Cypher Labs Sustain84 Tube Headphone Amplifier

I own the Prautes and can vouch for its excellent sound. The owner is indeed responsive (he actually answered the phone when I called the first time, and returned my next call with an apology for the few minute delay - no annoying phone tag) and he is passionate and committed to his products. I spoke with the owner several times on the phone and by email and experienced extraordinary, personalized, and concerned customer service.

Hi Guys, this amp is so much better sounding than some mass produced designs. This amp is very similar sounding to our $3900 desktop amp the Prautes. The Prautes is a step up for sure and sounds as good as ANY amp. The Sustain84 is not quite on the level of a hand made point to point amp, but I wouldn't sell it if it didn't just straight outperform. The look is similar to the big iron as well, with removable tube shields and roll-able tubes. The design is straight forward and purely for headphones, so it won't start to annoy you with a lot of unnecessary bling. If you ever have an issue or a question, you don't get some faceless twitter account, you get the owner on the phone, I do all customer service. If you aren't happy, I'm not happy. https://massdrop-s3.imgix.net/img_comment%2Fi1ISYC0QZqUyzbcJhoDG_3qtrPrautesFullBlk.jpg https://massdrop-s3.imgix.net/img_comment%2FemZUgZGnREeoGfKPPQQS_Sustain84_0001.jpg

Hmm, $899 lowest drop price (25% off) is decent but the overall price puts it into a crowded/competitve market. No extra inputs or output (is it that costly to add a stereo mini?) gives it a bare bones vibe and relatively low power makes it a tougher sell; any HE6/HE1000 fans out there(?). Also, the use of a relatively obscure tube, not EL84, but ECL84 does not help. Cypher does have a sound or lack thereof that I find appealing: clear and transparent. At least with their Iem (which I have) and the Theorem which I've heard. Don't know if the Sustain84 has this sound, but at $900 it is a bit of a risk as I would probably would take a hit on resale if it does not have "that" sound. Having said the above, and based on the two reviews that I've read (HP Guru and Toneaudio) I think it might be a good match with Grados.