EC Studio Junior (not AF)

Hmm. That's weird, although I would have to admit that the DACs I've tried the SJR with have either added bass (Yggdrasil A2) or considerable tonal density (May KTE in NOS mode). It could also be the tube choice. But yeah, with my current gear, I've actually not found the SJR to be lacking. It's probably a bit loo much low end for most people actually.

If I have to guess, try tube rolling first or try a different DAC with it. If that doesn't work, then the SJR may not be for you.

 

Yes and yes. This is a balanced amp, the SE out is horrible by comparison and only added for convenience. Maybe hold off sharing impressions until you can get a proper balanced cable to use with your headphones? The difference isn't subtle.

Edit: even out of the balanced output the amp won't sound romantic or reckless in either of these things; again, the "studio" name makes a world of sense here. That said, if it's in the recording and your headphones can handle it, it'll be there.

Edit 2: got wires crossed, per @EagleWings. Does still seem like things were optimised for use with the XLR out.

 

@thoth what’s your DAC and what’s your reference for a good dynamic sounding setup? This will help shed some light on where you are coming from and what your expectation is.

If trying the balanced out doesn’t help, another thing you could try is, swapping the cathode bypass caps and the coupling caps for a higher capacitance value. Not all at the same time, but one by one. It would come at the cost of losing a touch of transparency. But might get the dynamics to where you want it.

Btw, this is not a Balanced amp. The amp is SE in topology. However an OPT can be wired for Balanced drive and I believe that is how it is achieved here.

 

I listen primarily to rock and dynamics is the primary reason I enjoy spend most of my listening on the Studio B over others. Granted my setup mainly consist of ZMF dynamics which are inherently wet and full sounding which lends itself well to dry sounding amp. What is your current setup? It is hard to convey our experiences over text so it could well be the amp doesn't suit your preference which sucks seeing the trouble you go thru just to get it.

 

My setup is: Gungnir MB rev. B ( the one which sounds leaner) -> Asgard 3 / Torpedo 3 / Lyr+ / Studio Jr -> ZMF Eikon / TH-X00 / Focal Elex. This year I only used Eikon.

Tubes on Studio: EH 300B / Gold Lion 300B -> stock 396A/WE 2c51 (didn't notice a difference) -> JJ rectifier / Sylvania Rectifier (some diff noticed but could be placebo).

Mains voltage is good, -3% -> +1% variability throughout the day.

In terms of dynamics comparison: Torpedo 3 + RCA 12AZ7 sounds amazing, this is my main setup at the moment. Lyr+ both SS and tube also has good dynamics. Drum slam is definitely more noticeable on Lyr+ vs Studio, with all 3 headphones.

Cap mod seems interesting.

I was actually contemplating the following mods:
1. Non-feedback mod with switch.
2. Running the amp on higher voltage through a variac. Sounds crazy, but the circuit and parts inside tell me it won't get hurt, if some precautions are made. It should support up to +20% overvolting on B+. Driver heater is regulated. 300B heater would have to be adjusted manually through the blue pot. Folks on duyaudio suggest that 300B has best bass when you run it harder. On current operating point it is just 1/3 of dissipation maximum. If people notice better SQ with better rectifiers, this is strong evidence that overvolting it should lead to even better results.

 

I don't think you will find better SQ with this amp by changing technical parameters. FWIW I also found AF to sound dry with zero dynamics, even worse than Valhalla 2. It comes down to the passive components used, the design of the power supply (the chokes choke the sound) and the lame driver stage. Changing the operating point of the driver stage will be more clearly heard than anything to do with the output tube, BTW. Raising the plate voltage will only make the sound more high strung and tense, and you will also induce further loss of clarity by having a variac in series with the AC input. But you are welcome to try

 

WTF is a choke!?!
Im still a noob, but I see the unregulated power fans dislike stuff in favor of power cables.

Than I see the one who create amps and show their work love chokes. sometimes even offer free mods to add chokes...

is it measurable? Clearly it is all done for a reason.
Maybe off topic the EC amp here, but curious because I see this all the time.

 

Hey Folks,

Been lurking for a while and found myself compelled to post. I do enjoy the Studio Jr 300B with Bifrost 2 and HD 650, but I didn't think that the amp would still be regarded as being in the "dry" territory. Given this perception:

1. What tubes are recommended to "reverse" this as best as possible? I was actually wanting for a warm, lush, bloomy, rich, wet tuning. I currently run the JJ 300B, WE 396A, and JJ GZ34. BF2 should do the trick? Anything else that can be done? I will likely run Focal headphones in the near future also.

2. How can you tell if the SJR you have on hand is a feedback or non-feedback version?

 

My own two cents, when I heard the Studio B at the Schiit meet in Austin, it sounded like a tube amp... a little dry, but it still had that tube bloom and richness, albeit dialed back a bit from more traditional tube designs.

 

That Balancing Act with Elrog MO 300B have been haunting my head ever since I heard it but to replicate that kind of sound it seems that there is no other way than to get the exact same amp?

 

i wouldn't spend any more money tube rolling if i were you... time to go vintage EC shopping/sniping/schmoozing.

 

this should be stickied.

i thought so too, but what if it's the laid-backness that's getting to him?

 

You’re pretty limited in how far you can push an amp that’s designed to be linear sounding in that direction.
It’s largely a function of the load line the designer picked selection of cathode bypass cap size (if it has them), and the output transformer, possibly the coupling caps.

You can get some leeway with power tubes, but it’s usually not night and day.

 

^^^

@thoth you could DNA, or you strike up a convo w an Oliver Sayes or Thomas Mayer-like builder or a local amp tinkerer and tell them what kinna sound you are looking for and just go custom.

fuckin' around and findin' out (in the 26-year-old white hippie teacher woman from Portland turn of that phrase) cost $$$.

can't just go for what other ppl think is TOTL and expect it to be even close to your taste.

for instance, you could spend the ultrabux and wait 8-14 months (idk how long the waitlist actually is, but expect to wait a min fs) on a DNA Stellaris.

unbox it, eagerly, ceremoniously plug your 'phones in for the first time and find out that you like the tone, but not the macro or smth.

perhaps you could go to a local meet and listen to a bunch of stuff? at least that's free, or relatively low cost, and you'd prob learn a lot.

 

This quickly turns into an output trafo rolling conundrum. I won't lie, I've wondered what some syrruppy japanese iron would sound like in a Cinemag EC Af, or my lundahl Elekit, but not willing to drop the coin for such an exercise.

 

Surprised you say they have different output transformers and operating points. With Studio B, Craig is basically making use of remaining output transformers for SJR. Sure you didn't mix up something?


The variac just arrived. Going to mess up a bit