[gimmeheadroom]

2 x V281s!!

Great minds think alike!

 

[alota]

Blast from the past here...

Edition 10 or 12?

 

[stuck limo]

I upgraded the caps to my SMSL SP200 and now I can't fit the case over the board.

 

[CJG888]

Presumably you could use two capacitors of half the value in parallel on each channel? Then they might fit inside.

 

[alota]

I upgraded the caps to my SMSL SP200 and now I can't fit the case over the board.

A little capacitor lol

 

[project86]

2xV281... what an embarassment of riches

What's your take on the Icon headamp? I looked into years ago and at the time, without being able to hear or get my hands on one, I wrote it off as another lowball Chinese amp being sold as English... but from recent comments it looks like it has some fans.

Haha agreed, I've been spoiled over the years with lots of excellent gear to play with!

One of those was V281's was mine and the other was a loaner for comparison purposes. Mine had the relay-based volume control, the loaner had the standard Alps pot. It made a small difference but not drastic, and probably not worth the money for most people.

I absolutely adore the Icon amp. You're right, the initial version like mine was fairly generic looking, which has been somewhat solved by the newer edition with that attractive copper layer. Unfortunately my review from InnerFidelity got lost in the post-Tyll transition but it was what you might call a "rave" review (and I don't use that term lightly).

Edition 10 or 12?

Edition 12, which was actually rather nice. The 10... not so much.

 

[alota]

Edition 12, which was actually rather nice. The 10... not so much.

yes. some people told me same thing

 

[Pharmaboy]

Unfortunately my review from InnerFidelity got lost in the post-Tyll transition but it was what you might call a "rave" review (and I don't use that term lightly).

Sad to say, a great many things have gotten lost since the Tyll transition--not least of which is/was your regular reviews in the I.F. pages. I know you publish in other places now and hope that continues (and expands).

I have the 2nd generation HP8 (oddly, both old & new are called "MKII" ... go figure) and am very impressed with it. I'm no expert in the big transformer-coupled tube amps that rule the tube landscape. With just 3 tubes, total, the HP8 is not one of those, but IMO it's about as good as one can get without vaulting up multiple steps on the size & cost ladder of tube amps.

The HP8 also has clearly the best bass I've ever heard from a tube amp of any size. That means a lot to me...

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I absolutely adore the Icon amp. You're right, the initial version like mine was fairly generic looking, which has been somewhat solved by the newer edition with that attractive copper layer. Unfortunately my review from InnerFidelity got lost in the post-Tyll transition but it was what you might call a "rave" review (and I don't use that term lightly).

Thanks, this is very helpful. And we know that about you, hence your opinion is valued

I have the 2nd generation HP8 (oddly, both old & new are called "MKII" ... go figure) and am very impressed with it. I'm no expert in the big transformer-coupled tube amps that rule the tube landscape. With just 3 tubes, total, the HP8 is not one of those, but IMO it's about as good as one can get without vaulting up multiple steps on the size & cost ladder of tube amps.

Thanks. The price is now at WA2 levels and is not easy to get here, thanks to brexit and other vicissitudes of life. I don't have room for another amp but this is on the back burner.

 

[JoeTho]

 

[project86]

 

[Pharmaboy]

Wow that amp looks interesting.

Just researched it. Very interested to find it's triode/pentode switchable. Which mode do you prefer?

Years ago I had a 100 WPC all-tube amp, Music Reference RM-9. Input tubes were 6DJ8s & power tubes were EL34s. I paid the mfr, Roger Modjeski, to modify the amp by adding a triode/pentode switch at the base of each of the 8 power tubes. Pentode was the stock amp's configuration; IMO triode was a taste of heaven, so beautiful & spacious.

 

[JoeTho]

Wow that amp looks interesting.

Just researched it. Very interested to find it's triode/pentode switchable. Which mode do you prefer?

Years ago I had a 100 WPC all-tube amp, Music Reference RM-9. Input tubes were 6DJ8s & power tubes were EL34s. I paid the mfr, Roger Modjeski, to modify the amp by adding a triode/pentode switch at the base of each of the 8 power tubes. Pentode was the stock amp's configuration; IMO triode was a taste of heaven, so beautiful & spacious.

I prefer Ultra-linear Mode with my headphones and my favorite genre (Vocal Jazz)

 

[silversurfer616]

Couldn’t resist as the Utopia 2020 version was on sale in AU/NZ; it’s my fourth pair and the synergy with the Gilmore Lite is superior to all my other more powerful amps. Probably technically not as impressive as Susvara or AbyssTC but the energy, heft and layering is insane. Please don’t let me sell this one again, dear fickle audio heart.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Wow that amp looks interesting.

Just researched it. Very interested to find it's triode/pentode switchable. Which mode do you prefer?

Years ago I had a 100 WPC all-tube amp, Music Reference RM-9. Input tubes were 6DJ8s & power tubes were EL34s. I paid the mfr, Roger Modjeski, to modify the amp by adding a triode/pentode switch at the base of each of the 8 power tubes. Pentode was the stock amp's configuration; IMO triode was a taste of heaven, so beautiful & spacious.

I was curious about these Willsenton amps myself when I first started looking at tube amps. I ultimately took the plunge down the Woo Audio rabbit hole. Curious as to your overall impressions.