[Alenotta]

Great news! Hopefully they pick up doing the ECP T4 as well! That was one I wish I didn’t sell.

I emailed the person doing this DSHA-3FN project in September after I heard the Ravenswood amp at the ZMF table during CanJam SoCal. He said he was working on finishing the first prototype and getting all the supply chain in order. The original was one of my favorite amps I heard at CanJam.

I'd really like to hear the Enleum. I'm using my amp as a desk setup that is powering both my headphones and speakers. I was looking between the HA-300 mkii and the Enleum. Ultimately I love tubes so I went tube. So far the 300b has been impressing me with all types of music. Has anyone listened to a lot of ZMF on Enleum?

 

[cats4cans]

One option I’d add to the list would be the Headamp GSX Mini, but admittedly that is based on reading reviews.

I was going to suggest looking at the GS-X Mini as well, but it’s just the second headphone amp I’ve ever had and the only SS. I don’t think I have the experience to make recommendations, and none of my current headphones are really all that difficult to drive. The best thing I can say about it is that I doubt I’ll ever need to upgrade, but that was my intention.

 

[Monsterzero]

One option I’d add to the list would be the Headamp GSX Mini, but admittedly that is based on reading reviews.

I haven't heard it myself, but the Gilmore Lite Mk 2 was the first SS amp I ever bought. I absolutely hated it. It was dry sounding, a bit bright to my ears and the dynamics werent great. Granted thats an entry level amp, but after my experience with the GLM2, I'd never buy another of their amps blind, but thank you for the suggestion.

 

[goldwerger]

Has anyone listened to a lot of ZMF on Enleum?

I saw this recent review of it by Koji:

I haven’t hear it myself, but heard few folks describe it as “tuby” and “v-shaped”

 

[Wes S]

@goldwerger thanks for pointing out this thread. I recently splurged on a demo unit of the HA-300 mkii for the Caldera I scooped up early at CanJam Socal. It is a great pairing. The Caldera already is super visceral and punchy. Adding 300b punch is pretty spectacular. I think I'm happy with the Gold Lion 300Bs, but I'm going to play around with the rectifier tubes and the 6sn7s. I ordered some Ken Rad black glass from ebay. Currently I'm using the coin base RCAs in that slot. The rectifier tubes are also RCAs. Some people on the amp's forum suggest swapping to Slyvania or GEs. I read that the RCA NOS that are in there are actually made by Slyvania, but I'm not sure.

For my DAC I'm currently using the new Gustard R26. It is a really detailed R2R with a lot of dynamic range. I went for it because it was the first R2R I had seen that also did MQA and I use Tidal.

Prior to this amp I was using a cap modded liquid platinum with Gold Lion 6922 tubes in there. I had the SMSL m400 AKM DAC going into which was rich and warm.

Welcome to the HA300MK2 club! By the way, those stock RCA rectifiers are most definitely made by RCA, and the Sylvania sound quite a bit different. A good R2R with the Cayin is heavenly no doubt.
Happy Listening.

 

[Barnstormer13]

One option I’d add to the list would be the Headamp GSX Mini, but admittedly that is based on reading reviews.

I spent a lot of time listening to the GSX mini (with my ZMF VC) at the SoCal canjam last year and almost bought one. It’s extremely detailed with plenty of power and is just plain pretty. It’s brighter than I’m used to and I wouldn’t recommend it for bright headphones, but it’s a good match for ZMFs (IMHO). It’s still on my list if I ever decide to get another SS amp.

 

[GumbyDammit223]

Okay well, just as a counterpoint to the pro fuse movement...

There is no scientific reason why swapping fuses should make a difference. You are replacing a 20mm piece of wire with a different 20mm piece of wire in series with a transformer primary winding that is many, many times longer than that. Being on the primary side of the mains transformer, the fuse is about as far out of the amplifier signal path as can be possible. The claims by Synergistic Research reek of pseudoscience. This particular section of their FAQ is particularly alarming.

"Q: Are fuses directional?

A: Yes, fuses are directional. Electricity should flow from the left to the right when you view the fuse. If you do not know the direction of flow you should listen to the fuse inserted in both directions. One direction will sound more detailed. This is the correct way."

These fuses are being used for alternating current, which is NOT directional, the flow of electrons reverses direction entirely 60 times per second dependent on the polarity of the AC waveform. This indicates the creator lacks a fundamental understanding of how electricity works, so I am more than a little skeptical of their "Inductive Quantum Coupling" technology. If you don't understand alternating current, you sure as heck aren't going to be able to understand quantum mechanics. Also, the Purple fuse is actually a modified normal fuse made by SIBA, which costs around $1.

Obviously, I am a big tube guy, I am not a measurebator. However, to design and build audio gear you do need to use science, measurements, etc. They do matter! I try to find a healthy balance between following the science and using my ears for audible things that the measurements cannot easily explain. But the fuse thing falls very far outside of my comfort zone as far as following the science goes. I gave it a fair shake and tried it myself, both sighted and blind A-B testing, and I could not discern a difference. I even fell victim to expectation bias at one point, which was later proven to be false by blind testing. Expectation bias can be very powerful, you'd be shocked by what you think you are hearing if you blind test.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/l0rdgwyns-diy-audio.921105/post-17220095

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/l0rdgwyns-diy-audio.921105/page-371#post-17221162

I'm not saying people should be blind testing everything like they do over at ASR, but when it comes to something that really has no scientific explanation and you are paying 200x or more the cost of a normal fuse, I think it is worth trying. I know people don't like to hear that, everyone wants to "trust their ears", but we are talking about an area where there is a high risk of being taken advantage of based on expectation bias and the verbiage used on Synergistic Research's page is highly suspicious.

YMMV of course and people can do as they please. I've been more restrained on this topic in the past, but I think the alternative viewpoint should be given some consideration before everyone starts buying $200+ fuses.

Throwing some fuel onto the fire...

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Throwing some fuel onto the fire...

I love the "-encabulator" series of videos, going all the way back to the original:

 

[Monsterzero]

I love the "-encabulator" series of videos, going all the way back to the original:

If it wasn't for the white lab coat I'd swear he was full of Schiit!

This is one of the best examples of unintended comedy gold I've ever seen!

 

[L0rdGwyn]

If it wasn't for the white lab coat I'd swear he was full of Schiit!

This is one of the best examples of unintended comedy gold I've ever seen!

Oh it's intentional! The retro encabulator / turbo encabulator is an engineering inside joke making fun of the overuse of technical jargon in science and engineering. That training video was made in the 70s, then another one was done in the 90s.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_encabulator

 

[Pharmaboy]

Throwing some fuel onto the fire...

This guy makes a ton of sense to me...

"Department of Sans" (genius)

 

[Monsterzero]

Oh it's intentional! The retro encabulator / turbo encabulator is an engineering inside joke making fun of the overuse of technical jargon in science and engineering. That training video was made in the 70s, then another one was done in the 90s.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_encabulator

yeah I suppose if I watched it to the end I wouldve figured it out. I could totally see John Cleese pulling this off.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Not to get too much further into the fuse stuff but...

Synergistic Research claims the "Inductive Quantum Coupling" and "UEF" technologies used in their fuses are patented. Now I am not a physicist, but I have a degree in chemistry and I have taken coursework in physics, physical chemistry, and quantum mechanics, and I can tell you just by reading the Synergistic Research fuse page that these technologies have about the same degree of scientific relevance as the retro encabulator, the words on that page are not the words of an engineer. As I said before, the verbiage there shows the writer does not understand the basics of electricity. I saw on another audio forum that Ted Denney (aka Theodore Denney III), the head designer and owner of Synergistic Research, has four patents in his name, none of which mention these technologies. Again, he states they are patented.

I just reviewed all four patents, and its true, there is absolutely no mention of Inductive Quantum Coupling or UEF technology. In fact, the patents are absolute craziness, especially the acoustic paint, which is basically ground up quartz mixed with paint that you put on a wall in your listening room to improve the energy fields.

This is an open and closed case of snake oil, it is plain as day.

In case anyone needs any further proof as to the quality of the individual, give this article a read.

https://www.audioholics.com/editorials/synergistic-research

 

[AudioDuck]

Not to get too much further into the fuse stuff but...

Synergistic research claims the "Inductive Quantum Coupling" and "UEF" technologies used in their fuses are patented. Now I am not a physicist, but I have an undergraduate degree is in chemistry and I have taken coursework in physics, physical chemistry, and quantum mechanics, and I can tell you just by reading the Synergistic Research fuse page that these technologies have about the same degree of scientific relevance as the retro encabulator, the words on that page are not the words of an engineer. As I said before, the verbiage there shows the writer does not understand the basics of electricity. I saw on another audio forum that Ted Denney (aka Theodore Denney III), the head designer and owner of Synergistic Research, has four patents in his name, none of which mention these technologies. Again, he states they are patented.

I just reviewed all four patents, and its true, there is absolutely no mention of Inductive Quantum Coupling or UEF technology. In fact, the patents are absolute craziness, especially the acoustic paint, which is basically ground up quartz mixed with paint that you put on a wall in your listening room to improve the energy fields.

This is an open and closed case of snake oil, it is plain as day.

In case anyone needs any further proof as to the quality of the individual, give this article a read.

https://www.audioholics.com/editorials/synergistic-research

I’m soooo regretting bringing up fuses now.

Shame on me! Clearly I need to be beaten with a reciprocating dinglearm.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I’m soooo regretting bringing up fuses now.

Shame on me! Clearly I need to be beaten with a reciprocating dinglearm.

Sorry, normally I let this type of thing go, but this is so clearly predatory that I feel strongly to point it out.