Eddie Current HD2 I'm still in love

[jp11801]

Man this is a killer amp and as many of you may know I am one fickle motherfucker when it comes to gear. Having gone through a number of amps this year I am really struck by this amp. It sounds absolutely amazing with the balanced HD2s and RS1s. It does a wonderfull job with the k1000s as well, it is super linear without sounding dry at all.

To refresh folks on what this amp is and the story, I had been in talks with Craig to design a balanced amp after hearing the Zana.

After several months he came up with an amp that used a 12ax7 driver and 6c41cs as output tubes with my choice of Tango or Electra print output trannies.

So after I demoed the amp in SoCal Craig shipped it to me in Florida. The amp arrived well packed but DHL kicked the living shit out of the amp so bad that they bent the frame in two places from what must have been several high drops. Well I was able to get it working and got to listen as did several of the local Florida folks and general consensous was really good but not great better and more linear than the Zana but maybe too dry. I sent the amp back to Craig for the needed repairs and he spent several weeks going over the amp.

Craig like many amp designers has a tough time leaving well enough alone and reworked the amp to take the 6c33b and damn if it did not go from good to great.

Famous last words are this may be my last amp but you never know what people are going to cook up next. I like this more than the Zana although the jury is out on this and during the NorCal meet opinions were varied. Some prefered the warmth of the Zana some prefered the speed and control of the HD2.

Craig is now working on what will probably be a final version of this amp the HD2i. It is the amp as I have it but he has taken a page out of Wester Electrics book and is using transformers to interstage couple. I will probably head down to SoCal in the next few months to hear this beast and if his estimated pricing holds out it could be a real competitor. With electra prints transformers it should come in at a hair under $3000.

Here are some pics of the HD2 that I have.

[ojnihs]

nice man, i'd love to listen to that thing

[jinp6301]

this and the zana are the only two amps that I would just get because it looks so damn cool

why are there no zana owners in nyc!!!

[n_maher]

Take a picture of the back panel, damnit!

[tkam]

Congrats on the amp I'm sure its a beast.

[boomana]

John forgot to mention that it's a great PS1 amp as well Nice to know that you still have it, since you go through gear faster than anyone I've ever known. It is a pretty special amp, imo, based on the few times I got to hear it, and that was before recent tweaks. Tell Al to get planning for February, so I can book my ticket.

[granodemostasa]

and to think i was about to trade the zana away...

[humanflyz]

and to think i was about to trade the zana away...

Come on man, you know you want to sell that to me

[jp11801]

I could only see selling the Zana for the new HD2i, I am so damn curious about that amp even though it is only slightly different from what I have.

The HD2i is said to have all the transformers in the case itself

[socrates63]

this and the zana are the only two amps that I would just get because it looks so damn cool

looks so damn cool is right

I've only seen photos of Craig's amps and the Moth Audio gear, but damn do they look good.

[jp11801]

here are a few pics I took after it arrived these are the pics with the bent frame courtesy of DHL

[ojnihs]

man those are some insides

[Grand Enigma]

Is there a reason why it only has single ended output or was it just a matter of preference?

...I love me my point-to-point. Though that other place would consider that poor and sloppy work if its done on anything but a PCB.

[n_maher]

Zach,

It has both SE and balanced outputs, the male XLRs in the middle of the two sets of RCAs. Everything to the left of the line out label is an output (see the internal wiring for proof).

[Grand Enigma]

I missed the pair of XLRs on the far right there...lousy pocket pc and blacke scale issues.

[jp11801]

Is there a reason why it only has single ended output or was it just a matter of preference?

...I love me my point-to-point. Though that other place would consider that poor and sloppy work if its done on anything but a PCB.

not that I think a board sound different than P to P but there is just something about knowing it was done totally by hand that gets me

[philodox]

Doesn't look sloppy to me.

Nice amp buddy!

[fierce_freak]

Bet that sounds nice...congrats.

[granodemostasa]

i'd like to see pics inside the cosecant.... always wandered what was in there.

[bhd812]

i'd like to see pics inside the cosecant.... always wandered what was in there.

probably some "thingies" of some sorts...

[postjack]

probably some "thingies" of some sorts...

x2, some ting in there

[purk]

JP,

This thing must sound really sweet. I heard Mulveling's Zana and was mighty impressed. The Zana is probably the best deal in headphone amp right now. Funny how Ray's B-52 is almost four times the price of the Raptor while the HD2 is less than two times the price of the single end Zana Deux.

[n_maher]

x2, some ting in there

Don't forget a bit of this and a bit of that along with a dab of whatever you call it.

[Uncle Erik]

Have you plugged a K-1000 into the amp yet? I'd like to know how that sounds. The one reservation I had about buying the ZD was that it doesn't drive the K-1000 well, but still put a reservation on the current run. The plan is to pick it up in person. If Craig has a HD2 around, I'll beg and plead for a listen.

Also, I'm impressed by the point-to-point work inside. Reminds me of the old boatanchors I like to work on.

[boomana]

I've listened to it with K1000s and preferred both the F1 and Sig 30 to it. That was before Craig tweaked it some more, so I'm not sure how it sounds now. IIRC, he designed it around the K1000s, so it should be sounding pretty sweet about now.