I don’t think there’s anything I could recommend you at the moment. There are quite a few tube amps that fit your description at 2k range but I’m not sure if those will be suited given your sensitivity to heat. Not too familiar with solid state amps especially at that price range so I can’t comment on that.
I think the toughest thing is that i chose the most powerful amps a&s offers and had expectations for use for a couple hours or more depending on the mood, in a small room, not like an open living room or large den.
I had the Auris ha2sf earlier in this adventure and didn’t remember any heat issues but it was the least powerful amp I’ve owned.
I had the mogwai se for a short time but never had the time to see how it was with extended use.
I just came by to really good prices for the ifi ican pro and phonitor but i let those go.
Well, today I’ve got the Decware csp-3 with anniversary mod II coming. So, back on the tube wagon… At least this time around they’re 6922 input, output and 5ar4 rectifier. So, less power but sounds like it should be a good, versatile amp. I was really curious about Decware and couldn’t pass this up.
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Just out of curiosity is there a particular reason you are seeking a powerful tube amp? Having tried and own zmf headphones they don’t need loads of power to perform at their best and most planar I tried are better off with solid state amp anyway.
Curiosity more than anything. I think it was the learning part of this adventure. There are quite a bit of differences as you move up. You wouldn’t think there would be but there are. I’m listening to an all in one Matrix Element X right now, it does a good job, xlr and decent power but I do recognize that the power from the tubes is now missing. If I wouldn’t have already been there, I’d never known it. You know what’s funny, I’m coming to realize that not only the tube amp was the source of heat but the 48" flat screen on my desk is producing heat… Guess I need to not overthink things, kind of funny…
Congrats.
The CSP3 is output transformerless. Transformer coupled and hybrid tube amps are generally considered to be versatile. Decware later released the Taboo for more versatility and added power to drive planars.
Looking forward to your comparison of A&S and Decware sound signatures.
My favorite amp with an Empy is the LTA MZ2 tube amp. With the RAD-0, I’ve preferred its pairing with the A&S Mogwai SE (8 watt tube roll) over several solid state amps. All but the least sensitive planars may pair well with more stout tube amps (those with transformers and are able to put out approx. 2 watts or so, where it’s not just about power) depending on sonic preferences.
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The LTA MZ2 was on my radar but the CSP3 came up and I’ve been eyeing that for a while. I did read some on the Taboo but I’ve dived off the deep end enough unless the hardware at hand changes, I won’t get to experience that one yet.
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Cool, Decware and CSP3 sonics have had my attention and interest. I’ve exchanged emails with Steve, but ultimately went in a different direction. I understand you have mainly dynamics?, in which case the CSP3 is likely to be a good pairing (maybe even more optimized than the Taboo for dynamic drivers?), especially with the anniversary mod.
Yes, just the ZMF Eikon. It’s my one and only. No real urges for any others, tried the VC and VO, still like the Eikon for the price point.
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Oh, that’s right. I miss my Eikon. I view it as a potential complement to my RAD-0. On the other hand, I view the VC and VO as substitutes, where I prefer the RAD-0.
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About the same price point as the VO and VC. Maybe some day if a trade or good deal comes through but I’m staying away from any new, off the shelf, full price purchases. If I can work with what I have at hand and sell or trade to try something, then I’ll do it. Doing my best to behavior and tame the craziness this hobby brings out.
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I hear you and that’s good perspective. Likewise. FYI, Rosson has some B-stock units currently posted. I’m not seeking to be an enabler.
lol, ya you are… I have two dac’s right now but sabre dac’s are difficult to move. I’ve used bifrost, thx 789 and Matrix. I didn’t see any outstanding differences between them other than price points and options. But that’s me. Maybe if one of the dac’s sell but I’d want to make sure I hit a price point where if it wasn’t for me, I could move it without loosing too much. Still curious about other ladder dac’s also but I have this sneaky suspicion, they’ll be better than some of the entry level I’ve tried, little different flavor but I’m guessing not by much than the Matrix that I have. Too many options and things to try out there.
300 savings on a b stock isn’t much and every time I’ve tried that headphone band type, they’ve been my least favorite but that’s from a 10k foot view, it could be different in person.
I’ve owned the Bifrost 2 and heard the Matrix XSP. They are capable DACs that seem to line up well with the caliber and price point of the rest of your system.
After the CSP3 arrives, perhaps see how things sound with your Eikon and DACs that you own at that time, and then assess what direction you want to head sonically. After getting my ears on the Bifrost 2, Gumby, Yggy, and Matrix XSP, I preferred the Chord Qutest (not ladder; FPGA) with my gear and for my sonic preferences.
Flavor and performance differences aren’t monumental (Edit: I found a fairly significant performance margin between Bifrost 2/Gumby on one hand and Qutest/Yggy/Matrix XSP on the other), but noticeable and can accumulate. I’d probably focus on the headphone and amp before moving on from the Matrix.
Check out a potential solution.
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I had the same issue with the 789. Source differences were incredibly difficult to identify using the 789 as an amp, relative to the various amps I’ve tried down the line. Seems counter-intuitive as the 789 is aggressively marketed as an ultra-transparent sounding amp, but in my own experience the opposite seemed to be true. Whatever feedback or feed-forward error correction stuff it has going on, seems to cause different sources to sound more or less the same.
So I would suggest to try one or more different amps to be able to better judge differences between DACs. The 789 isn’t the right tool for that job.
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I’ve never used the 789 as a dac, only as a stand alone all in one at one point in time. Sent it back and never looked back.
The Bifrost 2 I used for quite a while before moving to the Matrix X-Sabre pro MQA.
Then what did you use as a DAC with it? The 789 is just an amp.
And what are you using as your amp for the XSP now?
I think the 789 may subtract out recorded source noise that electrically resembles amp noise. Normal recordings have a good amount of room and air noise from physical processes of breathing and moving to generate sound. Recording engineers have long minimized noise using solo booth recording, close mic placement near instruments or guitar amps, post-recording noise removal tools, etc.
Along comes THX AAA technology and its fixation on measurements. To my ears they get there by taking away the residual natural/accidental/intended room noise. The technology seems unable to distinguish between “good noise” and “bad noise.” Warmth becomes sandpaper. A loud and fuzzy peak becomes a piercing hot mic. So, transitions become etched and exaggerated while previously hidden artifacts are heard, but everything reaches a common and unnatural final state.
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I was absolutely wrong and right. I had the following
Monolith 124459 Desktop Headphone Amplifier and DAC with THX AAA Technology (Dual AKM 4493 Dacs & Dual AAA-788 Modules)
I ordered the 789 but couldn’t use it with the Monolith, so I returned the 789. I’ve gone through a whirlwind of hardware.
I’m currently using Matrix Element X with Decware CSP-3 with anniversary mod II. Amazing little amp. I would have loved to have the Mogwai SE and the Bigger Ben next to this amp and compare them. This little guy is really clean, lots of power, lots of adjustment, really amazing at the price point. I’ve got the next few days off from work to listen to it, I’ll have some really good impressions over the next couple days but I don’t regret trading the Bigger Ben or Nautilus for this little guy, it’s that good so far. No noise or interference.
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Nice, would you say this is a more warmer/tubey signature or more neutral? Thanks for your time!
If your asking about the Decware, it does have the tube sound and drive of a lot more expensive competitors. Uses a 5AR4 rectifier, which I have a NOS RCA 5AR4, input tube is NOS ECC88 out of Holland and two output tubes are 7308’s which I’m going to switch out to 6N1P-EV per Decware’s recommendation. It definitely competes above it’s pay grade. I’m really surprised I haven’t much about these amps before this.
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