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Showing 1 of 102 reviews about:
Massdrop CTH + SDAC DAC/Amp
Fayne
2603
Jun 19, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Sounds good straight out of the box.
Initial impression with the stock EH 6922 is favorable, not AMAZING, but definitely good enough at the price. The amp works perfectly fine, doesn't hiss, and doesn't appear to have very much (if any) imbalance between the left and right channels. It is pleasantly warm and tubey. I plan to replace the EH 6922 with a JAN Sylvania 6922 (from the 70s). The EH is not the worst on the market, but I can do much, much, much better with Joint Army-Navy NOS.
The SDAC does what SDAC does, sounds good enough. The AMP sounds just as good with the Airist R-2R. All DAC sources are being driven by Roon set to upsample to max PCM via power of 2. Initial testing playlist was comprised of The Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Electric Light Orchestra, and Supertramp. Cans used were MassDrop HD6xx and E-MU Teak.
I'm happy enough with the product. I'd give it more of a 4.5 stars, because cheap tube and generic wall-wart.
Edit:
Dropped to 4 stars. That power-off thump. Not ok.
2nd Edit, 2 weeks in:
Been using the amp a lot in the past few weeks. It is absolutely great for driving most of my cans. Is a big nopefest with the MD x Meze 99 Noir. Them cans is just too sensitive for that thing. All my other cans is loving it; and surprise surprise, it handles the Fostex T60RP extremely well, with more than enough power to spare. After the initial <3 fest with the E-MU Teak and HD6xx, the T60RP has been exclusive on it.
Swapping the tube was the best thing I did. The JAN Sylvania 6922 arrived ( https://tubedepot.com/products/jan-sylvania-6922 balanced/high gain/low noise ticked) a few days after the CTH, and after a bit of high temperature CAIG DeoxIT ( https://caig.com/product/deoxit-gold-vacuum-tube-survival-kit/ this shit is magic) it has been rocking. Absolutely zero imbalance between the channels (none from the tube or the volume pot), comfortably warm sound that is amazing with strings and vocals (throw classical or progressive rock at it), no crackle or pops (this tube, YMMV), just delicious audio. It has been doing a great job for TV and movies.
I'm making use of a socket-saver to... well... save the socket (and the tubes). The default of having the tube down in the chassis kinda sucks. It is somewhat difficult to roll tubes without potentially damaging the markings on the tube, or the socket itself. Tube sticks out rather far, but I can live with that.
Sadly the CTH only has one input, so I found a use for the Nobsound Little Bear MC2 ( https://www.amazon.com/d/B07255VHZS ) I nabbed to use as volume control for the MD x JBL LSR30x. Seeing it is a passive RCA & XLR to RCA & XLR preamp, I can source from XLR and have it unbalance it for the CTH or just pass through to the LSR30x. The Airist is chained through the RCA input, and can also drive the speaker or the amp. This lets me continue to source my audio from my preferred DAC without having to do the cable swap game. I'm definitely considering a Schitty Freya for my listening stack.
I do not regret buying this amp, not one bit. I do regret not jumping on the first drop. While it may not be my absolute favorite amp out of the MD lineup (that honor goes to the MD x THX AAA 789), it will definitely continue to get a lot of use. If you're on the fence about it, buy it. It is a great single-ended amp.
Update 1.5 months in:
New tube. Got thinking, why am I scrounging around and paying stupid prices for NOS JAN 6922... when I could get a premium NOS JAN 5670W with adapter for crazy cheap ($22.95 with options maxed). So... tube ordered (high gain, low microphonics, balanced), deoxit applied, converter installed, tube rolled. Verrrry nice. Highly recommended. Still like the amp, even if the ZDT Jr. sounds better.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
PrismaticOrb
50
Jul 20, 2019
FayneSuper helpful review, thank you!
dschindl
3
Aug 15, 2019
FayneExcelente review! How does this compare to the Eddie current?
Thks!
Fayne
2603
Aug 15, 2019
dschindlI like the ZDT Jr. better than the CTH for most music, especially bass heavy stuff (EDM, Metal, Industrial). I use the CTH a lot for gaming, movies, tv, and string heavy music (Classical and Classic Rock). Both work fine for all purposes, I just find myself falling into these patterns. Generally I'll use which ever one I turn on first in the morning for the whole day, usually based on the cans I'm using and my wake up playlist.
They're both great amps. If you're unable to pick one or the other, use your budget as the deciding factor. Just remember to replace the tubes with better models.
For the CTH get one of the GE JAN-5670W tubes with adapter (that I linked in my main review), you'll want balanced and low-noise. These perform amazingly well and are dirt cheap (~$23). Otherwise you're going to want to spend at least $50-100 finding a good balanced low-noise NOS 6922. The current production run ElectroHarmonix 6922 it ships with isn't horrible, it just could be a lot better.
For the ZDT Jr., you're going to want either a balanced and matched pair of GE JAN-5654W or of Voskhod 6ZH1P-EV. The amp ships with some basic recent production consumer grade Voskhod 6ZH1P, but you're much better off with NOS Military grade like the 6ZH1P-EV or JAN-5654W. Both can be had fairly cheap 20-40 matched on eBay and Amazon. I prefer the Voskhod, but I know a lot of people swear by the GE. The stock tubes sound fine with break-in, but can be very microphonic. As for getting better than the 6N24P it ships with... there are options... but may require adapters. As is, 6N24P isn't difficult to find.
If you're new to tubes, the CTH is easier to deal with being only a single tube of a type that is still current production and popular. The ZDT Jr. will require a bit more digging to find good 6N24P replacements.
If you already have a DAC don't bother getting the CTH+SDAC, just stick with the CTH unless you want the extra connectivity.
Will
8470
Chief Product Officer
Sep 5, 2019
FayneNice stack my dude!
Fayne
2603
Sep 5, 2019
WillI dig the MassDrop gear greatly. Figured since it was within means, I might as well have most all of it. I've minimal regrets over that decision and likely will continue to add to the stack as new toys become available here.
Now if I could just get y'all to come up with a basic pre-amp with I/O select (like the Schitty Freya S but with more output) or a fully kitted out DSP with both balanced and unbalanced I/O (like the freeDSP Aurora with the Add-on B). I'd love to be able to use any of my amps with any of my sources without having to swap cables or resort to using a digital mixer like my Behringer XR-18. Cable swap is annoying, and the mixer... does everything at 48kHz.
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