Wonder how Aegis compares to 300b stuff like Envy, Wa23 and Red October
I've been listening to Aegis, WA23 and Envy a lot lately. @LOrdGwyn is sending me some killer NOS tubes to try with the Aegis, and right now I'm using the upgraded set Zach sent me recently. I'll eventually post a review of Aegis after I give the NOS tubes a nice while to take in their sound, but, in the meantime....
The Envy has completely transformed for me since I've got a better source (Innuos ZENith and the Holo May KTE). It always sounded great in ways - an awesome weight to the sound, very wide soundstage, very "big" sounding with all the elements in the soundstage, but... the midrange and emotional connection wasn't there for me. Now with the Innuos/May, the emotional connection is insane. It's interesting how changing these thing have shifted it for me. This was all before changing tubes, too... but I do have WE3000Bs in right now. Envy is a very different sound from the Aegis and WA23. How I hear people talk about "the 300B sound" is how I hear the Envy. Wide soundstage, weight to the notes, it's got its own vibe. I like it a lot. Oh, and realism, I'm noticing even more with the May and Envy. It's pretty incredible.
WA23 has been my favorite since I got it about a year and a half ago. The midrange is magic on it, and it sounds very hi-fi at the same time, so technically and emotionally it's really beautiful. Lately though, I've been preferring listening to the Envy mainly because it's been like getting a new amp. Interestingly, the amount of details and texture on the Envy is beyond Aegis and even WA23, and I didn't really notice that before when I was using my other DACs (even the Weiss DAC502!). I still really like the WA23 though. I highly recommend giving it a listen if you haven't! Caldera, Caldera Closed and any ZMF for that matter, sound amazing on it.
Aegis sounds closest to WA23 tonally, but it's got its own thing. WA23 almost sounds like a souped up version of Aegis in ways. Bass is tighter, layering is even better, and the soundstage is bigger. There's something in the imaging that sounds very liquid to me on the Aegis and even more engaging compared to the WA23 and Envy. Voices are intoxicating and focused in a way even more-so on the Aegis versus the WA23, even though WA23 is really good there. Details and layering are really good on the Aegis, but it's the unique midrange focus - like voices, saxophone, trumpet, etc. that sound so engaging and the liquid staging. The Aegis sounds little brighter too versus WA23, Envy. It's not bright generally, generally I'd say it sounds warm, but there's a lift there that makes the WA23 and Envy sound touches warmer by comparison.
Don't have the Red October, but... and I find this really interesting - I've heard it twice at CanJams and it was one of the few instances that I didn't like the sound, flat-out. I tried it with the LCD-5, Susvara and Caldera and every time it sounded annoyingly bright to my ears. Sorry Red October fans, don't hate me!
@AcousticMatt maybe can chime in
Can anyone speak to how the Susvara is on the Aegis?
I've noticed that for heavy metal music, the Susvara on the Pendant SE gets a bit sibilant and almost unpleasant to listen to. But for other genres (classical, classic rock) it can be amazing
Aegis doesn't struggle to run the Susvara - it sounds great. But, if you own Susvara, you know you're looking to scale it. Envy scales it the best, then WA23, then Aegis in my experience.