Just Add Tubes - High End Headphone Battle Part 2

After the listening session last Monday My customer/friend invited me again to test his Abyss 1266 and the Spirit Torino Valkyria in a new constellation.

More power!

In addition to his dCS Bartók he had the dCS Rossini Clock and a Viva Egoista 845, a 30kg monster of a tube amplifier, to his already great setup to further enhance.

There my friend especially the background, somewhat artificial sounding midrange and vocal reproduction his 1266 If he wanted to improve his performance, the Viva, with its tubes, was supposed to provide the answer. He also hoped the Rossini Clock would improve control and timing. The Viva Egoista 845, by the way, costs CHF 12,000, and the Rossini Clock another CHF 9,000.

I was particularly curious to see what this Ferrari tube amplifier would do with the Valkyria's sound. The Valkyria certainly doesn't lack musicality and emotion, quite the opposite. And the vocal reproduction is also probably the best. most sonorous and natural I have ever heard.

Let's see...

Set up

• dCS Bartók (Roon Endpoint) 16,500 CHF
• dCS Rossini Clock 9,000 CHF
• Viva Egoista 845 tube amplifier 12,000 CHF
• iPad & Laptop with Roon Library
  
  

... but first coffee

Of course, we didn't miss the opportunity to fortify ourselves with coffee and fine pastries and to exchange news before the "hard work" of a listening session.

Let the engine warm up...

The Viva took advantage of our coffee break to warm up.
Hot would probably be the more accurate term, because the Egoista's gigantic pipes probably produce more waste heat than a Ferrari on the racetrack.

Concerns about the expected electricity bill were raised, and after a while, the controls, especially the much-used volume knob, became almost impossible to touch. Well, apparently, if you want great sound, you have to suffer.

There is (once again) agreement

After the session, there was another exchange and again we agreed.
Below are my personal impressions:

Abyss 1266

• Voices and middle part more natural and less artificial and sterile
• Smoothing the entire frequency spectrum, resulting in a more relaxed sound
• This also results in a slight loss of detail and a small "veil"
• more coherence, but largely collapsed soundstage

Valkyria

• darker overall tonality
• slight loss of detail and some "veil"
• Loss of "energy" and drive
• Soundstage about the same as without Viva Egoista 845

Conclusion

While the Valkyria still sounded good with the added Viva Egoista 845 tube amplifier, the overall performance was significantly better with the dCS Bartok alone. With the Abyss 1266, vocals gained a more natural timbre and coherence improved, while the soundstage collapsed. The Abyss also performed significantly better with the Bartok alone. Both headphones lost detail and airiness with the added tube amplifier.

The Rossini Clock was easy to integrate and test, as it allowed switching between modes with just one button during playback. Our unanimous conclusion: It's absolutely useless.

Looking back I would like something between Bartok and Egoista 845: Something that is a little less direct and "harsh" than the Bartok and offers a little more "warmth", but still has resolution and airiness. Of course, by heat we do not mean the waste heat of the Viva ;-)

And now?

Maybe something like that "in between" will soon be available at Audio Essence. In a few weeks I will receive some demo units of the best that the Audio-GD manufacturer has to offer:

The R7HE (2021 Edition), R2R DAC, and HE9 amplifiers, both with regenerative power supplies, will be on display. Also on display will be the Di-20, a digital interface.

I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce Audio-GD to those of you who are unfamiliar with the company.

More blogs && Reviews of Spirit Torino

More is (almost) not possible - High-End Headphone Battle – Audio Essence

Visit from Italy - Spirit Torino headphones

Headphone Showdown- Spirit Torino Super Leggera vs. Focal Clear

The Treasure Chest - Unboxing a Jewel

Elemental Force - Spirit Torino Radiante