Try the GE. I wonder if your telefunken is a more colored tube?
I have the same Telefunkens as Hans I think. (The Marv recommended ones from Upscale Audio, right?) Pretty neutral.
I have both the Val2 and Ember and have found that tubes that work well in one do not necessarily work well in the other.... I have some Amprex Organge Labels that sound nice in the Val2, but are not a great match with the Ember. As to grit, Mike and I talked about that at the Wikia meet. I don't hear it, he does.
Yeah, my 1960 Holland Amperex Orange Globes are amazing in the Val 2 and sounded closed in and claustrophobic on the Ember. 40’s Ken Rad and 1950’s Sylvania 6SN7s are both great.
Excellent impressions on the Ember. Thanks a ton, Anax/Hans/Ron.
Just going to piggyback on your impressions with a few of my own thoughts.
1.
Tube Dependent - IME, the Ember sounds quite a bit better with a good 6SN7 Chrometop. It's a shame that Anax didn't have one available because his recommendation before was spot on. I was shocked by how tube dependent the Project Ember is versus something like the Valhalla 2. The stock tubes provided with the Valhalla 2 are actually really good and changing them out didn’t have nearly the extreme sonic difference that it did for the Ember. I felt that the stock tube provided with the Ember (JJ Electronics ECC82) was really awful. Buying a replacement tube for the stock Ember is a must and really should be factored into the cost of the amplifier from the onset.
2.
Re: Grain - As Anax said, "Reminds me a bit of the XSabre and some other DACs (even Bricasti) that try to mask this grit with a smoothness", this still remains true even with the Sylvania/Ken Rad/RCA Cleartop 6SN7s I used. The grain didn't go away. That being said, I was aware of the grain/etch moreso on my HD600 & HD650 than on my Paradox and PM-3.
3.
Interference - At first, I thought that the grain/roughness might have been caused by interference from my particular housing situation. (My condo is right next door to a historical Polish AM radio station. WPNA, AM 1940.) To make sure that wasn't the case I used it for a while at my desk at work. That particular part of its character was still there. The solid state grain/hardness/grit wasn’t my biggest problem with the Ember though. It was negligible compared to it’s susceptibility to interference.* As far as I can see on Head-Fi and DIYaudio, interference issues seem to be the biggest problem brought up by owners. I really think that the Ember could use a full chassis option; its open design is really prone to interference from smartphones, Wi-Fi, or from broadcasters singing "Sto Lat!" I seriously considered PM-ing Corey to inquire about the costs of getting a custom case made just to see if it would help.
4.
Roll Your Own - I
suspect that the rough solid state output page could be mitigated slightly by using a different opamp. IIRC the Ember uses 2x OPA551's. Rollable opamps like on the Project Starlight would be a nice touch. Both the Leckerton and the Gustard have this particular affordance too and it goes a long way for both of those amps. Since I’ve never designed an amp before though, I could be
just completely talking out of my ass. The Ember has so many customizable elements right now that adding one more might be too much.
5.
Pithy Comparisons and Takeaway – There isn't an amplifier that I'd recommend over the Ember for a dynamic/planar driver-agnostic, all-in-one amplifier
at the same price point.** The Project Ember is by far and away the most versatile amplifier that I’ve heard at the sub-$500 range.
There are amps around that price point that I’d recommend over the Ember for specific headphone types or specific use cases:
-- I'd recommend a Valhalla 2 for HD6XX/HD800. I actually preferred the Val 2 with my HD600/650 over the Ember even with the Val 2’s stock tubes.
-- I'd recommend a Leckerton, Gustard H10, or Asgard 2 for T50rp mods and other low/medium sensitivity planars.
-- The Asgard 2 and Leckerton both had a far lower noise floor than the Ember on both low and high gain, making them better for high sensitivity headphones and IEMs.
To my ears, the Val 2, Leckerton, and Gilmore Lite all are more resolving than the Ember. The Gilmore Lite is faster and more nimble than the Ember. The Gustard and Val 2 both image better than the Ember.
But no single amplifier does most everything as well as the Project Ember. Each of the other amplifiers I’ve tried has a sin of commission that’s bigger than the Ember’s grain and slightly indistinct imaging. Even on low gain/low Z, I don't think the Val 2 did a great job at all with planars. To my ears, none of the pure solid-state amplifiers sound as good with Sennheiser dynamics as the Ember does. The Gilmore Lite has tonal issues (it’s a bit bright to my ears) and sounds dryer and thinner than the Ember overall. You can see the pattern here.
On low Z/high gain/no attenuation, the Ember even does a respectable job pushing an HE-6 with decent authority. I can't say that for any of the other amplifiers that I've heard at this price point. Sure, the Ember isn't ToTL. But for its price, customization, and functionality, IMO its pyrate material.
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* I ended up selling my Ember and keeping my Valhalla 2 for this reason alone. I liked the way that the Ember sounded but it was just too subject to interference for use where I live. For now, I'm using the Leckerton for planars until the Cavalli Liquid Carbon I've preordered arrives.
** The competitors I've heard/owned at the Ember's price point (~$365 built & shipped): Gustard H10 (~$325), Valhalla 2 (~$365 shipped), Leckerton UHA-6S.MKII ($279 + Shipping), Asgard 2 (~$265 shipped), Project Polaris (~$265 built & shipped) and Headamp Gilmore Lite.
The only major competitor that I feel like I haven’t owned in this bracket is the Lyr 2. Customization on the Ember, Gustard, Leckerton, and Val 2 can all drive up their respective costs. Opamps can get pricy and tubes can get downright ridiculous.
*** As far as “headphone agnostic” versatility goes, I think the Asgard 2 comes in a close second to the Ember and can be found for almost half the price of the Ember on the used market.
