I look forward to the impressions. At some point I should try it or the 800S. They come up for sale often enough.
Howls is on my Netflix list. Started watching it but got pulled away and havent had a chance to get back to it yet.
Cant help but notice the pizza box of tube boxes!
I’ve owned both HD800S and 800 and I think I much prefer a modded HD800 than 800S. Stock HD800 on the other hand… yeah lol 
Howl’s moving castle is my favorite Miyazaki film! Soundtrack is awesome too
haha yeah I just stocked up on some tubes, but I’m good now. 
I found the sound I like and I don’t plan on switching. I use slightly different tube sets for HD800 vs. JAR650, but they both share most of the same tube combination
It has come to my attention that the High Z output impedance on the Pendant has been changed to 100 ohms, which is in line with the Starlett’s 1/4" out IEC setting.
Ive got a fair bit of cheap ebay tubes coming (preamp and matched power pairs). Just looking for something that works well as a backup for the stock tubes I have. If I find something magical (doubt it) then great. The back up power tubes I got, which I initially thought were good, went a bit wonky for me after some burn in, or my noodle adjusted the wrong way, so Im trying to find something that balances out like what I have now.
The only tube Im really curious to try is the 5u4g I got coming - its at the border so its anywhere from a few days to a month wait.
Wait, what??
Was there a change slipped in?
Also, did you mention you were getting the Starlett prototype to demo next?
Zach mentioned it in an email exchange this week. I was surprised too and appreciated his clarification. He didn’t say when the change was effective.
I’m demoing the Starlett soon here in LA. I believe it’s the standard model, and not a prototype per se.
I do remember reading that a prototype was initially used for meets but I cant see him doing that now, so you will probably get the real deal. The prototype that was making the rounds apparently didnt change when it went official so it wouldnt matter anyway. The guts will likely be the same even if the casing or something similar aint. @tommytakis might know better than me.
Although I realize you didnt mean it like this, there is only one model of Starlett, standard suggests that upgrade options are available. Donald feels that the amp is as good as it gets for what he wants and I dont think will mod it for personal request. I asked him about it once as a general question, not that I had an intention of modding it. Just clarifying, not sniping at all. 
I wasn’t aware of his prior use of a prototype, thanks.
None taken at all, thanks for clarifying! I abhor ambiguity and lack of clarity. He also gave me a similar response when I asked about preamp outputs. You gotta admire his approach.
I think he may mod the Stellaris though, he does have different models for it, and will do custom stuff like mono blocks I believe. Big $$$.
I heard both the prototype and the finalized version. There shouldn’t be any difference in sound. I think the only difference was that the prototype was missing the silver front plate because he didn’t want to reveal the name of the amp before finalizing.
Oh I see. I think I’ve seen a photo on SBAF showing his personal mono block setup, wowza.
He offered the Stellaris to demo with immediate availability, but I politely declined as I didn’t want to un-hear anything as I likely wouldn’t be purchasing it anytime soon.
There it is…flexin.
I have seen the price. I’m good since I can’t do speakers. 
I know what the Stellaris starts at. I’m good because it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
Stellaris is something I could do but want to wait a bit. See where this headphone thing takes me.
I don’t think they were for him. Think he made them for someone who then had to sell them and that was the for sale pic.
Oh okay, got it. Your recollection is better than mine.
I will be frank with you and all of you here, I’ve heard the Stellaris and Starlett side by side at a meet. It’s really not that much different. Stellaris is of course more resolving and dynamic, but Starlett gets pretty darn close, which is why I fell in love with this amp. Don’t let the Rich farts convince you otherwise.
Of course, if you love the sound and want the absolute best, by all means go for it, no judgement zone here. Because I would be lying if I said I was never tempted to pick up a used Stellaris 
This makes me feel better about this purchase. I’ve been having some buyers regret without even hearing the Starlett yet because of how grand everyone makes the Stellaris sound!
Edit: Side note, I asked Donald about timelines since someone dropped out and he said due to chassis delay the timelines are gonna be about the same. Just in case anyone was curious
Im aware that it won’t be a massive gap. That’s what makes the Starlett great. But there’s still a bit of one… the law of diminishing returns. Grumble.
Maybe those eBay tubes I got coming will make me hear God and it won’t matter anymore.
