[Toonartist]

With the right tubes, I have gotten the Aegis to stage better (more open in all directions) than the HA300MK2. I actually think due to the better balance, clarity and speed of the Aegis, that you can get bigger changes with tube rolls.

Have you ever seen the submersibles with a glass dome turret that you can pop your head in to get a 360 underwater view?

Sometimes when I pop my headphones on and close my eyes, it feels like a similar experience but being surrounded by sound instead of water. I can make out the different layers in different locations around me. Even the small samples.

Some live albums make you feel like you’re there. There’s an international genre album called “Musique de nuit “ which is recorded on the roof top of a home in an African city and you hear all the ambient background sounds in addition to the music. Very atmospheric with the Aegis!

 

[Pharmaboy]

For stage depth I found the ECC35 to provide better than the 5691. They're different in other ways including bass and mids etc.

With the ER274b, EL38 and ECC35 slim base I couldn’t find the words so at the time I was testing them I had draw to what I was hearing, what it felt like. At the time I was listening to some International acoustic genre with multiple artists at different distances. Sketched as an oval stage around the head. Size of small ovals relates to how loud, impression of distance of the artist from the listener. Hopefully it makes sense to someone other than me

I took a Rorschach test once. Two of the cards looked exactly like these.

My answer each time: "UFO"

(seriously, these sketches speak volumes to me)

 

[Alenotta]

As a non-Aegis owner, I can't compare between the units, but I found that swapping out my mains fuse to a Synergistic Purple stretched the stage vertically and that opened up some clarity in those murky lower mids you referred to in the HA-300. I know you sued the model up from the Purple and that's in play too. I have an Audio Magic M-1 in the Stratus and that actually made the bottom end more hefty in the Stratus, unexpectedly, while also stretching the stage vertically. So there's hope for you @JeffMann.

Yeah I have the M1 fuse in my HA-300mk ii. It sounds great. I haven't messed with fuses or anything in the Aegis. The Aegis is much less finicky than the HA-300mkii so far. My particular HA-300 has had buzz issues and has blown some tubes and fuses.

 

[Pharmaboy]

My writing has become so atrocious that I can barely read my own writing.

(as an aside)

I'm writing a story where 2 characters communicated sparingly via cursive, knowing that the 3rd character, whom they are actively deceiving, cannot read cursive. I had to find a number of cursive fonts diverse enough to give each of those two characters a visual identity, while also being readable.

The secret joke of the story is that my cursive is so awful even I can't read it. Then again, my cursive always sucked.

 

[Alenotta]

I just switched between HA-300mk ii and Aegis to try to get the freshest memory. The HA-300 has a smoother overall sound with my current load out of the WE tubes. The Aegis has just as much mid bass punch, but it is more controlled and focused. The treble clarity is more noticeable on the Aegis. It is kind of a toss up to be honest imo. Which is frankly amazing.

 

[theveterans]

With the right tubes, I have gotten the Aegis to stage better (more open in all directions) than the HA300MK2. I actually think due to the better balance, clarity and speed of the Aegis, that you can get bigger changes with tube rolls.

Yep. Aegis on its own though is naturally wide and open and its agility to resolve microtransients and layer them on that wide open space is what makes it special

 

[Toonartist]

Yeah I have the M1 fuse in my HA-300mk ii. It sounds great. I haven't messed with fuses or anything in the Aegis. The Aegis is much less finicky than the HA-300mkii so far. My particular HA-300 has had buzz issues and has blown some tubes and fuses.

Out of every amp I’ve owned I don’t think there is one that beats the Aegis for noise floor. If it wasn’t for the glow, you wouldn’t know it’s on… even with the dial ramped up!

 

[theveterans]

Out of every amp I’ve owned I don’t think there is one that beats the Aegis for noise floor. If it wasn’t for the glow, you wouldn’t know it’s on… even with the dial ramped up!

Having heard the DNA Supernaut, I’d say Aegis is a close second on the noise floor performance

 

[Alenotta]

Out of every amp I’ve owned I don’t think there is one that beats the Aegis for noise floor. If it wasn’t for the glow, you wouldn’t know it’s on… even with the dial ramped up!

Yes! It is astoundingly quiet for a tube amp. I had a hard time using dynamics on the HA-300mk ii on H gain. Aegis is dead quiet. That really helps with separation too.

 

[zach915m]

Yes! It is astoundingly quiet for a tube amp. I had a hard time using dynamics on the HA-300mk ii on H gain. Aegis is dead quiet. That really helps with separation too.

For how much wattage/gain the Aegis has it is shockingly silent. All my amps that are just as quiet don't output the same juice so to speak.

 

[AcousticMatt]

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.

 

[Wes S]

I always trust Wes too haha. He and I were HA-300mk ii buds and we are rolling over to Aegis buds.

 

[RoThe]

Which output impedance setting are you guys going for on the Caldera? I feel like MID is the way to go for now.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Which output impedance setting are you guys going for on the Caldera? I feel like MID is the way to go for now.

For 1/4", I use Med, for XLR Low.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I've never used tubes that have centering pins before. I ordered a quad of Ei KT90's, and they are all missing the centering pin. The seller put this note:

"These tubes are missing their stems. There has been a white mark made on the side of the tubes where the key should be located."​

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Will it be obvious how to put these in the Aegis?