[Rollnrock]

Please don’t be valve shy Rollnrock. You are missing out on some very nice sonic qualities and the ability to roll in a very custom tailored sound to your ears. Plus the glow! (Birthday cake effect). I have had 0TL amplifiers and tubed power supplies in my kit for over 30 years and to the total of some 50+ tubes in between the source and our ears and I can say it’s nothing to be freaked out about. now it’s your choice, I totally respect wherever you’re at. But I’m just trying to give you a little friendly nudge, to jump, in a good direction. My apologies, I can’t speak specifically to your question. I’ll leave that for others with that experience.

hahaha....thanks for that friendly nudge! yeah, I have thought a lot about this, and still thinking.... the matter is that I have not a proper space right now for a good tube amp (even the HP8 would be too big/heavy) so I have to choose something good but smaller and lighther. The V222 suits perfect. Otherwise I would have to use a veeery long cable (5 meters..)

Yes, I know, these are only "minutiae"...

 

[Rollnrock]

I think of any sonic differences between the two choices as akin to different acoustics of different actual venues.

Ok, I think it's a very good comparison and easy to understand

Many thanks!!

 

[jonathan c]

hahaha....thanks for that friendly nudge! yeah, I have thought a lot about this, and still thinking.... the matter is that I have not a proper space right now for a good tube amp (even the HP8 would be too big/heavy) so I have to choose something good but smaller and lighther..** The V222 suits perfect. Otherwise I would have to use a veeery long cable (5 meters..)

Yes, I know, these are only "minutiae"...

** A good OTC/OTL headphone amplifier will be somewhat heavy because of the transformer(s) - power, output, or both. The quality of the materials, the quality of the windings in the transformer(s) add to the cost and weight of the headphone amplifier. Why this focus? Because the transformer is the primary determinant of sound quality in an OTC/OTL headphone amplifier.

 

[Monsterzero]

Hello all, I would like to make a question about amplifiers for a VO, may be a little bit difficult one, but I think this is the best place to make it

After a lot of reading, I have crystal clear the right way for ZMF (and high impedance) hp’s is a tube amp (OTL or TC), but the point is that currently (for some reasons) I feel it’s not my “tube” moment, yet

So, my question might be, would I be losing too much of the benefits of an OTL/TC amp (sweetness, liquidity, 3D soundstage, warmth, etc) if I go for something like a Vioelectric amp? (to be paired with a Bifrost2/64 when it is available)

I thought about the Magny Piety as well (that is available yet), but there are two things here: first I would have to pay almost double its price to bring it to EU (160$ becomes almost 300$ with transport, VAT and Customs fee), and second, I prefer something closer to an “end-game” chain (may be someone called the V222/V226 an “early end-game”?), and my impression (may not be right) is that the Piety is more a very good/casual complement when you already have other good amps at home

Any other suggestion would be more than welcome



Thanks a lot!

I have the Violectric v550 pro, the Schiit Piety and an OTL amp. The v550 strays a bit from the stereotypic Violectric sound and adds more technical prowess ala the Niimbus amps. When going from the Piety to the v550, the stage becomes much bigger and more holographic, imaging becomes tighter, etc. Of course one amp is about 160 usd vs 3700 usd, so it's not a fair comparison from an economic standpoint, but the Piety does put up a fight and that within itself is quite an accomplishment.
Speaking of the Piety, I received an email from Christian last night and he is currently able to continue building more Piety units and is trying hard to keep up with the demand, while still working on his upcoming DSHA-3FN, which has been pushed back to a June release.

When going from the v550 to the Airmid I can get the sound to be close to the linearity of the v550 or more romantic sounding based upon which tubes I use.

IMO ZMF dynamic driver headphones can sound great out of a solid state amp, however the only way to get the full "tube experience" is via an actual tube amp.

 

[Rollnrock]

** A good OTC/OTL headphone amplifier will be somewhat heavy because of the transformer(s) - power, output, or both. The quality of the materials, the quality of the windings in the transformer(s) add to the cost and weight of the headphone amplifier. Why this focus? Because the transformer is the primary determinant of sound quality in an OTC/OTL headphone amplifier.

Yes, absolutely agree. Even the smaller ones (i.e. Icon HP8) weights a lot and it is let's say a "proof" of quality for the amp, but in my case it's a little problem...

 

[Rollnrock]

I have the Violectric v550 pro, the Schiit Piety and an OTL amp. The v550 strays a bit from the stereotypic Violectric sound and adds more technical prowess ala the Niimbus amps. When going from the Piety to the v550, the stage becomes much bigger and more holographic, imaging becomes tighter, etc. Of course one amp is about 160 usd vs 3700 usd, so it's not a fair comparison from an economic standpoint, but the Piety does put up a fight and that within itself is quite an accomplishment.
Speaking of the Piety, I received an email from Christian last night and he is currently able to continue building more Piety units and is trying hard to keep up with the demand, while still working on his upcoming DSHA-3FN, which has been pushed back to a June release.

When going from the v550 to the Airmid I can get the sound to be close to the linearity of the v550 or more romantic sounding based upon which tubes I use.

IMO ZMF dynamic driver headphones can sound great out of a solid state amp, however the only way to get the full "tube experience" is via an actual tube amp.

Many thanks for the detailed explanation!

 

[goldwerger]

hahaha....thanks for that friendly nudge! yeah, I have thought a lot about this, and still thinking.... the matter is that I have not a proper space right now for a good tube amp (even the HP8 would be too big/heavy) so I have to choose something good but smaller and lighther. The V222 suits perfect. Otherwise I would have to use a veeery long cable (5 meters..)

Yes, I know, these are only "minutiae"...

With these constraints, one option (which is very expensive) is the Manley Absolute. It has a tiny footprint, and can even double as a headphone stand. Manley is a quality pro audio company with reputable products. This is one product I've been curious about in the past and never got to try. Don't know anyone who has it, but some vendors with money back return policy sell it online.

 

[Rollnrock]

With these constraints, one option (which is very expensive) is the Manley Absolute. It has a tiny footprint, and can even double as a headphone stand. Manley is a quality pro audio company with reputable products. This is one product I've been curious about in the past and never got to try. Don't know anyone who has it, but some vendors with money back return policy sell it online.

Wow!! it's beautiful!! It would be a very good option in terms of dimensions/design (but unfortunatelly for me it's out of my budget of 1k-2k)

Anyway thanks a lot! It's clear this the best place to ask about amplifiers

 

[ArtBoy]

Looks a lot fancier than the Auris Euterpe I have.

 

[jonathan c]

Realise that the headphone cable (SE, XLR) plugs into the back of the Manley Absolute amplifier. This may cause one to need a headphone cable extension (for example, with ‘fixed’ cable Grados).

 

[jonathan c]

Looks a lot fancier than the Auris Euterpe I have.

The Euterpe is gorgeous !

 

[ArtBoy]

The Euterpe is gorgeous !

One for sale here at a good price.

 

[hifilove]

The three headphone amps that I use with my trio of ZMF Headphones--Atticus, Verite, and Atrium--are the HeadAmp GS-X Mini, HeadAmp GS-X Mk.II, and the Aurora HEADA headphone amp. The ZMF headphones are really easy to power, though the GS-X Mk.II which has the most power (6W) and is neutral and still sweet. The HEADA (2W) is really good too and powers them easily! It's solid state all the way, but you'd swear that there's a tube in there somewhere. Somedays the GS-X Mk.II is on top, somedays it's the HEADA. I guess it depends on how I'm feeling.

 

[Deleeh]

Beautiful verite you have there, which one is it?
What kind of wood?

Your Atticus also sends one at first sight.
It looks like an edge, but it's not.
Great effect at first sight.

 

[goldwerger]

Looks a lot fancier than the Auris Euterpe I have.

another great option!