Cross posting from the Ampsandsound thread as it's very relevant to the CC. I got a new amp, the Ampsandsound Jinx, it uses many of the same tubes I use in the Aegis, so it makes a wonderful compliment to it. And it sounds good! Brief overview vs the Aegis. The Jinx is more intimate sounding, but denser and weightier sounding. Less diffuse and ethereal. Similar technical stuff, just different delivery and tone. Sweeter and more powerful sounding, but not as open or layered. They make great compliments.
Jinx update - Planars - Last night and this morning been running my 3 remaining planars through it. That would be the ZMF Caldera Closed (CC), ZMF Ori, and Audeze LCD2C.
I won't spend much time on the Ori or LCD2C other than it powers them with ease, and makes them sound great. I've lost interest in my LCD2C since getting an Ori and will be selling it. I don't listen to the Ori much as it's kinda a collectors item for me. It sounds great for a Fostex mod, but there's more enjoyable headphones in my lineup. Que the CC!
Before the Jinx, my favorite amp for the CC was my Stratus. It's a meaty and powerful amp that made the planar CC sound full and weighty. The Aegis runs it well, but is a bit leaner overall. So when hearing the CC on the Jinx it immediately reminded me of the Stratus' heft and weight. The bass slams hard, but has just enough decay to satisfy. On leaner amps with less decay and weight I get kinda bored with the CC, unless i'm using it for analyzing new music or some odd sound deep in the mix I can't identify. Sadly my OCD drives me down that rabbit hole more often than I'd like to admit. But I digress.
Once I put the Ori and LCD2C away I sat down around 10pm last night for a listen. I started with an old favorite, Metallica - And Justice For All. Not a great recording, and IMO pretty bad on leaner headphones. On the Stratus the CC hits hard enough and lingers long enough to be enjoyable. Same here on the Jinx. Bass hit hard, really hard. Surprisingly hard. Guitars had that nice crunch and reverb/distortion to really make those riffs resonate. And vocals are forward enough to not lose presence amongst the bass/guitars. I was totally engaged. And that's saying a lot as I don't normally like the CC for metal. It's not bad but the AC and BC just do it better per my tastes. But I didn't feel the urge to switch. A few words kept floating through my mind as the tracks went by: density and power. Hmmmmm
Density, what the hel does that mean? I find planars to be lighter sounding and more ethereal. Less solid, weight, and dense sounding. Notes hit and dissipate so fast it's ghostly...ethereal. It's a more delicate approach to sound reproduction. An approach I tend to not like. But the Jinx brings a lot of density to the notes, giving them palpable weight. I'm rough on planars but I was impressed. Heavily impressed.
Power, more audiophile blathering? Yeah sorry. But what I mean here is the Jinx has power to spare. I was only at 9oclock on the volume and the CC was loud. But not just loud, any amp can get it loud. It was well controlled and driven. The amp had total control of the drivers. There was no excess bloom, no slop, no loose bass, nothing out of place. What I mean is the Jinx had the power to control those planar drivers and did it with ease. Everything was precise and detailed, with no hints of being underpowered.
I won't bother with the rest of my listening, but it was about 2am when I begrudgingly powered down and went to bed. 7am and here I am with the Jinx at work doing it all over again. Sorry boss....
PS shout out to Justin for recommending the Bendix 6106 (5Y3 variant), it's a killer rectifier. I was using an RCA black plate 5U4G and was pretty happy, but the Bendix seems to bring more power/control, and a sweeter tone.
And speaking of tone one quick note: The Jinx is very sweet sounding. It's not as euphonic as the Kenzie, but it's not neutral or lean sounding at all. It's a wonderful modern tube sweetness that really elevates my listening enjoyment. Back to the music...
Someone asked for more Shedua pics, right? Got these during the initial run, and they're wonderful. Finally found the 'phone to give my Rognirs the boot. I was on the fence about the CC's cup design, but the early Shedua pictures sold me, and I'm so glad I got them. They're a bit more subtle in real life (these pics were taken in bright indirect light. First photo is closest to how they look in normal indoor lighting), which suits my preferences. The wood is beautiful with the hand-wiped varnish. Reminds me of the finish on my old Atrium Opens, which was the hand-wiped wax. They have a more satiny shine than super shiny (Eikon in Cocobolo, sprayed lacquer) or the sort of glossy, "thicker" (Verite Closed in Koa, Tru Oil varnish) type.
