[sbradley02]

The best amp I have heard with the Thunderpants is the Cavalli Liquid Fire. This is a very costly unit.
I have gotten excellent results with my Leckerton UHA-6S DAC/Amp. This unit has both USB and Toslink inputs.

 

[mrspeakers]

Amps are always a tough question. Maybe a budget would help narrow the field, and if a dac is also in the equation. There are lot's of good cheap desktop and portable amps now, but many pricier units will give "shinier" results,

The t50rp driver is not really too hard to drive, it will put out more volume than I want with any decent portable amp, and as it is mostly resistive, it is not ver dependent upon amp output impedance.

 

[Br777]

Quote:

Question for the people who own the Thunderpants. What do you think is the best amp to make the Thunderpants "shine"? I know there's the Cavalli CTH which I am very interested in and it's in the ~$200-$300 price range that I'm looking for, but I prefer something that has a built-in DAC as well that has coaxial/optical inputs so I can use it with my Pure i20. Would something like the Audio-GD NFB-11/12 or the CKIII/CK^2IIIs work well? Any other suggestions are appreciated too, thanks!

 
all i can say is you'd be doing your TP's a great service if you got something with a tube in it.  Tubes and Orthos go together like unicorns and rainbows

really though... ortho mids become something truly wonderful when influenced by tubes

 

[sysfail]

Thanks for the suggestions! I guess my FiiO E7/E9 drives them just fine. What I should try is something with tubes/hybrid for them. Is there such thing as a tube/hybrid amp with a built-in DAC?

 

[turimbar1]

Quote:

Thanks for the suggestions! I guess my FiiO E7/E9 drives them just fine. What I should try is something with tubes/hybrid for them. Is there such thing as a tube/hybrid amp with a built-in DAC?

the only thing I can think of is the maverick d1, but the tube is only in the speaker output I believe, although with an adaptor that could work too... the speaker output does run at higher voltage, but orthos are pretty hardy creatures compared to dynamics, so I do not think you would have to worry about that.
 
 

 

[sysfail]

Thanks, the Maverick D1 definitely looks interesting, but it's too bad I can't use its tubes for headphones. Don't think I'll try with an adapter either because that's meant for the speakers and things could go wrong if I put a headphone through them lol.

 

[maverickronin]

The tube on the D1 just drives a line level signal for another amp or can be also be routed through the volume pot to act as a preamp.  I haven't tried it, but I can't imagine it having the current capacity to even drive most low Z dynamics, let alone orthos.
 
The HP out is quite strong, but it gets no benefit from the tubes.  Its an opamp with some discrete transistors as a current buffer.

 

[sysfail]

I see. There's so many options out there I really don't know what to get. I guess I'll keep shopping around for now lol.

 

[sbradley02]

See if there is a head-fi meet scheduled for your area.
I wouldn't even have my Thunderpants if it hadn't been for the Portland meet.
Lots of great equipment is brought to these events.
And I wouldn't get too hung up on tube vs solid state. In the gain stages, a tube has a very similar transfer function to a FET, the differences are much more pronounced in the output stages, and a lot of this is due to the different output impedance characteristics, and also the soft clipping characteristics of tubes.
And this is coming from someone who used to build, repair and modify tube gear (I still have a set of Sutherland boards for the Dynaco Mark III I need to give away).
Solid state and tube circuitry are much more similar sonically now than they were many years ago.
Best bet is to try some different tube and solid state designs out yourself, and see what sounds best to you. There are many great designs using both.
 
Quote:

I see. There's so many options out there I really don't know what to get. I guess I'll keep shopping around for now lol.

 

 

[dBel84]

^^ see above, I like tubes because they glow and I have been a sucker for messing with tube circuits for many a year. The reason I went hybrid is because I have the best of both worlds without the need for great expense to make a good tube design sound right ( ie expensive iron ) . attending a local meet is a great way to find what you do and don't like..dB

 

[sysfail]

Yeah I'm thinking of a hybrid also. Possibly a Cavalli CTH because that's the only one I know of that's a good "bang for the buck" hybrid amp. Any idea where to get one?

 

[serenith]

4.5pants cup and baffle are done in black walnut.  Can someone suggest a finish for them ? I have no experience varnishing / dyeing wood and I have no idea what would make this essence stand out.
 

 

[schwallman]

4.5pants cup and baffle are done in black walnut.  Can someone suggest a finish for them ? I have no experience varnishing / dyeing wood and I have no idea what would make this essence stand out.
 

They look nice so far. A guy that turned some cups for me before used some sort of wax stick whle it was spinning on the lathe. They came out nice.

 

[dBel84]

Quote:

Yeah I'm thinking of a hybrid also. Possibly a Cavalli CTH because that's the only one I know of that's a good "bang for the buck" hybrid amp. Any idea where to get one?

Now people may call me a little biased but the CTH is probably the T50rpmkII equivalent of the amp world. The design detail in that little package is beyond belief and the fact that it could be had for such a steal is just crazy. Truly a giant killer if set up correctly and it didn't take much tweaking for the original to go from great -> exceptional. The latest group buy boards are supposed to have incorporated all the mods so now it is a simple step for those who got in on the deal. Where to buy one? find a person who bought more than a single board in the group buy to sell you one or hope that one surfaces in the FS thread. Personally I am kicking myself for not getting a board or 2 , I was just a little preoccupied and I missed the deadline. 
 
 
good looking cups serenith..dB
 
 
edit - before I get misquoted as saying the CTH is the best amp available ...... I no longer own one, but I keep 2 of Cavalli's Hybrids near and dear. And.... the Liquid Fire is one of the best amps I have enjoyed the TPs with. 

 

[sysfail]

Quote:

Now people may call me a little biased but the CTH is probably the T50rpmkII equivalent of the amp world. The design detail in that little package is beyond belief and the fact that it could be had for such a steal is just crazy. Truly a giant killer if set up correctly and it didn't take much tweaking for the original to go from great -> exceptional. The latest group buy boards are supposed to have incorporated all the mods so now it is a simple step for those who got in on the deal. Where to buy one? find a person who bought more than a single board in the group buy to sell you one or hope that one surfaces in the FS thread. Personally I am kicking myself for not getting a board or 2 , I was just a little preoccupied and I missed the deadline. 
 
 
good looking cups serenith..dB
 
 
edit - before I get misquoted as saying the CTH is the best amp available ...... I no longer own one, but I keep 2 of Cavalli's Hybrids near and dear. And.... the Liquid Fire is one of the best amps I have enjoyed the TPs with. 

Well I'd have to buy one that's all setup and ready to go, I certainly cannot do anything with just the board because I'm not a DIY person at all. 

I guess I have to keep an eye out for one on the FS forums then that's already built. I've also been looking at the CKKIII and NFB-11/12s. How would they compare with the CTH? I plan on getting a seperate DAC too for around $150 or so to pair with one of these amps, what would you recommend with that? Is it possible to have a built-in DAC inside the CTH? Sorry for all the questions, thanks!