[jonathan c]

Another amp with incredible synergy with the Atticus is the new Wells V8 otl. There's something special going on with those two, it's really opening up the Atticus and making it sing. I honestly don't remember the Atticus sounding so open and vibrant on anything other than my Stratus. What's surprising me is how present and airy the Atticus sounds on the V8. The Stratus tends to double down on the mids and lows, but doesn't do much for the Atticus' reserved treble. Just reaffirms my love of the Atticus. Despite my current love affair with the Bokeh and AC, the Atticus is making a strong case for equal footing again with those two. A never ending joy of a headphone.

Still nothing on the Wells website on V8

 

[jonathan c]

No, I believe it was Ford model in the '70s.

Pinto? That specialised in self-immolation ...

 

[Pharmaboy]

Pinto? That specialised in self-immolation ...

...and cracked aluminum block. That car could literally kill you coming or going.

 

[jonathan c]

...and cracked aluminum block. That car could literally kill you coming or going.

... Pinto should have been the object of Unsafe At Any Speed ... (not the Corvair)

 

[Monsterzero]

... Pinto should have been the object of Unsafe At Any Speed ... (not the Corvair)

I was waiting for the Corvair to be mentioned. Call me loco, but I loved the Corvair. A girl I used to date had a cherry white on red convertable Corvair. What a blast to drive, as long as you took corners at 5 MPH.

 

[jonathan c]

I was waiting for the Corvair to be mentioned. Call me loco, but I loved the Corvair. A girl I used to date had a cherry white on red convertable Corvair. What a blast to drive, as long as you took corners at 5 MPH.

The US was not ready for a rear transverse mounted engine auto when Corvair appeared. Also the psi for front tyres was quite different from that for rear tyres: equal psi on all four ===> oversteer

 

[mwhals]

Still nothing on the Wells website on V8

You have to call or email Jeff. He told me he is behind on his website. He doesn’t even sell Enigma, but it still shows on his site.

 

[Honeypot]

Hello everyone!

I've been thinking on acquiring an OTC tube amp to pair with my zmf Caldera.
At the beginning I started aiming high and go to the Feliks envy. However the high cost plus the tubes prices for rolling turned my down on that idea.
I have a Feliks Echo which is very inexpensive amp, that goes very far with some tube rolling.
I have adquired enough ecc88, 6922, 5670, 6N6P and 12au7 tubes from various brands and qualities. But the echo is an OTL, which will go well with the zmf atrium open I ordered 3 weeks ago (that and tube rolling is part of the cause I am not going for the envy).
So I'd like to put the 12au7 on their full potential in an OTC amp (would also love to try 6SN7 on the same amp). But I don't want to go very high on price.
I was thinking between 1-2k. And if it's available in the eu, better I'm tired of customs. But if the right product is found, I'll give it a go.
A friend of mine has recommended me the
Dragon Inspire IHA-1 Tube Headphone Amp. It's about 2k and it also has a rectifier tube which could also help getting different flavours. However I don't know it and neither he does, he just heard nice thing of it.
Another amp that caught my attention is the deckware SE84UFO
The schiit Valhalla 2 (I've got quite some 6922 from the echo) but I'd like a tubey sound. And I heard this one is clean and crisp.

Actually to listen to the Caldera's I am using my echo with 12au7 as a preamp feeding my SS flux fa-12. The sound is georgous.
But you know. I got hook into tubes...
I also heard the AO and the echo pairs extremely well. So I want to keep the echo for the AO and an OTC for the caldera.

So in short. OTC amp between 1-2k the lower the better but I can adjust. And being able to work with 12au7 and if possible 6SN7.

I tried to read this thread from first page, I really went through, but now my mind is just out, and have no clue anymore. The more you know you realize you know nothing.

So I kindly ask you for some advices

Thanks everyone for reading and have a nice day

My rig:

 

[LXMc]

Hello everyone!

I've been thinking on acquiring an OTC tube amp to pair with my zmf Caldera.
At the beginning I started aiming high and go to the Feliks envy. However the high cost plus the tubes prices for rolling turned my down on that idea.
I have a Feliks Echo which is very inexpensive amp, that goes very far with some tube rolling.
I have adquired enough ecc88, 6922, 5670, 6N6P and 12au7 tubes from various brands and qualities. But the echo is an OTL, which will go well with the zmf atrium open I ordered 3 weeks ago (that and tube rolling is part of the cause I am not going for the envy).
So I'd like to put the 12au7 on their full potential in an OTC amp (would also love to try 6SN7 on the same amp). But I don't want to go very high on price.
I was thinking between 1-2k. And if it's available in the eu, better I'm tired of customs. But if the right product is found, I'll give it a go.
A friend of mine has recommended me the
Dragon Inspire IHA-1 Tube Headphone Amp. It's about 2k and it also has a rectifier tube which could also help getting different flavours. However I don't know it and neither he does, he just heard nice thing of it.
Another amp that caught my attention is the deckware SE84UFO
The schiit Valhalla 2 (I've got quite some 6922 from the echo) but I'd like a tubey sound. And I heard this one is clean and crisp.

Actually to listen to the Caldera's I am using my echo with 12au7 as a preamp feeding my SS flux fa-12. The sound is georgous.
But you know. I got hook into tubes...
I also heard the AO and the echo pairs extremely well. So I want to keep the echo for the AO and an OTC for the caldera.

So in short. OTC amp between 1-2k the lower the better but I can adjust. And being able to work with 12au7 and if possible 6SN7.

I tried to read this thread from first page, I really went through, but now my mind is just out, and have no clue anymore. The more you know you realize you know nothing.

So I kindly ask you for some advices

Thanks everyone for reading and have a nice day

My rig:

I've found the Cayin HA-3A to be excellent with the Caldera (and uses 12AU7 tubes, you would likely want to swap out the stock tubes) - it's a fairly linear sounding tube amp which has multiple impedance settings to play well with ZMFs dynamics as well and is generally just a very flexible amp. I know there are also many proponents of the Icon HP8 in here (when I was deciding on a tube amp the HP8 was the primary contender to the HA-3A, ultimately the Cayin's flexibility, form factor and cheaper tube rolling won me over).

 

[goldwerger]

Another amp that caught my attention is the deckware SE84UFO

I have the Decware Taboo SE84TS+ which uses similar tubes as the SE84UFO and sharers a similar DNA. It is great with the Caldera!

Actually to listen to the Caldera's I am using my echo with 12au7 as a preamp feeding my SS flux fa-12.

That is actually a great solution. You can get much of what you’re looking in sound shaping by using the tube preamp and invest more in tube rolls (even much more if you save the cost of an amp - try some expensive and outstanding tubes like Telefunken G73R, Siemens 5814A, Mullard M8136, French Mazda 12au7, or an ECC802s tube..

So in short. OTC amp between 1-2k the lower the better but I can adjust.

You might consider the Auris HA-2SE+ amp. Sold for €1,300 in Europe (Serbian company). I have its big brother the Auris Nirvana and these are great amps. It uses 12AT7 so not the same, but similarly ton of cheap tube role options for that model.

 

[Deleeh]

Hallo zusammen! Ich habe darüber nachgedacht, einen OTC-Röhrenverstärker zu kaufen, um es mit meiner zmf Caldera zu kombinieren. Am Anfang fing ich an, hoch zu zielen und zum Feliks-Neid zu gehen. Die hohen Kosten plus die Rohrpreise für das Rollen haben mich jedoch von dieser Idee abgelehnt. Ich habe einen Feliks Echo, der ein sehr preiswerter Verstärker ist, der mit einigen Röhrenrollen sehr weit geht. Ich habe genug ecc88, 6922, 5670, 6N6P und 12au7 Röhren verschiedener Marken und Qualitäten erworben. Aber das Echo ist ein OTL, das gut zu dem offenen Zmf-Atrium gehen wird, das ich vor 3 Wochen bestellt habe (das und das Rohrrollen ist Teil der Ursache, dass ich nicht für den Neid gehe). Also möchte ich die 12au7 in einem OTC-Verstärker ihr volles Potenzial entfalten (würde auch gerne 6SN7 auf demselben Verstärker ausprobieren). Aber ich möchte nicht sehr hoch im Preis gehen. Ich dachte zwischen 1-2k. Und wenn es in der EU verfügbar ist, besser, ich habe den Zoll satt. Aber wenn das richtige Produkt gefunden wird, werde ich es probieren. Ein Freund von mir hat mir die Dragon Inspire IHA-1 Tube Kopfhörerverstärker. Es ist etwa 2k und es hat auch ein Gleichrichterrohr, das auch helfen könnte, verschiedene Geschmacksrichtungen zu bekommen. Aber ich weiß es nicht und er auch nicht, er hat nur etwas Schönes davon gehört. Ein weiterer Verstärker, der meine Aufmerksamkeit erregte, ist das Deckware SE84UFO Der Schiit Valhalla 2 (ich habe einige 6922 aus dem Echo), aber ich hätte gerne einen Tubey-Sound. Und ich habe gehört, dass dieser sauber und knackig ist. Um die Caldera zu hören, verwende ich mein Echo mit 12au7 als Vorverstärker, der meinen SS-Flütt fa-12 speist. Der Klang ist georgous. Aber du weißt es. Ich habe einen Haken in Rohre bekommen... Ich habe auch die AO- und Echo-Paare sehr gut gehört. Also möchte ich das Echo für die AO und ein OTC für die Caldera behalten. Also kurz gesagt. OTC-Amp zwischen 1-2k, je niedriger, desto besser, aber ich kann mich anpassen. Und in der Lage zu sein, mit 12au7 und wenn möglich 6SN7 zu arbeiten. Ich habe versucht, diesen Thread von der ersten Seite zu lesen, ich bin wirklich durchgegangen, aber jetzt ist mein Verstand einfach raus und habe keine Ahnung mehr. Je mehr du weißt, desto mehr merkst du, dass du nichts weißt. Also bitte ich Sie freundlich um einige Ratschläge Vielen Dank an alle fürs Lesen und einen schönen Tag Mein Rig:

Hello,
the Dragon is somewhat susceptible to microphony, noise and interference.
Not that it is bad, but it needs a good place and free from wifi and smartphones.
And I would buy it without a step pot.
Step pots are terrible and are not well adjusted.
Cayhin Ha6A is also such a candidate with a step pot, which is a pity.
Most of this thread has already been mentioned, but if budget allows I would wait for the ZMF Aegis which is coming soon.
Icon Audio HP8 is a secret favourite.
Of course Cayhin Ha3A but I personally don't like the rectifier tube.
Woo Audio WA6 is not wrong.
But especially for the Caldera a hybrid amp makes more sense, unfortunately a bit rare on the market but Woo Audio has the Firevlies on offer.
The Audio Technica is also very solid, maybe something from Vincent, used Monolith Liquid Platinum are not bad.

 

[Wes S]

Hello,
the Dragon is somewhat susceptible to microphony, noise and interference.
Not that it is bad, but it needs a good place and free from wifi and smartphones.
And I would buy it without a step pot.
Step pots are terrible and are not well adjusted.
Cayhin Ha6A is also such a candidate with a step pot, which is a pity.
Most of this thread has already been mentioned, but if budget allows I would wait for the ZMF Aegis which is coming soon.
Icon Audio HP8 is a secret favourite.
Of course Cayhin Ha3A but I personally don't like the rectifier tube.
Woo Audio WA6 is not wrong.
But especially for the Caldera a hybrid amp makes more sense, unfortunately a bit rare on the market but Woo Audio has the Firevlies on offer.
The Audio Technica is also very solid, maybe something from Vincent, used Monolith Liquid Platinum are not bad.

What's wrong with a stepped pot? I have had them on my last two amps (Pendant SE & HA300MK2), and had/have no issues. In fact, both amps have zero channel imbalance no matter where on the dial. I would call that a good thing.

 

[Deleeh]

Was ist los mit einem Stufentopf? Ich hatte sie auf meinen letzten beiden Verstärkern (Pendant SE & HA300MK2) und hatte/habe keine Probleme. Tatsächlich haben beide Verstärker ein Nullkanal-Ungleichgewicht, egal wo auf dem Zifferblatt. Ich würde das eine gute Sache nennen.

I don't like it, see it more as a personal thing, if there are some who like it I have no problem with it.
For me personally it's either too quiet or too quiet when it comes to the sweet spot.

 

[Marutks]

So in short. OTC amp between 1-2k the lower the better but I can adjust. And being able to work with 12au7 and if possible 6SN7.

Aegis works very well with Caldera. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/aegis-diy-tube-headphone-amplifier.965530/page-146#post-18026365

It needs different tubes though.

 

[goldwerger]

Aegis works very well with Caldera. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/aegis-diy-tube-headphone-amplifier.965530/page-146#post-18026365

It needs different tubes though.

That is a wonderful option @Honeypot

I didn't mention it strictly due to budget given (DIY I think parts are about $2k; commerical version will be around $3.5k) - but if you can stretch to it, you will DEFINITELY be rewarded. I have this amp, and it is one of the best possible tube amps for both planar and dynamic ZMF headphones.