[orrman]

Hey all! are there any updates or more information on the Aegis build?
Happy new year!

 

[avin13]

Hey all! are there any updates or more information on the Aegis build?
Happy new year!

Apart from availability q1. I don’t think so.

 

[George Hincapie]

Hey all! are there any updates or more information on the Aegis build?
Happy new year!

Also interested. This year is going to be expensive.

 

[goldwerger]

 

[raindownthunda]

Time to starting pedaling for your watts. I bet we could make an audiophile version with boutique parts and rare-earth metals that sounds better than what you get from your utility company.

 

[AnyDave]

Time to starting pedaling for your watts. I bet we could make an audiophile version with boutique parts and rare-earth metals that sounds better than what you get from your utility company.

Years ago, I used to joke about starting a chain of gyms called "The Hamster Wheel" where all of the bikes, treadmills and elliptical trainers would be hooked to generators and put energy back in the grid. The more you worked out, the cheaper your gym membership would be.

I also used to joke with my wife about a similar configuration so that the kids would have to pedal to watch television. That one never got off the ground either.

 

[goldwerger]

Years ago, I used to joke about starting a chain of gyms called "The Hamster Wheel" where all of the bikes, treadmills and elliptical trainers would be hooked to generators and put energy back in the grid. The more you worked out, the cheaper your gym membership would be.

I also used to joke with my wife about a similar configuration so that the kids would have to pedal to watch television. That one never got off the ground either.

Brilliant!

 

[Rollnrock]

Years ago, I used to joke about starting a chain of gyms called "The Hamster Wheel" where all of the bikes, treadmills and elliptical trainers would be hooked to generators and put energy back in the grid. The more you worked out, the cheaper your gym membership would be.

I also used to joke with my wife about a similar configuration so that the kids would have to pedal to watch television. That one never got off the ground either.

It's not a bad idea. This photo is from the Coldplay concert last summer in Amsterdam. People were invited to dance on a platform and ride bicycles to generate energy for the concert. Maybe just details, but I think in the right direction.

 

[AnyDave]

It's not a bad idea. This photo is from the Coldplay concert last summer in Amsterdam. People were invited to dance on a platform and ride bicycles to generate energy for the concert. Maybe just details, but I think in the right direction.

Man, Coldplay keeps taking all of my good ideas. I’m yellow with envy.

 

[LXMc]

I had written a little while back that I expected 2024 would hold the purchase of an Icon HP8 for me, but after much reading, both through this forum and other places, and internal deliberation, I think I am likely to go for a Cayin HA-3A instead. I know there are proponents of both amps (certainly the HP8) and I certainly want to shoutout @GridIroN for not only their incredibly helpful comparison posts earlier in this thread, but also some direct impressions and thoughts after the fact (GridIron did not intentionally push me towards the Cayin but did their best to stay as objective as possible).

I do anticipate the HP8 likely has a slight edge in sound, but other factors are swaying me towards the Cayin. Both work in size (now that I've made a small side table addition), price is comparable (probably a couple hundred less for Cayin), but I really like the flexibility of both inputs and outputs on the Cayin, including different sensitivities on different outputs, tubes won't be as expensive to roll, the tube cage is a great boon having a small child and a cat in the house ... and I also just really love how the Cayin looks. I also considered the HA-6A (among others) but it's a big jump in price, just slightly too big (it'd fit but just) and I didn't like the practicality of a 24-step volume control reading others impressions.

Anyway that's generally where I've landed for now. I'm not sure at what point I'll actually take the plunge, but happy to hear thoughts from others on their experiences.

 

[dbull12]

I had written a little while back that I expected 2024 would hold the purchase of an Icon HP8 for me, but after much reading, both through this forum and other places, and internal deliberation, I think I am likely to go for a Cayin HA-3A instead. I know there are proponents of both amps (certainly the HP8) and I certainly want to shoutout @GridIroN for not only their incredibly helpful comparison posts earlier in this thread, but also some direct impressions and thoughts after the fact (GridIron did not intentionally push me towards the Cayin but did their best to stay as objective as possible).

I do anticipate the HP8 likely has a slight edge in sound, but other factors are swaying me towards the Cayin. Both work in size (now that I've made a small side table addition), price is comparable (probably a couple hundred less for Cayin), but I really like the flexibility of both inputs and outputs on the Cayin, including different sensitivities on different outputs, tubes won't be as expensive to roll, the tube cage is a great boon having a small child and a cat in the house ... and I also just really love how the Cayin looks. I also considered the HA-6A (among others) but it's a big jump in price, just slightly too big (it'd fit but just) and I didn't like the practicality of a 24-step volume control reading others impressions.

Anyway that's generally where I've landed for now. I'm not sure at what point I'll actually take the plunge, but happy to hear thoughts from others on their experiences.

Cayin has the HA-2A coming out relatively soon. Haven't really looked into how exactly it'll differ from the HA-3A since I'm not on the market for a tube amp but you might want to check out the thread for it to see if it might be another option worth considering!

 

[G8torbyte]

I had written a little while back that I expected 2024 would hold the purchase of an Icon HP8 for me, but after much reading, both through this forum and other places, and internal deliberation, I think I am likely to go for a Cayin HA-3A instead. I know there are proponents of both amps (certainly the HP8) and I certainly want to shoutout @GridIroN for not only their incredibly helpful comparison posts earlier in this thread, but also some direct impressions and thoughts after the fact (GridIron did not intentionally push me towards the Cayin but did their best to stay as objective as possible).

I do anticipate the HP8 likely has a slight edge in sound, but other factors are swaying me towards the Cayin. Both work in size (now that I've made a small side table addition), price is comparable (probably a couple hundred less for Cayin), but I really like the flexibility of both inputs and outputs on the Cayin, including different sensitivities on different outputs, tubes won't be as expensive to roll, the tube cage is a great boon having a small child and a cat in the house ... and I also just really love how the Cayin looks. I also considered the HA-6A (among others) but it's a big jump in price, just slightly too big (it'd fit but just) and I didn't like the practicality of a 24-step volume control reading others impressions.

Anyway that's generally where I've landed for now. I'm not sure at what point I'll actually take the plunge, but happy to hear thoughts from others on their experiences.

Cayin recently announced the HA-2A:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cayin-ha-2a-compact-tube-headphone-amplifier.970975/

EDIT: just saw the MSRP is $1299 so it looks like another nice option in that range.

 

[LXMc]

Cayin has the HA-2A coming out relatively soon. Haven't really looked into how exactly it'll differ from the HA-3A since I'm not on the market for a tube amp but you might want to check out the thread for it to see if it might be another option worth considering!

Cayin recently announced the HA-2A:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cayin-ha-2a-compact-tube-headphone-amplifier.970975/

EDIT: just saw the MSRP is $1299 so it looks like another nice option in that range.

Yeah I've been keeping an eye on that and it definitely does look like another great option. A couple factors that still had me leaning HA-3A were that it's not a big jump up price-wise, and the HA-3A has been out for a little over a year now, so there are a good number of impressions, feedback and advice (especially when it comes to tubes) established at this point. With the HA-2A, it won't be widely released for a little while still and then will take more time for people to generate opinions, get a feel for tubes, etc. I also expect the HA-3A will still have a slight technical edge on its smaller sibling.

 

[GridIroN]

Thanks for the shoutout @LXMc and I appreciate your kind words.

The HA-2A looks like a very interesting product. It's very attractive with updated design language, the only issue I forsee with it is that it's price isn't that different from the HA-3A (I'm not sure who is in the market for a $1000~$1500 amp and would want to choose from two competing products from the same company at similar MSRPs?) and it's choice of tubes seems... particular..? I'm no tube expert but if you care about tube rolling to find the sound you like, I imagine it'd be easier to find good, inexpensive 6V6+12AU7/E80CC's. Although, I imagine the HA-2A is designed more-so for people who just want an easier, at home/desktop tube amp solution all around that still sounds like a tube.

Point to point soldering is quite nice. Part of why the HP8 is a bit smoother around the edges in operation I think.

I'm going to keep an eye on the HA-2A...myself.

 

[LXMc]

I imagine the HA-2A is designed more-so for people who just want an easier, at home/desktop tube amp solution all around that still sounds like a tube.

I think this is a good point and would make sense with them going for NOS tubes as the stock config and coming in kinda close to the 3A price-wise.