[Ufanco]

About ready to buy a Dragon, little concerned with the lack of participation on this thread is anyone still using the dragon tube amp? Concerned with hiss on level 1 with the Indigo iem since the Impedance: 13.20 and Sensitivity @1kHz-118dB.
Currently using the xDuoo ta20 and there’s no hiss at all, hoping it be the same with the dragon.
Would love to hear any thoughts on the dragon either by post or PM me. Excited by this amp so any info positive or negative info would be great.

 

[Ufanco]

Super excited since I bought a Wells Dragon level 1 today and hopefully have it Delivered soon. Excited about this purchase as it should be a big improvement over the xDuoo TA 20 I currently use. Went with level one since using just iems figure if needed can always upgrade to level 2 or 3.
Jeff was great to talk to and help with my decisions to go with a dragon. Going be using a Shanling m6 pro 21 as the source into a Denafrips Ares II. Using Mest MKII and Indigo iems. Jeff assured me the hybrid design will not have hiss so my biggest concern shouldn't be a issue.
I have a bunch of 12BH7 to compare with stock tube. Jeff did say he felt the included 12bh7 sound the best, but its always fun to tube roll.
Hopefully others can chime in on what there favorite tubes are? Going break out my Halloween themed tubes for fun and giggles there not my best sounding tube but where inexpensive so figured i’ll try them out.

 

[Ufanco]

Received the dragon on Friday and going let it burn in more before posting review. Early impression are good few small issue to discuss with Jeff on getting the most out of it. Sadly back in the hospital so might be a bit before I get a chance to to put together a proper review.

 

[ufospls2]

Received the dragon on Friday and going let it burn in more before posting review. Early impression are good few small issue to discuss with Jeff on getting the most out of it. Sadly back in the hospital so might be a bit before I get a chance to to put together a proper review.

Sorry to hear you are in the hospital mate. I hope that whatever is up medically passes soon, and you are able to enjoy your amp asap.

 

[Ufanco]

Sorry to hear you are in the hospital mate. I hope that whatever is up medically passes soon, and you are able to enjoy your amp asap.

Thanks for the well wishes, I was beginning to think I was only one on this thread.
Should be home later today I have some bad radiation burns from the cancer treatment that been giving me issues.

Have to say after listening to the Dragon all weekend and now using a Dap I realize how good the Dragon sounds. Can’t wait to get home.
Only cons so far is amp is a bit to powerful with the indigo iems and limits volume range I can use along with a very slight static sound in left channel that's only audio between tracks. Feel this is more due to the Impedance: 13.2Ω. >Sensitivity: 118dB of the Mest Indigo but working with Jeff to resolve it. Since only in one channel should be an easy fix.

 

[ufospls2]

Thanks for the well wishes, I was beginning to think I was only one on this thread.
Should be home later today I have some bad radiation burns from the cancer treatment that been giving me issues.

Have to say after listening to the Dragon all weekend and now using a Dap I realize how good the Dragon sounds. Can’t wait to get home.
Only cons so far is amp is a bit to powerful with the indigo iems and limits volume range I can use along with a very slight static sound in left channel that's only audio between tracks. Feel this is more due to the Impedance: 13.2Ω. >Sensitivity: 118dB of the Mest Indigo but working with Jeff to resolve it. Since only in one channel should be an easy fix.

I'm really sorry to hear that man. I hope you kick cancers ass and get back to enjoying your Dragon fully soon.

For the MEST Inidigo, you could maybe try an iFi ieMatch, or Ear buddy for use with the Dragon. They are pretty sensitive IEMs, so it might help.

https://ifi-audio.com/products/iematch-plus/

https://ifi-audio.com/products/ear-buddy/

EDIT: Sorry, if its only in one channel, then you would think it might be the tube as @Astral Abyss mentioned.

 

[Astral Abyss]

Thanks for the well wishes, I was beginning to think I was only one on this thread.
Should be home later today I have some bad radiation burns from the cancer treatment that been giving me issues.

Have to say after listening to the Dragon all weekend and now using a Dap I realize how good the Dragon sounds. Can’t wait to get home.
Only cons so far is amp is a bit to powerful with the indigo iems and limits volume range I can use along with a very slight static sound in left channel that's only audio between tracks. Feel this is more due to the Impedance: 13.2Ω. >Sensitivity: 118dB of the Mest Indigo but working with Jeff to resolve it. Since only in one channel should be an easy fix.

Static sound likely from the tube. Try reseating it and make sure the pins are clean and straight.

 

[Ufanco]

Thanks for the suggestion on resetting tubes I have tried that and also a couple of different tubes and same result. Currently have gain set a 0 and the sound I’m noticing increases at higher gain settings.

Tried a higher Impedance iem and sound is no longer noticeable so sure that's the issue. The sound more noticeable when adjusting gain and it's the exact same sound I hear btw tracks.

On a different note currently running a nos RCA tubes and enjoying the. I also tried a pair of 1950 hytron that sounds really good. Going need to burn the included TAD tubes in and give them another listen. Since I went a little overboard buying 12bh7 for the last amp I have an assortment to keep me busy.

EDIT messed with gain setting if both 1 and 2 are on in that channel with noise it all but disappear. It doesn’t increase the channel gain weird. Guess will ask Jeff his thoughts on this.
Also thanks to the help and suggestion @Astral Abyss and @ufospls2.

 

[Arcamera]

Hello fellow Wells Amp owners, anyone here have experience driving the Susvara with the Headtrip/II? Or the LCD4? I currently have the Milo and like it a lot, but am considering my next amp upgrade-- wondering if I should consider a Headtrip, or perhaps a Milo Reference, or another Wells? I like a sound that is a touch warmer/smoother than strictly neutral, but also appreciate detail, speed, dynamics, etc. (I will be owning the Susvara soon, but have numerous other headphones I use-- LCD4, Elite/Empyrean, Thekk, etc). Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[ufospls2]

Hello fellow Wells Amp owners, anyone here have experience driving the Susvara with the Headtrip/II? Or the LCD4? I currently have the Milo and like it a lot, but am considering my next amp upgrade-- wondering if I should consider a Headtrip, or perhaps a Milo Reference, or another Wells? I like a sound that is a touch warmer/smoother than strictly neutral, but also appreciate detail, speed, dynamics, etc. (I will be owning the Susvara soon, but have numerous other headphones I use-- LCD4, Elite/Empyrean, Thekk, etc). Thanks for any thoughts.

Jeff would be the best person to ask, but maybe a Milo Reference would be worth checking out if you want a bit of warmth and smoothness. I also remember there being a mention of a more powerful version of the Milo being an option, but I may have misunderstood and they were talking about the external power supply. Again, best to ask Jeff.

 

[Zachik]

All new Milo amps are being built with external power supply.
According to Jeff, that resulted in significant improvement to sound and reduction in noise floor.
I do not think extra power was the goal (or a need for ANY headphones)...

 

[ufospls2]

All new Milo amps are being built with external power supply.
According to Jeff, that resulted in significant improvement to sound and reduction in noise floor.
I do not think extra power was the goal (or a need for ANY headphones)...

Yeah I know about the external power supply. I just seem to remember there being a single mention of a more powerful version of the milo being possible, seperate from the outboard power supply change, but it was at least a year ago and I'm probably remembering incorrectly.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Yeah I know about the external power supply. I just seem to remember there being a single mention of a more powerful version of the milo being possible, seperate from the outboard power supply change, but it was at least a year ago and I'm probably remembering incorrectly.

Isn't the Milo providing something like 18W already (forgot into which load, guess 32Ohm)?

 

[Zachik]

Isn't the Milo providing something like 18W already (forgot into which load, guess 32Ohm)?

According to Wells Audio website:
18 watts rms into 8 ohms at 1kHz with no more than .015% THD
12 watts rms into 32 ohms @ .006% THD
10 watts @46 ohms @.005% THD

 

[Pharmaboy]

According to Wells Audio website:
18 watts rms into 8 ohms at 1kHz with no more than .015% THD
12 watts rms into 32 ohms @ .006% THD
10 watts @46 ohms @.005% THD

These ratings are impressive.

IMHO there's a kind of "arms race" going on in headphone amps for wpc. There are very few headphones that could use even a fraction of 12 wpc.

• A similar wattage arms race has raged for decades in 2-channel amps that power speakers. But in that case, there are some large, inefficient, low impedance speaker designs that truly require 400 wpc for big music transients.

I have 8 headphone amps. One is rated at 10 wpc into 40 ohms. I've had any number of headphones here, including many planars, and none of them could get to 60% volume on the low gain setting. Maybe I just can't listen to extreme headphone volume? Individual differences are probably large here...

I understand certain power-hog planars (ie, HFM Susvara; Abyss; HE6) need more power than average. Still, I suspect most of the power of a 12 wpc into 32 ohm amp will = a "headroom" cushion for the occasional big dynamic transient in music.