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Spitfire417mkii
0
Feb 5, 2018
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Hi All, is there a big difference between tube amps that have one or two tubes in the configuration? I imagine there is, however I am thinking of choosing this drop over a little dot mkii. Mainly due to the price/performance factor. I am looking to pair the Bravo ocean with the smsl ad18. What do you guys think? Good start to my audiophile awakening? Pardon my ignorance and I thank you all for any feedback or advice.
Eli35
653
Feb 5, 2018
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Spitfire417mkiiHey, speaking about one or two tubes, well it has some pros and cons but it won't make a huge difference. And about the Bravo ocean or LD MKII, it all depends on what kind of headphones you wanna use with the amp. As a rule of thumb, I'd say if your headphones are >150 ohm impedance the LD MKII would be a better match, otherwise the Bravo Ocean is a better price-performer and probably sounds better with low-impedance headphones because it's hybrid and not full tube (like the Little Dot I+).
FYI, I currently own a LD I+ (hybrid amp, somewhat similar to the Bravo Ocean) and my next amp will probably be the LD MKII, because my main headphones are the Sennheiser HD6XX and they're supposed to sound better on tubes [long explanation about headphones impedance and tube amps vs solid state amps here].
FYI, I currently own a LD I+ (hybrid amp, somewhat similar to the Bravo Ocean) and my next amp will probably be the LD MKII, because my main headphones are the Sennheiser HD6XX and they're supposed to sound better on tubes [long explanation about headphones impedance and tube amps vs solid state amps here].
Spitfire417
4
Feb 5, 2018
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Eli35I have a few headphones at my disposal from lower impedance like ATH-MSR7 to mid tier like K712 to higher impedance's like HD6XX, HD600, ATH-R70x.
I don't quite understand the hybrid aspect of this AMP. I thought it to be a pure tube amp or does it has a solid state component to its amp as well?
Eli35
653
Feb 5, 2018
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Spitfire417I see. Yes, this amp is a "hybrid" amp because it's a solid state amp with tube preamp/filter. There's plenty of hybrid amps on market (Schiit Vali 2, Little Dot I+, this one...) and they're somewhat in between a solid-state sound (clean & undistorted, not too colored) and tube sound (euphonic due to a pleasant harmonic distortion inherent to the tubes, more coloured, a bit more "dirty"). Tubes also can make a huge difference, on my LD stock tubes sounded crappy & overbright, but Voskhod 6ZH1P-EV tubes sound naturally warm and pleasant, Mullards M8161 sound open and bright-ish... If you're planning to drive all kind of headphones from your amp, and not only high-impedance cans, I'd suggest you to stick to a hybrid o fully SS amp, because tube amps (OTL) usually have high output impedance and are good supplying voltage but not so good for current (high impedance headphones require high voltage, low impedance headphones require high current; that's why OTL amps are good match with high impedance headphones).
Given the price tag of the Bravo Ocean, if you wanna introduce yourself into the tube amps it might be worth, and it'll drive most of your headphones without issues. On the solid-state side, maybe you should consider the Schiit Magni 3, one of the best price-performance amps in the market, very powerful and great sounding according to some ppl. It's up to you, I went for the tubes because I like to tinker and tube rolling seemed much fun, but if I had to buy just "one amp for everything" I guess I'll go with a Magni 3 right now.
Given the price tag of the Bravo Ocean, if you wanna introduce yourself into the tube amps it might be worth, and it'll drive most of your headphones without issues. On the solid-state side, maybe you should consider the Schiit Magni 3, one of the best price-performance amps in the market, very powerful and great sounding according to some ppl. It's up to you, I went for the tubes because I like to tinker and tube rolling seemed much fun, but if I had to buy just "one amp for everything" I guess I'll go with a Magni 3 right now.
Spitfire417
4
Feb 5, 2018
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Eli35Thanks mate! very helpful. I have heard wonders regarding the magni 3 and will look into it with intent. I was looking at the LD MKi earlier; but didn't pull the trigger as there were discussions comparing the MKI & MKII and basically the hybrid aspect of the MKI put many people off. I am fascinated by way the tubes look and an very keen to discover the sounds that tubes offer. I will look to join this drop with the intention of tube rolling. I would have loved to join the O2 with SDAC but it does not look like the drop will be coming anytime soon.
Eli35
653
Feb 5, 2018
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Spitfire417I think Magni 3 is the way to go if you're coming from nowhere, have a vast variety of headphones, and plan to drive them all with the same amp. And it might be a long-term safe investment, because it has enought power and flexibility (inputs, gain switch, preamp output) to be useful on a wide variety of setups. And yeah, LD I+ is a compromise that tries to offer the best of both solid state and tube amps, but falls off somewhere in the middle and it's not as good as a pure SS for low-impedance and not as good as OTL for high-impedance. It's said to be a great match for Grados and some Audio Technica tho, if you had some of these it might interest you (I don't). Also for planars, LD I+ is great because it's the most "tubey" sound that you'll get without dealing with the high output impedance from OTL amps (I own a Fostex T-X0, almost the same as Fostex T50RP-mk2, and they sound great from the LD I+).
O2 with sDAC was not the deal of the century, because of the low quality included power supply that basically forces you to spend an extra $20 buying a decent one (same as Massdrop O2). Also, having a DAC/amp combo might not be the best for the long-run, because probably later you'll upgrade your amp and you'll be stuck with the O2/sDAC combo (or you'll have to buy a new dedicated DAC). It's usually better to have separate DAC and amp, in case you upgrade/sidegrade/whatever, because it offers you the best flexibility being able to replace any component separately.
O2 with sDAC was not the deal of the century, because of the low quality included power supply that basically forces you to spend an extra $20 buying a decent one (same as Massdrop O2). Also, having a DAC/amp combo might not be the best for the long-run, because probably later you'll upgrade your amp and you'll be stuck with the O2/sDAC combo (or you'll have to buy a new dedicated DAC). It's usually better to have separate DAC and amp, in case you upgrade/sidegrade/whatever, because it offers you the best flexibility being able to replace any component separately.
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