[BeelzAlBob]

Well, I have two Aegii (Aeguses).

But I have:

Aegis (DIY)
Aegis (ZMF Pre-Production)
Cayin HA-6A
Sinfonia 300B power amp (that I use as a headphone amp)
LTA MZ2 w/LPS+
Woo Audio WA6
Woo Audio WA8
Airmid (on loan from Zach)
Benchmark HPA4 (which is also my primary amp for measurements)
Violectric DHA-V226

DACs with headphone outputs:

Chord TT2/MScaler
iFi iDSD Pro Sig

I also have a decent bit of portable stuff. There's probably something I'm forgetting, but that's most of it.

Any thoughts you can share on how the Aegis and HA-6A compare?

 

[mattiastomas]

Your not getting holographic staging with your Aegis? I can't imagine it getting any more holographic than what I am hearing with Aegis. . .

Thats a fair point. I am getting decent holographic-ness with the Aegis. Maybe I could roll more holographic tubes. Its kinda hard to figure out. Like you hear something and you get a certain sound / tone stuck in your head and its now your mission to recreate that sound.

 

[AnyDave]

Any thoughts you can share on how the Aegis and HA-6A compare?

They are different. I'll have to sit down and do a more thorough comparison. I haven't used the 6A much since I built the DIY Aegis (which has since generally been supplanted by the production Aegis). Some of it is that the Aegis is the new thing, but ultimately, I also think it's better. I'm considering selling the 6A and getting a 300mk2 from Cayin as it's quite a bit different, but I haven't made up my mind yet.

 

[JerseyD]

I think this is the dream setup right there. A really good solid-state, SET and OTL, not that anyone would *need* every type. I couldn't live without a solid-state because of how different it sounds from tubes and because it's been a sound reference for so long for me. I do have my eyes on a good versatile SET amp in the future and Aegis is definitely up there.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but not all OTC amps are necessarily SET, are they? (I'm no expert in these matters.) Is the Aegis considered a SET amp?

 

[Wes S]

Thats a fair point. I am getting decent holographic-ness with the Aegis. Maybe I could roll more holographic tubes. Its kinda hard to figure out. Like you hear something and you get a certain sound / tone stuck in your head and its now your mission to recreate that sound.

With a Mullard GZ32 and pair of Mullard 6L6G, I am getting a super holographic stage.

 

[mattiastomas]

With a Mullard GZ32 and pair of Mullard 6L6G, I am getting a super holographic stage.

That’s good to know. Since you posted about the 6L6G in the aegis thread I’ve been looking at grabbing a pair of those.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but not all OTC amps are necessarily SET, are they? (I'm no expert in these matters.) Is the Aegis considered a SET amp?

Yeah Aegis is technically a SET amp even though it uses a different output stage than most other SET amps. SET is a generic term, but it is generally used to describe single-ended triode amplifiers that are transformer coupled (even though the generic name “single-ended triode” would also encompass OTLs, technically as they are also single-ended and use triode output stages). There are lots of variations of SET output stages though, but the most common is called series feed and is most often cathode/autobiased.

 

[goldwerger]

I think my main goal for the OTL would be to have a really holographic sound. Heard the Atrium Opens on an OTL and it was really holographic and amazing.

Try to demo the Decware/ZMF OTL next CanJam. I think it may be worth consideration (it also has a small desktop footprint, so relatively easy to add space wise).

The Aegis is a fantastic if you want a "one and done" amp. For the kind of presentation you are looking for, I'd highly recommend trying it with Mullard EL37 tubes!!

---

Entirely unrelated, but just occured to me I should share this as some of you may find this interesting:


After seeing the Watercooler thread creating an amazingly vibrant and friendly communtiy for portable audio (and having been part of it myself), I had a few members asking me to set a parallel Watercooler thread for the headphone community (full size headphones, amps, dacs, realted gears and general banter for headphone community).

After several weeks getting feedbacks and consdiering the undertaking, I decided to plunge in..

The Watercooler Headphone Edition thread is now launched:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...of-gear-impressions-music-and-musings.972819/

Since launching Saturday we've got nearly 30 pages of posts. It's highly engaged with lots of great communtiy members and eclectic content from gear to music to audio topics. Everyone is warmly welcome to drop in anytime, share anything related to headphone, music, or just banter and hang around!

---

 

[mattiastomas]

Try to demo the Decware/ZMF OTL next CanJam. I think it may be worth consideration (it also has a small desktop footprint, so relatively easy to add space wise).

The Aegis is a fantastic if you want a "one and done" amp. For the kind of presentation you are looking for, I'd highly recommend trying it with Mullard EL37 tubes!!

Thanks for the info! I did demo the Decware/ZMF OTL but it’s abit outside my price range

I’m definitely keen on trying out the Mullard EL37s. Been keeping an eye out on a pair

 

[goldwerger]

Thanks for the info! I did demo the Decware/ZMF OTL but it’s abit outside my price range

I’m definitely keen on trying out the Mullard EL37s. Been keeping an eye out on a pair

for OTL, the Feliks Euforia is also great. Demo-ed it with the AC at CanJam NYC 2023 and synergy was awesome.

but if you already have the Aegis, frankly investing in expesnive EL37 tubes (which will likely run abotu $500 a pair) is a much faster and cheaper path than buying a whole other amp. The Aegis EL37 are something else in terms of spacial presentation. Truly special!

 

[AudioDuck]

Thanks for the info! I did demo the Decware/ZMF OTL but it’s abit outside my price range

I’m definitely keen on trying out the Mullard EL37s. Been keeping an eye out on a pair

Matt, one option for a more “budget” OTL could be a pre-owned Woo Audio WA2 and getting top-shelf tubes for it.

The WA2 scales REALLY well with better tubes and sounds wonderful with ZMF DD headphones.

It would cost you about $1800-2000 to do that, with the option to upgrade the fuse and power cable if that’s something you’d want to do later.

Not cheap per se, but a bit less that the DecWare, and with excellent quality and results sonically.

 

[mattiastomas]

Matt, one option for a more “budget” OTL could be a pre-owned Woo Audio WA2 and getting top-shelf tubes for it.

The WA2 scales REALLY well with better tubes and sounds wonderful with ZMF DD headphones.

It would cost you about $1800-2000 to do that, with the option to upgrade the fuse and power cable if that’s something you’d want to do later.

Not cheap per se, but a bit less that the DecWare, and with excellent quality and results sonically.

Thanks for the suggestion! The WA2 definitely is on the list to consider.

Might try more tube rolling on the Aegis first to see. Seems the most economical

 

[JackarlTwo]

Thanks for the info! I did demo the Decware/ZMF OTL but it’s abit outside my price range

I’m definitely keen on trying out the Mullard EL37s. Been keeping an eye out on a pair

If you were in Europe I'd strongly recommend Eufonika. For a budget friendly amp I've been really enjoying the H5 OTL for a while now, it's custom built in Poland, but it would probably not pair well with Caldera or Bokeh as it has a high output impedance (Bottlehead crack like). Very good for Atrium and Sennheiser though.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Realistically, I think an Aegis, a V281 and an OTL amp would cover most of the ground that any person would need. That's a great triple play there.

exactly right IMO

 

[Pharmaboy]

For a mid-Fi(ish) triple play in the $1K-$1.5K per amp range, here are a few I'd recommend for ZMFs based on what I've tried/own:

Solid state: V222 or V202 (single-ended) which is about $1K less than V281 minus the gain adjustable line outs, and a bit less power than the 281, but still retains the full, warm and smooth characteristic of the V2 series. Superb engineering and quality from the Lake People/Violectric/Nimbus team. Homage is also a solid recommendation pretty close in sound quality when I did a comparison of the two.

Multi-tap Output Transformer Tube: Icon Audio HP8, base model ~$1.5K. Works very well with the Caldera and dynamics and it has an impressive powerful sonic presence about it. The impedance matching switch works nicely for a range of HP's. I'm loving it with several music genres especially various rock and vintage recordings on the Atrium Open. Solid like a British Mark V tank, well built, nice slim desktop size and the casing does not get uncomfortably hot.

Tube OTL: Decware for dynamics. I tried the versions ZMF set up at the NYC CanJams and thoroughly enjoyed the spacious, holographic experience. I have a CSP3 base model on order with Decware at less than $1.5K. FYI, they have a very long waiting list. Put my order in back in early 2022 and still have a few more months to go but I know it'll be worth the wait. If I'd known earlier about the ZMF/Decware collaboration I may have gone that direction but it was above my price target at the time.

I also ordered an LTA Velo when they had a recent promotional sale and looking forward to it arriving soon. I enjoyed speaking with them at CanJam and they had ZMF HPs at their table for the demos.

Edit: corrected the description of HP8

Listening to the Caldera Closed with stock pads on my HP8. Before this, spent 1/2 and hour with the CC on the V281, switching between the CC & Caldera Open in a largely futile attempt to find any real differences between these headphones (sonic twins). Then I plugged the CC into the HP8, and that was it. Review listening & concentration fly out the window ... now I'm just grooving to anything I play with this combination.

To say the HP8 does well with ZMFs is an understatement. I'll have trouble getting these headphones off my head tonight. That's partly the fault of the Caldera Closed (it is superb), but just as attributable to the HP8.

Here's a scary thought--I have yet to hear the CC on the Aegis. That'll be another level of amazing.