jp11801 Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 Wow another great mini at Craig's house, I wanted to come down to hear Joe's (Dreamcomposer) balanced Zana and A/B with the HD-2 that I own. Well I got to do that and a whole lot more. Rounding out the amp line up was Eddie Current HD2 Eddie Current Balanced Zana Duex Eddie Current balancing act (prototype) We also had a singled ended Zana and a EC proto amp with C41 power tubes that sounded great. David (909) was nice enough to bring his amazing source the Reimyo 777 CDP, if you get the chance this is one great sounding source. We also had the pleasure of going back to the future and hearing to well regarded linear tracking turntables from the late 70/80s the Sony ps x 800 and the Harman Kardon st-7. For me the HD2 and the balanced Zana were tops at the meet it was hard for me to say which I prefered as they each did different things better. The HD2 wqas faster and more dynamic while the balanced Zana has a huge soundstage (best I have heard) with a more lush sound. The Zana balanced favored classical music and the HD2 favored rock and jazz. although I would thing the the balanced Zana would also be great with classic era jazz. Craig as usual had a few tricks up this sleeve and had a new proto of the balancing act amp. This amp is a tube rollers dream come true with a 6sl7 up front with the option to run either 300b or 45 tubes in the power section. The 45 or 300b is switchable by the user with a knob upfront in the proto it is a switch on the top of the amp. We tried the amp with graphite plate tubes from China and we also had AVVT 300bs as well the AVVTs sounded great. This amp will be a winner, if it comes out... Also in the design stage is a proto of a scaled back version of the HD2 amp. The amp that sounds best will in all likelihood go into production. The linear tracking turntables were a real treat the Sony is so advanced it is amazing. The arm constantly checks to ensure it is aligned properly with sensors and tracking force is knob adjustable as the table can measure the weight and adjust accordingly. The Harman Kardon was far simpler with a Rabco arm and stainless/aluminum chassis it looked really cool. The HK sounded a bit better but I really felt it was more of a case of being better dialed in with a cart that matched the arm better. I am looking forward to hearing this deck again with a better cart match. I like the HK so much I found one on line today and bought it. We took some pics so hopefully they will go up soon. I am leaving out a bunch but more to come. Oh and for the surprise of the day Foome was in town also and stopped by with his Zana, it is always great to see a him.
zippy2001 Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 Pure sonic orgasmic bliss! All of the amps were outstanding, from the HD2 to the balanced Zana Deux to the Balancing Act. The Reimyo CDP was a first class source to drive all of these wonderful tubed Eddie Current amps. 909's L3000 were fantastic, very rich, organic and everything just sounded right about them. It was a pleasure listening to some vinyl through both the Sony (with it's complex electronic linear tracking) and Craig's Harmon Kardon (simple mechanical linear tracking) turntables. The Blue Note 45 RPM reissue (i forgot the artist) sounded great. Craig was a first class host, thank you so very much! It was a great day spent talking with other head-fi enthusiasts and listening to some super fantastic gear!
Voltron Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 I gotta make it down to EC Heaven one of these days. Looks like you folks had a fine time and the gear selection was sweet. Very interested to hear the Balancing Act's status, and especially the 300B/45 rolling options. Dew eet Craig! I want one!
riceboy Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 The meet looked great . Thanks for sharing.
Fing Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 Thanks for the interesting set of impressions. Sounds like you guys had a fab time trying out these amps. I assume that an HD2 is going to be cheaper than buying two Zana Deux? If you had to pick one, which would you take home? Craig as usual had a few tricks up this sleeve and had a new proto of the balancing act amp. This amp is a tube rollers dream come true with a 6sl7 up front with the option to run either 300b or 45 tubes in the power section. The 45 or 300b is switchable by the user with a knob upfront in the proto it is a switch on the top of the amp. We tried the amp with graphite plate tubes from China and we also had AVVT 300bs as well the AVVTs sounded great. This amp will be a winner, if it comes out... Also in the design stage is a proto of a scaled back version of the HD2 amp. On the new balancing act amp, is this a true balanced amp? If so, wouldn't it need 4 output triodes? Also, I've never understood why running 300B tubes in a headphone amp is necessary, unless it's used to drive speakers or the K1000. Apart from being expensive tubes, wouldn't you need to reduce the output via a transformer like in the Woo Audio 5 so as not to blow up your headphones? I'm assuming there are 2 gain stages - I'm probably mistaken... The option to roll 45 tubes makes a bit more sense - but still, expensive output tube
boomana Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 Thanks, John for the impressions, and Zippy for the pics. I like the last one of David (I think that's David). He looks happy. Do you know if the balanced Zana will be at CanJam?
jp11801 Posted April 15, 2008 Author Report Posted April 15, 2008 Thanks for the interesting set of impressions. Sounds like you guys had a fab time trying out these amps. I assume that an HD2 is going to be cheaper than buying two Zana Deux? If you had to pick one, which would you take home? On the new balancing act amp, is this a true balanced amp? If so, wouldn't it need 4 output triodes? Also, I've never understood why running 300B tubes in a headphone amp is necessary, unless it's used to drive speakers or the K1000. Apart from being expensive tubes, wouldn't you need to reduce the output via a transformer like in the Woo Audio 5 so as not to blow up your headphones? I'm assuming there are 2 gain stages - I'm probably mistaken... The option to roll 45 tubes makes a bit more sense - but still, expensive output tube There is more than one way to balance an amp, Craig uses transformers in his balanced circuit, if you google 'audio transformer balanced' you will see a few white papers and general articles on the concept and its use in pro audio for decades. I do not pretend to understand the ins and outs of balanced audio but if you have a moment read some of the articles. Why not run 300b tubes, one thing that I have learned with this hobby is, yes you can power a headphone by providing enough power to satisfy the minimum/basic requirements but when headphones are hit with more power they generally respond positively to it. As an example if a 300b supplied 10 watts of power at the balanced jack (it would provide less in this case) and another amp supplies 1 watt the 10 watt amp would deliver roughly double the volume of the 1 watt amp providing they both were at the same ohm rating. Again I am not a really tech guy I just know enough to get myself into trouble.
zippy2001 Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 Thanks, John for the impressions, and Zippy for the pics. I like the last one of David (I think that's David). He looks happy. Do you know if the balanced Zana will be at CanJam? It was fun indeed. And yes that is David enjoying that L3000 / Reimyo / Eddie Current goodness
thrice Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 Looks like you guys had a great time! Great pics.
Voltron Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 I can't see the needle, but it sure looks like JP just fixed.
zippy2001 Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 I can't see the needle, but it sure looks like JP just fixed. At Craig's Crack Shack for Audio Fiends
jp11801 Posted April 15, 2008 Author Report Posted April 15, 2008 check ebay for pairs of 45s looks like a $100 or less a pair tube web sites are closer to $200 a pair. To me that is not that bad certainly cheaper than most 300b pairs.
909 Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 Need names to faces... green shirt: craig (aka: eddie, eddie current) long sleeve gray shirt: john (aka: jp#s, jp11801) red shirt: joe (aka: dreamcomposer) short sleeve gray shirt: min (aka: foo_me) black shirt: me not pictured: steve (aka: zippy2001, camera man)
Voltron Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 green shirt: craig (aka: eddie, eddie current) long sleeve gray shirt: john (aka: jp#s, jp11801) red shirt: joe (aka: dreamcomposer) short sleeve gray shirt: min (aka: foo_me) black shirt: me not pictured: steve (aka: zippy2001, camera man) Zippy needs to post a pic of himself. He has claimed he was going to attend Bay Area meets before, but I have never seen him and don't have proof he exists.
Smeggy Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 Thanks, it's always nice to know who's who.
zippy2001 Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 Zippy needs to post a pic of himself. He has claimed he was going to attend Bay Area meets before, but I have never seen him and don't have proof he exists. I don't exist, except on the internet... but some music did show up in my place right?
Jon L Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 Great pics! Any speaker output posts on any of these amps, esp Balancing Act ? Also, what's the reason there's no 'stat amp in the stable. Anyone ask Craig about it?
zippy2001 Posted April 15, 2008 Report Posted April 15, 2008 Great pics! Any speaker output posts on any of these amps, esp Balancing Act ? Also, what's the reason there's no 'stat amp in the stable. Anyone ask Craig about it? There are no speaker output posts, but Craig mentioned IIRC that you could use the Balanced output to drive speakers.
PFKMan23 Posted April 16, 2008 Report Posted April 16, 2008 Is the amp on the very right the balanced ZD??
909 Posted April 16, 2008 Report Posted April 16, 2008 wrong! that's the DM-2 the balanced ZD is two ZD running together.
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