[Marlowe10]

Would really love to hear anyone's impressions on this amp vs others for the ZMF Aeolus
Oh man it's gonna take me some time to save for it, so in the interim I'll be lurking on this forum vicariously living through you guys who have this beauty

 

[Pharmaboy]

I have some limited ed Camphor Burl Aeolus coming (insert drool). I currently have a Burson Conductor V2+ and am wanting to insert some tube magic... From all the things I've read this amp sounds like the business...
The question is will it give me that tube magic I'm after with my Aeolus'?
I can always take it back to solid state with the V2+ which sounded great with the Aeolus when I trialed them...

I borrowed my friend's stock Aeolus IMS for weeks on end ~3 yrs ago. I got my own Blackwood Aeolus a couple years ago. In that time, I heard one or the other Aeolus on at least a dozen amps (I usually have 6 here, plus my friend's 2, plus shows). Most of the amps I heard it on at shows were high end transformer coupled tube amps (Woo Audio, Auris, Glenn, etc).

2 points to make about this:

1. I have yet to hear an Aeolus sound merely "average" on any amp of any type, power, or cost. It's the least amp-picky headphone I know of...it sounds great on all 7 of my current amps
2. And yes, it totally kills on pretty much any tube amp, including TC-coupled, OTL's, and hybrids (I have a Woo WA3 OTL and had a couple different hybrids).

One day soon I'll have my own Quicksilver, and I'd bet the ranch it'll sound wonderful with the Aeolus (and the VO and other headphones).

 

[jonathan c]

I borrowed my friend's stock Aeolus IMS for weeks on end ~3 yrs ago. I got my own Blackwood Aeolus a couple years ago. In that time, I heard one or the other Aeolus on at least a dozen amps (I usually have 6 here, plus my friend's 2, plus shows). Most of the amps I heard it on at shows were high end transformer coupled tube amps (Woo Audio, Auris, Glenn, etc).

2 points to make about this:

1. I have yet to hear an Aeolus sound merely "average" on any amp of any type, power, or cost. It's the least amp-picky headphone I know of...it sounds great on all 7 of my current amps
2. And yes, it totally kills on pretty much any tube amp, including TC-coupled, OTL's, and hybrids (I have a Woo WA3 OTL and had a couple different hybrids).

One day soon I'll have my own Quicksilver, and I'd bet the ranch it'll sound wonderful with the Aeolus (and the VO and other headphones).

Where you are, the ranches must be huge. A confident bet made!

 

[Marlowe10]

I borrowed my friend's stock Aeolus IMS for weeks on end ~3 yrs ago. I got my own Blackwood Aeolus a couple years ago. In that time, I heard one or the other Aeolus on at least a dozen amps (I usually have 6 here, plus my friend's 2, plus shows). Most of the amps I heard it on at shows were high end transformer coupled tube amps (Woo Audio, Auris, Glenn, etc).

2 points to make about this:

1. I have yet to hear an Aeolus sound merely "average" on any amp of any type, power, or cost. It's the least amp-picky headphone I know of...it sounds great on all 7 of my current amps
2. And yes, it totally kills on pretty much any tube amp, including TC-coupled, OTL's, and hybrids (I have a Woo WA3 OTL and had a couple different hybrids).

One day soon I'll have my own Quicksilver, and I'd bet the ranch it'll sound wonderful with the Aeolus (and the VO and other headphones).

thanks Pharmaboy, would be really grateful to hear your impressions when you did get the QS...

 

[LeMoviedave]

I also want to hear any thoughts on the matter, as this is in my shortlist of tube amps.

 

[ksorota]

I also want to hear any thoughts on the matter, as this is in my shortlist of tube amps.

For the money it is hard to go wrong with the QS. It will make your 650's come to life. I have been trying to convince myself to replace it with something else to try another amp, but I just cannot do it. Until I can get a DNA Starlett or higher I am going to hold onto the QS. It is very easy to mod as well as just sounds good on easy to find tubes. Looks good too!

 

[LeMoviedave]

For the money it is hard to go wrong with the QS. It will make your 650's come to life. I have been trying to convince myself to replace it with something else to try another amp, but I just cannot do it. Until I can get a DNA Starlett or higher I am going to hold onto the QS. It is very easy to mod as well as just sounds good on easy to find tubes. Looks good too!

Verse the Echo mk2 with the Arolus? I want tube warmth and liquidity, without loosing clarity. It is tempting.

 

[ksorota]

Havent hear the Echo MK2 or arolos, but heard it trades blows with the starlett depending on the chain and headphones, but the QS is not super tubey sounding, and keeps the clarity. I added some Jupiter caps to warm in up a bit and also swapped out the power capacitor which gave it some more slam. I also swapped out the volume pot for a TKD, but not sure it was worth the small effort.

 

[LeMoviedave]

Havent hear the Echo MK2 or arolos, but heard it trades blows with the starlett depending on the chain and headphones, but the QS is not super tubey sounding, and keeps the clarity. I added some Jupiter caps to warm in up a bit and also swapped out the power capacitor which gave it some more slam. I also swapped out the volume pot for a TKD, but not sure it was worth the small effort.

It is tempting, but I dont mod. Such great choices!

 

[Marlowe10]

Hey Guys,
wondering what tubes everyone is using with this beauty? Can it be tuned to be more euphonic without sacrificing the other qualities?
Does changing the tubes make a significant difference?

 

[Ticonz]

Hey Guys,
wondering what tubes everyone is using with this beauty? Can it be tuned to be more euphonic without sacrificing the other qualities?
Does changing the tubes make a significant difference?

Been using stock tubes but have some Amperex 1960s 12ax7 manufactured in Japan being shipped over. Still looking for some EL84 to pair with them. Think I'm going to try Genelax Gold Lions.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I've settled on Hammond labeled Amperex 12AX7's from the early 60's and 1955 Mullard Disc Getter EL84's. If you look at some of my other posts in this thread, I've described the other combos I've tried. The amp sounds great with the stock tubes, but you can definitely improve things with tube-rolling.

 

[Marlowe10]

I've settled on Hammond labeled Amperex 12AX7's from the early 60's and 1955 Mullard Disc Getter EL84's. If you look at some of my other posts in this thread, I've described the other combos I've tried. The amp sounds great with the stock tubes, but you can definitely improve things with tube-rolling.

cool, I'll check it out... does it make a big difference do you think

 

[ckhirnigs113]

cool, I'll check it out... does it make a big difference do you think

"Big" would be an exaggeration I think. All these changes are subtle at best. I think you could be perfectly satisfied with the stock tubes. Tube-rolling is a never-ending quest for something "better." Ignorance is bliss, so it's safer to never start on the expensive path to begin with. It's too late for me though!

 

[jonathan c]

"Big" would be an exaggeration I think. All these changes are subtle at best. I think you could be perfectly satisfied with the stock tubes. Tube-rolling is a never-ending quest for something "better." Ignorance is bliss, so it's safer to never start on the expensive path to begin with. It's too late for me though!

There is no such thing as “un-tube-rolling”…