This is why we/I use the term “Rabbit hole” to caution folks before they take the plunge into anything beyond solid state, or at least my own thought process on the subject. Once you get a taste for flavoring your music, even w/ a $50 hybrid, and you experience the slight differences in sound it starts your mind wandering on the possibilities. My wallet hates me, i was just rinsing out and washing zip-lock freezer bags to re-use them in order to save nickels so i can spend them elsewhere
I was going to use the Shiit Aegir but it wasn’t right for the speakers i have. For headphone use though I think it might be perfectand the cost is allot more palatable…I don’t know, if i ever get a chance to get one i will absolutely try it to quench my curiosity.
So I had been in the market for awhile and heard all these high and lower end tube amps and just held off. This was an informed planned purchase lol. It’s not like that was the 1st tube amp I had heard or considered lol
Yes, I really liked the wa6 2nd gen, it was a pretty nice amp. Also stock tubes were pretty good. The wa3 was alright imo, but I didn’t get a lot of time with it
In my case, it’s always about variety. I have been reading about them for years and they look cool. The more research I did though I kept coming up against the statement that if your headphones are under 100 Ohm (read very efficient), you won’t see any benefit from an OTL tube amp. So, I tried out a hybrid amp called the Loxjie P20. It sucked. I then I bought a set of Russion tubes for it, but it was still meh.
I then started reading about the Lyr 3 (another hybrid amp) and I started to get very interested. But it is pretty expensive, landed in Canada. I talked to the tube guys on The Lyr 3 thread on Head-Fi about whether the P20 is what to expect or would the Lyr 3 be a whole new sound. They said whole new world, but that if I was unsure, to pick up a used Vali 2. And I did. Night and day difference from the P20 and I even got some extra tubes. Also, it has several hundred hours on it and I am at least the third owner.
I really enjoy the sound, but it sounds very close to SS. I assume this can be adjusted with tubes which I will. And I likely will buy a Lyr 3 next year.
In my case it was an awesome pick up, but I do like variety and have several different types of amps.
I would LOVE to hear a real OTL amp with a proper pair of headphones some day. Maybe if I get bored in two or three years I might go nuts on an OTL amp and a hard to drive set of headphones.
If you’re at all competent with a soldering iron, I have heard the bottlehead crack is freaking awesome and won’t break the bank. You have to put it together yourself, and that’s fun for a lot of people but I’m not one of them:
Wow, very nice Nick. When I listened once a class A power amp I thought the same. Are you using the Falcon ls3/5a? Must be a good match for desktop setup…
There’s always this debate about analog vs digital too, or, continuous signal vs quantitative. Tubes are a cheap way to… analog your digital stuff.
I expect this to be the exact opposite of planars. Where planars, or just balanced IEMs, are just full-on in-your-face, fast, analytical, mathematical precision, and can make the source material sound… artificially stressful even, tubes just get rid of all the equations and smoothes everything out using… heat? So, there’s the possibility of making the source material sound way more calm than intended, too (but also, making the first half of the 1900s, before the invention of transistors, sound natural, “as intended”, again).
That’s what I want from my future Little Dot MK2 anyway.
(Edit: Yeah, off-topic but I don’t think planars or balanced stuff can make music sound either “natural” or “as intended”. Obviously, mastering is verified using tons of… good old speakers. So if your main goal is fidelity, there’s that… and no I haven’t tried stax yet).
@SpotmaticF yes, the Sugden was purchased with the sole intention of powering the Falcon speakers as a synergetic match. The sugden technology is such that it doesn’t matter that the FAlcons are15 ohms and thus they see the actual 25wpc. As a side benefit I also discovered that it does a really nice job powering some of my headphones too.
Through trial and error the past year i have started to learn that it is important to match your components. Not all headphones, and speakers match whatever amplifiers you have sitting around and also the source material and dac make a difference too. The differences are subtle, and you have to spend time and money analyzing the music and doing constant A/B comparisons and may not be worth the time and effort if all you want to do is just play games or have some music on in the background. Also the most important and varied factor is YOU and your personal preferences. What sounds great to one person may realistically sound MEH or sloppy to another. It really is about personal preferences and enjoyment. Other folks can lead or steer you in the right direction and again, most stuff sounds ok overall, finding that “just right” synergy tho takes practice, time, experimentation and money
I have never used a soldering gun in my life, so that would be a no.
I am subscribed to Vali 2 threads on two other sites with some new tube recommendations. Once I get over my new toys, I will get back to my little tube amp and start playing again.
If you want something a little bit better I really like the Garage 1217 company tube amps. Its done by a guy who really seems to know what hes doing and they are very customizable. You can get them as kits or preassembled. Their hybrid Project Starlight is 170$ prebuilt 150$ for diy kit. you use many tubes as well as opamps on it:
its in the comparison guide, they build some amps for different ohm ratings. most can handle 16ohms-600. the starlight is 16-300 but they have a full tube amp that handles 32ohm-300
I read the attachment and am more curious. I sent a somewhat lengthy email with my current situation and some questions. Hopefully someone gets back to me with some detailed info.
I have seen lots of talk about them over the years on Head-Fi, but it always seemed more of a DYI outfit.
yeah, ive been polishing up my soldering skills since there seems to be so many great audio stuff out there thats diy. I got the Ember 2 their flagship but i got it from ebay for a good deal used. but they dont overcharge to build it for you.
analog your digital stuff. 
