[Radio_head]

Just to clarify, the Electra is an Electrostatic amp.  All the rest are dynamic.  So for that at least the decision would rest on which headphones you want to use.

 

[DarknightDK]

I would be interested to hear Purrin's thoughts on the above as well.

 

[KingStyles]

I am looking to spend $4,000 on a high-end headphone amp. Already have HD800's and Ayre DAC (with balanced output option).



I am sold on Eddie Current but need your advice. Awhile back, you mentioned the Super 7 as getting awfully close to the BA in sound quality but your comments from the Bay Area meet seem to indicate the S7 production model was not even close to the BA or did I read you wrong? In your opinion, would you spend the $4,000 on a BA and get basic quality interconnects, get the S7 and all high-end interconnects (all balanced of course) or wait for the Electra which seems to be a BA for less?? Or is the 2A3 something to check out (although I don't need the speaker amp option).



Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

I havent heard the s7 yet but I have the ba. Personally I would get the BA and use cheap interconnects. The amp improvment will be bigger than a interconnect improvement. Its easy to upgrade interconnects in the future, but to sell the s7 and then put a order in for a ba and wait around for him to build it is a pain if you decide to upgrade in the future.

[note -this is not necessarily the final version but that's where he's at for now. I was bracing myself for a price tag upwards of 5K...phew.]

Just wait till Craig releases his TOTL amp.

Cant wait for the electra. I have the money ready to go. I figure the Electra would make a nice starter amp to get into stats.

 

[Anaxilus]

While y'all wait for Purrin I can clarify somethings, maybe.  The S7 is closer to BA sound than at the Irvine meet now, but purrin's BA sounds better now too after he put in $3000 worth of NOS tubes.

 

[KingStyles]

Nos tubes do help the BA. They can make the BA really sing.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Nos tubes do help the BA. They can make the BA really sing.

Well, he had NOS tubes in the BA before, just not the Osram PX25's.  
 

 

[purrin]

 
Quote:

Purrin,
 
I am looking to spend $4,000 on a high-end headphone amp. Already have HD800's and Ayre DAC (with balanced output option).
 
I am sold on Eddie Current but need your advice. Awhile back, you mentioned the Super 7 as getting awfully close to the BA in sound quality but your comments from the Bay Area meet seem to indicate the S7 production model was not even close to the BA or did I read you wrong? In your opinion, would you spend the $4,000 on a BA and get basic quality interconnects, get the S7 and all high-end interconnects (all balanced of course) or wait for the Electra which seems to be a BA for less?? Or is the 2A3 something to check out (although I don't need the speaker amp option).
 
Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

 
Anax's comments regarding the BA pulling away from the S7 (in the SF Bay Area meet thread) were because of the tubes I'm currently running. Osram globe PX25s circa 1930. You can call Craig and ask about those! He raved about them for a few months until I was able to source a pair. They are pretty much impossible to find these days. Some minor mods to the BA will be required to run the PX25s (it's so easy you can do it yourself if you can solder.) The current production KR PX4s are good too, but they seem scarce these days, and they are still not as good as the PX25s. There are Sophia PX4s, but those sound like crap in the BA. Some people I know are running vintage Telefunken (impossible to find) or current production EML AD1s (I'm not sure with an adapter or if special order sockets - since they do take special sockets.) I'm of the opinion: "anything other than the 300B." It's just that 300B has a certain cachet to it. You can even get a BA with 2A3/45 option which may not be a bad idea.
 
What tubes you run are a matter of taste, so it's hard for me to make solid recommendations without knowing you personally.
 
The EC 2A3 does not have the high frequency heater for the filament - which is what gives the BA it's uniquely open sound. (Edit: also the BA has the silver secondaries on the output transformers = more resolution.) One reason to get the lesser cost EC amps first is to get familiar with their sound to see if you like it. Granted that different tubes make the amps sound different, there are certain qualities about EC amps which are very consistent from model to model. They are all very close to each other in how good they are. If I were to score them (assuming optimal toobs), it would go like this:
 
S7      91%
2A3    93%
BA     98%
 
(illustrative purposes only)
 
The S7 won't be available for a while - until the next run. I believe Craig is already taking orders for another batch of BA's right now.
 

 

[MusicRules]

Thanks a bunch for everyone's input - very helpful. I am torn because the S7 is such a value but Purrin's comments about the open sound and greater resolution of the BA still makes this a tough choice for me. Let me consider everyone's comments and get come back to this great thread with some final questions.
 
 

 

[Radio_head]

You can also direct your questions to Craig. - I'm sure he has a passable knowledge of his own product line.  His contact info is available on his website.

 

[purrin]

 
Quote:

Thanks a bunch for everyone's input - very helpful. I am torn because the S7 is such a value but Purrin's comments about the open sound and greater resolution of the BA still makes this a tough choice for me. Let me consider everyone's comments and get come back to this great thread with some final questions.

Don't forget DAC or TT. Source matters - more when you move up.
 

 

[CEE TEE]

 
Quote:

You can also direct your questions to Craig. - I'm sure he has a passable knowledge of his own product line.  His contact info is available on his website.

 
Though I'm glad that MusicRules asked the questions here because we got to hear the answers too...these amps have been changing a lot with the different versions and tubes.
 
@purrin and @Anaxilus are a couple of the only ones that have had access to all of these amps (they have been able to borrow prototypes) and have heard them through the iterative process.
 
(Helps that they live nearer to Craig's operations and are very active here.)
 
In order to hear the <earlier> prototypes, I had to drive down to SoCal to hear and compare them all...

 

[kiertijai]

Transparency / clarity.
 
In general, caps (in the signal path as it pertains here) tend to make things warm and thick sounding, not always a bad thing. I'm sure Craig chose a cap that maintained the existing tonality while offering more transparency. Probably accounts for why the few folks who heard the S7 proto earlier thought it sounded slightly better (and with mediocre tubes too) at the Bay Area meet.
 
I'm dreaming of using a BA as a pre-amp to power x2 S7s configured as monoblocks (or bi-amping) into high-efficiency speakers.
     Thanks Purrin ,  I am in for the coupling cap mod.
     
 

 

[kiertijai]

It is very difficult to get the NOS Osram PX25's with good price.
They are still available from time to time in Japan auction as well as the globe Osram PX4,
sometimes the French equivalents such as Mazda PP3/250 (PX4) and PP5/400 (PX25) and the German Telefunken RE604
I currently use the Telefunken AD1 Nos with the BA with great result,  I haven't heard the Osram PX25's
yet because I need to modify my BA and am waiting for the B4/UX4 adapter.
@Purrin,   do the modification for PX25 of the BA affect other tubes (KR PX4, 300B) sound too and in what way?

 

[purrin]

After the mod, you can theoretically only run PX25 and PX4 (no 300B). Although one person is running an EML 300B Mesh with the PX4 bias. It depends upon the tube. Best to check with Mr. Eddie Current.

 

[pigmode]

Quote:

 

 
Slightly OT, but probably relevant.
 
Have you experience with the 307A BA? I'd be interested in an amp of that caliber with a tonality similar to the Millet Arete. My main concern would be that any warmth in the mid and upper midrange, does not shroud the clarity of the upper registers--a situation that is common in many warmish (tube) amps.