Super 7
 
We listened to a pre-production version of the Super 7 (S7) with the Transendar E-I transformers. The production version will have Electra-Print E-I transformers of the same specifications. The winding techniques and dimensions will be slightly different and Craig expects the Electra-Prints to be slightly better (if this is even noticeable to the average person.) There should be no change in tonality.
 
The S7 will also have speaker outputs for powering small or extremely efficient speakers. Below is a picture of the footprint of the amp. It will be nicely compact with no external power supply or umbilical needed. We'll upload photos in a couple of weeks when the chassis parts come in.
 
The S7 will utilize one input tube and six output tubes. A lot of people don’t realize how awesome this is: Instead of letting the amp designer voicing our amp and then us having to find tonal synergies with other components, we can now do it ourselves! It is even even possible to do it for cheap with very good sonic results - for example consider the following output tube combos:

• Warmer sounding combo 1: 2x Ken Rad VT-231 black glass, 2x Sylvania GTA chrome-top, 2x TungSol new production
• Warmer sounding combo 2: 2x EH new production, 2x 7N7 tall glass, 2x Ken Rad VT-231 black glass
• Leaner sounding combo 3: 2x 1578, 4x TungSol new production
• BA (with EML300B) tonal emulation: 2x 1578 4x Sylvania GTA chrome-dome

We found that mixing different types of tubes can add some “complexity” and makes thing interesting - like a fine wine. According to Craig, there is no need to get precisely matched pairs of output tubes (unless one tube is about to die) because they self-adjust individually.
 
The S7 will have much more flexibility and range of tonality compared to BA (it can get leaner/brighter and warmer/darker) than BA. Or at least we should be able to tweak things for much less money given the current availability of old-stock and new production 6SN7 and variants.) CEE TEE adds that the source also contributes a lot to the sound and this can be heard through the Super 7 and BA with ease. Imagine just getting one amp - and that’s it. No more amp-changing when you get new headphones or new DAC - just roll tubes first...
 
During our micro-meet, once we tweaked the S7 to get a tonal balance eerily similar to the BA (with a 7N7 tall glass driver and EML300 solid plates), we found it surprisingly hard to tell the difference from the BA with quick listening back-and-forth. Closer examination can reveal the following differences though:

• BA gap on soundstage was still evident. The BA soundstage was less artificially wide, much deeper, more precise, lacked gaps, and had a better defined center.
• The S7 was surprisingly resolving (could keep up with BA with the PSS transformers - 90% as good.)
• The expressiveness of the S7 is not as good as the BA - the shades of volume/dynamic levels were fewer. The S7 did not have the ability of the BA to instantaneously jump between these "intensity levels". But then again - it was so very close!
• Overall the BA sounded a bit more refined: smoother, more relaxed, more liquid, more cohesive, better at low-level detail retreival/control and clarity, and a tad more dynamic. More of the msuical "note/tone" is present at all times.

Basically the S7 does all the major things right though. And this is not very common. The S7 is not just "better than other amps" priced below it (and some above it), it’s not just an “incremental” upgrade (like going to the LCD3 from the LCD2), the S7 simply obliterates everything below it that we’ve heard: Lyr, Burson, Red Wine Audio, WA6SE, etc. To us, the S7 (along with a few other amps) represents a minimum level of capability that is required for a headphone amplifier.
&n bsp;
If priced below $2000, we would consider this an amazing deal. Anyone who got one early at $1300 basically stole it. UPDATE: Sadly, the $1300 price on the introductory run is gone forever.