Quad, Telefunken EF802.
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Zach has it somehow, the magic of aesthetics!
What tubes did you put in?
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Nice Aegis Chris! Congratulations!
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I’ve tried a few combinations so far. The tubes in the picture are RCA red base 5691’s for the inputs, Mullard EL38’s for the outputs, and an RCA JAN 5R4GY rectifier. It’s an excellent combo for sure. I’ve also liked RCA smoked glass 6V6GT’s and Ei KT90’s output tubes. I’ve rolled in a Mullard GZ34 rectifier this morning for the first time, so we’ll see how that changes things.
Tube-rolling is fun, but it can be overwhelming with all the options. It’s hard to stick with one combo for long. Luckily, everything sounds great in the Aegis, including the stock tubes.
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Happy birthday David! 
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Happy Birthday David_Silva!
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Thanks folks! Spending the early evening at an improv! PA is L O U D!
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Last week I embarked on a race that I never really wanted to start.
In Worms, a city between Heidelberg and Frankfurt, there is a manufacturer and distributor of tubes…
Zach also offers they’re tubes as an upgrade package for his Aegis.
On a whim, I simply got a pair of 6V6
and a pair of 12AU7
for my Cayin HA-3A.
I decided on the respective pairings based on the sound descriptions and ratings.
Since the HA-3 sounds very clean and detailed, I would describe it with the OG tubes as a good solid state amp with an extended stage presentation.
So I thought it couldn’t hurt to experiment a bit.
And, my goodness, what did I do.
When I picked up my ZMF Atrium at the weekend after the recommended burn-in phase,
I couldn’t get out of my chair, much to my wife’s annoyance, because I didn’t want to end this listening pleasure.
The entire sound of the Atrium changed, a deep, crashing, thunderous, punchy, powerful bass laid the foundation for an addictive listening session.
The entire stage was significantly expanded.
Female voices acquired a velvety quality without losing their actual character.
Male voices retained their vibrato, if it was present.
The extraction and highlighting of the respective singers from the rest of the musical performance is excellent.
The overall sound is airy, powerful and very refreshing and detailed.
The same attributes also apply to the pairing of the HA-3 with the HD800s & HD600
The downside of all this is that for the rest of my headphone portfolio this is too much of a good thing,
the ZMF Caldera, for example, loses its mojo completely with this pairing.
It sounds very sluggish, slow and watered down in combination with these tubes.
The drivers of the Focal Clear tend to clip very quickly in this setup and are hopelessly overwhelmed.
So I created a dream combination for 3 of my headphones, but in doing so I rendered the amplifier unusable for all other headphones.
I knew full well that tubes were another
…………and I went for it “anyway”.
But it looks so good….
……my wife says……
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Well, there is a partial solution to rectify the situation you now find yourself in: add a ZMF Atrium Closed, Eikon 2024, or possibly an Auteur Classic to your collection.
Then you will have some alternatives that don’t require tube swapping, which is such an annoyance! 
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The solution is obvious. You need more tube amplifiers, so you can switch out multitudes of tubes until you have the perfect tuning for your other headphones.
At the same time, you probably ought to bring in a couple of additional 200 amp electrical services, at least one of them with a fully regenerative setup for isolation and pretty sine waves.
The other can power your new HVAC system, best installed outside a distance from the home for better sound isolation. Enough tubes and you will need the additional cool air.
While you’re at it, you might look into custom chairs.
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