[Voltron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recstar24 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ah, was that the Moth paradigm on audiogon? I was thinking really really hard on that one. Originally I was going to keep the HD-25, and use that as a pre with the 300b to drive my cicadas. But when the moth 2a3 popped up I liked the prospect of a single integrated amp driving both my headphones and cicadas. I think the extra watts from the paradigm would have really helped flesh out more bottom end on my cicadas, but I am very pleased with the sound that I am getting with the s2a3 and the cicadas.

That's the one I bought alright. I couldn't believe it was sitting there for so long.

I just turned it on for the first time today and was totally bummed to find that one channel wasn't working.

But, I quickly found that the ground wire on the rca jack had broken off and fixed it. Now that she is firing on both cylinders, I am a very happy man. My Klipsch Heresys are a perfect match and the amp is so quiet I can't believe it. The bass is tremendous, btw.

Next week I will be getting my pair of K1000 with hardwired Equinox cable. James Serdechny re-terminated them with silver-soldered ends. I can just imagine how good that is going to sound.

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voltron /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's the one I bought alright. I couldn't believe it was sitting there for so long. I just turned it on for the first time today and was totally bummed to find that one channel wasn't working. But, I quickly found that the ground wire on the rca jack had broken off and fixed it. Now that she is firing on both cylinders, I am a very happy man. My Klipsch Heresys are a perfect match and the amp is so quiet I can't believe it. The bass is tremendous, btw. Next week I will be getting my pair of K1000 with hardwired Equinox cable. James Serdechny re-terminated them with silver-soldered ends. I can just imagine how good that is going to sound.

That is good to hear, and I am glad you got it! The moth SET's have a reputation for being some of the quietest set's for high efficiency speakers. My cicadas are dead silent...until the music comes in of course. There is a store nearby that carries Klipsch, and at some point I will stop by and see if they will let me demo a set of Heresy's, I would love La Scalas but they are just too big, the Heresy is more compact and by all accounts sound great.

 

[mshan]

Does the newer Moth Audio Si2A3 sound the same as the original S2A3?

And how's the headphone output with Sennheiser HD650 (stock cable)? Is this a particularly synergistic combo?

 

[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mshan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does the newer Moth Audio Si2A3 sound the same as the original S2A3? And how's the headphone output with Sennheiser HD650 (stock cable)? Is this a particularly synergistic combo?

I think they sound very similar if not identical. The headphone out of both the s2A3 and si2A3 were designed using the HD-600. The 650's sound excellent with both amps.

 

[909]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mshan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does the newer Moth Audio Si2A3 sound the same as the original S2A3?

Good question...

I've heard the S2A3, Si2A3 and Si2A3H...

I wouldn't say identical, but they had a similar presentation and sound quality. Back in the day the S2A3 retailed for $3450 (1998) and the Si2A3 for $1695 (2000).

About two years ago, Eddie Current (AKA Moth Audio) made the last few Si2A3H, which I thought sounded the best of the bunch.

You could email the maker, Craig Uthus, at cuthus@charter.net to get his opinion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mshan /img/forum/go_quote.gif And how's the headphone output with Sennheiser HD650 (stock cable)? Is this a particularly synergistic combo?

The S2A3, Si2A3, and Si2A3H all sound fantastic with Senns particular the ones I mainly use such as the HD600 and HD650. When the S2A3 and Si2A3 were originally designed they were only intended to drive high impedance headphones, but not ideal suited for low. And yes it is an awesome synergistic combo with the HD650s.

The Si2A3H is probably the closest thing to a BlackRose. Most obviously, it has an outboard power supply and drives both low and high impedance headphones.

 

[909]

some differences mentioned in this enjoy the music review

 

[ironbut]

slightly of topic but is there an online dealer with prices listed etc.
I see they do a tube nightlight that for some reason I find very appealing but cant find a price.
thanks.
You need to contact Craig about prices of most of the Moth gear. None of the Moth branded gear has been in regular production for years now and that's why we're all drooling over Ryan's amp. Craig may have enough parts to build some of the Moth stuff though so it's worth pursuing.
As for you Ryan! Talk about team Uthus! Fantastic looking amp. How do you compare the sound to the ZD? I know there are other treads with comparo's . But I think as many thoughts and ears on the subject would be interesting.

 

[tyrion]

Maybe identical is too strong, closer to virtually indistinguishable might be a better description. At the very least, they sound very similar. I've heard both extensively. There are a number of reasons for the price difference and it's not necessarily that one sounds better than the other. For example, the s has an engraved logo, different paint, thicker case, built in power cord, some of the parts internally were more expensive. Ryan's may have the most expensive parts as it was a review piece. Having said that, they do sound almost identical, imo.

I've heard low impedence headphones out of the si2A3 and s2A3. Both drive them well. I found no issue with increased noise level using either Grado or Qualia headphones in either amp. I have no interest in hyping the si2A3 as mine is pending at the moment.

 

[recstar24]

Just a couple of more impressions...

So far, I have been using only Grados, HP-1000's mostly. The moth s2a3 is driving them amazingly well. The only thing I have heard better is the Zana Deux, but the s2a3 has the benefit of driving my speakers as well, if the use was strictly for headphones the Zana would be #1 in my book. This weekend I have ran her through all my hoffman cd's, and new aspects of the recording are popping up all over the place. Compared to the HD25, a layer of veil has really been lifted. Instrumental parts that were typically lost in the background are being brought forth a bit into the foreground with a newfound clarity and focus. The bass is great, and my first impressions of the bass sounding like it was a full octave lower remains true. There is simply more of a foundation down there. Billy came over on Friday and he let me burn an absolutely brutal cd from bela sonus that has the most subterranean bass ever. For the first time, I could really hear and feel those sub bass notes, it really hit me hard.

When I opened her up for the first time to roll in the 6SL7's and 5AR4, I took a peek around and noticed the power supply wasn't exactly stock. The electrolytics were bypassed with very nice silver paper in oil caps. Talking with Craig he upgraded those caps to smooth out the power supply even more after KenW sent the amp to him to be looked at. The background is very black and the whole sound is very smooth and full. This might be a factor in why this particular s2a3 is driving my grados with authority.

With the HP-1000's and RS-1's, there is a very slight hum, which goes away completely once a cd is played. In fact, when Billy first listened to the amp, he didn't even notice it until I pointed it out to him. From the specs hum and noise is measured at .15 mV full bandwidth, which should be well below the noise floor of the recording itself. However on the GS-1000's no hum is detected, and just for kicks I swapped to bowl pads on the HP's and RS-1's and the hum was gone. Using the flats appears to bring it out a bit, but it doesn't bother me one bit, as when music is playing it sounds as if music is emanating from a totally blank canvas. Being a city boy my whole life, I have always took pleasure in going out to more rural areas like Iowa where my in laws are from and noticing how not only are there more stars in the sky, but they shine brigther too. That is exactly the effect I am getting from the HD-25 to the moth s2a3. I will probably end up picking another set of senns just for kicks, even though the sound is not really my taste after owning the 650's and 600's, but I probably need to hear how the moth does with the senns.

At some point in time I will play around with the transformer taps, currently it is set at 8 ohms, but I am certain it is best there. I really don't have the dough to go crazy with 2a3's and the TJ Full music 2a3's seem to be highly regarded as is. The input tubes are 6SL7WGT Sylvania brown bases which also are pretty well regarded, and the rectifier is a mullard, so can't go wrong there.

I should go back to whats currently on right now - Paul McCartney, RAM, DCC Hoffman, absolute sonic bliss

 

[tyrion]

Ryan, I have to send you the manual for the si2A3. Sorry, but I forgot. I believe it says that the 16 ohm tap is best for Senns. I will check to make sure. Having said that, since it was a bit of a pain to change the setting in the si2A3, I left it at 8 ohms and it was fine for my speakers and Senns.

 

[J-Pak]

That Bela Sonus CD is insane for bass, probably the lowest bass I've heard in electronic music.

 

[909]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyrion /img/forum/go_quote.gif For example, the s has an engraved logo...

I thought only the proto/review model had the logo engraved. Have you seen others S2A3 with engraved logos? Even this review piece on the S2A3 the picture looks like the Moth badge is a metal logo fixed to the deck lid.

Ryan’s chassis is substantially different than the production version.




I should clarify that the S2A3 and Si2A3 can drive low impedance headphones very well, but they weren't designed specifically to do so that's why some low impedance headphones pick-up minor hum. During the day, when I did my listening with the RS-1 I had difficultly spotting it and had to really focus to hear it, yet it never interfered and wasn't noticeable with the music playing. The Si2A3H power supply is out board and completely eliminates this.

 

[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 909 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I thought only the proto/review model had the logo engraved. Have you seen others S2A3 with engraved logos? Even this review piece on the S2A3 the picture looks like the Moth badge is a metal logo fixed to the deck lid. Ryan’s chassis is substantially different than the production version.

I think you're right about that.



Quote:

Originally Posted by 909 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I should clarify that the S2A3 and Si2A3 can drive low impedance headphones very well, but they weren't designed specifically to do so that's why some low impedance headphones pick-up minor hum. During the day, when I did my listening with the RS-1 I had difficultly spotting it and had to really focus to hear it, yet it never interfered and wasn't noticeable with the music playing. The Si2A3H power supply is out board and completely eliminates this.

I never noticed a hum but it wasn't my main headphone amp and I don't typically use Grado's. I had agile_one's HP-2's and it was never an issue for me.

You are right that the s2A3 and si2A3 were not designed with low impedence in mind. At least that's what I remember Craig telling me.

 

[909]

Craig told me the same thing. If interested, you might want to flip through that Si2A3 manual you've got because I believe it mentions something about this precise thing.

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyrion /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ryan, I have to send you the manual for the si2A3. Sorry, but I forgot. I believe it says that the 16 ohm tap is best for Senns. I will check to make sure. Having said that, since it was a bit of a pain to change the setting in the si2A3, I left it at 8 ohms and it was fine for my speakers and Senns.

No sweat, take your time. Craig has recommended just leaving it at 8 ohms as well.