[ardbeg1975]

Discussion of the Icon Audio HP205D amp will ensue shortly (when mine arrives).

 

[ardbeg1975]

Comparisons of the following setups will be forthcoming:

1) Psvane new issue WE205Ds w/Sino 5AR4 and Gold Lion 6922s
2) NOS WE205Ds (with UV to UX adapter), NOS Siemens E88CCs, and Elrog ER274B
3) Elrog-MO 300Bs w/ER274B
4) Takatsuki 300Bs w/TA274B

 

[ardbeg1975]

1) Psvane new issue WE205Ds w/Sino 5AR4 and Gold Lion 6922s

I’m a self-professed NOS snob but to baseline I started with the “stock” tube complement above. Testing was done today with a Final D8K Pro LE on the amp’s low impedance setting which nominally covers 8-200 ohms but optimally 40-125 centered on 70 per the manual. Source was a T+A DAC200 in PCM mode fed by Roon (Tidal).

1) Aesthetics — The attached iPhone photo doesn’t do the amp justice. Copper top plate is very striking. The amp has a modest desktop footprint even with the separate power supply and is quite compact in comparison to other DHT amps with which I’m familiar such as the DNA Stratus v4 and the Eddie Current Studio B. Very solid construction, nice liquid movement on the knobs, etc. The Psvane 205Ds have a very prominent glow which I like.

2) Sonics — Test albums included A Night in Tunisia by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Dopethrone by Electric Wizard, and Kid A by Radiohead. The first thing that struck me was the soundstage and sense of 3D space with the jazz tracks. The Finals, while not being intimate like a HD6XX, are not the widest or deepest staging planars but they felt more expansive than usual on the 205D. Bass was very textured and articulate and could rumble especially on the doom metal tracks. Definitely more bass weight than WE300Bs and thus more comparable to Elrogs. Mid / vocal timbe was excellent and sweet and very clear in the mix similar to WE300Bs. Highs were crisp and very well balanced without being under or overemphasized. Transients were fast (not as fast as the Eddie Current but few tube amps are). Overall, a very harmonious presentation that was neither too dry or too wet. A nice contrast to the EC Studio B which can be (very) dry without rectifier rolling. Does the 205D compete in the same league with the EC or DNA? Yes, very much so. Tomorrow, I try some dynamic headphones and likely roll in some NOS tubes.

 

[ardbeg1975]

Tomorrow, I try some dynamic headphones and likely roll in some NOS tubes.

Continuing with the “stock” tube complement, I ran through several jazz tracks by Coltrane (A Love Supreme and Live at the Village Vanguard) on the ATH-AWKG. Again, general sonic coloration can be described as great bass, sweet mids, and very smooth treble with some air (not as much as e.g. mono plate 2a3s) but not too splashy or zingy / metallic. I think the amp pairs especially well with dynamics given the impedance options. I need to test with my HD800S to truly get a sense of resolution but nothing was lacking resolution-wise with the Finals yesterday. My general summary is the Icon 205D with stock tubes competes with but does not quite equal or surpass my favorite tube amp — the Eddie Current Studio B. But, I am cheating as the EC is decked out with Tak 300Bs and NOS input and rectifier.

So, at the end of the day, after some tube rolling, everything was awash in the thoriated glow of:

2) NOS WE205Ds (with UV to UX adapter), NOS Siemens E188CCs, and Elrog ER274B.

 

[ardbeg1975]

2) NOS WE205Ds (with UV to UX adapter), NOS Siemens E88CCs, and Elrog ER274B.

And EVERYTHING is noticeably better. Specifically, transients / immediacy was improved (likely the rectifier), definition was crisper (likely the input tubes), staging felt bigger, and note weight was fuller (likely the NOS 205Ds). The amp has now hit equal to or possibly better than (depending on tastes) the Studio B. I don’t wish to start a war but if you are in the market for a modestly powered DHT SET amp, don’t get a Felix Envy or Woo (unless you absolutely need more power), take an alternate path, and consider the icon.

 

[Rascal123]

And EVERYTHING is noticeably better. Specifically, transients / immediacy was improved (likely the rectifier), definition was crisper (likely the input tubes), staging felt bigger, and note weight was fuller (likely the NOS 205Ds). The amp has now hit equal to or possibly better than (depending on tastes) the Studio B. I don’t wish to start a war but if you are in the market for a modestly powered DHT SET amp, don’t get a Felix Envy or Woo (unless you absolutely need more power), take an alternate path, and consider the icon.

I have been following your journey with the Icon Audio 205D with great interest. I have a couple planars [Caldera, Rad0] and a couple high impedance dynamics[AO, VC] and have been drooling over the Envy. I have also wondered about a Euforia Evo as a standalone with the dynamics or as a pre into the Bliss as a possibility. So I am anxious to hear how you think the 205D compares with the Studio B, and Envy, and whether it plays nicely with both planars and high impedance dynamics? I look forward to your progress with tube rolling the 205D!

 

[ardbeg1975]

I have been following your journey with the Icon Audio 205D with great interest. I have a couple planars [Caldera, Rad0] and a couple high impedance dynamics[AO, VC] and have been drooling over the Envy. I have also wondered about a Euforia Evo as a standalone with the dynamics or as a pre into the Bliss as a possibility. So I am anxious to hear how you think the 205D compares with the Studio B, and Envy, and whether it plays nicely with both planars and high impedance dynamics? I look forward to your progress with tube rolling the 205D!

It plays nicely with the Finals which have the following specs — 60 Ω / 98 db. That compares to Caldera specs as I recall (I previously owned a pair but don’t remember the exact specs) so they should work well. The very low impedance / high efficiency cans with sub-30 resistance and high 90s/low 100s sensitivities are likely not the best fit nor are the truly hard to drive planars (e.g. Sus, HE6, HE5, Tungsten) as the 205D is a low power DHT amp and puts out 1W per channel max. The manual provides more color on the “sweet” spots for each impedance setting as follows:

Low — 8-200 Ohms (ideally 70 centred on 40-125)

Med — 60-600 Ohms (ideally 200 centred on 125-400)

High — 250-2000 (ideally 600 centred on 400-950)

I’ll be testing with the HD800s to get a sense of 300 ohm matching tomorrow.

I do not wish to offend but my take on the Envy was that it was too bloomy, muddy, and thick. Caveats of 1) show conditions (but I went during a slow time so background noise wasn’t distracting), 2) the Envy was running JJ 300Bs which are just “ok” in my opinion, and 3) the Envy was fed by an R2R DAC so the whole chain was going for THICC. Not my tuning preference as I like the sonic holography and warmth tube amps provide but balanced out by moderate to fast transients (i.e. not too wet). The EC is very fast (SS level fast) and dry. The Icon is slightly wetter and hits that balance I mentioned above just right.

 

[ardbeg1975]

I’ll be testing with the HD800s to get a sense of 300 ohm matching tomorrow.

Suffice to say the HP205D pairs very, very well with higher impedance dynamics. I tested with the Senn HD800S on Medium impedance amp setting (see above) and it was excellent. The 800s was, dare I say, meaty. I do typically apply a 4 db bass shelf starting at 100 Hz in Roon to which the Senn takes well, but, even w/o the shelf, the 800s was as full as that headphone can be, i.e. it’s never going to be a bass monster but still very satisfying bass and midbass while maintaining its noted spaciousness in the mids and treble.

 

[ChJL]

I'm planning on getting a tube amp in the future. No OTL, I'm looking for one that will be a good match for "regular" planars (D8Kpro myself)... maybe this one could be a more sane choice. Although I'm not really

and have been drooling over the Envy

I maybe due to lack of experience and not being a "tube/NOS snob" myself tend to don't "belive the hype"

so the "Envy crew" on here is passionate! WA23 similar but also quite ending the game with such a price tag...
Thanks @ardbeg1975 for sharing because this one probably won't get too much attention and appears like a sane choice.

 

[ardbeg1975]

3) Elrog-MO 300Bs w/ER274B

Today, I tried the Icon with Elrog ER300B-MO power tubes. The Icon is exceptional as a 205D amp and equally adept as a 300B amp. Low-end was not quite as full as it was with the NOS WE205Ds but not materially different from bass with the same Elrog tubes in an Eddie Current Studio B. Mids were again very engaging but not quite as romantic as the NOS 205D but I’ll need to try out some WE300Bs with the Icon as the Elrogs do not present a classic 300B mid signature even on dedicated 300B amps. Highs were very extended but not quite as crisp as with the 205D. I think the highs with Elrog may be a bit more refined when installed in the Eddie Current. “3D” auditory illusion was more pronounced with the 205D tubes compared to the 300Bs. Overall, a surprisingly great showing for the Icon in its alternate 300B mode and perhaps sufficiently good to justify the Icon as a dual duty amp rather than investing in a dedicated 300B-only amp to pair with the Icon.

 

[ChJL]

NOS Siemens E188CCs

are those your staple for each configuration?

Are NOS WE205Ds even an accessible option or only obtainable for

a self-professed NOS snob???

how would you describe the difference between NOS and Psvane 205Ds?

will you be testing

4) Takatsuki 300Bs w/TA274B

next?

 

[ardbeg1975]

are those your staple for each configuration?

Yes

Are NOS WE205Ds even an accessible option or only obtainable for

Very (very) hard to find unfortunately (I’m lucky that I know a guy who knows a guy…)

how would you describe the difference between NOS and Psvane 205Ds?

Sweeter mids and .more sense of space, Bass is similiar. Treble differences are a bit more nuanced with perhaps a but more texture and smoothness with the NOS. That said, Psvane were excellent for new issue tubes. If the NOS are 11/10 then the Psvanes are 8.5-9/10.

will you be testing

next?

Yes, Taks next.

 

[ardbeg1975]

4) Takatsuki 300Bs w/TA274B

Today, I ran the Icon in “Tak” mode. I daresay, that of the 300B configs, I prefer the Taks on this amp over the Elrog-MOs. Not necessarily so on the Eddie Current, but here, the MOs are a bit too “insistent”, more detailed, yes, but the Taks just pair better being a bit less aggressive with detail presentation. The MOs are themselves smoother and more textured / nuanced than the “stock” Elrogs which may be much too aggressive for the Icon but I cannot validate that supposition as I no longer own the stock ER300Bs.

 

[ChJL]

@ardbeg1975
I hope you could put your experience, impressions with this amp and the 4 configurations in context to your favorite tube amps when you have a few minutes to spare...
Somthing like an all time podium and how far the Icon is behind? Plus these 4 configurations on a scale from 1-10 like you did with the 205ds.
I looked through your classifieds pages and you tried out quite many amps and HPs!

I’m a self-professed NOS snob

Well, now you're listing your Studio B and I wonder if and how long the Icon will stay?

 

[ardbeg1975]

Well, now you're listing your Studio B and I wonder if and how long the Icon will stay?

The Studio B is up for sale because the Icon bests it running NOS 205Ds and comes within a hair of equaling it when running 300Bs. Thus, I cannot justify owning both but rest assured the Icon is sticking around for the foreseeable future.