ECP DSHA3F Ravenswood 3F

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by purr1n, Jan 22, 2019.

  1. dsavitsk

    dsavitsk Friend

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    A small update on when the 3F will be available again ...

    ... I am excited to be partnering with @CEE TEE on the next iteration of the Ravenswood DSHA3F amplifier. We still don't really know a timeline, but it is in the works. The general comments from above regarding leaving its sound unchanged and lowering the price still hold. I will let him chime in with details beyond that.
     
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  2. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    ^Super-excited to be working with Doug on this...been enjoying DSHA-3F with Elex for a little while now :rolleyes:
     
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  3. MisterRogers

    MisterRogers Ethernet Nervosa

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    That's excellent news guys. An amp this good needs to live on, and stay true to it's distinctives. I know I'll be in for one.
     
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  4. seacard

    seacard New

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    Been looking for this one for a while! Any guess on timing at all?
     
  5. etherealsound

    etherealsound New

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    For those who absolutely cannot wait, there appears to be one on sale on head-fi.
     
  6. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Are there more 3F's out in the wild than regular 3's? Because I think I've only seen the 3F's pop up on the used market (and maybe only a single 4). Either that or people simply don't sell the other ones.
     
  7. dsavitsk

    dsavitsk Friend

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    Many more 3F's than 3's or 4's.
     
  8. Darkstar1

    Darkstar1 Facebook Friend

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    any more news on the progress of development of this amp?

    Thank You,
     
  9. dubharmonic

    dubharmonic Friend

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    Thanks to the generosity of the SBAF community, I’ve had a DSHA3F on loan for a few weeks!

    [​IMG]

    I’ve never heard stage layering like this from solid-state before! The stage on the McIntosh MHA150 is wide and deep, though instruments are for the most part all a fair distance away. The DSHA3F does intense holographic imaging that I’ve only heard from tubes. Instruments jump out from the background in 3D space. If you love tubey stage layering but have tube nervosa, this amp could be a good option.

    Upper mids seem a bit forward, and bass a bit shy. I’d expect this to get on my nerves, but it rarely did. There’s so much to digest from the presentation that I barely noticed until I started writing up impressions.

    Microdetail is very good. It took the 3F to make me notice that the MHA150 has a very slight rubbery/gooey feel that I’ve only been able to notice when using the Utopia.

    Most of my listening was done with a Holo Audio Spring 2 KTE in NOS mode from a Pi2AES. I also used a Schiit Yggdrasil A2. After spending so much time with NOS, any oversampling sounds artificially sharp and unnatural to me now, but the combo-burrito filter with 3F and Utopia results in some unreal detail. It’s nearly overwhelming.

    Utopia obviously pairs well, but I also enjoyed the HD800S and ETA Genesis. HE1000se isn’t bad either.

    [​IMG]
     
  10. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    Which transformers on that 3F, nickel or amorphous? I run a nickel 3F with Yggdrasil A2 at one location. and an amorphous 3F with a Spring 2 KTE at a different location. Your impressions seem closer to my nickel impressions. The amorphous 3F is further from tubes IMHO.
     
  11. dubharmonic

    dubharmonic Friend

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    This one has the nickel transformers.
     
  12. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I just got to loan a DSHA-3F (with nickel transformers) (@CEE TEE when you remake this amp can you give it a name that doesn't require solving a math equation to remember?)

    Some very brief impressions vs the Liquid Gold X with Auedeze headphones only.

    Very similar presentation overall.

    • Treble has the same presentation
    • I thought the DSHA-3F might be a little more holographic with a bigger soundstage and resolving than the Liquid Gold X
    • But it was stopped short by the fact that the DSHA-3F has recessed vocals with Audeze headphones, which is puzzling becaue I though that was a tube issue, but it appears Audeze headphones are just really really picky about amps. I suspect a lot of negative impressions about Audeze headphones are just from amp synergy because this is obviously a great amp you would think would do well with orthos.

    I stopped comparing them at that point because it's a non starter for me especially at the price point.

    It made me think maybe the Liquid Gold X just has a forward midrange, but I compared to the Magni 3+ and it has the exact same vocal presentation as the Liquid Gold X and I consider the Magni 3+ a very tonally neutral amp even if it lacks technicalities.

    So the DSHA-3F is not a good amp to pair with Audeze headphones, very much not recommended. If you have Audeze's you are much better off with the Liquid Gold X which is also much cheaper especially when on sale.

    But it's clear that it is a great amp and if not for this issue I may prefer it to the Liquid Gold X. I'm sure it sounds great with other headphones. And apparently the Liquid Gold X sounds not so great with other headphones. Go figure. :confused:
     
  13. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    It’s probably severely underpowered for planar headphones.
    It was designed for Focal headphones and really shines with those.
     
  14. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Compared to the Magni 3+?
     
  15. MisterRogers

    MisterRogers Ethernet Nervosa

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    It did fairly well with higher efficiency planars
     
  16. nishan99

    nishan99 Friend

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    Maybe it was designed to counter the intimate vocals of Focals.
     
  17. Biodegraded

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    @rhythmdevils which Audezes? LCD-5 or 4z at 14-15 Ohms impedance wouldn't be the greatest fit with the ~5 Ohm output impedance of the 3F (especially the 5, which has pretty low sensitivity too).
     
  18. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    The LCD-X. I didn’t get to the others :(
     
  19. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The LCD-X is among a newer generation of orthos from Audeze and HFM with lower and lower impedance. The 3F already wasn't suited for lower impedance and less then high efficiency headphones. It was designed purely for the Focals hence the F. The Focals are super efficient and high-impedance.

    Anyway, my point is that with these 20-ohm and lower headphones, be careful with any amp that was designed for stuff before this super lower impedance era. Turn up bass knob on Loki EQ, crank up volume, watch amp catch on fire.

    Look at what a 30-ohm load can do, and that's still an easier load than 20 or 15-ohms.
    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...iemagni-measurements.10984/page-2#post-347931
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2022
  20. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Is the Arya considered high efficiency? I wasn’t a fan of the pairing.
     

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