Oh Sh#7! Eddie Current Studio B

As Marv actually pointed out in the other thread, the Studio Jr. and Studio B are NOT the same. I also thought they were the same, so you’d be forgiven for thinking so. Here:

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...-studio-junior-not-af.7527/page-4#post-414815

As a side note, would be super interested in a breakdown of Studio variants. Apparently there was a “Studio A” at one point, for instance?

 

Please see the Studio B power measurements added here:
https://superbestaudiofriends.org/i...o-b-technical-measurements.11063/#post-416711

 

He actually corrects himself later on. He probably meant Af vs studio B in the comparison.

 

Anyone knows what is the role of the 4 yellow caps in these pics? On the chassis side near the line out. I don't have them in Studio Jr.

 

I see what you mean. Well, now I'm confused, too! Ha.

My understanding in the past was Studio B emerged from Craig having leftover Studio Jr. OPT's, and he decided to place those in a Balancing Act-style chassis. Still, EC has always had some "silent revisions" over the life of individual products, so there's bound to be some internal differences between one SB and another, much less between a Studio Jr. and a Studio B, which is I'm sure part of why you don't have the yellow cap board you mentioned. Maybe @Souldriver knows -- when Craig uses PCB's, he sometimes has them printed with a description on them.

 

No idea here, i only have mine to compare to some others that posted pics.

 

If I have time I'll open mine up and look around.

Also, it looks like I misspoke about there ever being a "Studio A" -- I was going off @animus's comparison review of Wavedreams, but when I look back on his profile post history, it looks like that's just what he called his Studio 2A3 (so: Studio Jr. 2A3) in his review.

 

@internethandle Turns out @atomicbob amp has even lower gain. Most likely it depends on tubes. https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...o-b-technical-measurements.11063/#post-416766

 

New to this and reading this thread and others on this forum, I just bought a Studio B that should be arriving in a couple of days. I'm going to pick up a pair of Sennheiser HD800s, but I am completely lost on what DAC to buy. Who's up for some recommendations on where to start?

 

Thanks for the response. Your posts have been the inspiration for getting started.

I have a new pair of HD650 sitting in the box and no DAC yet. I legit knew absolutely nothing about this last week.

 

Damn! Welcome to the club!

I guess for someone who has no experience with their preferences (?) for sound, it's a little harder. Do you have a CD player with rca/line outputs? If not, you may just wanna buy something cheap like a Schiit Modi (or Modi multibit) and see what you think and report back. Schiit has a 15 day return policy, so you could potentially swap it out for something more within your preferences. For the Studio B you definitely want a high level DAC, but probably better to start small first just to figure out what you like or don't like and we can help you from there.

 

Jumping from "I know nothing" to a Studio B is one of the more impressive things I've heard of in terms of taking a hobby seriously. Bit dangerous since establishing a baseline with gear this high up the ladder is riskier, but eh, as long as you're not putting yourself in massive debt.

Yep, go with whatever and don't expect to get it right the first time. Take note of what specific things bug you about things as they are, or which direction "better" theoretically is. This is the part where reading a bunch and getting a handle on e.g purr1n's or Torq's or EagleWings's or anyone else who's been able to try out a bunch of stuff on the higher end's preferences come into play; someone's "wow" could be your "wtf"

 

My CD player is long gone 15+ years ago. I do have some FLAC files on an old harddrive when I thought I could try playing FLAC files in my car back in the day. Was thinking about starting with something from Schitt. There are a couple on FB marketplace that I can get locally. There's an ebay auction ending in a couple of hours for a Schiit Gungnir MultiBit that I can pick up locally so I'm considering that too.

 

Which Gungnir Multibit is it? There is an Analog1 and Analog2 that have different sound signatures. You could ask the seller. If they don't know, the serial number will tell you... if it starts with "B" its an A2.

 

Thanks. My thinking is might as well start at a decent level. The Studio B isn't as costly as starting off with a Stellaris. Appreciate the advice. I'll keep reading and see what I come across in the used market.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/235297067139?hash=item36c8cc5083:g:t8MAAOSwlOdlUqms

Here it is. A1 updated to A2 possibly?

 

Looks like A1... that version is warmer than A2. Combined with the warm HD650 might be a little much, unless you end up liking a really warm sig. I only heard the Studio B briefly, but it did seem a little warm. Maybe @purr1n can chime in.

 

@Josh Schor liked A2 Gungnir with Studio B, FWIW (although he has a 2 channel system, and eventually sold Studio B). I use Yggdrasil LIM with Studio B, which is “dark,” but not necessarily warm, and also tend to use it with my 800’s, which are definitely brighter than 650/600.

 

Thank you for your input.