[RingingEars]

I started this journey in 2011 with a Altoids amp I bought on ebay. That turned into a:
Fiio E7
Fiio E17
Ibasso D-Zero
Crack OTL
Teac UD-501
Teac UD-301(still have and love)
Decware Zen
Monolith liquid spark(still have and love)
Monolith THX 887(I've had it for 3 weeks and love)
Before all that I just used the headphone out on whatever stereo/home theater receiver I had at the time...

Edit: I forgot about the Ibasso...

 

[iFi audio]

I only started into headphones in the last year after getting an LTA MZ3 as a preamp for my speaker system.

That's a very nice start that should make you happy for a while

 

[Whazzzup]

6 years into gsx mk2. Where do I go next? Fogo island tomorrow for a few, cheers

 

[chesebert]

6 years into gsx mk2. Where do I go next? Fogo island tomorrow for a few, cheers

Yup. Nothing worthwhile in a decade (might be longer) from any commercial vendors. Everything is kind of a side grade/downgrade from gsx.

 

[Contrails]

O2 Objective. Good for the price.
FiiO Amp/DAC - meh
LF339 - waste of time and money.
Violectric V200 - good amp for the price.
Wa22 - poor value for the money spent and the sound offered.
Stax custom valve amp - good amp. But sold it to fund a vinyl set-up.

Round 2
WA6-SE - good amp. A lot better value than WA22.
Apex Peak + Volcano - Holy sh!t. There are some amps that just stand out well above others in their price point. Apex Peak is definitely up there.

Future aspirations
Apex Pinnacle/Eddie current Studio.

I love tube amps but I have a preference for fast, dynamic and fairly neutral (transparent) sound. Slow, gooey, congested sound is an indication of poor design or low quality trafo IMO.

 

[acguitar84]

My first was an IDO I think it was called - that I used with my phone/ipad. Next was a woo audio fireflies. Next was a Jotunheim and I had a lot of great nights listening to HD650/Jotunheim. Next was Headamp gx-mini. And now I'm on a Niimbus - and I think that's the last one for me, it sounds great! I still have all of my stuff though, so I can revisit any setup I've had at any time.

 

[helljudgement]

Got the WA2 over a decade ago and to be honest I'm not too into the sound. Found it a tad too warm and sluggish for my liking. Did consider getting a crack but decided to downsize to a Vali and used that for almost a decade before upgrading to the Starlett and Studio B. Apart from a crack or a Crackatwoa I don't foresee anything I'd consider buying in the foreseeable future.

Yup. Nothing worthwhile in a decade (might be longer) from any commercial vendors.

You might be right. At least for dynamic driver, I've not heard very many high end amps that even perform at the level of a DNA Stratus or EC Zana Deux and those were released in mid-late 2000s.

 

[James824]

FWIW..I ended up with the Woo WA2 and HD800S.

 

[RobertSM]

Owned:

Woo Audio WA8
Woo Audio WA11
Icon Audio HP8
Violectric V281
SPL Phonitor X w/DAC

Currently own:
Woo Audio WA6-SE gen 1(I'll be selling this soon(ish)
Rogue Audio RH-5
ALO Audio Studio Six

 

[Wes S]

Owned

- Schiit Magni
- Schiit Vahalla 2
- Schiit Jotunhiem
- Schitt Lyr 3
- Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball
- Cavalli Liquid Platinum
- Rogue RH-5

Currently Own

- ZMF Pendant SE - Love it to death and it's never getting sold, as it combines the best traits of SS and tubes into one amazingly fast, transparent, dynamic and holographic sound.


Looking at these as my next possible amp to mix things up from the Pendant and will be placing an order for one of them within the next month or so. The Stratus and HA300B mk2 are my top two, and obviously they are totally different tubes and types of sound so not quite sure which way I want to go just yet. . .

- DNA Stratus V4
- Cayin HA300B mk2
- Cayin HA-6A
- Decware ZMF OTL Collab - Not released yet

 

[skhan007]

Currently own:

RME ADI2 DAC- the amp section of this unit is superb and meets/exceeds my needs for a solid state amp. Just amazing.
Bottlehead Crack Speedball- w/ a collection of vintage tubes (6AS7G, 6080, 5998, etc.) and custom granite base. Will probably sell because....

Will be getting:

Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL MZ3- Completely blown away at how good it sounds and this will be my endgame amp. Oh yes, it will be mine. Oh, yes.

 

[iFi audio]

and custom granite base.

That looks sick, very HE 1 alike in a way

Was that granite box expensive to make btw.? It sure looks like one!

 

[skhan007]

That looks sick, very HE 1 alike in a way

Was that granite box expensive to make btw.? It sure looks like one!

Thanks- In audiophile purchasing terms, the granite base was practically free! Cheaper than an audiophile fuse, in fact!

 

[jonathan c]

Currently own:

RME ADI2 DAC- the amp section of this unit is superb and meets/exceeds my needs for a solid state amp. Just amazing.
Bottlehead Crack Speedball- w/ a collection of vintage tubes (6AS7G, 6080, 5998, etc.) and custom granite base. Will probably sell because....

Will be getting:

Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL MZ3- Completely blown away at how good it sounds and this will be my endgame amp. Oh yes, it will be mine. Oh, yes.

Welcome & enjoy! If you want some LTA MZ3 tube suggestions, I have some ideas….

 

[skhan007]

Welcome & enjoy! If you want some LTA MZ3 tube suggestions, I have some ideas….

Your tube suggestions have been 100% spot-on, so I’ll be happy to get recommendations!

Honestly, the stock RCA and Bel tubes were wonderful.