I had a pair of tubes on my OG Pendant that would start buzzing like crazy if my hand was near them. I noticed it when adjusting the volume. It was so loud I couldn’t help but laugh about it. And thankfully they were cheapo ebay tubes I took a shot on due to the low price.
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How does the sound change with them? One thing I love about the 1626 is how smooth and effortless the sound is. Especially the bass response. It’s not as aggressive or impactful as my Pendant SE, but has a more natural sound to me. Would the increased power affect the forwardness/attack of the amp? Would it sound more like the Pendant in that regard? Sorry I struggle putting into words what I hear. Would it punch harder and faster?
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I have tried them on both the Kenzie and Kenzie Encore amps. Own both. I like the 1626 flavor, but the 12b4a is not bad. It does give more output wattage. You can also use octal input tube 2C52 for a bit more gain over the 12SL7. You can also roll novel 12A_7 input tubes with adapters.
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Please take my comments with a giant grain of salt. I have far more experience with Ampsandsound (“A” going forward) than I do DNA. I owned a DNA Sonett 1 at the same time as my Pendant SE, and spent a few weeks listening to both, alternating between the two. I eventually traded the Sonett and Bottlehead Crack + cash for my current Kenzie Ovation. I also owned an OG Pendant, an early generation model. I’ve heard the Starlet and Stratus at events, but have not owned either. So you can see my experience is heavily on the A side of things. I’m also horrible at comparisons, but i’ll try anyways haha.
All my comments pertain to the few weeks I spent directly comparing the Sonett to the Pendant SE. All lossless audio via either Qubuz or Tidal running to a Bifrost 2 dac, and into either a Focal Clear, or one my ZMFs at the time (Eikon, Atticus, VC).
Noise - Since noise has been a hot topic today, lets start there. The DNA was much quieter. I had one bad tube that came with it that buzzed, but swapping it out with a new one took all noticeable noise away. Very impressive imo. The Pendant SE is much quieter than the OG, but it’s still a bit noisy on high tap with the VC. The Eikon and Atticus are not as sensitive and communicated less noise. It was there, but at a level you had to actively listen for it. On the low tap the amp was just as quiet as the DNA. The Starlet and Stratus were also quiet, from memory. DNA wins the noise comparison easily.
Highs - Both my Sonett and Pendant lean on the more neutral side of tube amps, but go about it differently. The Sonett was brighter, with more accentuated highs. I’m treble sensitive, so get the salt out again. But for my ears, the Sonett was just the more fatiguing amp by a slight margin. The Starlet I heard had very neutral tubes in it, per the owner, and I also found it pretty bright compared to my Pendant. But the Stratus I heard was SMOOTH! Not harsh at all, with a bell like clarity that was quite impressive. It’s highs surpassed the Pendant’s easily. Smoother and better clarity and tone/timbre.
Mids - Not much to say here, both trade blows here and there but come out about even overall. The Sonett was a bit more forward, the Pendant more in line with the other frequencies. Both had good warmth, detail, and tone. Can’t remember much about the mids on the Starlet/Stratus, other than I liked them and walked away very impressed and jealous I didn’t own one. 
Bass - Like the highs, bass on the Sonett was a bit elevated. It hit harder and faster than the Pendant. The Pendant’s bass isn’t far behind in speed, but couldn’t quite match the slam the Sonett exhibited. That being said, I found the Sonett’s bass a bit unnaturally boosted, whereas the Pendant’s bass sounds completely natural to me. Speed, impact/slam, and decay all sound more natural and lifelike on the Pendant. Not much recall on the Starlet/Stratus again, other than I wanted one after listening.
Soundstage - Both give me a very holographic stage with great three dimensional space and separation. The Sonett had a wider stage, and by a fair margin, but did not have as much depth/layering. The Pendant’s stage was smaller but more natural and coherent. Neither disappointed. Both the Stratus and Starlet amazed me in regards to soundstage. Much bigger, with more vivid seperation and placement. Where two sounds might sound like they’re in the same general direction/location with the Pendant, the DNAs would give me a much clearer idea exactly where they were, and the space between them. No blurring or overlapping. Impressive.
Macro viewpoint - The Sonett initially impressed me more, it was a bit more forward and aggressive. But in time, especially after back to back comparisons, I found it to be less integrated and natural sounding compared to the Pendant. It’s individual frequency ranges competed for my attention, and seemed to almost be independent of each other. I would start to focus on the highs, then something in the bass would draw my attention, and then the treble again. The Pendant imo better integrated it’s complete frequency response into a coherent and natural presentation. Nothing stood out, and that’s good. From lows to mids to highs, everything sounded in harmony. The Sonett seemed to be competing with itself for my attention. After a few weeks with the Sonett I knew it would be sold. The Stratus and Starlett were demos so I can’t say anything definitive about them other than they seemed more natural, like the Pendant.
The Sonett was one of the first amps Donald sold commercially, and has been replaced by far more capable models, so please take this comparison into context. I was comparing a first gen DNA amp that was over 10 years old to Justin’s brand new design that wasn’t even on the market yet (mine is a prototype with the final parts/specs). It’s not a fair fight. And to be fair, my demos of the Starlet and Stratus left me wanting them badly. If i had more brains and patience, I’d get on the wait list.
Bonus comparison, as all the noise talk had me bust out my Pendant SE and run it next to the Ovation for some back and forth testing (as i type this!). The Pendant is faster, more aggressive, and hits harder. The Ovation is clearer, smoother, and has a more euphonic tone, without sounding slow or rolled off. The 300ohm tap and the Auteur has me stopping what i’m doing to listen, it’s incredibly engaging. Boomy a bit, but man is the Auteur fun on it! On the Pendant’s 100ohm tap the Auteur is a bit brighter up top, with a bit more forward mids. Bass is slamming harder, but lacks the bloom of the Ovation. Both sound great, the Ovation just sounds better to me. The Pendant’s noise floor is not bad, especially with the Auteur (on my head now). It really doesn’t like my monitor for some reason. I moved it under my desk since it’s only doing short time comparo duty, and the noise floor lowered noticeably. it’s very environment sensitive. if noise is an issue for you, i’d look elsewhere honestly.
Hope some of that helps. Wish i had more DNA experience to share.
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I can’t find the flag for this post…I KID…I KID!!!
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Thanks for the impressions. I use the 12AT/X7 exclusively. Have tried only the RCA 12SL7s. I should give the 12B4As a shot just for some variety.
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Suggestion from Justin: Raytheon 2C52 input tube. It’s an octal, and you can find them on ebay for $20-25. I’ve had good luck with the ones I’ve bought. All have tested strong on my tube tester. I’ve tried several 12A_7 variants including the four digit ones. The novels are definitely more modern tubes.
I think the 12B4a tubes were used in TV tuners.
https://www.vacuumtubeaudio.design/12b4-a
The 12b4a are inexpensive - I bought several at $5 each. The adapters were purchased on ebay. About $10 each.
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Yeah the 2C52s are also quite inexpensive. Did you like them better than the 12A_7 variants?
I don’t have much experience with the 12A_7 variants in my Kenzie Ovation, but I do have two 12AX7 tubes. I generally find that the military variants of the 12SL7 or 12SN7 experience less interference than the non-military variants and sound better in my amp. For example, I have had bad luck buying RCA tubes off etsy/ebay, with about 20% having microphonics/noise/interference. My current favorite pre-amp tubes for the Kenzie Ovation are JAN/Sylvania 12SL7 or 12SN7GT.
I have a 2C52 and also enjoy the sound, but generally use this higher gain tube with my HE560 planers vs. ZMF Autuer or 600 ohm Beyer DT880. I hope this helps.
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Just took delivery of my Kenzie Ovation, and my first reaction is utter happiness!
Waiting for delivery of my ZMF Aeolus, but in the meantime driving this new amp with my Focal Clear MG, which have a 55 ohm impedance. Any suggestions or experience on which tap would work best on the Kenzie? I can choose from Low/16/32/100/High.
I know I’ll test it out myself but wondering what’s worked best for all of you with Focals.
(Also, while I know I need to turn off the amp before attaching/changing sources, is there any reason to turn it off before switching taps?)
Thanks!
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Low tap for Focals definitely.
Trying different taps is part of the game and of the enjoyment and you’ll find your own sweet spot.
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I generally turn the volume knob down to zero when switching taps. I seem to recall someone telling me this can prevent shorts when inserting the headphone plug. Turning down the volume to zero also avoids major volume swings when switching from the 300 ohm to low Z tap.
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This is a very good suggestion in order to avoid damaging drivers and ears.
Working at Schwebung Mastering Studio in Europe it is the first lesson boss gave me and it is precious.
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Wow, thank you so much for the thoughtful reply! With these things being so very expensive and for the most part inaccessible until purchase these kind of insights are valuable for those of us shopping around. Thanks a lot
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Not sure I’d place them over one another as a group. I have a couple of sets of Telefunken 12AT7s that rate as my favs.
Reminds me of Alice Cooper’s ‘School’s Out’ - “Can’t salute ya, can’t find a flag”
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Don’t need to turn for sources or taps.
If using an extension cable you’d unplug the extension cable but in normal use can leave in without issue.
Also with the focal. Try the 32ohm. Leo Kelly best sound. Ultimately try and use what works for your ears.
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You haven’t led me wrong yet. Thanks!
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Here are some impressions after my first week with my ampsandsound Kenzie Ovation.
This thing is built absolutely rock-solid, yet isn’t unwieldy and easily fits on a side shelf (as you can see). I also now have a Pelican case that is big enough to transport my grandchildren.
The Kenzie is fed by my Chord Hugo TT2 DAC, which also serves as its own solid-state headphone amp, so I can easily compare sound from this common DAC source. I’ve spent most of my time this week using my new ZMF Aeolus, though my impressions carry across to my more limited time using my Focal Clear MGs.
First - I was concerned about noise floor - not because of Justin’s work but because of more general tube amp worries. I shouldn’t have worried, because this amp is (to my 62-year-old ears) completely, 100% noiseless. Not a buzz, not anything. Zero. I made a point of moving it as far away as I could from the Chord DAC and my computer and my powered Audioengine desktop speakers, and that certainly didn’t hurt. But if the tubes didn’t glow, I wouldn’t know if the Kenzie were on or off.
As for the sound - I am absolutely stunned at the sound quality. I don’t have a ton of experience with tube amps (I spent a short while with the Hagerman Tuba and the Cavelli Liquid Platinum hybrid), but compared to the sound coming out of the Hugo HP amp, the words that stay in my mind are “commanding presence.” Soundstage is wide, separation is precise, and there is something muscular about the presentation as compared with the Hugo solid state (which in any other world without the Kenzie would be absolutely beautiful and more than enough for me).
It’s a great marriage between the Kenzie and the ZMF Aeolus. The sound is warm and enveloping yet still fully detailed and sharp. I’ve played with the five taps the Kenzie provides and may be leaning towards the 100-ohm tap as my favorite. It just adds a little more pop and dimensionality than the 32-ohm tap, but we’re talking by degrees. The High-Z tap oversaturates and blooms the sound just a tiny bit, particularly in bass-heavy tracks, but that may be more in comparison to the other taps than a measure of the absoulute SQ. Certainly I initially favored the 32-ohm tap and only by spending more time did I land on the 100-ohm tap (for now). I suspect I will use different taps for different genres - the sparer the arrangement, the more I move up the tap ladder. (Is that a common experience for others?)
I am a newbie to the field, as you can tell from the amateurish descriptions above, but all I can tell you is that the Kenzie takes me to that ideal state we all talk about, where equipment melts away and recedes and you are just left inside the music.
From what I can see and from what Justin told me (he is SO generous with his time), the Kenzie is not a tube-roller’s Nirvana - you can have a lot more fun with the Mogwai SE. But for someone like me who wants to set it and forget it, I can’t imagine any other amp taking me deeper into the music or providing greater pleasure.
I hope this helps anyone considering an ampsandsound purchase or wondering if it can possibly be worth the investment. It is.
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