Don't forget pictures thread

Scratch that...

110V x 3A (fuse) = 330 W. So 300 W should suffice...

The first batch of production 2A3s are just getting done now, all w/ the heaters.  We should be able to hear the new 2A3s in the next week or two so a better answer would come then.  Likely it will come down to price performance versus performance and sonic signature of the amps.  If you can be patient, we should be able to get you a better answer relatively soon.
Maybe a list of you listening priorities would help out too.

Great insight purrin. Thank you.

Every point you've made about the Mjolnir corresponds with what I hear and my experience rolling the source component behind it. I've always been drawn to the S7, but I don't think I could cope with the neurosis of rolling 7 tubes.

I like how the Mjolnir is set and forget, though I do still yearn for the added versatility of a s/e hp out. This is where the BHA-1 is appealing, but from all accounts that output is nothing to write home about. I'd require better performance from that feature and other aspects of the sq to justify the expense.

In terms of SS (and outside of DIY), I'm hard pressed to come up with another amp worthy of the HD800 (in the price vicinity of the MJ). There's the new Burson of course but I suspect a side grade from the MJ at best. I've come close to pulling the trigger on the GS-X v2 a few times. The wait time for that amp, and the premium price over the MJ makes it a hard one to justify, especially now that the M51 has addressed all the issues I had with the presentation when the Gungnir performed DAC duties in my system.

Just came upon this thread for the first time in a.. while. Anyways, yes the BHA-1 unbalanced output is not as good as the balanced, IMO, but some people claim there is no difference.

I also enjoy the set it and forget it aspect of SS and that it will never change once I find a sound I like, unlike if I have a tube amp that develops a flaw in a tube and I can't source the same exact sounding tube to replace it. As I've mentioned recently in the LG thread on HF I'm really not interested in tube rolling. Even when I had tube amps (LDMKIII, LDMKVI) I only bought new tubes when I had a failure, and I bought cheap ones, and the sound seemed to be the same. I'm just not interested in going down the tube rolling rabbit hole, too much time and money, not to mention never knowing exactly what you can get out of an amp because the core of the sound is always changeable.

I also found out the Gungnir is holding back my sound when I got the X-Sabre in that Mike has atm and Marv should be hearing it soon as well. Luckily for me I didn't have to shell out for a M51 to be satisfied.

I know it's been a while since your post I'm quoting, so I don't know if you've made a move since, but I listened to the GS-X mk2 with my HD800 and my X-Sabre at the Austin meet and was happy enough to order one on the spot. I didn't actually place an order right then, as I needed to move some stuff out (LCD-2 + Gungnir, mostly), but I made it clear to Justin I would take one. I tried my X-Sabre and Twifosp's HD800 with the S7 and it felt similar to what I had (BHA-1) but less aggressive, which is good for some, but I like the aggressiveness, so it was a downer for me. The GS-X is slightly less aggressive than the BHA-1, but it also greatly cleaned up the treble where the BHA-1 tends to be on the edge of harshness, which I could live with when I compared vs the Mjolnir (Marv/Mike and I have differing opinions on this comparison) to get the higher treble presence and aggressiveness I like. I'm sure there will be other finer improvements I'll be able to detect in home listening conditions, but I was impressed with the GS-X. Worth another look if you are still shopping.

I don't recall which tubes were in twifosp's amp. I think it was mentioned somewhere they were stock, whichever those are. In any case if it doesn't come sounding good, I'm not going to be all that interested. As I said, not interested in rolling.

I'm not writing off the M51. I'm satisfied by the X-Sabre and have no plans to replace it any time soon (or anything else in my rig once I get the GS-X). The GS-X is a bit over my comfortable spending limit so it's nice that I've found a DAC I really like that is cheaper than I expected to have to pay. It sort of balances out the high priced amp. $1500-2000 per component is about my limit, beyond that I can do better things with my money. Diminishing returns starts getting ridiculous from that point, IMO.

The potential loss is only if you can't find the SS amp you like the sound of. If you can, there is no loss. I feel tube amps go against scientific method (nerdy, I know) but there are always 2 variables, at minimum, at play: the amp and the tubes. Since you can never isolate one, you never know which is responsible for what. If you break down the tubes into their own variables it's just a mess of never knowing what is going on. With a discreet SS amp, you have 1 variable, the amp. You can mix and match discreet SS amps and be confident in your results.