[stec74]

  How much is the Estro Armonico?
 
There is no mention of it on their website.

Hi Alvin, It's hard that you can see prices on their website simply because... there are not fixed prices! It need a little explanation...
This requires a little explanation ...
Estro Armonico is a professional laboratory, not very big but very well known and appreciated by a group of audiophile fans, in Italy and abroad. Their work and business philosophy can be describe as "old style" laboratory, because they like to establish a personal relationship with the customer in order to create an exclusive product according to its tastes and needs.
 
For this reason their prices are subject to changes and, although starting from a base price, you may find yourself to be holding an object completely different and personalized just paying more or less, depending on your needs!

For me it was exactly like this. I met the electronic designer Lorenzo Betti and his partner Massimiliano Fraboni at the end of last year after reading some technical comments on the web and after contacting the company via email for details on their headphone amp I had read but not found on their website.

The demo unit that Lorenzo has lent to me for evaluation before buy (the one in the picture in the first post of thread I link) it cost, new with updated components, about 1300E.
Bbut I needed more in/out (more flexibility), a pre-amp section (a very very good one), the ability to drive two headphones simultaneously and choosing some components (connectors and some other little things).
In addition, the project was 10 years old and could be improved.
 
All this needed a total redesign and, in order to have an affordable price, I formed a small buying group to finance the development of the new model. The final cost for our buying group was 1500E for a full customized Signature Edition. Only 200E more than the impressive demo unit.
Lorenzo will send it to me next week and assured me that the difference is astonished in terms of sound quality (as well as aesthetic and versatility, of course)!
Looking at what they produce in EA I am very inclined to believe him! However, it may be of interest, I can post the full review in English in a few weeks, after a thoroughly tested!
 
I say we pay 1500E, but we pushed the develop during months, I really do not know how much it cost now.
The best way is to contact them directly and explain your music tastes and needs:   http://www.estroarmonicoaudio.com/index.php?page=contatti/en/
They are on facebook too, so you can see more pictures:   https://it-it.facebook.com/pages/Estro-Armonico/492197340828823
 
The page is in italian so I can help you with pics...
Low impedence head amp: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.552330558148834.1073741843.492197340828823&type=1
OTL head amp (1st model, maybe the same of jfl): https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.492200247495199.1073741826.492197340828823&type=1
The second model is on my link only: http://www.ilgazeboaudiofilo.com/t23716-estro-armonico-otl-sennheiser-hd800
The third and last... it will come in weeks, but you can see picture parts of it and read components in the last pages of my link!
 
Cheers, 
Stefano.

 

[jlaurson]

>Can I ask how do you broke the tube stand? it is not so easy! 

I'm not sure I expressed myself properly. It's not the stand (whatever that might be), but the PIN of the Tube that broke. I think it might be WD40 and fatigue and maybe a nudge too many or taking it in and out too often. The integrity of the vacuum isn't affected the tube can still be used... but its' not as securely fastened to the base anymore, if I were to use it.

Lorenzo is a hard man to get (or stay) in touch with. I had a tube-doctor in Vienna look it over, but wasn't entirely satisfied with the result...

 

[jk47]

  It should be interesting as Sennheiser used the Sabre chip in the DAC section ! (I'm kind of curious as why they did that; but I
don't listen to any non-Acoustic music)
 
Good luck, anyway it may be just fine for what you listen to.
 
Having the Metrum Hex I really want to stay with a SS amp as the tube amps I've tried w/ my HD800 (modded) & Hex don't seem to be giving me all of the midrange dynamics I'm hearing through my Burson Soloist (Which has developed some very low level hum & channel imbalances from the headphone jack)
 
The Soloist wasn't my "end game" hp amp, but with it acting up I've had to bring my Fosgate Signature back into service (which though
transparent sounding gives up some of the dynamics I mentioned) I'm thinking either the Metrum Aurix or the Sennheiser HDVA 600.
 
I'm not thrilled that the $200 I just spent on some NOS "glass" for the Fosgate didn't move it ahead of the Burson, but it's sounding
better now that it's my "go to" amp (Well actually" have to amp" at this point)

can't speak to comparisons, but hex>aurix>hd800 sounds VERY good. none of the hd800 issues some people complain about, just sweet, pure music.

 

[knowhatimean]

  can't speak to comparisons, but hex>aurix>hd800 sounds VERY good. none of the hd800 issues some people complain about, just sweet, pure music.

Surprisingly enough, my low level anomalies appear to have been just that !!!!, but I'm pretty certain the Aurix is going to be
a much better amp for what I'm looking for !
 
(I may have a "foot up" on most people's issues  w/ their HD800s as I've already addressed the source of just about every one of those issues, the HD800 itself. Sennheiser can't have my HD800s back as they are now much better than the headphones that I bought)
 
Thanks for reminding me about the Aurix !

 

[jk47]

  Surprisingly enough, my low level anomalies appear to have been just that !!!!, but I'm pretty certain the Aurix is going to be
a much better amp for what I'm looking for !
 
(I may have a "foot up" on most people's issues  w/ their HD800s as I've already addressed the source of just about every one of those issues, the HD800 itself. Sennheiser can't have my HD800s back as they are now much better than the headphones that I bought)
 
Thanks for reminding me about the Aurix !

with the hex and aurix the hd800 sounds good bone stock.

 

[knowhatimean]

  with the hex and aurix the hd800 sounds good bone stock.

He,he,he...Okay,if it makes you feel better , I'll agree (but only because you haven't actually heard what the HD800s are really capable of sounding like; & the Metrum equipment is pulling the level of what the stock HD800s can do up by how much finesse they are adding to things)

 

[jk47]

  He,he,he...Okay,if it makes you feel better , I'll agree (but only because you haven't actually heard what the HD800s are really capable of sounding like; & the Metrum equipment is pulling the level of what the stock HD800s can do up by how much finesse they are adding to things)

fine. so tell me what mods you applied to the hd800 and what each accomplished.

 

[FrankCooter]

I'm not really a fan of the HD800, but I've been listening to a friend's pair for the last few days with my Metrum Hex. (Amp is a balanced DHT OTL homebrew design ) . The Hex definitely does  good things for the HD800's.

 

[jk47]

  He,he,he...Okay,if it makes you feel better , I'll agree (but only because you haven't actually heard what the HD800s are really capable of sounding like; & the Metrum equipment is pulling the level of what the stock HD800s can do up by how much finesse they are adding to things)

and btw, since you had to be "reminded" of the aurix, have you ever in fact listened to a stock hd800 via a hex>aurix chain?  if not, how do you assume you can evaluate its sound?  if yes, did you blind a/b a stock hd800 and your modded one?  and if yes, how do you compare hex>aurix>stock hd800 to hex>aurix>your modded hd800?

 

[knowhatimean]

 

  He,he,he...Okay,if it makes you feel better , I'll agree (but only because you haven't actually heard what the HD800s are really capable of sounding like; & the Metrum equipment is pulling the level of what the stock HD800s can do up by how much finesse they are adding to things)

and btw, since you had to be "reminded" of the aurix, have you ever in fact listened to a stock hd800 via a hex>aurix chain?  if not, how do you assume you can evaluate its sound?  if yes, did you blind a/b a stock hd800 and your modded one?  and if yes, how do you compare hex>aurix>stock hd800 to hex>aurix>your modded hd800?

I saw your posting this morning & started a response I wasn't satisfied leaving , so I just scrapped it. Looking at the clock I realized I was supposed to be elsewhere so I just put my laptop in sleep mode for continuation when I got back. So I'll attempt to simplify my response this time around.
 
To be completely honest I too often make the mistake of speaking "figuratively"& then end up having to explain what I said ! I hadn't really forgotten about the Aurix thread ,but I guess I rearranged my interest level in it due to the fact that it didn't have balanced inputs so I finally see what(if any) kind of a difference a balanced signal from my Hex would make. It usually doesn't matter how good something is already for myself, but whether there is the slightest possibility it could be better. I've recently re-evaluated whether not
having balanced inputs is a necessity for now ; It's not !
 
Now, for all my references to "my" HD800 verses stock , for myself I'm speaking "literally", but in truthfulness for the fact that they don't have first hand access to them , once again I'm speaking figuratively & as such it really makes no sense for me to comment on stock HD800s,but since you were polite enough to ask about the differences , I'll take a shot at describing them !
 
I started out by just adding the Anax 2 mod, while that changed some sound characteristics it really didn't go much beyond showing me that the characteristics could be changed ! There is a little message on the PDF templates for Anax 2 that states something to the effect that the "HD800 is supposed to be bright" which begged the question of "Who the heck would need a $1500 headphone that was designed to be bright ?" I lost sight of the fact that highly neutral headphones will not sound very good for all Genres of music ! I really think it is genre specific what the Anax 2 mod can tell you about the HD800 if you listen to what elements of the sound are different.
 
I came across some postings of people who'd removed the protective screens from behind the HD800s drivers ! I was very intrigued to
see if this made the type of sonic differences I was looking for; In a nutshell it absolutely did ! I think that a lot of people may not like the way it now sounds due to the fact you're defeating the artificial soundstage creating elements in favor of presenting whatever soundstaging elements exist in the recordings along with the added benefit of a much fuller lower octave response from the music !
 
To be clear here, I removed the screens & the metal rings from the headphones & just recently straight wired a set of headphone cables directly to the headphone drivers.
 
Unless you're stone cold commited to getting as much as you can from dynamically dense Acoustic music (at the possible cost
of all other music not sounding as "huge" as it did before) & you have a playback system with an extremely low noise floor , you're
probably better off thinking "that guy is nuts !!" but I really enjoy being able to hear the way music scales in different sized Concert Halls ! Sennheiser's "one size,fits all" scaled soundstaging didn't cut it for me !
 
My apologies if my references to my "Steveheiser HD800" are never intended to diminish what someone has mentioned about their
HD800. It's just Steve being Steve ! (& I guess I'm a little proud of how the headphones are working for me ! yeah I know I'm a weirdo)

 

[stec74]

  I'm not sure I expressed myself properly. It's not the stand (whatever that might be), but the PIN of the Tube that broke. I think it might be WD40 and fatigue and maybe a nudge too many or taking it in and out too often. The integrity of the vacuum isn't affected the tube can still be used... but its' not as securely fastened to the base anymore, if I were to use it.

Lorenzo is a hard man to get (or stay) in touch with. I had a tube-doctor in Vienna look it over, but wasn't entirely satisfied with the result...

I really hope you will solve your problem, there not so much other amps like your out there, anyway be carefull when you use it in this conditions...
So... I suppose to recognize your picture profile... is she Youn Sun Nah, maybe ? she is an incredible performer !

 

[jlaurson]

... So... I suppose to recognize your picture profile... is she Youn Sun Nah, maybe ? she is an incredible performer !

 
Nope, it's Zhu Xiao-Mei, my favorite Bach-performer on the piano.

 

 

[inseconds99]

Can anyone compare the Schiit Valhalla 2 with the Violectric V100/200? Looking to connect my HD800 to one of those amps and am tossed up as to which one to get.

 

[stec74]

Hi guys, here we are! This is the new fatigue from Estro Armonico labs :
 

 
 
Let me say, it is a really really good piece of hardware, but hard and simple at the same time to describe...
After an intense weekend of testing between CD, SACD and high resolution wav files from Naim and Chesky a bell sounds in my head!

Now, imagine to have a standard audio chain like: source + amp + headphone
Now, try being able to virtually subtract the amp for an ideally equation like: source + ------- + headphones
and you will have an idea of ​​that to which I found myself in front of ... virtually a single cable connecting the source to the headphones!

Of course I know that this is absolutely not possible, technically speaking, but it is the closest thing to the concept that I'm trying to express!
The amp is as fast as an high class solid state and totally transparent, so trasparent that all there is to the source is transmitted through headphones, without any apparent manipolation, in the better or the worse.
Sorry, but I still lack the experience needed to best describe with words what I've heard with the ears...

In short, do you have good records? Put on "Vibratanghissimo" CD or some good Jazz or Classical records and you will understand what I mean!
Do you have any bad cuts? You'll hear everything that is actually recorded on the disc and how it was done with feets!
Is your disc a beautiful engraving, but the vocalist's microphone hissing? If the entry has been recorded so there is nothing that to hide it, and you exactly know how the HD800 manage this this!
The HD800 are a little sparkly with non perfect discs, but the ampli is not out of break-in yet, so lets see what will happen in next days...
 
Shall we spend some word on basses too? OK, who said that the HD800 does not have it could change his mind easily now. They are awsome, deep and finally impact they should have!
This is what I can say on it after just two days of tests and 80 ours of use at its back (150h is the minimum) and more are to come, but let me say the expression "a wire with gain" may have found a reason to be ...
 

 

[alvin sawdust]

^^ There is no information about this amp on their website.
 
Looks great though.