REVIEW AND COMPARISON: Eddie Current Balancing Act and SUPER 7

[CEE TEE]

^^Ah, couldn't see it on mobile...now I see. Had one of the first Super 7s, only sold it to get a Balancing Act. Enjoy.

 

[Luckbad]

I've been enjoying the Super 7 for a couple of months now. For people who know me, that's an eternity for a piece of gear to stay with me.

This is the most underappreciated amplifier I've ever had the pleasure to listen to, much less own.

The only reason I'd ever sell this baby is to step up to an Eddie Current Aficionado or something similar (or in a financial bind, of course). I'm not aware of anything under $2000--even on the used market--that I'd want to replace this with.

As tends to be the case, I've also modded it a bit. Now this Super 7 differs from stock in the following ways:

• 0.1μF Jantzen Superior Z-Cap capacitors x2
• 10μF Mundorf MCap EVO Aluminum Oil capacitors x2
• Vampire CM1FCB RCA connectors
• A big knurled metal volume knob
• 7x 7N7 tubes w/ adapters -- I purchased dozens of these and found a lovely combo.
• Minor internal wiring. Hardly worth the mention.

Paired up with the S7:

• PC: Built by me. Virtually silent, ultra powerful, super clean power, etc. I use a monstrous case so I don't have to sacrifice power or ambient sound levels (Thermaltake Core X9 case with a custom water loop and super quiet Cougar fans)
• Digital: Lynx AES16e. In the same league as the Rednet 3 but much cheaper and it's internal to the PC rather than being a distractingly red large box.
• DAC: Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 SE+ - effectively maxed out with mods apart from the tubes, which I skimp on slightly
• Headphone (Open): Sennheiser HD650 (modded with dynamat, partial rear foam removal, XLR) -- with this one, I use the Phase Reversal Trick for one of the channels
• Headphone (Closed): JVC HA-DX2000 - Actually stock. If I do manage to keep these long term this time, I'll convert them to XLR.