Let’s remember this forum is about enjoying music, and not saving souls. Just like the instruments musicians use, these are all just tools. And as an analogy, one can be a car enthusiast (not myself) and be knowledgable about and appreciate great cars, then drive a lesser, less respected, and modest one because that’s what they can afford, or bought before something else came out, and still enjoy it.
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There are plenty of negative forums out there. For the past few years for me, this has been a place to hear positive sharing of enthusiasm and knowledge.
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This statement just about sums up what this forum does so well. This is why I love it so very much.
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I keep going between spl phonitor x/e, ifi ican pro and burson soloist 3x. Looking to try an amp in that price range, prefer little warm but i know solid states are more neutral which I’m okay with and using the matrix dac, even more neutral. Any opinions appreciated.
Looking for a warm solid-state?
The Violectric amps are known to be pretty warm for a solid-state. Also, you can try op-amp rolling on the Soloist (if you haven’t already) since you already have it…
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I have yet to purchase any of these yet. I’ll look into the violectric.
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Heard murmurs in SBAF that Craig at Eddie Current might do a run of Black Widow 2 this summer, which from what I have read is a very warm (a bit tube sounding) SS amp.
Also Bryston BHA-1 seems to have a following.
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Indeed it does. Not sure I’d put it up against a black widow, but I’d put it against the phoniter, and prefer it to the soloist.
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If that’s true it will be fantastic but when I bought the studio b this past spring Craig is already winding down his operations. Doubt he will continue building amps beyond the last few runs of Studio B but who knows.
@Roikyou do you mind listing your preferences and current gear just for reference?
I asked him in Feb/March when he was already getting ready to wind down. He said late summer for BW2. But yes I guess it’s not guaranteed.
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I’m down to the Matrix Element X, ZMF Eikon with Corpse cable 4 pin xlr and 1/4 inch. Previous was a&s Bigger Ben and Nautilus. Like the sound of a&s but the heat after a couple hours was quite a bit. Looking for the perfect world of sound and performance. Somewhere between the power of tubes and efficiency of solid state. Prefer warmer side of neutral.
Would like to go down to 1500 to 2k plus or minus 10% for the next amp
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Maybe a hybrid then? Something like the Rogue RH-5. @Wes_S speaks very highly of it.
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Curious about your prediction of a BW2 run as your statements are conflicting
So is it murmurs on SBAF, or from speaking directly with the man himself? Of course both statements could be true, so perhaps you can clear it up by sharing what you actually know instead of what you think you know.
Perhaps a link to where these murmurs are would help put this into context?
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Hybrid is a good suggestion. ECP T4 is out of production.
While not warm, LTA MZ2 can be bent a touch that way with tubes. It’s a solid state rectified tube amp, where the microZOTL architecture is more solid state like in design and sonics. It likely won’t pair the best with Matrix for your preferences, but a used Schiit Yggy A2 or Bifrost 2 or Holo Cyan DAC or Denafrips Ares might.
I may be looking to sell my MZ2 if interested. I normally don’t recommend LTA for someone wanting full throttle tubes, but your preferences and use case may be well suited. It paired well with my Eikon and VC.
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There was a post on one of the threads (either AF or Studio B or maybe the general purpose one) after which I emailed Craig.
Weak sauce response, if you are going to drop something as juicy as that show us the receipts.
With an unobtainable amp such as the BW, and teasing some insider information without backing it up is akin to blowing smoke up ones rear end.
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I am not going to post an email correspondence in a public forum and I can’t find that post on SBAF. I pm’d you his messages.
I’ve talked to people about the lta mz2 but i also just got the Element and have yet to sell the matrix x-sabre, so I’d hate to try to move to a third dac. I’m interested but never had issues with synergy and the matrix dac’s.
Much appreciated it, thank you.
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Understandable.
This makes sense based on the sound signature of what I understand to be your amps. I just wanted to ensure you’re fully informed should expectations not be met.
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