MrRIP OP t1_ja6fh95 wrote on February 27, 2023 at 4:36 AM

Reply to comment by SchiitMjolnir2 in CanJam2023 First Day Impressions by MrRIP

No, I think I should’ve. The rep told me in his experience is that he didn’t notice a difference in either of the outs so I took his word for it and just compared at 16. Honestly, didn’t know the brand or anything about the amp so I didn’t wanna start experimenting with stuff that isn’t my own

SchiitMjolnir2 t1_ja6fziy wrote on February 27, 2023 at 4:41 AM

Glad you liked the sound though since I own their cheapest tube amp which is the Forge 32/300 ohm. With my DCA Aeon X Open, there's a noticeable difference in dynamics between 32 out and 300 ohm headphone out and I actually prefer the 300 ohm out since it takes away the mid-bass bloat (it's the output impedance effect on FR) while revealing a snappier, tighter grip on transients. It changed the tonality to reveal a better technicality aspect of the Aeons

MrRIP OP t1_ja6h4va wrote on February 27, 2023 at 4:52 AM

Interesting. I’m not well versed in tube amps at all, but now I am. Did you go to can jam? Or heard the wa33 or Feliks envy? I’d like to know your opinion on the sound differences you’d noticed between them all with your pair.

Also is every input hole like adding gain on a standard amp?

I’m at the point of where I was when I was searching for a “perfect” pair of headphones. So many options between tube amps and I have no idea on how they work and it looks like the only place I can demo them is at shows like these which is frustrating.

SchiitMjolnir2 t1_ja6kfs3 wrote on February 27, 2023 at 5:25 AM

I've heard both during my time at CanJam 2022 Socal. From what I recall, WA33 is more technical and less rolled-off in the treble than the Envy. I believe, I used the low-impedance setting in the WA33 and medium impedance with the Envy with the Suvara pairing. The Envy has a more "expressive" mids than the WA33, and both have that concert-hall imaging that is the trademark of tube amp.

When it comes to tube amps, the best breed would be the "Directly Heated Triode" Single Ended Tube amp (WA23, WA5 LE, Feliks Envy, Eddie Current amps) or Fully Balanced Push-Pull directly heated triode amp (WA33). They differ in output power as well as output transformers and as such will react differently with the same headphones. Only way to tell is to actually demo them with your headphone of choosing.

> Also is every input hole like adding gain on a standard amp?

Nope. If you use two of the headphone amp outs at the same time, you increase the load of the amp (on the output transformer specifically) and depending on the sensitivity of the headphones used, one will sound louder or quieter than the other