[solfanger]

I havent experienced some of the issues you mentioned but I use the default Auteur pads. I can say that due to the piss poor production values inherent in a lot of metal recordings, the VC really exposes the shortcomings. This is the double edged sword that comes with an extremely revealing headphone.

To be honest, that's most likely it also i need to try other pads for sure. Well recorded stuff sounds excellent on it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on tubes with the vc.

is it an issue with the soundstage being too large and diffuse compared to what you're used to? or could it be you're hearing some of the bad production other headphones are smoothing out and hiding? your amp is more than enough for the VC so i don't see it being a power or synergy issue.

I believe the dac is to blame because it has too many filters, the majority of which cause things to be pushed back or recessed.
I fiddled around with it, and now it's much more forward and to my liking.
The details are all there, but I can't remove the feeling that the drivers are too far away from my ears with some songs.

 

[Monsterzero]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on tubes with the vc.

Well...tubes are the way to go, 100% with ZMF headphones, but that's coming from someone who enjoys the sound of tubes. Most likely you will get the opposite answer from someone who prefers solid state amping.

Like all products on the market, there is good and not so good tube amps out there. Unfortunately until I hear otherwise im inclined to declare the Glenn OTL unobtanium these days, so you would need to do your research into alternative choices.

In my review of the VC which is on page one of this thread, I discuss tube rolling for the VC vs. the VO. My personal preferences in a roll for the VC is a very hard hitting, tight sound....almost solid state like, whereas a gooey uber-tube sound is what I like for the VO. That is the beauty of tube amps and the ability to roll in the sound you prefer, and while some will claim you can achieve the same result with EQ, Ive yet to be able to EQ stage depth, width, height into the equation. With tubes you can, and much more.

You also need to factor in the cost of God-Tier NOS tubes which can exceed the cost of the amp itself, but its a rabbit hole you can choose to traverse or not. Is there a difference between the sound of a GE tube and a GEC tube? Yes, there is. A massive one especially on a well designed OTL amp, but you will pay dearly for that upgrade.

TL;DR

Tube amps can be more complicated and costly in the long run vs its solid state counterparts, but IMHO its worth it.

 

[nicholas1213]

Well...tubes are the way to go, 100% with ZMF headphones, but that's coming from someone who enjoys the sound of tubes. Most likely you will get the opposite answer from someone who prefers solid state amping.

Like all products on the market, there is good and not so good tube amps out there. Unfortunately until I hear otherwise im inclined to declare the Glenn OTL unobtanium these days, so you would need to do your research into alternative choices.

In my review of the VC which is on page one of this thread, I discuss tube rolling for the VC vs. the VO. My personal preferences in a roll for the VC is a very hard hitting, tight sound....almost solid state like, whereas a gooey uber-tube sound is what I like for the VO. That is the beauty of tube amps and the ability to roll in the sound you prefer, and while some will claim you can achieve the same result with EQ, Ive yet to be able to EQ stage depth, width, height into the equation. With tubes you can, and much more.

You also need to factor in the cost of God-Tier NOS tubes which can exceed the cost of the amp itself, but its a rabbit hole you can choose to traverse or not. Is there a difference between the sound of a GE tube and a GEC tube? Yes, there is. A massive one especially on a well designed OTL amp, but you will pay dearly for that upgrade.

TL;DR

Tube amps can be more complicated and costly in the long run vs its solid state counterparts, but IMHO its worth it.

I heard much about Glenn OTL. How about his el3n? Have you tried or heard VC with Glenn el3n?

 

[Monsterzero]

I heard much about Glenn OTL. How about his el3n? Have you tried or heard VC with Glenn el3n?

I havent had the pleasure myself but im sure @whirlwind could share his opinion of that combo.

 

[LoryWiv]

Like all products on the market, there is good and not so good tube amps out there. Unfortunately until I hear otherwise im inclined to declare the Glenn OTL unobtanium these days, so you would need to do your research into alternative choices.

I'm sorry to hear that, do we anticipate that may be a permanent situation? Both for his sake and the OTL community, I certainly hope not!

 

[nicholas1213]

I havent had the pleasure myself but im sure @whirlwind could share his opinion of that combo.

Feel tempted to try out tube amp since I am currently looking to replace my A90 (feed using hugo2).

Initially I had my eye on gsx mini, but thinking to open for tube as there are just so many positive feedback for tube pairing witj VC, and currently there is an used unit for Glenn el3n up for grab near my place (not cheap thou).

With slightly more money, there is also dna starlett, or I can buy new for feliks audio elise or euforia.

Options options...

 

[Monsterzero]

I'm sorry to hear that, do we anticipate that may be a permanent situation? Both for his sake and the OTL community, I certainly hope not!

I have zero idea TBH. All I know is that he has been missing from his thread for a very long time now. He got a new job that forced him to move and that was pretty much the last most of us have heard from him.

Another member spoke with him a few months ago and said Glenn was hoping to get back to building amps and being active in his thread again, but that was the last I heard.

He builds amazing sounding amps, so here's hoping he resurfaces sooner rather than later.

 

[Monsterzero]

currently there is an used unit for Glenn el3n up for grab near my place (not cheap thou).

Glenn's amps dont turn up for sale very often, and when they do they usually sell within a few hours.
When he was last building his wait time had ballooned to 9-12 months, coupled with the uncertainty of future builds from him I'd say jump on it if $ isnt an issue.

Of course a Donald North amp is pretty amazing sounding as well, so as you said "options, options"

 

[whirlwind]

I heard much about Glenn OTL. How about his el3n? Have you tried or heard VC with Glenn el3n?

I have not heard Glenn's 300B amp, but both the OTL and the EL3N amps are good.

It is sort off a toss up as to which one you may like better. I listen to my VC with all three amps in my sig, but the largest amount of head time with the VC
is with the OTL amp.

I use the EL3N amp more for my ZMF Ori and the LCD-4, but this is just my personal preference.

I agree with @Monsterzero that getting a new amp from Glenn at this point seems pretty unlikely unless something changes.
I also agree with him that while SS amps sound good with the VC that tubes get the edge IMO also and as he said you just can't EQ stage depth, width and height.

If the EL3N amp is close enough to you and you can listen, then that is what I would do...listen before buying.

My OTL amp has a nice black back round and tube rolling is very transparent on it.
The EL3N amp seems to take a good hour of listening before it sounds it's best, but there is no denying the sound once it has settled down.
The EL3N amp will cost more because of the output transformers are pretty pricey and the SET amp is only as good as the transformers used.

You don't have to roll tubes with the OTL amp, but most seem to go down this rabbit hole , at least to a certain point which can make your wallet much lighter.

Donald's amps should sound great with the VC as well, but I can't comment on the sound as I have never heard one.
It is great to have options.

 

[nicholas1213]

I have not heard Glenn's 300B amp, but both the OTL and the EL3N amps are good.

It is sort off a toss up as to which one you may like better. I listen to my VC with all three amps in my sig, but the largest amount of head time with the VC
is with the OTL amp.

I use the EL3N amp more for my ZMF Ori and the LCD-4, but this is just my personal preference.

I agree with @Monsterzero that getting a new amp from Glenn at this point seems pretty unlikely unless something changes.
I also agree with him that while SS amps sound good with the VC that tubes get the edge IMO also and as he said you just can't EQ stage depth, width and height.

If the EL3N amp is close enough to you and you can listen, then that is what I would do...listen before buying.

My OTL amp has a nice black back round and tube rolling is very transparent on it.
The EL3N amp seems to take a good hour of listening before it sounds it's best, but there is no denying the sound once it has settled down.
The EL3N amp will cost more because of the output transformers are pretty pricey and the SET amp is only as good as the transformers used.

You don't have to roll tubes with the OTL amp, but most seem to go down this rabbit hole , at least to a certain point which can make your wallet much lighter.

Donald's amps should sound great with the VC as well, but I can't comment on the sound as I have never heard one.
It is great to have options.

Wow! You own not one but TWO highly sought after Glenn's amp!

Yeah as far as I can tell, it is super rare to come across Glenn's amp in used market especially outside states. I have not seen even one gotl up for sale over here, perhaps I should not miss this chance.

I shall try to arrange a listen to see how it goes, if the owner is comfortable, else I may just have to bite the bullet! It is just so valuable to hear the actual user experience, thanks so much!

 

[Zachik]

I shall try to arrange a listen to see how it goes, if the owner is comfortable, else I may just have to bite the bullet! It is just so valuable to hear the actual user experience, thanks so much!

I am pretty confident you can easily sell the EL3N amp if you do not like it... I would say just buy it, try it at home for a while, and sell if you don't like it.

 

[funkur]

Well...tubes are the way to go, 100% with ZMF headphones, but that's coming from someone who enjoys the sound of tubes. Most likely you will get the opposite answer from someone who prefers solid state amping.

Like all products on the market, there is good and not so good tube amps out there. Unfortunately until I hear otherwise im inclined to declare the Glenn OTL unobtanium these days, so you would need to do your research into alternative choices.

In my review of the VC which is on page one of this thread, I discuss tube rolling for the VC vs. the VO. My personal preferences in a roll for the VC is a very hard hitting, tight sound....almost solid state like, whereas a gooey uber-tube sound is what I like for the VO. That is the beauty of tube amps and the ability to roll in the sound you prefer, and while some will claim you can achieve the same result with EQ, Ive yet to be able to EQ stage depth, width, height into the equation. With tubes you can, and much more.

You also need to factor in the cost of God-Tier NOS tubes which can exceed the cost of the amp itself, but its a rabbit hole you can choose to traverse or not. Is there a difference between the sound of a GE tube and a GEC tube? Yes, there is. A massive one especially on a well designed OTL amp, but you will pay dearly for that upgrade.

TL;DR

Tube amps can be more complicated and costly in the long run vs its solid state counterparts, but IMHO its worth it.

Really well said. I was always a Class-A solid state fan for both 2ch and Head-Fi, but then I fell for the VC's about a year ago. Since then, I dipped my toes in the tube amp search but did not want to commit to sourcing / rolling NOS tubes, and always found something to put me off going for something from LTA ($$ for the MZ3) or the ZMF Pendent (WAF, # of tubes) and needing a XLR to SE transformer for my balanced DAC. I'm already prone to going deep, deep into audio rabbit holes as my fuse and cable collection would tell you.

When the McIntosh MHA200 was announced in February, I put my name on my dealer's list and waited patiently. Now, I'm beyond thrilled with the VC's (I didn't know they could be THIS GOOD!). The input tubes are really the only ones that need to be rolled and are not expensive (NOS Mullard 12AT7), the XLR and SE in/outs sound identical, and to boot, my wife thinks it looks cool. I'm sure there are better amps out there, but for someone who doesn't want to tweak much, it's a nice option.

 

[YtseJamer]

FYI, there's a Glenn OTL available here.

 

[Monsterzero]

FYI, there's a Glenn OTL available here.

Hard to tell but its a GOTL that takes a tube for rectification like mine, which is really nice to have. It also appears to have only 2 power tube sockets, so using 6bx7s is probably not ideal.

The tubes he has listed are some highly sought after tubes. Bendix 6080s and 5998s are probably upwards of 750-1000.00 if bought separately. Bendix 6080s are my 2nd fav power tube in the GOTL behind 6bx7s for the VC. Both hit stupid hard, and both the Bendix and 5998s throw an extremely wide stage too.

someone is going to get a very nice amp, but the cost of the tubes will add a significant amount of cash to the equation I would assume.

 

[Tubewin]

Just some subjective impressions of the VC. The VC is noticeably better on live performance, movies, and even youtube browsing than the Stellia. The VC imparts weight and body to vocals, even on "youtube quality" files, which would otherwise sound harsh and very digital. The VC's also do well with well recorded music, but I've noticed that if the vocals on a track was already substantial and weighty, it could be slightly too much. The Stellia could take the weighty vocals and make them ethereal, while still not losing emphasis on the mid-range. When vocals in a track is light and airy to begin with, the VC's are awesome. It adds a touch of weight to the tone without sacrificing the nuances of a delicate track. I've found that the Stellia and the VC, despite both being closed backs, compliment each other. Verite, meaning truth, is really an apt name and descriptor of how the music is portrayed. And to think I almost sold them... would have been a mistake.