Aerius, thanks for the great impressions and review. The Trafomatic does detail very well, voices whether doing jazz harmonies or in a choral composition you hear the detail of individual voices rather than a cacophony of music. For the $900 price point I agree this will be one amp that is hard to match, it looks nice too.

Aerius, thanks for the great impressions and review. The Trafomatic does detail very well, voices whether doing jazz harmonies or in a choral composition you hear the detail of individual voices rather than a cacophony of music. For the $900 price point I agree this will be one amp that is hard to match, it looks nice too.

It really is a beauty. IMO much better looking than the Mapletree and Yamamoto. Shame their 300B integrated uses a 6sn7 :'(

It really is a beauty. IMO much better looking than the Mapletree and Yamamoto. Shame their 300B integrated uses a 6sn7 :'(

It's a real shame but I think that the monos use a ECC99...

It's a real shame but I think that the monos use a ECC99...

Cool didn't see those. ECC99 ftw.

Cool didn't see those. ECC99 ftw.

Transformer coupled 300b's at a sane price are something to look into.

Transformer coupled 300b's at a sane price are something to look into.

Have you looked at the Bottlehead kits? You would seem to be the kind of customer they are trying to address. You have the skill to build/modify them.

Transformer coupled 300b's at a sane price are something to look into.

They are. But I'm considering the custom built route (the speakers I'll probably get are very amp sensitive)

Have you looked at the Bottlehead kits? You would seem to be the kind of customer they are trying to address. You have the skill to build/modify them.

I have looked at them but the have one bit problem... all the transformers have a single 117v primary. While I could fit a step down inside the case it's just too much trouble.

They are. But I'm considering the custom built route (the speakers I'll probably get are very amp sensitive)

They are very good for sensitive speakers but since my tastes are more planar orientated I need a lot of goos stable tube power.

They are. But I'm considering the custom built route (the speakers I'll probably get are very amp sensitive)

Just get the Artemis DP-2 or Vacuum State DPA-300B and call it a day.

Just get the Artemis DP-2 or Vacuum State DPA-300B and call it a day.

But...I don't need that many watts

Also post your Mezzo impressions

But...I don't need that many watts

Fine then, go build a 0.6W SE all DHT amp. That's right 0.6W.

Also post your Mezzo impressions

Maybe. I need to go back and take another listen first.

Some more photos of the Head One (courtesy of 6moons). Anybody else try this amp out yet, especially in comparison to a Yammy or Mapletree?

Click'>http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/trafomatic2/2_14big.jpg"]Click for larger size

I didn't realize they came in different finishes. The dark wood finish (see the 1st post in the thread) looks a lot nicer than the black finish, though, IMO.

The photographer in the first post is noted for being a poor photographer. In person the Trafomatic amp in the dark brown finish is even nicer with a very smooth lacquer finish, nary a ripple.

^^^bling bling. custom made for mc hamma

the guy in the first post didn't do all that bad of a job. i'd rather see "real" photos than marketing collateral anyway so be sure to thank him if you see him around!

do you notice the same as aerius when the volume is cranked up? i wonder how loud you have to go before this starts happening. i tend to listen fairly loud - maybe bad hearing.