m-i-c-k-e-y
Headphoneus Supremus
He he he non è vero, ma siamo pazzi sì...SPQR? (Sono Pazzi Questi Romani). Ciao! 
Pathos Inpol Ear Headphone Amplifier
- Thread starter m-i-c-k-e-y
- Start date
Musikfan
100+ Head-Fier
Hi, I'd love to know what dac you're pairing with your Pathos Inpol Ear amp. Right now, I'm using the Pathos with the PS Audio Directstream mkii dac. Together the 2 units provide an excellent combination of smooth, full presentation, clarity, plenty of details, and natural tonality. Enjoy your weekends!
Aqua La Scala Mk II Optologic
This may be the quietest part of Head-Fi
Now it’s time to start trying some different tubes. My first attempt at tube rolling will be with a pair of Mullard Blackburn ECC88’s. It will be interesting to hear what changes the Mullard’s will bring to the sound vs the Voskhod '75 6N23P Gray Shield SWGP in use now.
After a week or two I’ll report back.
P.S. I actually also have a pair of Reflektor '74 6N23P SWGP Silver Shields but have never tried those, always thought they would be too similar to what I already have. They will have to stay in their box (at least for now).
Edit: Removed reference to my DAC.
Last edited:
For anyone interested I am thinking of listing my Pathos inpol ear amp with the upgraded lacquered black finish and with the optional hidac mk2 dac. I purchased it in March 2022 from @decur and never unboxed it due to downsizing our home, with limited space. PM me if you might be interested. Thanks. Bob
m-i-c-k-e-y
Headphoneus Supremus
You didn't even tried it...
If you’re just thinking about listing the Pathos I’d reconsider, it’s your best amp
Now I'm thinking I might be making another gear sale mistake.If you’re just thinking about listing the Pathos I’d reconsider, it’s your best amp
You have some really great gear
It just happens to be the case that I’ve heard most of your amps (not the AK or the Nova). And considering the quality of your DAC and headphones I was just really surprised that you’d let the Pathos go.
It’s a very good match for the Susvara and would certainly work really well with most of the others, especially considering all the possibilities with tube rolling.
PS. I’m not the biggest fan of the CFA3 so please bear that in mind.
Thanks. I do like the CFA3 but I guess the question is compared to what? I will unpack and try the Pathos! I did buy a bunch of good tubes for it.You have some really great gear
It just happens to be the case that I’ve heard most of your amps (not the AK or the Nova). And considering the quality of your DAC and headphones I was just really surprised that you’d let the Pathos go.
It’s a very good match for the Susvara and would certainly work really well with most of the others, especially considering all the possibilities with tube rolling.
PS. I’m not the biggest fan of the CFA3 so please bear that in mind.
m-i-c-k-e-y
Headphoneus Supremus
Unpack and go for it! Thank us later.. 
Last edited:
Great, and if your going to sell it later I highly doubt that it will do much of a difference for the resale value.
It would be really interesting if you’d like to share your impressions. Is it as good as the CFA3 in your opinion or is it just different? Which tubes do you prefer? There are alot of very important questions to be answered
P.S. The CFA3 is supposed to be excellent so my impressions after hearing it in one system could be a result of other parts of the chain not being to my liking (in comparison to the Pathos).
Last edited:
Already after 48 hours of burn-in I’ve found the Mullard ’70 Blackburn ECC88’s to be a really good match for the Pathos. My impressions of these tubes seem to be slightly different to people using these on non-hybrid amps. When reading about them almost always described as being ”warm”, maybe it isn’t as apperant when using a hybrid amp?This may be the quietest part of Head-Fi
Now it’s time to start trying some different tubes. My first attempt at tube rolling will be with a pair of Mullard Blackburn ECC88’s. It will be interesting to hear what changes the Mullard’s will bring to the sound vs the Voskhod '75 6N23P Gray Shield SWGP in use now.
After a week or two I’ll report back.
P.S. I actually also have a pair of Reflektor '74 6N23P SWGP Silver Shields but have never tried those, always thought they would be too similar to what I already have. They will have to stay in their box (at least for now).
Edit: Removed reference to my DAC.
They aren’t as resolving in the bass at low levels as the Reflektor’s, and probably never will be regardless how many hours they burn-in. In ”Work Me” by Octo Octa I could hear some faint, deep bass at 00:25 with the Reflektor’s but with the Mullard’s I’d miss it if I didn’t already know that it’s there. On ”Walking with Elephants” by Ten Walls there is good bass impact/punch and also the same great sense of drive as with the Reflektor’s, but with a little less ”dynamic swing”. The treble is less smooth and feels slightly cruder, I’m hoping that this will improve with burn-in.
Switching to Anna von Hausswolff’s ”Dead Magic” the lesser resolution becomes more obvious. On this album she mainly plays on an organ in the ”Frederiks Kirke” in Copenhagen, Denmark. If I was mainly listening to technically demanding music across the ENTIRE frequency range I’m not sure that these tubes are the best choice, but this is of course only my opinion. Btw, this is a stunningly good album and highly recommended.
Two things are killer with these tubes: the holographic presentation and a wonderful midrange. The holographic presentation actually made me laugh out loud when listening to the alarm from the battlefiled on ”The Crusader Prelude” by Saxon - it was just such a cool experience! Both the holographic presentation and that wonderful midrange was on full display on ”Mirage (Live)” by Antonio Forcione. There is a greater sense of realness, of being there in front ot the stage that’s bordering on surreal. In comparison the Reflektor’s display the soundstage technically better in terms of width, depth and positioning but not as fun or engaging. I have the same experience with both ”Soothing (Live)” by Laura Marling and ”Litte Things” by Big Thief: technically not quite as good but with a brilliant sense of ”realness”.
As with many things there’s a compromise to be made between these two different tubes. The Reflektor’s are technically better, more resolving and more coherent, better balanced across the entire frequecy range but the Mullard’s are just such fun!
Lets see if, and how, my impressions change over the coming weeks.
Last edited:
m-i-c-k-e-y
Headphoneus Supremus
One of the nice things of Inpol Ear.. you can tune to your liking with tube rolling while being a high power dual 4pin XLR HPA/Preamp.
When I bought the Pathos the decision was between it and a used Riviera AIC 10.
The ability to use the Pathos both as a high quality HPA and preamp was the deciding factor. It gives me the option to use any power amp to drive whatever speaker I later decide on.
With that said, it would have been a much better economic decision to buy Riviera because it has drastically increased in price
Users who are viewing this thread
