I've only heard the Egmont once at a meet, but I reckon I got a decent listen. The Egmont was using some pretty pricey NOS tubes (the names of which I can't recall). Build quality-wise, the Egmont looks solid. However, I was unable to use my HE60 with it. One of the channels would start distorting even when no music was playing. It was not due to tubes as the owner had spares and it still didn't want work. I doubt it was my HE60's problem either because it played fine out of the three Stax amps which were also at the meet. I was disappointed that I couldn't hear my HE60 with the Rudistor. Anyway, on to the O2.
The first thing that jumped out at me was brightness! I had heard Duggeh's O2/717 three or four times and I don't recall there being so much upper-midrange and treble energy. For those who have heard the O2/717 or lesser amp, I'm sure you would've noticed that it doesn't put detail on a plate and serve it to you eg SR-Lambda Signature, HE60, R10, K1000. Instead, it's swathed in a layer of honey and you really have to listen closely before you realise that the O2 is no less resolving. The Egmont takes a bit of the honey away and the detail is left bare for all to hear. This is especially apparent in the bass. I would say the O2 becomes a much more energetic, not unlike recabling a HD650 with Zu Mobius. I personally didn't really like this effect; the extra energy made the O2 sound a bit shouty and unbalanced. At that point in time, I really preferred the the 717. Even the SR-Lambda Signature or HE60 amped by a 006t sounded better IMO... (O2 + 006t doesn't really work that well: flabby bass, very veiled, recessed highs, lacking in energy, etc. It's still reasonably enjoyable though.)
Spritzer has said time and time again that the O2 needs power to awaken it. This wasn't how I envisaged it. For reference purposes, the source was a Benchmark DAC1. Maybe it was the tube complement, the cables, or the source?
Bearing in mind these are only impressions from a mere half an hour to hour-long listen, I'm not at all put off by the Rudistor. The guy clearly knows how to design decent sounding amps, nevermind about whatever build quality, price, etc criticisms it has attracted. While I wouldn't necessarily buy one myself, at least not based on my short audition, I remain optimistic and would like to listen to it again. The fact that it didn't work with my HE60 is somewhat disturbing though...
Cool_Torpedo, I hope this was what you were hoping for.
J-Pak, my bank account is as undernourished as Keira Knightley.
