Quote from: blue on October 09, 2014, 04:33:15 AM

Quote from: xzobinx on October 08, 2014, 11:40:53 PM

I'd second the master 9. I hated their cheap amps but the master series acss stuffs are the real game changer here. Heard one recently side by side with my zana feed from master 7 and nad m51, the agd is better in all but the mid(use zana as pre and now you're talking business). Probably the best amp we oz can get for a sane price.

Hmm.. we did a comparison of the Master 9 right after it came out... flat dynamics, veiled sound... It got slammed by a BHA-1 (which I do not consider a great amp).

Maybe we got a defective unit?

Possibly, were you using it balanced? I can understand the veiled sound to an extent but I thought the dynamics were above average for sure.

Yeah definitely balanced. I was surprised as well (since this thing was touted to have mucho watts).

I was able to listen to the HD800 at a meet recently through a Glenn OTL, and the amount of low end slam was impressive and addictive. The impact was in a different league than the Val2 or the the Crack/Speedball. It wasn't mushy or gooey either, it sounded great for the price. The owner required listeners to adjust the volume through his DAC which struck me as a bit worrisome (channel imbalance low on the volume dial apparently). Still for the price, it might be worthy of consideration. I'm tempted to get one, but apparently there's a year long waiting list.

Very cool, Joel...you heard a Glenn amp.  Have been wanting to listen to one for a long while and if I go up to SF I can listen to one.  The spartan look has grown on me, Glenn is a great guy, they really seem a labor of love.  The amps look to be set up differently with Glenn trying to work within a given case size or with certain tubes that he thinks will be driven well or cheap to populate (not all the time).  Interesting and I would think that they could vary a lot in sound depending upon design and tubes used.  Would be great to see a list of the designs that he has made for people.  When I have a chance, I will try to listen to ClaytonSF's amp.

Quote from: Greed on October 09, 2014, 04:37:30 AM

Quote from: blue on October 09, 2014, 04:33:15 AM

Quote from: xzobinx on October 08, 2014, 11:40:53 PM

I'd second the master 9. I hated their cheap amps but the master series acss stuffs are the real game changer here. Heard one recently side by side with my zana feed from master 7 and nad m51, the agd is better in all but the mid(use zana as pre and now you're talking business). Probably the best amp we oz can get for a sane price.

Hmm.. we did a comparison of the Master 9 right after it came out... flat dynamics, veiled sound... It got slammed by a BHA-1 (which I do not consider a great amp).

Maybe we got a defective unit?

Possibly, were you using it balanced? I can understand the veiled sound to an extent but I thought the dynamics were above average for sure.

So is the Master 9 veiled or transparent?  Because there is no way the Ragnarok is veiled and I have not heard anything SS that is more transparent.

I can give you a better answer compared to the Rag when I get mine in, but I never found the M9 to be lacking in transparency. Of course my opinion needs context... I would say the M9 isn't the last word in transparency. It lacks resolution.. especially in the bass. Although this was using the M7 via OR5.

What about Decaware? I really have no real opinions about these amps but I've been recommended the CSP3 by a few folks. I've seen them go for well under $1K used... might be a possible contender.

It's fashionable to mock everything Ray Samuels ever does, but with the right tubes the Raptor is a good match for the 800. The cliche "tube amp for solid state lovers" definitely applies.n