Would you be able to provide any impressions regarding the Pendant’s preamp function? Thanks.
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@bpcarb.
I have yet to use it in that fuction. normally I run Qutest directly in and use it with Susvara.
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Oh I see, that’s a very nice chain.
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Does anyone have experience using the Pendant with Utopias? I definitely appreciated the note on the pairing in @Torq’s review, and it sounds favorable. I’m considering a Pendant, but would love input from anyone who’s heard the pairing themselves. Of course, I’d also welcome suggestions of other amps that may also pair well (or better). Some comps seem to be Woo WA22 or DNA Starlett. Will be fed from a Hugo 2. Thanks, all!
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Feliks Audio Euforia is Focal’s benchmark tube amp for the Utopia. They always bring it to public events to demonstrate the Utopia with.
I’ve just received my own Euforia yesterday, and I haven’t auditioned it with a Utopia myself, but if you have certain questions that I might be able to answer, feel free! Still in the process of writing down notes on observations and such, I’ll share my full impressions in a public post here as soon as I feel confident enough about what I’ll be sharing.
Although I can’t speak on the pairing with the Utopia, I do feel confident enough about the Euforia being a legit contender among TOTL tube amps, and has some truly impressive sonic characteristics of its own.
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I do believe @Resolve Andrew used the Utopia when he gave the Pendant a shot. Might be able to shed some details. He also mentioned the Utopia in his Pendant review, but I don’t remember if any thorough descriptions were given regarding the pairing.
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Looking forward to your impressions @Jsim. The Euforia looks like a great investment.
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Haha I can’t wait to share everything I want to say about it. But I also know I shouldn’t rush it. It takes time to really explore the full reach of what this amp is capable of. I think there are many others who will absolutely love this amp, the hardest part is trying to assess its limitations and other potential negatives.
It’s not a cheap amp by any means, but for the right person it can for sure deliver outstanding value even for its price.
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I definitely agree with everything you say here. It’s a mistake to rush with reviews or impressions. I know I can be guilty of it. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the whole excitement of the thing. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts (in time).
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Due to all the enthusiasm for the Pendant (particularly by @jkpenrose, who gets his next week), you have all somehow brainwashed me into adding a Pendant to my VO order. The cult of ZMF!
I asked Bevin if it was too late to get the bundle discount, given that I should be close to getting the VO soon, and the logic side of my brain was really hoping she would tell me I’d missed the boat, but “unfortunately” she and Zach were nice enough to say of course I could add it to my order.
Given some of the posts above about hum, I was wondering if anyone could tell me if NOS tubes are more susceptible to hum than new production? I’d really like to try the NOS, but the amp will be sitting about 7-8 feet away from my router, which is blasting out wi fi. My PC monitor and one of my desktop speakers will be between them, so maybe they will act as a shield. And my Lyr3 has zero hum, and that’s about 6 feet away, but I’m wondering if that’s because it’s a hybrid, or perhaps because the tube is new production.
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Congratulations, don’t stress the hum, especially before it’s even in hand. Hum can come from many things. Mine only warns me when my cell phones are about to ring 
Otherwise it’s silent.
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I understand the feeling. I ordered my VO Ltd back in late July, still in the middle of the queue… and got swept up by reading this thread and @Resolve’s YouTube review, and added the Pendant this past week.
This could be worthy of a sick day when that FedEx delivery notice finally arrives.
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Ba HUMbug to them! Congrats, don’t sweat the hum.
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LOL, what the hell, added the NOS tubes. Thanks all!
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Zach picks great tubes. I think you’ll be happy with them.
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Do you know what brand he uses for the NOS upgrade?
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Specifically? The ones he’s shipping them with now? Nope.
Every time I’ve heard his setup though, it was really good. You might be able to ask Zack directly
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I recently bought a large batch of Baldwin (Sylvania and Raytheon) 12au7 and 12ax7 tubes, they are consistently quiet and smooth sounding with good extension. So we’ve been shipping those. The 6ca4 tubes are almost always NOS rft/tesla tubes, they keep fast transient respinse and all that.
The el84/6bq5 are a little more varied - they’re by far the most expensive and I try to buy them in bundles to keep the price down so that I can offer the tube bundle at 200 usd, I usually try to find philips Holland, hammond Holland or UK, or Baldwin black plate tubes in matched sets. I just ordered some tesla sets to see how they go. When they’re quiet they are all great.
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Excellent! Thanks Zach!
Holland made pre tubes are usually very good but hard to find. I’d imagine the EL84s are no exception.
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This needs more upvotes and attention lol… So awesome!!! thank you for posting this!!!
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