Donald North Audio — Owners Thread

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by Huxleigh, Aug 12, 2016.

  1. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Now I've officially joined the club.
     
  2. ogodei

    ogodei MOT: Austin AudioWorks

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    Nice ! This is what those K1000s were waiting for all their lives. Prepare to never be satisfied by another amplifier again !

    What are those tubes? Looks like an EML mesh of some kind, and ... ?
     
  3. IceUul

    IceUul Friend

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    For me it looks like EML 5U4G Mesh and pair of Shuguang 2A3C-T Natural Sound
     
  4. SineDave

    SineDave Friend

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    I really love the look and design of Donald's stuff - but the price is just way too rich IMO.
     
  5. ogodei

    ogodei MOT: Austin AudioWorks

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    I believe you are correct.
     
  6. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    Yeah, EML 5U4G-Mesh and Shuguang 2A3C-T. This specific combination of tubes was recommended by DN himself.

    Some preliminary thoughts:

    1. I expected the Stratus to sound somewhat tubey and lush--of course nowhere as much as the majority of Woo Audio amps, but still more so than EC amps--but surprisingly no. Perhaps this is due to the latest updates DN has implemented on the Stratus, which also reflects the increase in price to $3K. I believe @sorrodje has already chimed on this. At any rate, this is one transparent amp.

    2. Stratus is the best amp I've heard with HD800 to date. Yes, even more so than L-2 or ZDS. However, it doesn't work straight out of the box with a stock HD800 like many claim--again, perhaps this is due to the updates that made the Stratus better technically all-around at the small expense of warmth and tube bloom. With my trusty old SuperBAF and SuperDupont mods in place, I don't think I've heard the HD800 sound more enjoyable.

    3. Still, I would pick my old Studio and modded HD650 over them if I could.

    4. So far I prefer my modded HD800 to K1000 (bass-heavy) on the Stratus. The K1000 is a surely an interesting headphone which provides a unique soundstage experience and the Stratus is undoubtedly a very good amp for it, but the HD800 outresolves it by a good margin, technically superior, and boasts an excellent soundstage of its own. Also, one of my earlier concerns turned out to be true: I don't feel the Stratus adequately drives the K1000 in terms of raw power output. K1000 has the lowest efficiency out of all headphones I know of (even less efficient than the notorious HE-6 by nearly 10dB). K1000 becomes listenable when the volume knob is maxed out, but even then it doesn't provide satisfactory SPL for certain recorded tracks. I would pick HD800 if I had to choose one headphone, but as of now I'm over the fence whether to keep or sell K1000. The K1000 does bring some redeeming qualities to the table, so I'm going to do some more listening before making up my mind.

    5. On a side note, I'm truly impressed by the Sonic Frontiers Processor 3 I recently acquired. Actually more impressed than I am with the Stratus. I don't know why no one at SBAF has owned or discussed it before, but it definitely deserves to be. I'm A/B'ing it against the almighty Yggdrasil, and the Processor 3 doesn't flinch. I don't want to derail this thread though, so more on that later possibly in another thread.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2017
  7. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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  8. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    @songmic, The Processor 3 was released close to when Sonic frontiers went broke/were having big internal issues. This was at the same times the SFT-3 was released, which is my grail vintage transport! I never really considered the processor 3, as there was very little hype about it on release at the time then the company sorta went bust :/
    It's good to hear positive things about the Processor 3, it has all the touting of a totl dac. Have you checked with pcx what the damage is on SE+ upgrade?
     
  9. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    Of course I saw that. Actually, there was a dedicated thread for SFD-1 MKII before Marv's DAC chart back in the Chang days. The thread was also pasted here at SBAF, in fact it was this thread that I came to know the Sonic Frontiers brand.

    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...dac-for-750-that-stomps-most-modern-dacs.508/

    After being curious, I bought a used SFD-2 MKII and had it upgraded by pcX (SE+ mod). It made a significant improvement and became my favorite DAC to date. I sort of regretted selling it for Yggdrasil.

    The Processor 3 was supposedly the best DAC Sonic Frontiers had made, their swan song, before they went out of business. The Processor 3 I have is stock, and to my memory it is definitely better than stock SFD-2 MKII (the stock SFD-2 MKII without pcX upgrade wasn't as good as Yggdrasil) and holds its own against Yggdrasil.

    Again, I'll probably discuss this in another thread, but I would like to send the Processor 3 to pcX for the SE+ mod and see if it will dethrone the Yggdrasil.
     
  10. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    @songmic

    of course you saw that :)

    I wasn't around for the Chang days so I wouldn't know. Oh well, I'll just drop a picture of my current DAC/AMP combo then. This is a really nice combination, even if the chassi sizes are a little bit mismatched. The Theta Gen V has without a doubt the single best bass drive I've heard in any DAC, very nice with Sonett and modded HD800.

    [​IMG]
     
  11. bigfatpaulie

    bigfatpaulie Tried to screw other friends while playing victim

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    Out of interest, did you find the tube dampeners to be effective? Did they make a difference at all?
     
  12. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    @bigfatpaulie

    Nah, not really. I tried A/B'ing them once but couldn't tell any difference. But I got them with the amp so I left them on, why not right. :)
     
  13. EeePee

    EeePee Acquaintance

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    Cause they look silly? :D

    With a headphone set up with no airborne sound pressure vibrations that speakers make, they don't really make sense.
     
  14. bigfatpaulie

    bigfatpaulie Tried to screw other friends while playing victim

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    Thanks. I figured as such. I agree that I have a hard time following most vibration control reasoning on headphone gear.
     
  15. ogodei

    ogodei MOT: Austin AudioWorks

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    I've heard them suggested to combat ringing that sometimes occurs in older tubes. Have no idea if they would prevent that or not.
     
  16. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    I also tried some Herbie's dampening rings in the past, but honestly I couldn't hear any difference. Maybe they do help if your tubes are microphonic, which wasn't the case for me. I also think they might be more beneficial in speaker than in headphone setups. YMMV.
     
  17. alucart

    alucart Facebook Friend

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    I noticed you're selling your EML 2A3 Mesh tubes - too late for me to purchase them as I've got a new pair incoming from Europe >_< can I ask why you prefer the Shuguang tubes over the EMLs? I recall people here liking the EML...
     
  18. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    I actually prefer EML 2A3 for my modded HD6XX. But when I heard the Stratus with HD800, I knew these were a match made in heaven and that I should dedicate everything to build an ideal setup around the HD800. However, the Stratus alone isn't enough to tame the HD800's brightness, as it lost some of its tube bloom in its latest update... which is why I'm now using a Sonic Frontiers Processor 3 (which uses UltraAnalog multibit DAC modules known for their slight warmth and soft treble), SuperBAF and SuperDupont mods on the HD800 itself, and the Shuguang 2A3C-T. These black bottle tubes may not be as transparent as the EML 2A3, but they are warmer and more forgiving. The EML 2A3 on the other hand sound a bit too "solid-state" if you know what I mean. For the final touch I've ordered a pure OCC copper balanced cable to replace the bright stock SPC cable.

    It took all these efforts to make the HD800 listenable without having it sound rolled off to shit and mushy. Now I understand why I bought and sold HD800 several times in the past, this headphone is not meant for everybody. But once done right (and boy it's hard to get it right), the HD800 becomes one hell of a rewarding headphone.
     
  19. alucart

    alucart Facebook Friend

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    Thanks for the quick response! I look forward to hearing the EMLs with my HD650 and HD800 and see whether I will also need slighter warmer tubes for the latter.
     
  20. ogodei

    ogodei MOT: Austin AudioWorks

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    @songmic, a couple of late responses to your preliminary thoughts ..

    The older version of the Stratus was never as lush as a EC ZDS for example, thats the beauty of this amp. It givers you beautiful presentation while still keeping things transparent.

    Agreed that this amp is much better with HD800s than the L-2 and the ZDS. I have the L-2 and frankly I have never been that impressed with it.

    I didn't have the K1000 when I had the Stratus but I do now, am looking forward to trying them out. DN designed the amp largely for those cans, im surprised that it wouldn't have enough power for them. That said, I liked the HE-6 out of the Stratus but did always think it sounded better on other SS amps with more power.

    Again, Congrats on joining the club
     

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