upscaleaudio.com/collections/pathos/products/pathos-inpol-ear-reference-headphone-amplifier

For my purposes, I do not really need the DAC so I did not opt for the version with the DAC... But I do want all the XLR inputs and outputs I have seen on the unit. If anyone can chime in to address this question, that would be great.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

You are maybe confused with the Pathos Classic Remix or the Inpol Remix MkII (which the Inpol Ear was based) integrated amps.

The second picture on Upscale Audio's product page is an Inpol Remix MkII.

 

[carboncopy]

I have a question about this: Does one have to get the optional DAC in order to receive a unit with the 4-pin XLR outputs on the front? I am asking because I seem to have seen the photo of a unit without the 4-pin XLR outputs on the front, and I did not understand why. This is as good as any place there is to ask that question, because all of the photos I have seen on this site seem to have those 2 front XLR outputs, but I haven't heard anyone say anything about opting or not opting for the optional DAC. Here's the photo of the unit which seems to be the 4-pin XLR jacks on the front:

https://upscaleaudio.com/collections/pathos/products/pathos-inpol-ear-reference-headphone-amplifier

For my purposes, I do not really need the DAC so I did not opt for the version with the DAC... But I do want all the XLR inputs and outputs I have seen on the unit. If anyone can chime in to address this question, that would be great.

In other words. You do not need to have the optional DAC. The InPol Ear is a true balanced design and always has a balanced headphone output.

 

[sahmen]

You are maybe confused with the Pathos Classic Remix or the Inpol Remix MkII (which the Inpol Ear was based) integrated amps.

The second picture on Upscale Audio's product page is an Inpol Remix MkII.

In other words. You do not need to have the optional DAC. The InPol Ear is a true balanced design and always has a balanced headphone output.

You guys are both right. The guy I have been communicating with at the Upscale Audio site also confirmed to me that my unit will come with the xlr connectors in front like all the other models. What I do not understand is why they should advertise the wrong model on the Inpol ear page of their site:

I mean this (wrong model)

Instead of this (the right inpol ear model)

 

[sahmen]

You are maybe confused with the Pathos Classic Remix or the Inpol Remix MkII (which the Inpol Ear was based) integrated amps.

The second picture on Upscale Audio's product page is an Inpol Remix MkII.

The guy from Upscale Audio indeed confirmed just a while ago that what they've got showing on that particular Inpol Ear page is the "Inpol Remix Speaker Amp," so it is indeed a mistake, He did not mention whether they'll go ahead and replace the photo or not.

I am glad to have all that cleared up though.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Well at least you're at peace. Can't wait your comments when paired with your Susvara and LCD-4.

Inpol Ear shines when paired with good NOS tubes. So do suggest to just remove the EH6922s and replace them of what you've got in your stash.
They (EH6922) will just waste you're time. Just like with the Cavalli LP experience.

 

[sahmen]

Well at least you're at peace. Can't wait your comments when paired with your Susvara and LCD-4.

Inpol Ear shines when paired with good NOS tubes. So do suggest to just remove the EH6922s and replace them of what you've got in your stash.
They (EH6922) will just waste you're time. Just like with the Cavalli LP experience.

Well speaking of tubes, the Upscale Audio guy also suggested Amperex 7308 tubes might provide the "best bass" from the Inpol ear, and that makes me wonder whether any forum members have rolled these Amperex tubes on their units. I wonder what this "best bass" does or might do to the remainder of the frequency spectrum. I enjoy great bass, but it all depends on what means by "great bass." I do not necessarily consider myself to be a bass-head, and I am interested in getting a lot more than just the "best bass" out of this unit.

I would like to hear from any forum member who has some live experience with these Amperex tubes before actually considering to buy any.

In the meantime, I am going to start rolling Some Telefunken NOS tubes from the 1950s with gold pins and gold rods, as well as my Reflektor Holy Grails from 1975. Those should get me going,

Here's one question already: These tubes have already seen some extensive "burn in" time on my Liquid platinum, so am I also required to take them through another burn-in process with the Pathos? Is it not possible for me to use say, my Golden Lions (which sound better than the EH tubes) for the Pathos burn-in, and then bring out the "big guns" once the initial burn in is over... What I am calling "the big guns" are the NOS tubes that sounded best to me on the Liquid Platinum. If I can spare them another "burn-in" dry run in order to save a few hundred hours of their projected "natural" lifespans, that would be swell., For me, "burn-in" often means leaving the amp and system on to play for several days non-stop without even listening to the music most of the time. For that purpose, the Golden Lions will do just fine, if I do not have to burn in my "big gun" all over again,