[AnyDave]

.... relative of Nearly Headless Nick?

Pretty much his twin, I'd say. Except that Nearly Headless Nick actually is dead.

 

[zach915m]

 

[nephilim32]

Absolutely love this video. Also. 65 pounds? Wow. That is amazing. I bet the amp is the real deal. I think the Ageis aesthetics wise, has a a great presentation. The overall craftsmanship and professionalism is so painstakingly obvious. This is an incredible collaboration of ideas and material science.

 

[Monsterzero]

Reposting my Aegis review for those who missed it the first time awhile back. This review is of the DIY Aegis, but apparently the ZMF version sounds essentially the same.
For the fast and easy opinion of what I think of the Aegis, fast forward to the 18:20 mark.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Has anyone paired their Aegis with a Yggy A2? There’s a nagging voice in the back of my mind that hates the idea of using the inferior single-ended outputs of my Yggy with an amp as nice as the Aegis. I currently use the balanced outputs of the Yggy into my Mjolnir 3 and know I’m getting the best out of the DAC and amp.

Am I being crazy to think the single-ended outputs of my Yggy A2 will be a bottleneck with the Aegis?

 

[RestoredSparda]

Folks saying Yiggy A2 single ended outputs are lesser are mistaken IMO. I've used various balanced to rca converters, even a Freya +, from my Yiggy A2 to my DNA Stratus. Sounded exactly the same using the Freya+ without tubes on. Balanced converters flavored the sound a bit but were not 'better'. Most were worse in some way.

I still use the RCA outs to this day with my Stratus. Sounded better than LIM and MIB to me, all using RCA out. Don't sweat it!

 

[Nick76]

Has anyone paired their Aegis with a Yggy A2? There’s a nagging voice in the back of my mind that hates the idea of using the inferior single-ended outputs of my Yggy with an amp as nice as the Aegis. I currently use the balanced outputs of the Yggy into my Mjolnir 3 and know I’m getting the best out of the DAC and amp.

Am I being crazy to think the single-ended outputs of my Yggy A2 will be a bottleneck with the Aegis?

I've been wondering the same thing, but the Aegis with the Yggy A2 at Canjam NYC in the ZMF room sounded phenomenal. I don't recall if it was connected directly with RCA, or some sort of XLR to RCA conversion but maybe someone else can chime in. It was definitely the best sounding combo of any DAC and amp I've heard.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I've been wondering the same thing, but the Aegis with the Yggy A2 at Canjam NYC in the ZMF room sounded phenomenal. I don't recall if it was connected directly with RCA, or some sort of XLR to RCA conversion but maybe someone else can chime in. It was definitely the best sounding combo of any DAC and amp I've heard.

I'm pretty confident it was connected to the RCA outs, maybe @zach915m can confirm.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I’ve read conflicting things about whether the RCA outputs are inferior to the XLRs on the Yggy A2. I’m using the RCA outs with my little SW51+ tube amp and have no complaints. Since the Yggy A2 is a balanced DAC, I suppose the XLR outputs are technically superior, but maybe it’s not an audible difference.

Moral of the story, I’m not going to let this theoretical issue dissuade me from considering picking up an Aegis. Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[Wes S]

Tube roll #1 - Reflektor 6P3S 74'

I wanted to start out with some cheap tubes, as I am going to work my way up to the big boys, and holy crap! The sound went from a 10 to a 12, and these are just cheap tubes. The stage opened up immensely, the detail increased, and the level of realism increased too. The bass also gained a bit of grip, and now it's hitting harder and tighter with the CC. Vocals really came to life and are hauntingly lifelike. This amp is just flat out insane, and I can't wait to hear it with some better tubes.

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

Moral of the story, I’m not going to let this theoretical issue dissuade me from considering picking up an Aegis. Thanks for the input everyone!

Yeah, I wouldn't sweat it. I use a Jensen PO-2XR XLR->SE converter with my Yggy A2 and Stratus but I'm not sure the difference is worth worrying about.

 

[khaine1711]

Has anyone paired their Aegis with a Yggy A2? There’s a nagging voice in the back of my mind that hates the idea of using the inferior single-ended outputs of my Yggy with an amp as nice as the Aegis. I currently use the balanced outputs of the Yggy into my Mjolnir 3 and know I’m getting the best out of the DAC and amp.

Am I being crazy to think the single-ended outputs of my Yggy A2 will be a bottleneck with the Aegis?

You could always convert XLR -> RCA if you prefer the XLR output. I have yet to wire up a 1:1 Lundahl/Cinemag XLR -> RCA, but various cheap active bump box works pretty well (with my Aegis DIY), like the Henry Engineering Matchbox HD or the Aphex 124B.

 

[zach915m]

I'm pretty confident it was connected to the RCA outs, maybe @zach915m can confirm.

Yeah it was just connected to the RCA outs!

 

[ckhirnigs113]

You could always convert XLR -> RCA if you prefer the XLR output. I have yet to wire up a 1:1 Lundahl/Cinemag XLR -> RCA, but various cheap active bump box works pretty well (with my Aegis DIY), like the Henry Engineering Matchbox HD or the Aphex 124B.

Yeah, I wouldn't sweat it. I use a Jensen PO-2XR XLR->SE converter with my Yggy A2 and Stratus but I'm not sure the difference is worth worrying about.

I assume you guys have compared using the RCA outs from your Yggy to using the balanced out converted to SE with these external transformers. Was it a clear improvement or just a change in flavor?

 

[khaine1711]

I assume you guys have compared using the RCA outs from your Yggy to using the balanced out converted to SE with these external transformers. Was it a clear improvement or just a change in flavor?

I don't have a Yggy, but I mostly use pro Dacs with no RCA out. Was expecting huge different compare to a simple xlr -> rca cable but for my case, just a slight change in sound flavor (and wider range of volume control since my xlr signal is very hot).

If you like transformer solution, you could always hook up and input transformer box (Cinemag starting @ ~$70, Lundahl slightly more expensive) - I think commercial Cayin and the Feliks Envy also use this for their XLR input. Ampandsounds also sell one box (quite expensive though) if you don't want to DIY.