Not to take anything away from the Clear, but perhaps the LCD2-C can still be enjoyed for metal and hard rock, and the HD6XX for intimate vocals/venues/recordings or you’re in a more relaxed and less analytical mood or your neck could do with 200 less grams for a particular listening session? I believe there’s pros and cons and tradeoffs (even if it’s just weight, price, aesthetics separate from sound quality).
Good point on the Valhalla, and consistent with what I’ve researched. I have more experience with tubes for stereo speakers compared to headphones, and my ear does prefer some color but not bloat. I’ll keep you posted.
@lost33 thanks also for your observations - very informative. Synergy is a beautiful thing. [3 consecutive posts forced me to combine]
My ears perceive the CTH as a slightly warmer sounding amp with the included tube than the LYR3 while the LYR3 has more detail, more neutral sounding, slightly wider sounding stage and slightly less bass with the stock included tube. I enjoy both very much and for the money the CTH is really hard to beat. However the LYR3 has significantly more power than the CTH if memory serves me correctly so if tougher to drive headphones are in the picture that’s something to keep in mind.
Thank you for such extensive and helpful impressions! I’m sorry for not having replied sooner, I was a bit pressed for time earlier and didn’t want to respond briefly and seem as though I was failing to do justice to the time and thoughtfulness you put into your great comparison.
We hear the CTH in many of the same ways! I agree about it being close to neutral; I pair mine with the Focal Clear, at the moment, and find the two to be nicely complementary and balanced in their sound, meaning that the tonality doesn’t tilt darkly or especially brightly, although, as you note, the amp’s pretty revealing of the character of the headphones. I wonder if the CTH has a thinner sound, though, given your comments about the Lyr 3 being more full bodied.
I agree entirely: the Clear get close to the edge of being brittle or steely in the treble with the CTH.
It’s interesting to read about the relative warmth of the two amps, and to see your impressions alongside @MRHifiReviews’s, for which I’m also grateful - thank you! I wonder if the mid-bass may be key here: I found the HD 6XX paired well with the CTH but that the amp didn’t do much to counteract the Senn’s emphasis in the mid-bass region.
I’m glad to hear that the Lyr 3 offers a more holographic sound and more resolution; those are things I’d prioritize in an upgrade. I like the sound of there being more slam with the Lyr 3. From all this, I suspect the Lyr 3 might be in my future, then, especially…
I also have the LCD2-C. I drive them out of a Magni 3 currently; the Lyr 3 could replace both the CTH and the Magni, thereby simplifying my setup even as it improves the sound of both headphones.
Reading these impressions, and thinking about the Atticus, it struck me that it would be great to have a synthesis of the amp pairings that people like with each of the ZMF headphones. I don’t think I’ve seen a dedicated thread for this.
I’ll add some thoughts, being an owner of an Atticus, Eikon, and Verite Closed (VC) and former owner of Auteur, and constantly trying new amps:
Amps I like with ZMF:
Bottlehead Crack w/Speedball - excellent pairing with Atticus and Eikon. Slight grain up top, and slightly soft bass, but spacious and euphonic sound. Very musical and engaging. VC IMO is too revealing for the Crack, the grain really stuck out to me, and I personally didn’t like the combo as much.
Lake People RS-08 (and G109 and Violectric V100, all sound the same) - Excellent amp for the Atticus! Tons of dynamic range, control, and power. Neutral tuning which lets the Atticus’ natural warmth shine without excessive additional coloration. Treble quality very good but can get a touch harsh with treble intensive cans. This is why I only say the RS-08 is “Good” with the Eikon and VC, not great like with the Atticus. With a good chain and music behind it, it’s perfectly acceptable for the Eikon/VC, but toss in anything harsh in the music or dac, and I found them to start sounding too harsh for my treble sensitive tastes.
Phonitor X/XE/E (i own E, all sound the same supposedly) - Excellent pairing with every ZMF I’ve plugged into it. It’s like the RS-08 but more refined and dynamic. Very neutral, without any inherent coloration of it’s own, but with a very smooth yet detailed delivery. Driver control and dynamic range are exemplary. Where the RS-08 would make the Eikon and VC harsh on occasion, the Phonitor does not. BUT, it’s smoother and more refined AND more detailed. Simply the best solid state amp I’ve heard.
Gilmore Lite MK2 - My personal favorite amp under $500 for a smooth warm sound. Pairs well with all ZMF’s i’ve tried, and especially well with the more neutral sets like the VC and Auteur. Detail levels are good, not great, and bass can occasionally lose focus, but you have to push it hard to get there.
Vali 2 - Shockingly one of my favorite budget amps for high ohm headhones. On high gain the Vali has a 5ohm output impedance, which gives a nice warmth and bloom to ZMF and Sennheiser headphones. This is a budget amp, and it shows, but it’s fun and musical. I think of this as the Porta Pro of amps. Cheap, colored, and fun! I much prefer this to the Magni series with ZMFs.
ZMF Pendant - Amazing! This was my first higher end tube amp (previously the Crack was my top tube amp), and it opened my eyes to all the talk of “ZMFs sound best with tubes”. Tonality is slightly warm, but not excessively so. This is not a traditional tube amp sound like say a Kenzie or CSP, or even the Crack. It sounds like a warm solid state amp, but with the spatial qualities of a good tube amp. There is a spatial and holographic nature to it that I struggle to describe, but hooked me on first listen. There was some noise floor to my amp, but I just lived with it, it sounded too good to worry about. What I really love about the Pendant is it somehow works well with every ZMF i’ve run though it. Atticus? Check! The added warmth of the Pendant does NOT make it too warm sounding, just makes it the smoothest, most engaging listen i’ve heard yet. Eikon? Check! Slight tempering of the treble with added mids weight, makes it absolutely sing to my ears. VC? Double check! The VC is a headphone I’ve had my struggles with. I love it but also get fatigued by it at times. The Pendant smooths everything over enough that I find it totally fatigue free, while retaining 99% of the details other amps like the Phonitor do. Hands down my favorite amp for the VC, by a large margin. And hands down my favorite amp i’ve owned yet.
Jotunheim - Excellent for the Atticus, but not for the Eikon and VC. The Jotunheim is a lively and engaging amp, but my first generation/version (got mine at announcement) was harsh and had steely treble. It livened up the Atticus nicely, giving it the sense of increased air and openness, with tremendous bass slam and punch, but it would get fatiguing. That nature made it a no go for me with the Eikon and VC. I did prefer the Jot to the Lyr 3 by a large margin though, despite the fatigue. A fun, but boisterous and tiring amp.
Amps I don’t like with ZMF:
Lyr 3 - I found the Lyr 3 kind of boring sounding, to be honest. It didn’t do anything wrong per se, but just didn’t engage me. Too smooth, too even toned, and just too dull for my liking.
Magni 3 - Same as Lyr 3, just dull to my ears. Only tried the Atticus/Eikon, and did not like at all.
Drop THX 789 - This one is a tough one, as I did enjoy the 789, but also found it very fatiguing. It sounds much like the RS-08 above, but with more treble glare and less refinement. Clear, powerful, and clean sounding, but sterile sounding overall, IMO. At lower volume I might be persuaded to move it into the like category, but I personally think it’s better served here instead.
Grace m9xx - Dull dull dull. Just not enough power, and not lively enough sounding. Bass was slow and bloomy. Treble was rolled off and soft. Mids sounded dry and lacking impact. The little m9xx needs a massive dose of viagra here, it just couldn’t perform. What’s odd is i actually really like the m9xx on many many headphones overall, just not ZMF or other high ohm sets.
Violectric V280 - This one pains me, as I loved the V280 with my Ether C and HD800. But I found the V280 to lack excitement with every ZMF i tried. The Auteur was the best of the bunch on it, but I still would take the RS-08 in a heartbeat. What I found was the V280 was too rolled off up top, and too smooth and warm in the mids, and this killed the engagement factor for me. It was like it’s trying to be a warm tube amp, without the intangible qualities tubes bring. I just didn’t like it, sorry.
Odd about the Lyr 3. I liked it a lot with the right tubes. Paired well with my Atticus and Eikons. It was a little dense with the wrong tubes. RCA and Sylvania were mostly meh.
Thanks much for your detailed input - very helpful. By chance would you be able to share further impressions of the CSP, LTA ZOTLs, or Feliks?
I’m considering these (and Pendant) to pair with the Eikon.
The one thing I regret on the Lyr 3 was not rolling more tubes. I only had the stock tube, and new production Tung Sol. I just found the faster, more aggressive Jotunheim to pair better with my Atticus.
I wish I could, but my impressions on those were all at meets or stores, not from ownership. I just don’t have enough experience with them to offer meaningful and educated feedback. The one thing I’m comfortable saying is the CSP, Kenzie, and all Feliks i’ve heard had a darker tone to them than the Pendant. The Pendant is nearly solid state sounding with the stock tubes. You can warm it up with warmer tubes, but it still would still fall on the more neutral side of things when comparing to other tube amps i’ve tried out there.
I remember really liking the CSP, which I heard at a canjam, and was saving up to get one, but ended up buying another ZMF headphone instead haha. Before Covid hit, I visited a local Feliks dealer and tried 3 models, I THINK they were the Echo, Espresso (coffee name, but different spelling), and Elise. I did like them all, and that was with my VC on some expensive DAC they let me use. What I remember about them all was they were warm sounding, lush and very smooth sounding. Very good with the VC, but I could see myself thinking them slightly dull on the Atticus as it’s too warm of a combo (warm headphone and warm amp). But I didn’t have the Atticus with me so all assumption there. I walked away thinking they were very good, but not better than my Pendant.
Sorry I can’t be more helpful. I try to limit giving detailed feedback to items i’ve either owned or at least borrowed/demo’d for a few weeks. The Pendant I owned (just sold it this week to fund a higher end Ampsandsound like a Mogwai SE or LeeLoo Monos). All the other tube amps were no more than a few hours of ear time at most. Not enough for me to really know them well.
That’s been my experience with hybrid amps as well generally. Both the Vali 2 and Lyr 2 i’ve rolled tons of tubes through, but never felt they made a big change. That’s why i was hesitant to spend more $ on tubes for the Lyr 3.
For audio reproduction, tubes mainly vary by clarity/thickness and warmth/brightness? Right? Anything else? I tend to find something ‘pleasing,’ focus on music, and forget about what might have been. [Given other hobbies, audio gear acquisition is low on my priority list.]
NOS means someone had it sitting around unwanted for decades and decades. I’ve seen the exact same items sell for next to nothing (e.g., $4) or several times as much ($30). Sometimes ‘matched pairs’ are less well matched than ‘unmatched’ items.
I appreciate your candor in order to provide meaningful feedback. Your observations continue to be informative and your CSP/Feliks/Pendant impressions are consistent with what I’ve researched.
Good to hear that you liked the Echo, Espressivo, and Elise – those are the ones that I’m considering. Do you recall if any of these delivered beyond their price-point? We generally get what we pay for, but ideally we can get more than what we pay for! There’s a Feliks dealer nearby that I’m going to visit soon and have a listen.
I’m on board with your warm-warm assessment and pairing considerations. It reminds of blending barrels of wine/beer/spirits for the ideal/desired final blend.
For a tube amp, I’m seeking a slightly warmer tilt to contrast with my solid state amp, but I don’t want to sacrifice too much in staging, speed, dynamics, sub-bass extension/control. Perhaps any of the amps will work with the right tubes. TBD. Thanks again!
This is exactly what I was looking for in my tube amp as well. I do love the technical ability of a good solid state, I just wanted that intangible spatial and tonal qualities a good tube amp brings. I personally feel the Pendant has done it best, of the amps i’ve tried. I did really enjoy the Feliks line, but I already had the Pendant at home when I tried them, and didn’t feel they compared as favorably due to my preferences.
I would say the Feliks line seemed on par with their price point. I would have liked a bit more detail, they came accross as slightly smoothed over, something the Pendant does not. But without really spending weeks with them to really get to know them, it’s tough to really say. Maybe they’re equally detailed but the Pendant is more forward with detail due to it’s neutral nature. Maybe different tubes in the Feliks can give a similar presentation to the Pendant. I will say this, if i hadn’t owned the Pendant at that time, I likely would have left the store with the Echo, as I felt it performed nearly as good as the Elise for half the price, give or take, and did sound good in general. I would have found some neutral tubes to run through it to tailor the sound to my liking and if it didn’t work out, sell it later.
Awesome that we are on the same page regarding tubes and solid state. Balance, harmony, integration.
It seems like I can’t go wrong with the Pendant and the Feliks/CSP comes with a bit more risk (or particular tube selection). FYI some reviews/information on the LTA ZOTL amps seem to place it in line with the Pendant in terms of character.
Great input. I believe ZMF Zach has also recommended the Echo as an introduction to tube amps; he owns (or has owned) the Euforia. Thanks.