I find the tonality I get with the Aegis more lifelike than I did with the HA300MK2. Tonality and timbre are the two most important aspects of sound for me.
ZMF Aegis Official Thread
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The Aegis has landed.
The Chinese sure love there plastic wraps
What headphones are you using with Aegis @RazQ ?
Yes it has some heft to it
And it needs quite some real estate on the desk.
The Elise is less than half the amp of the Aegis.
Yes it has some heft to it
And it needs quite some real estate on the desk.
The Elise is less than half the amp of the Aegis.
Don't forget the pentaconn connector has a voltage divider for IEMs! Probably want to use 1/4" low setting for the RAD-0.
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It's been a long time since I've heard an HA300mk2, so I can't really compare.
JeffMann
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Could you please expand on what you mean by using the term "lifelike" by describing more precisely the specific changes in tonality/timbre that you are experiencing with the Aegis amp that you could not accomplish with the Cayin HA300MK2 amp? Also, now that you are acquiring a greater variety of tubes, how much do they affect the overall tonality/timbre of the Aegis amp?
Jeff.
JeffMann
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My Cayin Ha300Mk2 amp has fuses that will protect the amp from damage if there is a short (or other catastrophic failure) of the output 300B tubes.
Why does the Aegis amp not have fuses to protect the amp from damage if the output tubes short?
Jeff.
Why does the Aegis amp not have fuses to protect the amp from damage if the output tubes short?
Jeff.
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GumbyDammit223
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In college (40 years ago) my notes were almost typewriter quality. When I first started working at a real job, my lab books were slightly less precise because the notes and data were more hurried, but still all handwritten. Fast forward to today. 99% of my data is in Excel. I still have a lab book, but it's more a journal now allowing me to vent about frustrations. My writing has become so atrocious that I can barely read my own writing.When i'm testing stuff i keep excel open and just jot down notes as i'm listening. it's very eclectic to read later, but does help with sonic memory issues. i live in excel at work so that's my weapon of choice, but word or even an open email to yourself works well also. i tried handwriting and half the time i can't read my own writing
side note/interesting take - for those like me who type 99% of my "written" communication, do you find your ability to actually handwrite is diminished? my kids write better/neater than me! but when younger i wrote nicely. honestly i rarely use a pen anymore. i work in excel and emails all day long so typing dominates my "written" communication. just curious if anyone else noticed something similar.
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There is a fuse holder built into the IEC inlet. It's right below where the power cord plugs in.
JeffMann
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What is the purpose of that fuse? Does it protect the amp from damage if the output tubes short? I am asking that question because the Cayin HA300Mk2 amp also has another single fuse near the power cord input, which I presume is there to protect the power supply. However, each 300B tube also has a protective fuse.
Jeff.
There is a mains fuse in the IEC inlet, but there are not dedicated inline fuses in the output stage. The mains fuse is mainly for safety reasons should there be a short inside the amplifier. It's not standard for autobiased output stages to have inline fuses, I personally only do that in fixed bias amplifiers where a failure of the grid bias supply could cause high current in the output stage. A spontaneous short of an output tube is extremely rare. There are some pretty low quality new production 300B tubes being made nowadays, which might be more prone to failure. If the tubes being used in Aegis are tested, it's very unlikely to occur.
Not good at describing things, I am more an engineer than an artist with flair! But to my ears with Susvara the Envy is better, but we are not talking night and day here. However, my Aegis and tubes are still burning in so things can possibly improve over the next 50 hours. Also, tube rolling in both could change things either way! My chain is Innuos, hms and Dave. I have Dave volume at -10db for both and Aegis volume is 4pm.
My conclusion…Aegis is better value for money. But I am keeping both!
My conclusion…Aegis is better value for money. But I am keeping both!
The HA300MK2 has more lower mids emphasis, of which creates a bit of haze. This is only obvious after hearing the Aegis directly after. The Aegis still has good lower mid warmth and weight, but it's not overdone and blown out like with the HA300MK2. You can certainly use tubes to get the Aegis to have more lower mid bloom, but you just can't remove any from the HA300MK2. So, I think the Aegis is just a better sounding amp overall. When I listen to live music it's definitely warm, but not hazy.
The Aegis has better tonal balance top to bottom, and nothing overshadows anything else in the FR, or causes any haze. It's kind of hard to put into words, but once you hear both amps back to back, it's apparent that the Aegis just sounds more right and real, or one might say more lifelike.
I have a RAD-0 and a Mod House Argon, an ZMF Aeolus and Bokeh, a T1 1st Gen. And a DT880 from Beyerdynamic, HD650 and 660S with ZMF Pads.
