[Bengkia369]

Let's talk about this lesser known but marvelous amp! Just got my brand new set from Jaben yesterday. I ordered last week and Jaben is very very kind to let me take home their demo unit till my unit came in! Thanks Jaben!
Still preferred Phantasy sound signature compared to Woo Audio WA8 which is also another top graded high-end model. WA sounds too upfront for my liking, everything is so congested to me.
Will do a full review on it when I got the time.
Initial listening with my Grado PS500 and GS1k sounds super nice!

 

[Bengkia369]

 

[kukkurovaca]

Just got one of these from eBay at a comparatively low price, and holy cow, the microphonics when plugging/unplugging headphones are hilarious : )

 

[kukkurovaca]

Thoughts so far:

• This thing is gorgeous. But it also looks weirdly military in its lines and finish. Like some sort of cyberpunk weapons control system.
• The microphonics are still extremely hilarious to me. Wow, that is a lot of ringing.
• The volume control is amazingly good. Smooth, precise, and I haven't found myself wishing for a gain switch, no matter how sensitive or hard-to-drive a pair of heapdhones I use it with. Why aren't all volume knobs this good?
• Seems to work great with most of my headphones and earphones, apart from multi-driver IEMs. It works especially well with my Modhouse Argon (T50RP mod), which is great, because that's the one headphone I have that my ALO CDM struggles with, and I wasn't sure if the Phantasy would do well with planar headphones. It does! Audeze iSine also quite good.
• Update: re multi-driver IEMs, SE425 are fine, but KZ ZSR are wonky
• Also great w/HD800 and VE Zen 2, which is not surprising.
• Update: also great with KSC75 and B&O H6
• It even does pretty well, aside from some hiss, with the quite sensitive and low-impedance iBasso IT01, which was a bit of a surprise. (Not a very practical combination, of course.)
• Update: There isn't even that much hiss with the IT01, it's actually a great combination.
• The hi/low impedance switch is a trip. It seems like in terms of technicalities, there's never a right time to have it set to high? Sometimes it is pleasant, though, particularly if it's necessary to take the edge of a recording w/harsh treble?

I wish I had some 600-ohm headphones to try with it...

 

[Bengkia369]

Just got one of these from eBay at a comparatively low price, and holy cow, the microphonics when plugging/unplugging headphones are hilarious : )

User problem, how many time do u plug in and out or change headphones during one session of listening? Even if u do unplug or plug in, allow few minutes for it to settle down then listening.
That's a tube Amp, it's not just another solid state Amp.

 

[kukkurovaca]

User problem, how many time do u plug in and out or change headphones during one session of listening? Even if u do unplug or plug in, allow few minutes for it to settle down then listening.
That's a tube Amp, it's not just another solid state Amp.

I mostly just think it's funny, it's certainly not a deal-breaker. I also knew about it before I bought the amp, as it's covered prominently in reviews. : )

FWIW my ALO CDM has no or very minimal tube microphonic noise. (That's a hybrid, though.)

 

[Bosk]

I mostly just think it's funny, it's certainly not a deal-breaker. I also knew about it before I bought the amp, as it's covered prominently in reviews. : )

FWIW my ALO CDM has no or very minimal tube microphonic noise. (That's a hybrid, though.)

Kukkurovaca I'm curious to hear your impressions of how the Phantasy compares sonically with the CDM. You mentioned it doesn't do well with multi-BA IEMs?

 

[kukkurovaca]

Kukkurovaca I'm curious to hear your impressions of how the Phantasy compares sonically with the CDM. You mentioned it doesn't do well with multi-BA IEMs?

In terms of multi-BA IEMs, The Phantasy has two modes: high output impedance and VERY high output impedance, so that can be an issue for frequency response of IEMs with multiple drivers. I only have a couple of those. The Phantasy didn't seem to get along well with my KZ ZSR; I forget whether I tested it yet with my Shure SE425.

Update: I tried the SE425 just now and they're totally fine. I think the ZSR and the SE425 have similar impedance ratings, but maybe the issue is that the ZSR is a hybrid (BA+dynamic) or maybe it's just that the ZSR is a bad pairing.

In terms of comparison with the CDM (using Sonotone tubes in my case), my impression so far is:

• CDM as an amp is relatively neutral and transparent. (The part of the CDM where the sound is really colored is the DAC, which is noticeably warm and smooth.)
• Phantasy is much more colored. Mids are emphasized, treble is rolled off, and something interesting is happening to the lower mids, but I'm not sure what exactly that is. Compared to the CDM's single-ended output, the Phantasy feels larger and more wall-of-sound-like. All of that is exaggerated when using the high-gain mode.

They're both great, but they're definitely doing very different things.

One additional note: I was surprised at how much larger and heavier than the CDM the Phantasy is, even though I had checked the specs beforehand. It's a real slab.

 

[kukkurovaca]

Other things that cause tube ringing with the Phantasy:

* Touching any of the cables connected to it
* Touching the impedance button
* Setting something down on the table next to it

Happily, the volume control does *not* induce ringing/microphonics

 

[bsphong]

Hi All.

Did anyone experience Phantasy with Abyss Phi 1266?
I saw someone said Sassy drive Abyss Phi very good. But no more info for Phantasy & Abyss Phi

 

[EJEC]

I really like its output impedance adjust button. Phantasy II with Hi-Z changed my utopia 2020 into 'extreamly fun' headphone, fully bloating around 60Hz, also making soundstage wider, sound thicker and warmer(even hot).
Also in Low-Z, it does not harm the resolution of my cans. This is exceptional class-a tube amp ever, without considering its ''price'' and weight (I think near 1~2kg is not portable).