@Souldriver Originally, Radu spec’d dual 6AX4s rectifiers but he changed the design to support 5AR4, 5U4G, and WE422A with 5AR4 as his default “stock” tube due to its soft start. I’m currently running a Mullard metal base which I had in my inventory from a prior amp.
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Love to see a pic or two of your beautiful Hashimoto/45 Shiny Eyes. I love how Radu is able to take this platform and make so many different amps of such high quality and beauty with sonics to match. I was listening to my Shiny last night with the ZMF CC and it was off the charts good. So much balance, clarity, and such a beautifully organic sound with midrange brilliance and the perfect amount of texture in the bass and treble. The amp is just so good. And I don’t have his “end game” build, but at 50lbs with transformers that are every bit as good as the Hashimotos I don’t feel like much is missing. Instead of 300Bs or DHTs, the build is pretty similar with an amazing TKD Volume Attenuator, Lundahl Amorphous Core Transformers and the perfect compliment of pentodes that sound every bit like a DHT. The amp is just special… I am sure that Lawson’s 45 and the 300B sound equally as good, if not better. Mine has one less transformer and a smaller power supply. However the pentodes give plenty of power and it is matched to the perfect amount of gain and every headphone I have sings a rare and different tune…
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@geoffalter11 , @Camus is the current proud owner of the Radu Shiny Eyes but here are some older photos. Camus has much better feet on the amplifier now. Our own Souldriver took the last picture which i think is the prettiest of the bunch. Mine are all pretty boring…i’m no photographer 
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@Camus also recently gave that amp a much much more deserving power cable!
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I read the hint 
Unfortunately the cable will not reach the Radu in its current location.
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Yes, I’m the current owner and third of people on this forum. Only a few minor updates to help with tube ringing, volume knob stability, and amp isolation. Oh and markings for left/right +ve/-ve on the speaker taps and input sockets.
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The Shiny Eyes End Game DHT HP amplifier is back in my house for a short while and I’ve got some fresh speakers, accessories and cables to enjoy it with. It’s on loan from @Camus, (whose back has yet to recover from moving the beast). I can’t thank him enough for dragging it down my way so I could get some fresh hours w/ it again 
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Needs a set of TMs in there 
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I was speaking to @geoffalter11 a little on the side about the Radu amps. I sure do miss that one. The ease at which it portrayed music has yet to be matched by anything else I’ve heard to this point. It amazes me how some uninformed (or just unintelligent) jokers on the headfi classifieds tried to drag this amp down.
Ive also been lusting over the Treehouse amps he designed as they are such good lookers. And would love a treehouse audio setup one day.
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I met up with Radu at this year’s Axpona in the Treehaus Audio demo room to finalize the details about the 45 SET he was building for me at the time. I also got to see and hear the Treehaus setups which were very impressive sonically and visually.
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You, @NickMimi and @Camus i think may be the few that heard both the shiney eye headphone amp and treehouse sides of Radu.
Is the treehouse stuff in the sane vein? Is there any discernable differences or big jump with the treehouse offerings? Obviously a way different use case for the two.
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As I almost exclusively a headphone listener my experience with 2-ch setups is limited. Having not heard the Treehaus speakers with different chains it was difficult to isolate the discrete character of the speakers vs. Radu’s pre-amp etc. I can say the chain’s staging did have a similar wraparound character as his head amps. The pre was a 4P1L implementation as I recall so I suspect the sonic character is probably closest to Geoff’s head amp.
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Listen carefully to how I say this, I absolutely fell in lust w/ the Treehous Audio both times I got to listen to it at the CAF events. I touched things, took pictures, spoke about pricing, cost, build times and in general babbled like a giddy schoolchild to the bossman. The room though plays such a massive role in the quality of the presentation and so does the material played. (Which means in my mind, I bet I could make this stuff sound really good if only I could get it into my house in a properly setup room) 
Did it sound like a $150k ++ system? No, not many rooms presented much if anything better than most of my own system combinations are capable of reproducing. Yes there are fine nuances and various measurements that skilled technicians and those with an extra fine ear can discern and will absolutely point out. Is it worth the extra $50k to $100k over my stuff, sure, absolutely to some folks, yes.
What I’m saying is is, would I drop what an average “working Joe” considers stupid $$$$ 
on the Treehaus Field coil open baffles, and their very custom amplification etc. YEP 
in a heartbeat if I had that kind of fiscal buying power 
Did it sound really nice? Kinda, yes and no, the speakers were isolating, there was very little depth and width to the soundstage and none of the music played was bringing me tears of joy and amazement. Some rooms at these events sound better than others and unfortunately Treahous was in an average room both times, way too small for the equipment to do much else than look pretty. Then again, to my ear 98% of the equipment presented at the show sounds average excellent. Not much sounds bad but nothing much sounds $250k ++ worth of mind blowing either. 
Sorry, I personally find it difficult to speak about equipment not in my own home to anything beyond useless praises based on wildly inaccurate excited first impressions and the subsequent drool infused impressions that may come from a second, third or even 4th visit and few minutes of ear time at a show. 
Looks good to me though…
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