EC Studio

Discussion in 'Eddie Current' started by Negura, Oct 17, 2015.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,777
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    Or use the SE. People talk as if the SE output on the Yggdrasil/Gungnir Multibit is gimped or something. It's not. I run the SE into the ZD, BA, Studio or whatever amp I happen to have at home for the moment. It takes a very very high quality ($$$) line-level transformer to sound better than the SE out; and even then, a transformer, no matter how good, will add distortion and phase shift at the extremes.

    FWIW, we are exploring the idea of a tube buffer for Yggdrasil/Gungnir Multibit. The problem is that there are many different approaches, some more expensive than others.
     
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2016
  2. jacal01

    jacal01 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2016
    Likes Received:
    14
    Trophy Points:
    8
    What I think is enchanting, aesthetically speaking, is, since my Studio PSU occupies a prominent position right next to the amp on the top shelf of my audio rack, the hardware bolt hex head on its face plate adds just enough silver accent to the solid black face to be downright eye catchingly alluring. But since it's prolly just nickel plated, is a stainless steel bolt upgrade in the works? ;)

    Luv that 'Ultra Heathkit' retro look.

    BTW, I personally run SE on most of my interconnects, anyway, so after I establish a baseline signature with the M7 DAC, I'll switch over to the Yggdrasil for comparison. Or not.
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2016
  3. TMoney

    TMoney Shits on SBAF over at Head-Case to be cool

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    760
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Sausalito, CA
    Do we know if the Studio is going to play well with other popular DACs via balanced? How much is the problem limited to just Yggdrasil and Gun-MB?
     
  4. MisterRogers

    MisterRogers Ethernet Nervosa

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,063
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Aurora, CO
    Home Page:
    I tried Studio with 3 other DAC's balanced - worked like a champ.
     
  5. TMoney

    TMoney Shits on SBAF over at Head-Case to be cool

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    760
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Sausalito, CA
    Glad to hear it.
     
  6. drfindley

    drfindley Secretly lives in the Analog Room - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,533
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Austin
    You know I'm curious about this. I'd love to talk details, even if it's a one-off.
     
  7. jacal01

    jacal01 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2016
    Likes Received:
    14
    Trophy Points:
    8
    The HD800 sings in my setup.
     
  8. mtoc

    mtoc SBAF's Resident Shit-Stirrer

    Banned
    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2015
    Likes Received:
    85
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Hi folks, how good is the EC Studio as a preamp?
     
  9. Rotijon

    Rotijon Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    261
    Trophy Points:
    63
    According to craig, these are not suitable as a preamp.
     
  10. bozebuttons

    bozebuttons Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    153
    Trophy Points:
    43
    The zd would be the best ec amp to use as a preamp
     
  11. Rico613

    Rico613 New

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2016
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Does anyone know what is the availability of the Studio Amp going forward ?
     
  12. jelt2359

    jelt2359 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2015
    Likes Received:
    157
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Just curious, but why is it that some yggdrasils have this issue, and others don't? Is it a matter of cherry picking- or that actually all have the issue, just that some have it more obvious than others?
     
  13. MisterRogers

    MisterRogers Ethernet Nervosa

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,063
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Aurora, CO
    Home Page:
    As a recording that's recorded at lower levels will not require as much current, it's possible that ones library might not exhibit the distortion. Add to that the tolerances of the 'picked parts'- might be enough to keep it from distorting. I'm traveling now for work, but when home I'll make a sample available that is hot; see if others get distortion.
     
  14. mtoc

    mtoc SBAF's Resident Shit-Stirrer

    Banned
    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2015
    Likes Received:
    85
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Hello, what's the specality of the external power psu of EC Studio compared to other amps from EC?
     
  15. jacal01

    jacal01 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2016
    Likes Received:
    14
    Trophy Points:
    8
    I find that my Studio plays best with my speakers. Most of my headphones appear voiced for SS amp synergy, i.e. warm and dark, sometimes almost veiled, in Studio pairing evaluations. The HP800 are the only ones I own that seemed voiced for tube amps per se, i.e. still open and clear with the pairing. The Studio appears to be rather picky with HP pairings.
     
  16. Negura

    Negura Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    180
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    London, UK
    What other headphones do you have?

    I thought people were saying EC Studio is towards bright sounding.. which supposedly did not play very nice with the HD800s. Are your HD800s modded?
     
  17. jacal01

    jacal01 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2016
    Likes Received:
    14
    Trophy Points:
    8
    No, my HD800 is still stock. The other headphones I own, which all sound overly warm in my Studio set-up:
    TH900
    LCD-2.2
    Slants

    Halfway toying with the idea of seeing if a pair of HE1K will improve on the HD800, which still seem a tad closed (less separation) compared to my speakers, as per Mr. Rogers' recommendation, but I'm a little skittish that those high end phones which represent a fair piece of change might end up overly dark in my system as well.

    That's why I prefer amp current mode analog output signal for headphones, because it's versatile to impedance levels and headphone types.
     
  18. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

    Staff Member Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    12,285
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Colorado
    Home Page:
    I'm not going to comment on some of the recent issues regarding the EC Studio, but I will say that I got a good 30 minutes or so to hear @MisterRogers Studio (USB from my laptop -> Regen powered by LPSU -> Yggdrasil SE -> Studio), and it sounded awesome! I know he was running RCAs for the 2A3s, but that's all I remember.

    I really found it hard to fault the amp at all. This combo provided a wide, airy stage, with excellent positioning. Plenty of dynamics across the board and a good sense of heft, power, and control not only in the bass but everywhere. Tone was spot on neutral without any hint of nastiness or a clinical feel, nor was it at all boring or unengaging. Very organic and smooth type of neutral. Very resolving and had no issues keeping up with what the Yggdrasil was feeding it. Very cool how it could not only reveal fine details almost perfectly but also give them a sense of being real. Maybe the fact that I keep putting "very" in front of everything I say is evidence how very awesome I thought this amp sounded.

    My only complaint is the price. Maybe some day I'll be able to afford something like this, but as it stands, $7K+ is a lot of money. This is the opposite of a value amp, but, hey, at least you're not dumping thousands of dollars on something that isn't close to perfect.
     
  19. MisterRogers

    MisterRogers Ethernet Nervosa

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,063
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Aurora, CO
    Home Page:
    I'm running WE417 drivers
     
  20. MisterRogers

    MisterRogers Ethernet Nervosa

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,063
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Aurora, CO
    Home Page:
    Testing / tuning a balanced unity gain line-buffer for using Yggdrasil / Gungnir Multibit balanced. Bottom line: It works. I'll keep you all up on what's learned. What I've learned so far:
    • Yggdrasil delivers more umph, has more headroom when loaded into 10k.
    • This difference is audible.
    • Even the Yggys that 'work' with Studio are not hearing the best it can deliver (current starved, etc).
    • Active buffer with 10k input impedance into Studio balanced > Yggdrasil SE.
    Ok - casing it up.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2016

Share This Page