[rsbrsvp]

My original statement on the current subject was simply:

Passion For Sound review of Silver Fox was not great........... Seems to be a good amplifier but not in the CFA-3, Burson, R23, Zahl level (of neutranlty and technical) unless one wants a certain somewhat smoother coloration- which is of course fine....

never did I say I agree, just that this was my understanding of his review. No need for everyone to get defensive. Just disagree..... It is your right. I happen to be very interested in trying it myself as I am a fan of richer, denser, more musical sound....

 

[resakal]

I NEVER said it is not on Burson or Enlum level. He said it. I have never heard any of these

Sorry i thought you said that haha

 

[rsbrsvp]

Sorry i thought you said that haha

Sorry I was not clear, and my understanding may not be 100% accurate. I should have been a bit more careful...

 

[project86]

The thing about reviews is that they should be useful regardless of whether the reviewer actually personally enjoys the device.

So if I write about a headphone for example - maybe it doesn't really fit me very well, it's quite heavy, very demanding on amplification, and gives a colored signature that isn't really to my preference... would that be a "bad" review? Imho only if I do a poor job of describing the experience. But if I do a good job describing the sound signature, what it does (and doesn't) do, who it might be for, and what expectations potential users should have, then I'd call it a "good" review even if it doesn't proclaim the headphone as my new favorite.

I honestly haven't read the review being discussed here but if the author was thorough in describing their experience then it could still be perfectly valid, even if the amp ended up not being their cup of tea. Of course it helps if I've read prior reviews from this same author and have an understanding of their preferences. But in theory we should not expect every review to be a rave.

Setting up "tiers" is a tougher situation, because it takes a bunch of subjective opinions about multiple amps and uses that to summarize the grouping. That only really works if readers are familiar with each individual review of every amp on that list. But again, that may be a valid approach if the author assumes his audience to be regular readers of the website.

All this to say arguing about the opinion of some reviewer is pointless. Whether it's a famous industry veteran from Stereophile or some no-name blogger, there's potentially value to be had in any review, but there will also be some times where we just won't agree or find it useful at all. And that's perfectly fine.


For me, my tier list would have Silver Fox and CFA-3 on top, then the Enleum, then the Burson significantly lower (I have not heard the Zahl). But that's just my experience and preferences.

 

[rsbrsvp]

For me, my tier list would have Silver Fox and CFA-3 on top, then the Enleum, then the Burson significantly lower (I have not heard the Zahl). But that's just my experience and preferences.

How would you describe the difference between SF and CFA3?

 

[project86]

They seem generally similar but I confess I have not actually had a CFA-3 in my system so no direct comparisons. The CFA might be a little more extended up top, and the Cen.Grand might be slightly more organic/forgiving... but it's hard to know without having both here with the same transport, DAC, same cables, same power conditioner, and on and on.

I just know I was mighty impressed when I finally got to hear the CFA-3. It was worth the wait. Obviously different builds may vary but the one I heard was a beast. Looking forward to HeadAmp's CFA-3 release, which I'm sure will be excellent and make it much more accessible to the masses (relatively speaking... a $5k amp will never be a mass market product of course).

 

[chesebert]

My original statement on the current subject was simply:

Passion For Sound review of Silver Fox was not great........... Seems to be a good amplifier but not in the CFA-3, Burson, R23, Zahl level (of neutranlty and technical) unless one wants a certain somewhat smoother coloration- which is of course fine....

never did I say I agree, just that this was my understanding of his review. No need for everyone to get defensive. Just disagree..... It is your right. I happen to be very interested in trying it myself as I am a fan of richer, denser, more musical sound....

For Passion, that "review" was about as negative as he would get. I mean everything sounds good to him in some aspect and there is a suitable customer for every amp/dac that he "reviews".

 

[Slim1970]

I owned just about every Burson amp made including the Soloist 3X GT with upgraded op-amps and sold them all. I would like to hear the new Voyager to see what has changed with the sound. To me, the Burson amps did not connect me to the music, lacked body and bass. The sound was expansive, detailed with tons of clarity, but it didn‘t have musicality that lets you enjoy the music. So there were things I liked about the Burson sound, just not enough to keep them.

The Silver Fox for my preferences, easily betters them. It has the sonic properties and technicalities of some of the best amps I’ve heard, while giving you a sense of power, scale, and high musical engagement factor to make it a mainstay in my setup.

 

[thecrow]

I owned a few burson amps (off and on) when they were simply the soloist and conductors. Before all the new versions. I found them to be of very good bang for buck value, particularly here in Australia.

i also can understand why the burson sound, at least what i knew of that in those older models, would match up well with the meze empyrean or hps (or dacs) with a warmer tilt.

i’ve happily moved on/up from burson amps.

( I also did have some issues with, probably, rf sound/interference coming through that i was not happy with on the last init i had used - conductor v2 from memory. Burson blamed the cable, incl the stock hd800 cable, and not the unit. Never had that issue with any other gear. That’s when i left them behind. They did refund me for the returned unit. )

 

[sahmen]

One thing I have not been able to find so far is a full body of output power specs on the Silver Fox that are as detailed as what one normally finds for some of the competition. I'm am not referring to the 20 watts into 30 Ohms of whch most people are aware but voltage output specs that would match these that are provided for the Niimbus by Lake People, for example :

Again, this is just an example, the Silver Fox versions do not have to look exactly like these. I just want a statement of specs (specifically output power specs in wats/voltage) that are more detailed and elaborate than what I have seen in manuals so far, if they exist on the internet at all. For the Silver Fox, this is all I have found so far and it looks quite woefully "sparse," relatively speaking, of course:

I do enjoy what the Silver Fox brings to all my cans, of course, but that is not the question. I would be grateful for more info in this area. I want to know whether the Silver Fox can drive the Modhouse Tungsten, for example, and how well. That is why the output voltage specs are important to me now. The Tungsten typically requires 20 - 30 volts at 150Ohms of hp impedance to shine.

 

[MilitaryHifi]

Just spent my few nights reading all 61 pages of the silver fox. I read the few reviews on the internet and watched passion for sound youtube video on it. Been searching for a amp that would synergize with my denafrips terminator 2 12th-1. Some amps came close, but I still feel something is missing. I feel the silver fox might be the amp for the job.

Slim1970 & project86 had a lot of good input, glad they contributed so much to this thread. I was in the market for a amp to pair with my terminator and had my eyes set on a niimbus. Passion for sound youtube review actually got me to start researching this amp, didn't even know it existed. I saw it on the thread of end game ss amps, but never clicked on it.

I know passion for sound review wasn't all the way positive, and he preferred the burson over it. I think the silver fox will be the perfect sound for me. I have a burson pre 2023 3xgt, its a great amp, but not what I usually listen to when listening to music. Its clarity, and dark background is nice, it does have superb detail, but its not musical. It doesn't color the sound, or add flavor to the music. It reminds me of a smsl ess dac if that sound was a amp. I use the burson for playing pc games or watching youtube videos. Still an amazing amp, just not my first choice for music with the different amps I own.

My silver fox gets delivered tomorrow, I think this amp, will finally let me quit chasing amps trying to find one that works with my denafrips terminator 12th-1.

Thanks everyone that contributed to this thread, you guys helped out quite a bit in my decision. Will let you know how it goes this weekend.

 

[project86]

Let us know your thoughts, once you have some hours logged with the new amp!

 

[ChJL]

Just spent my few nights reading all 61 pages of the silver fox. I read the few reviews on the internet and watched passion for sound youtube video on it. Been searching for a amp that would synergize with my denafrips terminator 2 12th-1. Some amps came close, but I still feel something is missing. I feel the silver fox might be the amp for the job.

Slim1970 & project86 had a lot of good input, glad they contributed so much to this thread. I was in the market for a amp to pair with my terminator and had my eyes set on a niimbus. Passion for sound youtube review actually got me to start researching this amp, didn't even know it existed. I saw it on the thread of end game ss amps, but never clicked on it.

I know passion for sound review wasn't all the way positive, and he preferred the burson over it. I think the silver fox will be the perfect sound for me. I have a burson pre 2023 3xgt, its a great amp, but not what I usually listen to when listening to music. Its clarity, and dark background is nice, it does have superb detail, but its not musical. It doesn't color the sound, or add flavor to the music. It reminds me of a smsl ess dac if that sound was a amp. I use the burson for playing pc games or watching youtube videos. Still an amazing amp, just not my first choice for music with the different amps I own.

My silver fox gets delivered tomorrow, I think this amp, will finally let me quit chasing amps trying to find one that works with my denafrips terminator 12th-1.

Thanks everyone that contributed to this thread, you guys helped out quite a bit in my decision. Will let you know how it goes this weekend.

If I counted correctly you have 7 DAC/AMP combos (several DDCs) and 24 HPs.
Ähhm always good to know the context of one's impressions...
Should this be your #1 set up? Or more like that car for sunny spring/summer sundays?

 

[Slim1970]

Just spent my few nights reading all 61 pages of the silver fox. I read the few reviews on the internet and watched passion for sound youtube video on it. Been searching for a amp that would synergize with my denafrips terminator 2 12th-1. Some amps came close, but I still feel something is missing. I feel the silver fox might be the amp for the job.

Slim1970 & project86 had a lot of good input, glad they contributed so much to this thread. I was in the market for a amp to pair with my terminator and had my eyes set on a niimbus. Passion for sound youtube review actually got me to start researching this amp, didn't even know it existed. I saw it on the thread of end game ss amps, but never clicked on it.

I know passion for sound review wasn't all the way positive, and he preferred the burson over it. I think the silver fox will be the perfect sound for me. I have a burson pre 2023 3xgt, its a great amp, but not what I usually listen to when listening to music. Its clarity, and dark background is nice, it does have superb detail, but its not musical. It doesn't color the sound, or add flavor to the music. It reminds me of a smsl ess dac if that sound was a amp. I use the burson for playing pc games or watching youtube videos. Still an amazing amp, just not my first choice for music with the different amps I own.

My silver fox gets delivered tomorrow, I think this amp, will finally let me quit chasing amps trying to find one that works with my denafrips terminator 12th-1.

Thanks everyone that contributed to this thread, you guys helped out quite a bit in my decision. Will let you know how it goes this weekend.

Everyone has a preference when it comes to sound. You should definitely explore as many different amps as you can. If for no other reason, to see what "flavor" suits you best. I owned the Soloist 3X GT and every Burson iteration leading up to it. For me, the Silver Fox sonically is the better amp for my setup and headphones. The Burson amps were good, but lacked an engagement factor in comparison to the Silver Fox. Looking forward to see what you think about the amp.

 

[MilitaryHifi]

The eagle has landed. Well it landed a few days ago, haven't had to much time to try it out. Was changing my setup around to hook it up. The moment I started playing it I couldn't stop smilling. I started with wayward son, which I've listen to over 100 times. That first 5 secs, I stopped the song and told myself no way it sounds this good. I looked at my wife in excitement and said that 5 sec sounded beyond amazing. I took a break, came back 20 mins later. Couldn't stop listening until it was time to go to sleep for work. Every single song I listened to, sounded way better then before. Not in a different flavoring type of way. Like this amp has so much authority over the music.

I was listening to Denafrips Terminator 2 12th-1 - Silver Fox 9i-906 - Denafrips Hermes - Analysis Plus Silver Apex interconnect - he1000se wywire silver cable - furman i15 symmectrical power conditioner.

Edit: Silver fox settings Parallel, Low impedance 1, XLR

Edit 2: Quick note Harder to drive headphones my He6se, heddphone sounds best with BTL, High Impedance. I finally have a set-up I feel is ready for the susvara.

The seperation is even more expanded. This amp has so much control over each and every note. Every note has weight to it. Notes sound more controlled, haven't heard a amp do this so well. Sounds perfect. honestly don't know how it could sound better. I've been through a ton of gear, looking for a sound that would be the sound best for me. With the silver fox amp I have found it. Honestly I've been running the mjolnir 3 with my terminator, it is no comparison with the delivery of music. Probably will sell it. I haven't ran the bliss with my terminator in a while, but I remember it having that power and authority, but not quite the synisynergy with the terminator, sounds more clincal. I love the bliss with the spring. The denafrips artemis amp, is the most tube sounding amp I've listen to. If your looking for that warm syrupy sound, thats the amp for you. Thats a keeper, when your in the mood for that unique sound. It doesn't have as much power but, boy does it sound good. Haven't heard a amp close to it. Rag 2 has tons of power, bass heavy, colored amp. Burson is very clinical.

The silver fox is the first amp, where I feel like I found what I've been looking for since I started this journey in audio. I finally reached that point where my curiosity has settled, I don't think it can get better then this. What I discovered at a certain point all these amps and dacs sound amazing, your just looking for the sound thats suited for you. I've found it with the terminator and silver fox. I'm not even curious on another amp hooked to it.

The silver fox got me to the point, where I'm telling myself its time to purge some gear. There's no more chasing that sonic preference you been looking for, I found it.
Only thing I'm left wanting to try is the holo may with the bliss. Hmmmm?????