EC Aficionado (was: The Studio Jr.)

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by AppleheadMay, Nov 10, 2015.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Hard to say on the lushness part. The ZDS is OTL, plate coupled OTL with feedback, but still OTL. Lushness I think is probably closer to ZDS though than Studio, mainly because we decided on no feedback. Think of it has different kinds of lushness. Maybe a lushness without the OTL capacitor veil. Stage is wide open like Studio. Maybe even deeper than Studio. Craig sent me some panel drawings today. I expect three months out. Let me check to see when we are taking deposits.

    BTW, Craig is limiting the tentative $2900 early bird price to first 25 15 units. I am pretty sure we can hit that price, but no promises. $2900 was the target early on. The kicker will be what we can get the Jensen balanced to SE transformers for.
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2017
  2. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Are people who sent in the pre order form locked in line? I sent mine in March.
     
  3. James Whiting

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    Are they all spoken for already?
     
  4. Drifterxny

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    What would be the tentative regular price? Tempted to place an order but would like to see a protype comparisons vs zds (hopefully using utopia headphones)
     
  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    $3200 will be regular price.
     
  6. bigfatpaulie

    bigfatpaulie Tried to screw other friends while playing victim

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    Frick Marve. You're costing me money....

    Out of just plain old curiosity, the Studio is still listed on the site, with a price and order form. Are they still for sale?
     
  7. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    @Marvey

    Is it brighter than the most recent ZDS and BA? Those were perfect for the Utopia even if the stock HD800 was a bit bright (it is on everything, though). I want the same FR with less midbloom from the BA while still maintaining the romance of those amps.

    Everyone else: get your orders in. It sounds like there's tons of orders already.
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Studio is still available, but availability could be uncertain. A Chinese retailer asked for 15 units.

    According to Judi, 20+ people have filled out forms. The first run is 15 units, a second run will follow immediately and should be done faster.

    I have no idea if EC will keep the $2900 early bird SBAF special price past the first 15 units. I'm sure you guys understand how ridiculous that price is considering the late addition of balanced input transformers and incorporation of EI power transformer.

    In general, EC AF is no brighter than ZDS or BA. The 300B BA is bloomier. The PX4 BA is slightly more incisive in the treble. I think with American vintage 2A3s and a WE396A, it's similar in tonality to ZDS with a neutralish 6SL7 like the Philips with green lettering. There's a bit of lushness of the BA and the spine tingling spookiness of the ZDS, these qualities do not exist in the Studio.

    Lots and lots of options for driver. And 2A3s too.
     
  9. James Whiting

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    So time frame somewhere towards the end of the summer? Looking at similar things that are not headphone...The price seems quite fair...early bird or not! Looks like time to put in for more overtime. Is there a 45 option?

    Happy Listening,

    jgwtriode
     
  10. ald0s

    ald0s Facebook Friend

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    Anyone have some ideas of possible speaker configs for the Afficionado? Currently looking at a small bookshelf + sub combo but unsure where to begin. I was originally looking at higher powered speakers and a dedicated amp but the convenience of an all in one warrants giving this high efficiency biz at least a quick look.

    I listen to lots of ambient electronica like Boards of Canada & a fair bit of rock as well which don't seem to be the best genres for this type of speaker but I'm interested in seeing whats out there!
     
  11. JoshMorr

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    Best options for speakers seem to be making up a back loaded fostex horn from a madisound kit. Looks like Marv tried with his Cicada's (12 ohm , but finding those are fewer are far between. If you are looking for off the shelf speakers to purchase Omega or Blumenstein look like decent candidates.

    Overall should be looking for something in mid to hi 90's in efficiency (or higher). Orca's seem to be modestly rated and due to their size can get a bit louder. Watch out for speakers that will dip to lower impedance, might spell trouble for the Aff (can we use this for a nickname since I cant regularly spell afficiionado?!?!).
     
  12. bazelio

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    @Marvey

    In addition to general tonality, are you aiming for a relaxed / laid-back presentation a la ZDS with Aficionado? So for e.g. take early "stereo" releases of common jazz records where you get a bunch of mono tracks just panned left and right. I'm listening to Dexter Gordon's tenor sax directly in my left ear hole with some amps, while ZDS nicely puts it outside my ear hole and in to space. I'm going rip out my T3 output CCS boards soon and see if I can get that amp to calm the F down a bit.
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yeah. Think ZDS but with much better clarity, resolution, and openness. Probably not as relaxed or laid back, but closer to ZDS than to Studio. Like 75% the direction of ZDS.
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    BTW, I should mention the SBAF early bird deal of $2900 is now over. The great news is that first 25 people on the list are in. There are 29 people on the list so far according to Judi. People will drop out, so I am sure everyone who has expressed interest up to now are in.

    The price will be $3200 going forward.
     
  15. Contrails

    Contrails New

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    $3200 is still an excellent price.

    Btw, any more updates on the Monoblocks? Cheers.
     
  16. sphinxvc

    sphinxvc Gear Master (retired)

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    Excited about this. Can we start a new thread or is that too premature?
     
  17. Thenewerguy009

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    What capacitors did Craig decide on going with?
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Some eBay specials left over from the Cold War, possibly filled with toxic PCBs. They sounded equal or better than every other cap we tried and also happened to be cheap. Craig had to go direct to a Russian source to find more.

    $80 to $100 for just two boutique interstage caps sold by scammy outfits and a $3200 retail price for a finished amp don't go well together. There is a lot of shady shit that's goes on with audiophile capacitors. I don't even want to get into it other than say that finding the OEM is key.
     
  19. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Too premature. Also want to make sure Craig is focused at this point.

    I just walked into the lab yesterday when Craig was finalizing the silk screen. We were that close to having Aficionodo instead of Aficionado amps for the first run.
     
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2017
  20. philipmorgan

    philipmorgan Member of the month

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    Ha! They'd be extra valuable on the secondary market, like rare stamps with a printing error.
     

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