[Halimj7]

Looking for recommendations for a really warm and lush tube amp or amp/Dac combo. I have a Sony TA-Z1Hes and DMP-Z1. Im looking for something warmer (via an increased low end) and smoother in the upper mids and highs and without bringing the mids too forward. I don’t care too much about resolution or power it will be primarily for my Audiotechnica AWAS. Ideal price would be less than $2000. Thanks.

 

[Haidar]

ifi Pro iDSD Signature has a "tube+ mode". I found a review on https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/ifi6/

 

[elnero]

Looking for recommendations for a really warm and lush tube amp or amp/Dac combo. I have a Sony TA-Z1Hes and DMP-Z1. Im looking for something warmer (via an increased low end) and smoother in the upper mids and highs and without bringing the mids too forward. I don’t care too much about resolution or power it will be primarily for my Audiotechnica AWAS. Ideal price would be less than $2000. Thanks.

I use a Torpedo III with my AWAS. The TIII is a differential hybrid parafeed headphone amplifier which I don't think I'd characterize as particularly "lush" but it is revealing with great extension at both ends of the spectrum. Of course, this is going to be tube dependant. There are a ton of tube types from the 12A*7 family of tubes that can be used in it and I've done quite a bit of tube rolling to find a pairing I really like (RCA 12AZ7).

The amplifier choice isn't going to be the only factor. DAC choice and cabling will make a difference as well. IMO, the Denafrips Ares II and TIII are an excellent pairing for the AWAS and the Audio Sensibility headphone cable and interconnects are excellent and reasonably priced (if you look at their website, remember the pricing is in Canadian).

Now, the downside of the TIII is it was mainly a DIY project TomB of Beezar Audio and Dsavitsk of ECP Audio and they aren't available new anymore. Mine was built by TomB himself and it has all the approved upgrades and tweaks but there are many others out there built by others which may or may not have these upgrades and/or use different parts than those recommended by the designers.

 

[elnero]

Here's a couple of links for you. This is my TIII I purchased directly from TomB at Beezar http://beezar.com/pho-bzr/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=210 and here's a link to the correct cables for the AWAS on the Audio Sensibility page https://audiosensibility.com/blog/p...phone-Cable-A2DC/p/179017150/category=8516930 They use the correct A2DC for the AWAS which was a concern I had when purchasing.

 

[Deleeh]

Looking for recommendations for a really warm and lush tube amp or amp/Dac combo. I have a Sony TA-Z1Hes and DMP-Z1. Im looking for something warmer (via an increased low end) and smoother in the upper mids and highs and without bringing the mids too forward. I don’t care too much about resolution or power it will be primarily for my Audiotechnica AWAS. Ideal price would be less than $2000. Thanks.

Hello,
Look at these candidates
Feliks Echo 2,Woo Audio Wa 6,Woo audie Firevlies,Quicksilver are tube amps for under $1000 that are pretty solid and should suit your needs.
Feliks Elise would be another option still if you want to spend over 1000$.

You don't need to spend more than that to get started.
Especially if you might not be experienced in it.
There are a lot of things to consider with these.
I would stay away from this Beezar.
What caught my eye is that the 4 capacitors are connected in series, which is okay but. I think the design could have been technically better solved right next to the tubes.

The 4-5 proposed tube amplifiers offer them enough air upwards to also roll the tubes if you want with an acceptable availability.

 

[elnero]

Hello,
Look at these candidates
Feliks Echo 2,Woo Audio Wa 6,Woo audie Firevlies,Quicksilver are tube amps for under $1000 that are pretty solid and should suit your needs.
Feliks Elise would be another option still if you want to spend over 1000$.

You don't need to spend more than that to get started.
Especially if you might not be experienced in it.
There are a lot of things to consider with these.
I would stay away from this Beezar.
What caught my eye is that the 4 capacitors are connected in series, which is okay but. I think the design could have been technically better solved right next to the tubes.

The 4-5 proposed tube amplifiers offer them enough air upwards to also roll the tubes if you want with an acceptable availability.

Dsavitsk of ECP Audio is a highly respected designer and the Torpedo III has been vetted and built by some seriously experienced enthusiasts. I don't have much electronics experience myself so I can't say why the design is the way it is, but I would suggest talking to TomB or Dsavitsk to understand the reasoning before implying there are issues.

Also, you're recommending a Feliks Echo II which is an OTL amp. OTL amps generally aren't recommended for low impedance headphones like the AWAS. On the Feliks site it even states optimal headphone impedance is 80 - 600 ohms. The AWAS is 40 ohms, which might work but is likely not an ideal match.

 

[kumar402]

Looking for recommendations for a really warm and lush tube amp or amp/Dac combo. I have a Sony TA-Z1Hes and DMP-Z1. Im looking for something warmer (via an increased low end) and smoother in the upper mids and highs and without bringing the mids too forward. I don’t care too much about resolution or power it will be primarily for my Audiotechnica AWAS. Ideal price would be less than $2000. Thanks.

More then amp try some R2R NOS DACs. They are warm and lush

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,

I haven't looked at the impedance of the headphones.
You can usually do that yourself and check whether it fits.

But you are right about the Echo 2. It could be a bit tight but not impossible.

Regarding the Beezar, the idea is okay in principle and there is nothing bad to say about it and it can have advantages.
However, it is disadvantageous if heat is generated when the
I don't see any problems with the capacitors drying out in the long run.
The Mundorf capacitors used don't cost the earth.
It is one of the cheap ones from the Mundorf series, which are also used in the Feliks Euforia, for example.
Presumably, this amplifier will be quite neutral in its tuning with regard to the sound.
Since the Feliks Echo will probably be dropped in the end, there are still the other candidates that are certainly worth looking at.