First off, thank you @PSVANE for the giveaway and for allowing me to try your new Horizon series 2A3 tube! In exchange for the giveaway, they do want me to post my feedback/impression on these tubes. Lucky for them, these new Horizon tubes sound pretty darn good in my system and it makes me want to try more 2A3 tubes to see if they are all this good! This is my first taste of 2A3 tube, but I will be looking to buy an NOS 2A3 tube to compare a vintage tube vs this new production tube later down the line of this "review". I am not really a review type of guy, so this thread will mostly be me posting and updating my adventures with these Horizon 2A3-AT on what it sounds like 250 hours later and what tube combination I like with these tubes. So I do plan on updating this 1st post throughout the year.
July 9th 2024 How it sounds in my system:
1st impression of the Psvane Horizon 2A3-AT is that it has a good clear midrange and a wide soundstage. 1st thing I noticed when I first listened to the 2A3-AT tube is that it made my Mysphere 3.2 much more “holographic” and I have gotten a much more focus center-stage imaging. When using the Atrium Closed (before I install the solid mesh plate), I’m pretty sensitive to the upper mids and higher frequency on that headphone in my system. It was when I added the Wathen Cryotone 5U4G-WC Tube in my system. It made my system more sharper in the higher frequencies, but in exchange I did get a good amount of clarity in my system. The 5U4G tube also added that missing excitement up top for me especially for the electric guitar. The Psvane Horizon 2A3-AT balance out the added brightness the 5U4G-WC added to my system while still retaining its great clarity. The Psvane Horizon 2A3-AT made the upper mids and higher frequency more smooth up top which I very much like for my system. I noticed vocals were thinner on my Onkyo A800, but it gave a little more sense of clarity vs when I was using the UX-245 tubes. Vocals and the midrange in general sounds fuller when using the 45 tubes. The 2A3-AT made vocals more clear sounding, but I did lose that famous RCA Globe 45 richness to the mids that I do miss. When using the Platimon VC1 speaker, I got a sense that the soundstage width gets wider by 2-3 feet to me compare to what it is normally. No comment on bass as I feel like my UX-245 had more power in the midbass vs the 2A3-AT, but the 2A3-AT does need more time to break in. The bass is not lacking so far, but nothing to really talk about for me as of right now. Switching from a rich sounding tube (UX-245) to something cleaner (2A3-AT) is a new perspective for me that I haven't done in a while. I say these 2A3-AT tubes sound pretty balanced overall, with a smoother top in my system. The highlight so far on the Horizon 2A3-AT tubes is its wide soundstage. These 2A3-AT tubes with the Mysphere 3.2 was quite the experience that makes me want to explore other 2A3 tubes to see if all 2A3 tubes soundstage was this great. I am really liking my first initial week with the Psvane Horizon 2A3-AT, I am looking forward to how they sound with 250 hours in.
So far 32 hours on the Psvane Horizon tubes, 218 hours more to go!
A NOS 2A3 vs Psvane Horizon 2A3
[Reserve]
250 hours Impression
September 30th, 2024 Update
So 3 months later I finally got over 250 hours of burn in on the Psvane Horizon 2A3 tube. Was there any changes? To my surprise, no night and day changes during the burn in. I seen report of other people hearing burn in changes on the Psvane Horizon tubes, but different models. I am not too sure if Psvane gave me an already ready to go 2A3 tubes or if the Horizon 2A3 tube may be one of the rare Psvane tubes that do not change with burn in. I also have not experience any technical difficulty when using the Psvane Horizon 2A3 tubes during those 250+ hours. The Horizon 2A3 tubes work with no problem. Because the impressions are still the same. The Psvane Horizon 2A3 on the Supratek Cabernet DHT provided my system with really clear mids, clean but not harsh treble, and a really good laser focus phantom center stage imaging. Bass may be a little lean for my taste. You can always boost bass with other tube pairing. Like I paired the Horizon 2A3 with the Ken-Rad VT-231 on my Cabernet DHT and now I got bass for days while maintaining the strong points of the Horizon 2A3 with the clear mids and strong imaging.
I looked up the price to see how much the Psvane Horizon 2A3 go for, and shockingly it only goes for $148 bucks. That means used market, you could probably get this tube a lot cheaper or you can just pay the $148 for a brand tubes that you know will last thousands of hours. That is a lot more affordable than I imagine because they sound phenomenal in my system. I don't know if all 2A3 tubes sound this good at this price range and if they do, I can see why there are a lot of happy 2A3 tubes owner. If you are looking for a introduction to 2A3 tubes and want your system to have more clarirty in the midrange and a stronger center stage imaging, these are tubes you want to consider trying out.
Speaker position: Speakers are symmetrical from each other with no toe in. The Platimon bass port design and the way the center is carved, its better no toe in for better center and sidestage imaging and you get a more wider and "3D" soundstage. The Platimon is 2.5 feet away measure from the front wall to the bass port, 3 feet away measure from the side wall to the tweeter, 6.5 feet from each other, and 7 feet from the listening position to the speaker.
Speaker System: ROON Rock - Intel NUC 7i7 > EMM Labs NS1 > [Silver Sonic D-110 AES] Mojo Audio Mystique EVO B4B 21 > [Anticables 6.2 RCA] Custom Supratek Cabernet DHT > [Allnic Mu-7R XLR] Orchard Audio Starkrimson Stereo Ultra 2.0 power amp > [NRG The 6:6 Custom Speaker Cable] Mon Acoustics Platimon VC One
Headphone System: Same as speaker system as both my speaker setup and headphone setup are connected to the same preamp > [Allnic Mu-7R XLR] Allnic HPA-5000XL > Mysphere 3.2, Onkyo A800, and ZMF Atrium Closed are my 3 main headphones, but I do have other vintage headphones I use from time to time.
Current Tubes Used In Custom Supratek Cabernet DHT Preamp: (2) Psvane Horizon 2A3-AT Tube, (2) Melz 1578 Tube, (2) RCA 6L6GC Tube, and (1) Wathen Cryotone 5U4G-WC Tube
Speaker System: ROON Rock - Intel NUC 7i7 > EMM Labs NS1 > [Silver Sonic D-110 AES] Mojo Audio Mystique EVO B4B 21 > [Anticables 6.2 RCA] Custom Supratek Cabernet DHT > [Allnic Mu-7R XLR] Orchard Audio Starkrimson Stereo Ultra 2.0 power amp > [NRG The 6:6 Custom Speaker Cable] Mon Acoustics Platimon VC One
Headphone System: Same as speaker system as both my speaker setup and headphone setup are connected to the same preamp > [Allnic Mu-7R XLR] Allnic HPA-5000XL > Mysphere 3.2, Onkyo A800, and ZMF Atrium Closed are my 3 main headphones, but I do have other vintage headphones I use from time to time.
Current Tubes Used In Custom Supratek Cabernet DHT Preamp: (2) Psvane Horizon 2A3-AT Tube, (2) Melz 1578 Tube, (2) RCA 6L6GC Tube, and (1) Wathen Cryotone 5U4G-WC Tube
July 9th 2024 How it sounds in my system:
1st impression of the Psvane Horizon 2A3-AT is that it has a good clear midrange and a wide soundstage. 1st thing I noticed when I first listened to the 2A3-AT tube is that it made my Mysphere 3.2 much more “holographic” and I have gotten a much more focus center-stage imaging. When using the Atrium Closed (before I install the solid mesh plate), I’m pretty sensitive to the upper mids and higher frequency on that headphone in my system. It was when I added the Wathen Cryotone 5U4G-WC Tube in my system. It made my system more sharper in the higher frequencies, but in exchange I did get a good amount of clarity in my system. The 5U4G tube also added that missing excitement up top for me especially for the electric guitar. The Psvane Horizon 2A3-AT balance out the added brightness the 5U4G-WC added to my system while still retaining its great clarity. The Psvane Horizon 2A3-AT made the upper mids and higher frequency more smooth up top which I very much like for my system. I noticed vocals were thinner on my Onkyo A800, but it gave a little more sense of clarity vs when I was using the UX-245 tubes. Vocals and the midrange in general sounds fuller when using the 45 tubes. The 2A3-AT made vocals more clear sounding, but I did lose that famous RCA Globe 45 richness to the mids that I do miss. When using the Platimon VC1 speaker, I got a sense that the soundstage width gets wider by 2-3 feet to me compare to what it is normally. No comment on bass as I feel like my UX-245 had more power in the midbass vs the 2A3-AT, but the 2A3-AT does need more time to break in. The bass is not lacking so far, but nothing to really talk about for me as of right now. Switching from a rich sounding tube (UX-245) to something cleaner (2A3-AT) is a new perspective for me that I haven't done in a while. I say these 2A3-AT tubes sound pretty balanced overall, with a smoother top in my system. The highlight so far on the Horizon 2A3-AT tubes is its wide soundstage. These 2A3-AT tubes with the Mysphere 3.2 was quite the experience that makes me want to explore other 2A3 tubes to see if all 2A3 tubes soundstage was this great. I am really liking my first initial week with the Psvane Horizon 2A3-AT, I am looking forward to how they sound with 250 hours in.
So far 32 hours on the Psvane Horizon tubes, 218 hours more to go!
A NOS 2A3 vs Psvane Horizon 2A3
[Reserve]
250 hours Impression
September 30th, 2024 Update
So 3 months later I finally got over 250 hours of burn in on the Psvane Horizon 2A3 tube. Was there any changes? To my surprise, no night and day changes during the burn in. I seen report of other people hearing burn in changes on the Psvane Horizon tubes, but different models. I am not too sure if Psvane gave me an already ready to go 2A3 tubes or if the Horizon 2A3 tube may be one of the rare Psvane tubes that do not change with burn in. I also have not experience any technical difficulty when using the Psvane Horizon 2A3 tubes during those 250+ hours. The Horizon 2A3 tubes work with no problem. Because the impressions are still the same. The Psvane Horizon 2A3 on the Supratek Cabernet DHT provided my system with really clear mids, clean but not harsh treble, and a really good laser focus phantom center stage imaging. Bass may be a little lean for my taste. You can always boost bass with other tube pairing. Like I paired the Horizon 2A3 with the Ken-Rad VT-231 on my Cabernet DHT and now I got bass for days while maintaining the strong points of the Horizon 2A3 with the clear mids and strong imaging.
I looked up the price to see how much the Psvane Horizon 2A3 go for, and shockingly it only goes for $148 bucks. That means used market, you could probably get this tube a lot cheaper or you can just pay the $148 for a brand tubes that you know will last thousands of hours. That is a lot more affordable than I imagine because they sound phenomenal in my system. I don't know if all 2A3 tubes sound this good at this price range and if they do, I can see why there are a lot of happy 2A3 tubes owner. If you are looking for a introduction to 2A3 tubes and want your system to have more clarirty in the midrange and a stronger center stage imaging, these are tubes you want to consider trying out.
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Thanks! Looking forward to your update !!