[Stapsy]

Congrats GalaxyGuy, I was wondering who beat me out for number 1! 
 
Looking forward to read your impressions, especially of the EML mesh plates as they are number one on my list to try.

 

[Hun7er]

Hello,
 
In terms of sound, the 2A3x4 are better than balancing act and zana deux ?

 

[Stapsy]

That may be a tough question to answer, I think with maxed out 2A3s the mk4 will beat the BA.  With the new production 2A3 tubes, they are much closer.  2A3mk4 is better in soundstage, imaging, and detail.  Everything else with stock 2A3s is a toss up and will depend on personal preferences.

 

[zerodeefex]

GalaxyGuy, where in the SF Bay Area are you? We should compare mesh and solid plate EMLs.

 

[GalaxyGuy]

GalaxyGuy, where in the SF Bay Area are you? We should compare mesh and solid plate EMLs.

I'm in San Jose.  Would definitely be up for a comparison sometime.

 

[GalaxyGuy]

  Hello,
 
In terms of sound, the 2A3x4 are better than balancing act and zana deux ?

Define better.
 
I obviously bought the 2A3 without ever having heard it.  What sold me on it was the combo of the BA/LCD-3 that I heard at a meet in the summer.  The sound was simply amazing.  Now that I have the 2A3, I'm very impressed with the amp in pretty much every way.  I haven't had enough time to do a fair comparison between it and my other amps, but suffice it to say that it sounds great.  Is it better than the Zana Deux or BA?  I really don't know that I'll ever be able to answer that.  Is it great?  Yes, it is a fantastic sounding amp.

 

[GalaxyGuy]

Does the 2A3 MkIV play nice with the TH900? Thanks.

It sounds pretty good.  My preliminary judgement is that the TH900 sounds better with the Leben than the EC, but I haven't put much effort into really carefully listening to them both yet. I'll let you know once I get that chance.

 

[Crashem]

Galaxy,

I think you were listening to your amp on my lcd-x's. I thought they sounded phenomenal too. Even though it was one of the first listens I did that morning, it really stuck in my memory. Your amp sounded amazing. So much so that I finally put my order in for one as my first tube headphone amp. Why mess around with mid if when hiding sounds so good? My new wa7 should arrive this week so it will have to keep me company until my EC arrives. I kind of consider the wa7 more SS than tube.

In any case, what dac were you running with your amp at the show? And what are you using now perchance?

 

[GalaxyGuy]

Congrats, Crashem!  Hopefully you'll have a shorter wait for your amp than I had.  The WA7 is an impressive amp in and of itself, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it very much until you take delivery the EC.  I speak from experience, as that's the amp that I'd been using before taking delivery of the EC.
 
My DAC is a WooAudio WDS-1.  I like it quite a bit, as I feel it is a fairly neutral sounding amp.  Jack Woo produces some of the best sounding products for the price, and I think that the WDS-1 is an excellent DAC for the price.  I can't recommend it enough.

 

[Crashem]

Thanks for the info. As for the wait, if I remember from our conversation, you waited quite a while for yours. Not sure on my delivery time is yet...

 

[Stapsy]

I believe Craig is gearing up for a run.  Since GalaxyGuy was ahead of me I am assuming he waited longer than I did.  Most of that time was because the amp was still in the development stage (i.e. hadn't been made yet) and there were issues with transformers that have now been solved.  I doubt you will wait nearly as long as we did.  I can assure you it will be worth the wait even if you do.

 

[GalaxyGuy]

I completely agree with Stapsy.  I think when I put my deposit in, the amp did not exist yet.  I was happy to wait, and, I dare say, you will be too.
 
I don't have any good pictures of the amp yet, but here is one I took with a thermal imaging camera.  Notice how much cooler the 2A3 tubes are than the drivers (6C45pi).  The 2A3s don't really glow (except at the base) when they are running, but they sure do sound sweet.

 

[GalaxyGuy]

That pic was after the amp had been turned on for over an hour.

 

[daigo]

  I completely agree with Stapsy.  I think when I put my deposit in, the amp did not exist yet.  I was happy to wait, and, I dare say, you will be too.
 
I don't have any good pictures of the amp yet, but here is one I took with a thermal imaging camera.  Notice how much cooler the 2A3 tubes are than the drivers (6C45pi).  The 2A3s don't really glow (except at the base) when they are running, but they sure do sound sweet.

That's a neat image of the amp.  

 

[Crashem]

Think it worth changing out the stock 6c45'tubes? If so, which ones? The 6s45p are pretty easy to get. Maybe the eh 6c45. Luckily I can collect some 6c45 tubes for the wa7 and use them on both amps.