I think rolling is something I am NOT using as a deciding factor. I just wanna get something that is as ready to go as possible and listen to my music. In the not terribly distant future, I will add a decent solid-state amp, likely use the same DAC, and be in a good position to really experience a lot of different stuff.
It’s not so much tube rolling as the inherent personality of a tube amp. As I write I’m using the HD-6XX on the Crack. My best description is “Jello.” Tasty Jello, but not even remotely accurate to the source. It adds tons of harmonics and woo-woo, even with my “neutralish” tube selection. I could swap the tubes for brightness or warmth, but it’d still offer Jello.
My other tube hybrid amps range from merely polishing off the sharp edges (close to Class A solid state) to adding other kinds of tube characteristics. I hear the Lyr 3 as a tad overdriven/hot, by design.
YMMV.
You are moving through the audio hobby world at lightning speed, so you may want to stop and smell the roses.
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The more I think about it… this may be a not so insignificant point for the Pendant.
The Starlett, DNA entry level was 2K last I checked but a different amp than the Stratus with a more limited scope of cans it can drive due to decreased power output. What it can drive it does exceedingly well with.
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Ahhh, that makes sense. In my head, it was Stratus as the “lower” and the Starlett as the higher end. Just mixed 'em up. I think something similar can be said for the Kenzie as well. Could I plug in the Arya? Sure. Would it be as good a pairing as a ZMF or Focal Clear? Probs not. At least that’s what I am understanding.
I can’t remember where you are located. Before dropping this kind of cash, you may want to try a high end tube set up and see if what it does matters to you. As @generic pointed out, some of us have no patience for the quirks of tube amplification, and with your selection of headphones there are certainly solid state options in the $1000 range that will get you very very close to the summit, if not the last bit of the way there.
Also, keep in mind that the entry price on a tube amp is kinda like the door charge at a club. You’ll still drop a bunch of money after you pay to play in sampling tubes, which can become a budget buster and not fun very quickly if you have limits set on what you are happy spending.
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I’m in Western Washington, not terribly far from Seattle.
Totally get what you mean about SS. I am close to pulling the trigger on the Soloist but am now looking into the relevance of the Vivid opamp and whether I should simply add a few extra bucks for the Conductor 3x performance.
Here a happy medium, a 100% solid state with a hint of warmth and plays well with both planar and high ohm dynamic cans:
Used prices vary, some can be found for closer to $1k, the best thing is they have a 20 year warranty. Guarantee it will knock the Burson out of the park, if it doesn’t @mfadio will take this off your hands 
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While I don’t need portable, I’d still like something a little smaller because I do listen in different places in my house.
I’ve heard nothing but amazing stuff about that one, though.
In that case a tube amp is going to be heavier to lug around, even my small OTL outweighs the Bryston.
You may be better off with a Hugo 2, or build a secondary system.
We could arrange the loan of a Bottlehead crack to try with your VC to see if you even like the tube thing.
Caveat: It is a DIY project so if it eats your face, I will bear no responsibility.
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Jumping in here because I’ve had a Pendant (non-SE) and now have a FORGE and you’ve mentioned both of them in your posts in this thread. I had the Pendant while I had a Mjolnir 2 and had a really hard time justifying why I had spent almost 1.5k more on the Pendant over the MJ2. The Pendant was better, but not by much to my ears. I attempted tube rolling and could never achieve any kind of audio nirvana that everyone else using a Pendant seemed to achieve. I gave up on it and a year later ended up with a FORGE given it’s billing as strong with Planars and having a different sound from the Pendant being based on the Mogwai OG. Instant love when I got it, and I thought it was a significant step up from the MJ2, so much so that I immediately unplugged the MJ2 and have it boxed up ready to sell.
Now having said all of that - many people will tell you the Pendant can be tough to tube roll BUT when you get it right you get it really right. I never got there, but I have to assume it’s well liked for a reason, and people swear by certain tube combos. I’ve found the FORGE to be good out of the box with the JJ KT88s sounding pretty good for stock tubes with my planars, and the NOS tube prices aren’t totally outrageous. For context, the recommended best in slot input tube is the red base RCA 6SL7 and is $150-200 a pair on ebay. The best in slot power tubes are the Tung Sol 6550 which are in the 300-400 range for a pair/quad. Both upgrades were noticeable improvements on something I already liked.
The thing with tubes though from my experience is that your mileage will vary. Hard to guarantee what you’ll be blown away by or actually like sonically. It seems pretty personal, which is one of my lines of thinking given my Pendant vs. FORGE experience. I originally shied away from a Mogwai or Kenzie because MaxSettings and his Discord crew absolutely shat all over the sound profile. I’ve since learned that MaxSettings and I like very different things, and I stay away from that Discord echo chamber as a result.
Unrelated to the above diatribe but focusing on your last sentence - I don’t know where you live but if you can, heed the advice so often given on these forums and go try stuff in person if you can, it will save you a ton of money. We all hear things differently and I’ve bought a few things based on numerous impressions only to be completely befuddled by what the discrepancy was between what people heard and what I heard. Even worse when you buy two different amps or headphones and they sound too similar to you. We, as a group, tend to oversell the differences and nuances we hear in the gear across all price ranges. The jumps in quality and performance are amazing when they happen, but boy is it like chasing a rabbit getting there doing it blind.
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This is so incredibly helpful and insightful! Thank you!
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I’ve read about those A TON. I am the antithesis of handy. What’re my odds of not messing it all up?
I can’t speak for other people’s building skills or quality, but you can buy a pre-built BH Crack with a speedball upgrade on Etsy from a variety of sellers. Anyone have any experience with that? Doesn’t seem like you need to be handy to enjoy a Bottlehead.
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Well, since the one I would loan you is completely built and ready to play, uhhh… pretty low?
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This is tremendous and such a nice gesture! I would greatly appreciate this!! Would let me explore tube a little and get some better understanding!
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Most of my headphones are ZMFs but I also recently got the Arya v2 and find it an excellent match with the Pendant SE. Buying some of the tubes discussed in the Pendant thread has taken it to another level.
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Even using a Crack is an adventure, and there are many ways to mess up. Keep it far away from children and pets.
- There are hIgh voltage parts with exposed connectors all over the bottom of the main plate. The wooden base is open on the bottom.
- The top plate is held down only by gravity. Use two hands to remove the tubes, power cable, RCA cables, and headphone cable.
- HOT glass tubes can burn you.
- Glass tubes can break and cut you. They can also roll off tables and crash to the floor.
- Octal socket tubes (the big one) have a small orientation key – these can break off and perhaps cause a “bad situation” if then installed the wrong way.
- 9 Pin socket tubes (the small one) can be sticky to remove, and akin to pulling teeth. Really, really use two hands.
- Inserting or removing any singled-ended headphone jack with the amp volume above zero is always a bad idea, but concerns me more on the Crack. Triple check the volume (or turn it off), and don’t yank on the headphone cable (again, no kids).
EDIT: There are non-compatible Octal and 9 Pin tubes. Some tubes fit in the sockets but may cause problems. Per the Bottlehead forum:
Notably, the very common 6SN7 is NOT okay.
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