Just add tubes - High End Headphone Battle Part 2

After last Monday's listening session, 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 borrowed the dCS Rossini Clock and a Viva Egoista 845, a 30kg monster of a tube amp, to further enhance his already great setup . 

Since my friend particularly wanted to improve the subtle, somewhat artificial sounding midrange and voice reproduction of his 1266, the Viva with its tubes was supposed to help here. He also hoped that the Rossini Clock would improve control and timing. By the way, the Viva Egoista 845 costs 12,000 CHF, the Rossini Clock costs another 9,000 CHF. 

I was particularly excited to see what this Ferrari of a tube amp would do to the sound of the Valkyria. The Valkyria is not lacking in musicality and emotions anyway, quite the opposite. And the voice reproduction is probably the most sonorous and natural I've ever heard.

Let's see...

Setup

• 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 patisserie before the "hard work" and to exchange news.

Let the engine warm up...

Viva used our coffee break to warm up. 
Hot would probably be the more correct term, because the gigantic tubes of the Egoista probably produce more waste heat than a Ferrari on the race track.

Concerns about the expected electricity bill were raised, and the controls became loose after a while , especially the much-used volume control, you can hardly touch it anymore. Well, if you want great sound, you obviously have to suffer.

There is unity (once again)

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

 Abyss 1266

• Voices and middle section 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 "haze"
• more coherence, but largely collapsed soundstage

Valkyria

• darker overall tonality
• slight loss of detail and some "haze"
• Loss of "Energy" and Drive
• Soundstage about the same as without Viva Egoista 845

Conclusion

While the Valkyria still sounded good with the additional Viva Egoista 845 tube amplifier, overall performance was significantly better with the pure dCS Bartok. With the Abyss 1266, voices 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 air with the additional tube amplifier.

The Rossini Clock was easy to integrate/test because you could switch during playback with just one button.Our unanimous conclusion: Absolutely no use.

Looking back, I would like something between Bartok and Egoista 845: something a little less direct and "harsh" than the Bartok and offering a little more "warmth", but still having resolution and airiness. Of course, what we mean here is not the waste heat from the Viva ;-)

And now?

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

The R7HE (2021 Edition), R2R DAC+ HE9 amplifier, both with regenerative power supplies. Di-20, a digital interface, will also be on display.

I would also like to take the opportunity to introduce Audio-GD to those of you who don't know the company.

More blogs & reviews from Spirit Torino

It's (almost) impossible - 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 of a Jewel

Primal Force - Spirit Torino Radiante