ECP Torpedo III [indexed in first post]

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by FlySweep, Nov 2, 2015.

  1. FlySweep

    FlySweep Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,412
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Thanks for the initial impressions, fierce_freak.. I'm interested to hear about resolving ability and extension. Curious how it scales, as well.
     
    Last edited: Nov 8, 2015
  2. fierce_freak

    fierce_freak Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2015
    Likes Received:
    220
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Western New York
    I'm not certain on neutral with the unfamiliar source I'm using, but natural yes...sounds "right."

    Also refined but punchy, too, and cymbals sound great. Going to hold off on more impressions till I get some time with more familiar setup.

    Currently have a valhalla 2 for direct comparison. In the past I've had an original mjolnir, entrance dacmini, several beta22 builds, an aikido headphone amp, and less time with many random diy and commercial amps.


    Edit - seems quite resolving but can't be certain till more time on familiar gear. I think extension is not going to be a problem for this guy. Answers on scale will come with time if/when I upgrade source and maybe pick up an hd800 again to go with the hd650
     
    Last edited: Nov 8, 2015
  3. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

    Staff Member Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    12,285
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Colorado
    Home Page:
    Very curious about the Valhalla 2 comparison.
     
  4. drfindley

    drfindley Secretly lives in the Analog Room - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,533
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Austin
    If I have mine built in time, I can bring it to SoCal.
     
  5. fierce_freak

    fierce_freak Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2015
    Likes Received:
    220
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Western New York
    Quick update.

    Re: vs Valhalla2 (stock tubes). Listened to Valhalla 2 for about an hour this morning and was thoroughly enjoying it. Now listening to the torp3.

    Wow. This is gonna sound kinda gushy and audiophooly (new toy syndrome?), but...veil lifted. Val 2 is kinda soft and round (very slightly on round) compared to torp3. Separation/stage is no contest. Torp3 is highly resolving while still sounding like one cohesive and natural presentation - not pushing itself on you but readily apparent if you "look" for it. Torp3 is punchy but not to the point I'd call it a coloration, also a bit more dynamic in a macro sense. Val 2 sounds a tiny bit fuller (bloomy?) compared to torp3 which still has a solidity to sound that's convincing. I think Val 2 is pretty open sounding, but torp3 is even more so (unrestrained).

    These aren't huge differences in all cases, and Valhalla 2 is still an incredible value I'd recommend with no hesitation. Torp3 is killer, though.
     
  6. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

    Staff Member Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    12,285
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Colorado
    Home Page:
    One thing that started to bother me about the Valhalla 2 was a sort of roughness to the sound. Different tubes didn't so much get rid of it as they did just kind of shift it around. This took a lot of listening to really notice. It also lacked slam and dynamics. I liked the amp as a whole, and it's a great value, but the roughness fatigued me, and the lack of dynamics and slam left me wanting more. This was pretty evident against the modded Crack + speedball or my Singlepower MPX3 (which have their own weaknesses, but weaknesses I can more easily live with).

    So, my question for you is how the T3 compares in just those two areas. You did say the T3 is more dynamic, but I want to make sure I don't get that mixed up with how you called the Val2 more full or bloomy. In other words, just wanna make sure I'm understanding your thought process. Thanks for the impressions!
     
  7. fierce_freak

    fierce_freak Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2015
    Likes Received:
    220
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Western New York
    T3 easily wins in slam and dynamics. Both are pretty important to me, and the difference is one of the first things I notice when changing (along with an absence of any congestion). I haven't noticed the roughness on the valhalla 2, but I don't have a huge amount of experience with it. Was the roughness centered around any particular frequency range?
     
  8. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

    Staff Member Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    12,285
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Colorado
    Home Page:
    Somewhere in the upper-mids and lower treble. Like I said, various tubes would shift it around for some reason or make it less noticeable, but still there. I probably could have lived with that if the Valhalla 2 was more dynamic (and maybe a little less grey sounding?).
     
  9. fierce_freak

    fierce_freak Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2015
    Likes Received:
    220
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Western New York
    Without having heard the torp3 my only real complaint against the Valhalla 2 was the lack of dynamics/punch. A little too polite for my tastes but still a great amp.

    Now having heard the T3, well, poor Valhalla 2. New toy still, but i'm really enjoying the torpedo 3. I'm skeptical at this point that things will change much with any of the tweaks I plan (replace the parafeed caps with mundorf evo silver gold in oil, replace the apls rk27 with a tkd 2cp-2511 (off board), and the ge 6072a 5 star tubes).
     
  10. dsavitsk

    dsavitsk Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,616
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Home Page:
    How are you planning to mount these? They are huge.
     
  11. fierce_freak

    fierce_freak Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2015
    Likes Received:
    220
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Western New York
    the evo will just barely fit with some fiddling (i think!). I'll find out in a few days when I crack the T3 open again.

    The EVOs are 27x40mm. 27mm is the axial dimension.
     
  12. Rotijon

    Rotijon Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    261
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Quick question,

    How newbie friendly is this? Im thinking of getting it for a friend, along with a solder and some brass wool.

    However, he is a complete and utter newbie in this, and i dont think ill have too much time helping him with it.
     
  13. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

    Anti-SBAF PSYOPS Banned
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,532
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Austin, Texas
    I'd say its as close to newbie friendly as it gets. No surface mount stuff, and no wiring to be done aside from configuring it for 110v/230v and grounding the pot if you count that. The HF build thread has you covered: http://www.head-fi.org/t/781651/torpedo-iii-build-thread
     
  14. kapanak

    kapanak Canucklehead - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    259
    Trophy Points:
    63
    There is two tiny surface mount stuff, and it's a pretty tight fit on the rest of the assembly if you screw up the mounting order. So perhaps not the BEST first project.
     
  15. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,171
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    I agree and the other pcb work can be tricky as well, i built a crack pretty easily but the speedball pcb gave me some problems. Perhaps it's wise to let someone else do the smd stuff. Or practice on something else first.
     
  16. MisterRogers

    MisterRogers Ethernet Nervosa

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,063
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Aurora, CO
    Home Page:
    It's a high-voltage build too; so a mistake isn't going to be just a small shock. As said, it's not the BEST first build.
     
  17. Hrodulf

    Hrodulf Prohibited from acting as an MOT until year 2050

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,276
    Trophy Points:
    113
    If you maintain good discipline and reasonable safety, almost no headphone amp can be considered unsuitable for a first build. As always - casing is usually by far the hardest thing.
     
  18. MisterRogers

    MisterRogers Ethernet Nervosa

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,063
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Aurora, CO
    Home Page:
    ^ For the right individual, it'd probably be just fine.
     
  19. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,153
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Estonia
    True, this is where the fun usually ends for me.
     
  20. Hrodulf

    Hrodulf Prohibited from acting as an MOT until year 2050

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,276
    Trophy Points:
    113
    There's a special flavour of terror when you see your mistakes meticulously immortalised in cold, brushed aluminium. There's no ctrl+z with CNC.
     

Share This Page