That’s what I was thinking too, though I haven’t actually tested the SE outs yet (don’t really plan to lol).
1 Like
I was listening to some Rodrigo & Gabriela guitar style Flamenco using Pi2 > ROON > Line Magnetic 32 DAC > EC Studio B > Grado GS1000i. The effect of being able to hear music in a HALO fashion, around my head, behind my head, the grand sense of spaciousness, the exquisite amount of “Air”, sparkle, and sense of being in a room as opposed to having a HP on was amazing. My Decware CSP2 gives it a good run for the money, but the depth and effects produced are just not equaled. I am sure that not everyone would be as impressed as me, there are countless combinations I have yet to experience and probably never will, but that album I was listening to really was particularly impressive and I wanted to mention it. (Rodrigo y Gabriela, 11:11, Quboz version, FLAC 44.1kHz 16bit)
This amp and chain was a listening experience above the average for me, the type of music played a role, not everything sounds that good.
9 Likes
Great album!
1 Like
Anybody heard the Eddie Current Zana Deux? I see it selling for $1850…
Don’t know if it’s worth considering being new in the tube amp space.
3 Likes
I haven’t heard it personally, but heard good things about it (if I remember correctly)
2 Likes
I haven’t heard it, it’s well respected, it was one of his entry level amps.
They don’t have a ton of power and the tube complement is a bit unusual.
3 Likes
I had a few hours to myself this morning while working on paperwork so I fired up the EC Studio B & LM-32 combo, by-passing the tube in the LM and going all digital outputting to my HD800s HP via Roon/Pi2 HiFi-berry.
I had over 200 tracks of Nina Simone 1958-1969 queued up for maybe 3 hrs.
If I was absolutely forced to keep only 1 HP amp out of my collection, against my will, no choice, just 1, this would be the amplifier i would choose today. It hurts me to say this because i adore each and every piece i own for their individual quirks and sound signatures but Direct Heated Triodes, and the harmonics they introduce into the music, absolutely are my own personal sound preference above and beyond everything else I enjoy. I can’t get enough of this amp and how it sounds.
That is all, the newness has worn off and serious understanding of what I truly prefer is finally registering in my own mind.
8 Likes
Question for my tube people. Would it be the worst thing to leave my tube amplifier on 8 hours a day? Reason I ask, is that frankly I think the tube amp sounds best when it’s on for at least an hour and 20 minutes or so. But turning it on an hour and a half in advance seems like a pain in weekends when I don’t have plans because I might wanna use it various times I a day. While of course during weekdays I can just turn it on as soon as I get home from work, shower and do whatever I gotta do and by the time I’m done it should be warmed up.
No, but you will burn tube life faster, so you have to account for that. If you think you will listen for most of that time (at least 4 out of the 8 hours) I don’t think it’s that bad.
Sounds right
1 Like
Hmmmm. Like how fast would they die? Do u know? Assuming it’s left on 8 hours a day twice a week? Like if the tubes last at least 8 months to a year I wouldn’t mind
1 Like
Figure 3000 to 10000 hours for tube life, so usually a couple of years.
I turn my tube amps on in a morning if I’m going to listen to it, turn it off when I’m done, so probably 10 hours a day.
4 Likes
Ooooooo gotcha gotcha very nice then. Thanks alot!
1 Like
For a bhc, I’d guess lower, more around that 3-4k range perhaps higher if it’s a really high quality tube, but anything that far past and imo you’d likely want to change
1 Like
If it’s got the speedball mod, the tube will either work or not.
The usual issue is they can’t be biased as the transconductance changes, which degrades the sound, with the speedball when that happens, it will be very obvious.
3 Likes
So It’s been a little while since I got the studio b in, I’m gonna try to offer some impressions on the amp and my specific pairing. For reference this is my full chain below.
KTE SU-2 → Lampizator Amber 3 → Eddie Current Studio B (running EML 300B Mesh Plates)
Specifically I will be talking about the Focal Utopia as I recently acquired one about a month ago and it has dominated most of my listening time since. But for reference I also have a Verite Closed and HD 6xx in house and have had head time with Diana V2, Susvara, and HD 800s with this specific chain as well.
300b as a tube type has completely blown me away, they have this certain quality about them, almost like a special sauce for your music. The emission labs mesh plates in particular are very spacious and have incredible depth and “air” in the stage, the background is pitch black of the darkest variety something that is quite impressive for a tube. It’s hard to talk about the other properties of this specific tube at this time since I don’t have any others to compare it to so from here on out I will attribute all sound qualities to the studio’s prowess.
First of all this amp leans on the slightly dryer side of tube amplification, There is warmth but not exaggerated “wet” or “sloppy” that some people might associate with tubes. Its not a bad thing but something to keep in mind. It adds a sweetness to the sound that really makes music enjoyable but doesn’t take it too far and reduce other technical aspects like some amps can. It has excellent control and is a master of tonality, using some of the headphones I’m familiar with on other amps and this is by far is the most natural sounding and tonally dense I’ve heard them. The spatial performance is next level with the aforementioned aspects but also a mastery of imaging placement and accuracy, excellent low level detail retrieval and dynamics, texture in the lower frequencies is especially pleasing.
Now the Focal Utopia. This amp just allows them to be the best it can be (maybe?), very resolving with tons of micro detail. I like to think of this headphone as a microscope into the finer details of my music while still having excellent macro detail. The head stage and presentation has that focal “bubble” quality that everyone talks about but is far more impressive from a detail retrieval aspect. It sounds like everything is around your head in 360 degrees but the finer details buried beneath come out in extra layers that you “peer” into beyond which gives it a very intimate feeling while also sounding multi layered and deep.
The Utopia does a good job of serving you the music with the recording being the focus, what I mean is that yes both the amp and dac i am using excel at being natural and organic sounding of which the utopia definitely takes advantage of but instead of feeling very lifelike akin to some other headphones I’ve listened to (such as susvara) it’s strength lies more in making the recording sound as detailed and satisfying as possible. While maybe not as realistic as some, Its not a negative but just a different take on tonal accuracy and organic sound. It has some really great critical listening aspects while still being very pleasing and not being overly “in your face” like some detail oriented sets can be.
I feel like I’ve ranted a bit more than i intended, but I hope I was able to get my thoughts across correctly. I didn’t talk about the amber 3 here since I and others have already spoke a lot about it in it’s respective thread, but it is without a doubt a huge contribution to how good the EC sounds. I will close with saying that this chain in combination with the Utopia is the best I’ve heard my music ever. It is superb.
14 Likes
I actually had the same thoughts when I first listened to the Sus at Canjam. The two are different for sure.
That for sale link you shared is very tempting but I literally have no place to put this massive thing. Decisions decisions…
2 Likes
Get rid of something else and make space. Hang something lighter off the wall if you have to…
3 Likes
I finally got around to playing w/ the Studio B in my small near-field 2 channel set-up and the EC continues to be an impressive and versatile piece you can use as an all in one and be very satisfied with for a long while.
Gratuitous pics of EC doing speaker duty.
11 Likes
Just saw that EC is gonna be doing another run and are starting to take preorders, also apparently you will have the choice of 2a3 instead of 300b.
source: SBAF
4 Likes