Well, for one thing, the headphones would only be getting 40% of the amplifier’s output power - the rest being taken up by the amplifier’s internal impedance.
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Thanks @torq. They require a little volume, but are manageable.
Interesting topic I had never considered.
Sometimes a “wrong” match sounds perfectly fine. Sometimes it sounds awful. It depends on the performance envelopes of the devices and whether one enjoys the distorted end product.
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I’ve never really paid much attention to damping factor so that is great to know thanks for the info. I’m guessing the output z effect may vary from each amp. For reference I do prefer running my verite with 9ohm output from my Starlett amp. I find that it tighten up the bass a bit and seem to bring a more clarity as oppose to higher output impedance setting.
I am intrigued by A&S amps so I much appreciate your comparison with DNA amps. This serves as a very good reference point.
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Just took delivery of one of these today. First off, @taronlissimore was super helpful in answering all of my questions, and helping ensure I got my amp delivered overnight. Phenomenal customer service and just further proof to me that this is the best Headphone community and marketplace on the web. Always good conversation and learning here!
As for the amp itself, initial impressions are very good. I had a Pendant previously, and for my current headphone inventory (Rad-0 and Ether 2), this is far better. With the Pendant, I liked it but struggled to truly hear how it stood out from the Mjolnir 2 it shared a space with, which is not to say that they were equal - the Pendant was definitely superior, it just felt like only slightly so to my ear. With the FORGE, it’s clear as day to me, to the point that I didn’t even need to A/B it. I plugged it in, played a song and went “oh damn, this is great!”. In a sense, it felt like the first new piece I had acquired since the Rad-0 that felt like a sizeable improvement over something else I had heard. By comparison, the MJ2 sounds muddled to me, with the FORGE providing the same slam and energy the MJ2 is known for to boot. I’ll need to see how things go once the honeymoon period is over, or once I get some brain burn in, but I’m very happy right now. I’ll have to do some proper A/B testing between the two to provide some better and more constructive thoughts once I have real time with it.
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Just found this while browsing before bed.
Lovely review.
Thank you !
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The best upgrades are the ones where you don’t even have to A/B and you know it’s obviously better.
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I just wanted to post this here, @Grover did an interview with Justin Weber from Ampsandsound on the Forge tube amp. Check it out here:
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Can any comment on how well the fordge works with susvara? Tbh I’m mainly considering the bigger ben but figured I should ask about this one as well. I’m mostly worried about slam levels and if it gets to the level of 13r
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Hi there - I’ve got a Forge and a Susvara! The Forge will play the Susvaras plenty loud, but after listening to my Utopias and my ZMF VO’s through the Forge, it’s not hard to tell that the Susvaras want more power than the Forge can supply for the Susvaras to sound their very best. The Utopias and ZMF’s just have so much more MUSCLE at the same volume as the Susvaras, and I know that there is plenty of muscle to be found in those Susvaras! So I’ll likely go the old headphones-to-speaker-taps route with a Benchmark AHB2 or something with similar power, as there are no 13r’s around to be found. I’m keeping that Forge, though - it’s AWESOME with my other two headphones. BTW, I had been using an M Scaler with a DAVE as a DAC in front of it - for my tastes, the DAVE is better through the phones just at 88.2kHz than through the 700+ kHz of the M Scaler - the bass comes through more clearly, among other differences. However, a few weeks ago I got a Holo May DAC and for the headphones, this is the one I’m going with; I’ll try M Scaler and/or DAVE in my speaker setup, and if that is not an improvement, I’ll sell them. Also BTW, I got the best results plugging the Utopias into the 32Ohm output, the ZMF’s into the 300Ohm output, and the Susvaras were more tightly controlled plugging them into the 32Ohm output.
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Exactly what I was suspecting but wanted to make sure. I apreciate the responce.
Fwiw the new 23r (same formfactor, upgraded internals, and new aesthetic) is to be released vasicaly any time now (had some supply shortages that seem to be worked out and are now catching up). That may be on interest to you. The hypsos + oor combo also looks promising but I’ve yet to find anyone compaire it to ahb2.
Good to know. I’ve only heard the og mogwai from AS lineup bit the 32ohm out of that was some serious magic with utopia tbh.
Hey EskamoBob - Thanks for giving me that update on the Enlium 23R - I did not know it was being released that soon. In that case, I won’t be buying any more amps until I can get one of those. Should be great for the Susvaras!
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It’s an amp that we will have on display at CanJam SoCal 2021 and should have retail units in October!
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Great, thanks! I asked Alan to let me know when you’re taking orders for that, but I guess you’d send out an announcement to your mailing list anyway!
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Was playing around with some tube rolling and liking where I’ve landed so far - decided to not beat around the bush and went straight for some NOS Tung Sol 6550 solid black plates (based on recos for the Mogwai in the A&S thread) and a mil spec Sylvania 6SL7. Sounding pretty good! The Tung Sol seem like a pretty big improvement on the JJ KT88s, and this is coming from someone that struggled to hear too much of a difference when tube rolling the Pendant. Seems cleaner sounding, airier and more spacious? Could be placebo, but I’ll play around with it some more and see!
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I’ve had this amp for some time and it has been great. Been loving it with Gold Lion KT66’s. My short review:
An absolutely amazing amp from Justin and Headphones.com. Price is good. Service is even better. I bought mine second-hand, but have had no trouble contacting Justin with questions, phone or email!
This is detailed, and gives a wonderful presentation. It’s true to the ampsandsounds quality. I’ve found that to be wonderful throughout all of my ampsandsounds amps. Justin and his team build these to perfection, and it shows! From my Kenzie Encore to the beyond amazing Kenzie Ovation, and the FORGE here, it’s been an absolute pleasure to own these.
As they say, you get what you pay for, and this doesn’t disappoint in any aspect. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a boutique tube amp with great craftsmanship and sound quality. For the price, it’s awfully hard to beat.
Comes in a hard carry case with wheels, which is a lovely bonus.
Any tube recommendations would be welcome. I have a whole box of KT88’s, KT77’s, etc. yet to try. I also have a Mogwai on the way. 
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I have a question regarding impedance matching I’m hoping someone could answer.
It sounds like the 8/100 ohm version of this amp is universally recommended for use with lower impedance headphones like Focals (80 ohm for Elex and Utopia), but how big of a difference would that be from the 32/300 ohm version of that amp? Right now only the 32/300 ohm versions are available used and I just wonder if the impedance matching is worth an extra $900 or not. Is it a small difference or very noticeable?
Also, how well would either version of the amp work with very low impedance and low sensitivity planars like an Arya v2 (35ohm, 90 dB SPL)? Or is it better to just stick to solid state for the Hifimans?
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Just fwiw, I demoed both amps at canjam with susvara, utopia, solitaire p, and d8000 (all cans i know exceptionaly well) and i prefered the 32ohm tap yo any other tap on every single can, so i left with the 32ohm. That is to say, i personaly feel the 32/300 is better anyways (and i never used the 300 with anything) so i dont think you need to worry
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I hope you’ve been enjoying your Mogwai!
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I have a similar experience on my Nautilus, which has 8, 16, 32, 100 and 300ohm taps. I’ve found that I prefer 32 for everything except for high impedance headphones like ZMF, where I prefer 100. So my ideal combination would be 32/100.
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