[onemug]

Got mine the other day so it's just breaking in (about 20 hrs now).

Out of the box, I heard something special. It was a quality I've heard twice before. First time was long ago with a top of the line cassette deck. You never know what wow and flutter is doing til you hear something with a vanishing low amount of it. Second was when I got an electronic flywheel for my turntable. The rock steady speed made it so sweet. Again, you don't know what speed variations do to the sound til you hear it without. Vinnie has done something with his .2 version that just makes things right. Hard to describe, but you know it when you hear it. Now that there's 20 hrs on it, it's getting scary good.

Vinnie is a genius and has a great ear too. Nice combo for our hobby. Nice to be in the .2 club.

[Vinnie R.]

Got mine the other day so it's just breaking in (about 20 hrs now).

Out of the box, I heard something special. It was a quality I've heard twice before. First time was long ago with a top of the line cassette deck. You never know what wow and flutter is doing til you hear something with a vanishing low amount of it. Second was when I got an electronic flywheel for my turntable. The rock steady speed made it so sweet. Again, you don't know what speed variations do to the sound til you hear it without. Vinnie has done something with his .2 version that just makes things right. Hard to describe, but you know it when you hear it. Now that there's 20 hrs on it, it's getting scary good.

Vinnie is a genius and has a great ear too. Nice combo for our hobby. Nice to be in the .2 club.

Hi onemug,

Thank you for your posting your initial 30.2 impressions! 

Much appreciated!

Enjoy,

Vinnie

[kbuzz3]

are you using it with a pre amp or straight

[flatmap]

It is a very sweet machine, for sure.

I liked what it was doing right out of the box, but still got a steep improvement during the first 100 hours. 

[onemug]

kbuzz3, It is the integrated version but I'm using it with a preamp now.

flapmap, 30 hrs now. Seemed to morph at around 20-24. Still better at 100? Wow.

[flatmap]

I'm not at all sure what happens during 'break in'.  Anyway,  when I said "steep improvement" maybe a better choice of words would have been  "clearly noticeable improvement". 

After 100 hours maybe there were more changes perhaps...  I'm less certain.  And by 80 hours, I had started listening to it full time, rather than switching from system to system. 

It's great to have amplification that's so quiet and clean.

[onemug]

About 35 hrs now. Left it on when I went to work, something I'm very reluctant to do with tubes. It's so nice to have the Smart charger. Don't have to worry about the battery and it really charges back up to full quite quick.

The .2 seems to hold the decaying notes longer. The battery will give you the black background but you havd to have the circuit to produce those notes at that level. Vinnie's does!

[nonoise]

Congrats onemug on your 30.2.
That decay will get longer the more it 'breaks' in.
I don't know how to describe it but it does  .
I'm in the process of breaking in some new ICs (RS Cable Silvers)
and that black background has gotten considerably blacker with
resultant length of decay and increased intelligibility to a degree
that is really astounding, captivating and spooky.
I had thought that it couldn't get any better.
better.
But it does  aa.

nonoise

[onemug]

Thanks nonoise. Great moniker btw.

I use silver ic and sc in my system. I used to dislike silver, just wasn't for me. A friend of mine gave me some of what he uses in recording studios. It was wonderful and I use it thoughout now. Moral: Not all silver cables are created equal. I think dielectric has a lot to do with some good/some bad. It's not bright itself, it just doesn't hide anything. With silver conducting better than copper, if the dielectric absorbs much, you will get more smear than with copper. It's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. 

[Canyoneagle]

I've had my recently upgraded Signature 30 (basic 30.2 upgrades), and have noticed a dramatic shift in resolution and texture in approximately 100 hours of listening time.
What an amazing amp!
The combination of this amp and the Omega MaxHemps is stunning, and I find myself getting completely immersed in the music for hours.
I keep a notebook in my coffee table so I can quickly pull it out to note particularly good tracks, which I seem to be doing more lately.

Vinnie, you've got another VERY satisfied Sig 30/30.2 owner.

[kbuzz3]

ive been on the fence about an upgrade since ive just killed another pair of batteries anyway.  Is the upgrade really that noticeable for those of us who use a pre amp.  Im using the older joule pre which is not a slacker by any means, but i found the direct integrated route to be a tad too "thin" or sharp for my room.  Stated otherwise, i like the tubes in my set up because my room is  a bit bright.

new dac.....RWA upgrade....new dac.....RWA upgrade.....hard to decide when budget is tight...

[nonoise]

Onemug:

I couldn't agree more. Dielectric absorbtion has everything to do with the sound on ICs and speaker
wire, the caveat being all cables are not made the same. So far, I'm sold on these.

nonoise

[wilsynet]

I just received the 30.2 yesterday.  After only a few short hours, I've now tried it with and without a valve preamp and so far I find the 30.2 equally warm in both configurations.  I'm by no means an expert, and I don't have the necessary experience with cost-no-object amplifiers, but the 30.2 has warmth, tone, and does that PRaT thing in a way that I've never heard before. 

This amplifier makes the Druids sing.

The preamp seems to add more heft and drive, and is slightly more holographic.  Without the preamp, the background is blacker, details more, well, detailed and the midrange sweeter.  Not sure which I like more right now, but I could certainly live long term without a preamp at all, and my room is certainly on the bright side.

More impressions later as I roll tubes and the Signature 30.2 breaks in.  I also have the Scott Nixon UFO JFET USB DAC on order, and can't wait to try a NOS DAC in this setup.

Associated Equipment: Modwright SWL 9.0 SE, Zu Druid Mk4, Mini-Method Subwoofer, Electrocompaniet ECD1 DAC, Squeezebox

[onemug]

Just passed the 100 hr mark. Really happy with it. Simplest way to put it is it's just so easy to listen to it.

kbuzz3, The upgrade was worth it to me and I do use a preamp. Don't know your DAC situation or how much you would have to spend to improve on it, but I suspect that the 500 spent for the .2 would yield more bang for the buck. One path may be to go for the .2 first and while enjoying your "new" amp, save for the Isabella with DAC.

[low.pfile]

I just received the 30.2 yesterday.  After only a few short hours, I've now tried it with and without a valve preamp and so far I find the 30.2 equally warm in both configurations. .......

Associated Equipment: Modwright SWL 9.0 SE, Zu Druid Mk4, Mini-Method Subwoofer, Electrocompaniet ECD1 DAC, Squeezebox

hey, another MWI SWL 9.0 and RWA 30.2 combo. Cool!

I have the amp version of the 30.2 so I can't test it without a preamp. I need the pre's multiple inputs though.

[kbuzz3]

Just passed the 100 hr mark. Really happy with it. Simplest way to put it is it's just so easy to listen to it.

kbuzz3, The upgrade was worth it to me and I do use a preamp. Don't know your DAC situation or how much you would have to spend to improve on it, but I suspect that the 500 spent for the .2 would yield more bang for the buck. One path may be to go for the .2 first and while enjoying your "new" amp, save for the Isabella with DAC.

thanks for the reply..the upgrade will run more like 600 plus the price of the smart module....

[Vinnie R.]

More impressions later as I roll tubes and the Signature 30.2 breaks in.  I also have the Scott Nixon UFO JFET USB DAC on order, and can't wait to try a NOS DAC in this setup.

Hi wilsynet,

Thanks for your post.

You are going to love that Scott Nixon UFO JFET USB dac... great synergy with the 30.2, and I highly recommend you try feeding it from a 12V SLA battery.  For the money, it is difficult to beat!

The preamp seems to add more heft and drive, and is slightly more holographic.  Without the preamp, the background is blacker, details more, well, detailed and the midrange sweeter.  Not sure which I like more right now, but I could certainly live long term without a preamp at all, and my room is certainly on the bright side.

I have to add that what you state above reflects what the Isabella will bring to the equation: adding a more holographic sound, more heft and drive, more "meat on the bones"... BUT, you WILL get the black background, sweet midrange and detail.  It is getting close now!

Thanks for your posts, everyone!

Vinnie

[el dub]

Add me to the list of satisfied 30.2 owners.

Matter of fact, I finally turned it down enough to realize that the sonic dynamics, especially at the bottom end, are more pronounced than what my stingray puts out at lower volume levels.

lw

[onemug]

el dub, Welcome to the club.

I passed the 200 hr mark recently and I'm not counting anymore, just enjoying.

For anyone researching these amps, they are great out of the box, you start getting the wow after just 10-20, then an ahhhhhhhhh around 100. I think you could describe it as the oooooohhhh stage now. You DO NOT have to put it in your garage and run them out of phase for weeks etc, etc, to get it listenable.

Something else I'm really enjoying is the smart charger. Besides taking the worry out of playing too long and hurting the batteries lifespan, it is the fastest somebitch I've encountered.

[tmarshl]

I've had my recently upgraded Signature 30 (basic 30.2 upgrades), and have noticed a dramatic shift in resolution and texture in approximately 100 hours of listening time.
What an amazing amp!
The combination of this amp and the Omega MaxHemps is stunning, and I find myself getting completely immersed in the music for hours.
I keep a notebook in my coffee table so I can quickly pull it out to note particularly good tracks, which I seem to be doing more lately.

Vinnie, you've got another VERY satisfied Sig 30/30.2 owner.

I now have over 200 hours on my Signature 30.2 and 100 hours on my new Omega Hemp/Alnico drivers and I have to echo the sentiments of this group.  For some time I had been considering a "high-end" system (at six times the cost of this one) and I must say that I am more satisfied with this current combination than with the demos of the "high-end" systems .  The clarity, resolution and detail of the Signature 30.2 coupled with the absolutely black background of battery power is very very satisfying to me.  For reasons of ear health and spousal acceptance I do not play music at window-rattling volume, so I need a system that delivers all of the detail and resolution at moderate volume.  I am no longer impressed by the "kick-in-the-chest" sound pressure of huge speakers, but rather by the purity and realism of the system.

Kudos to Vinnie at RWA and to Louis at Omega for a very satisfying combination. (Cross Posted on the Omega Circle)