My solid-state setup is based around the Galion A20, MonAcoustic PlatiMon VC Ones, and a Denafrips Terminator Plus 15th DAC. Before getting the Navy, I was using a Burson Soloist 3GT headphone amp / preamp; this combination sounds good, but I wanted a bit more midrange detail and musicality. I was considering preamps like the Hegel P30a and the Meitner PRE, but Thomas told me the Navy might have the sound I was looking for. He was gracious enough to send me a demo Navy to audition—I listened to it for almost two weeks before deciding to send him my money.
For the two-week audition I used the stock PSVANE 12AT7-S tubes (PSVANE Art Series). Compared to the Burson, I heard a wider soundstage (the Burson really went only to the width of the speakers), better top-end (airiness), similar low end to the Burson but with a little more texture, and—most impressively—a clear midrange with a lot of musicality and detail retrieval. My tube setup is Decware, and I have a lot of experience with NOS, PSVANE, Ray, and Crytotone tubes, so I expected some improvements with tube rolling, but I figured that even if this was the best I would ever get, it was plenty. I ordered the Navy.
After my Navy arrived I tried it with both Ray 12at7 Reserves and Crytotone 12at7s (the P75 Bundle Wathen offers).
Ray 12at7 Reserve: At first the sound was just a tad on the too bright side, but this matched my experience with the Ray 12au7s in my Decware setup. After a week or so they smoothed out; the overall sound was richer than with the PSVANES, especially the midrange. What surprised me was the amount of added detail / clarity: there are a bunch of songs where I heard instrument & voice “noises” I had never heard before. At first the soundstage seemed about the same or perhaps just a tiny bit wider than with the PSVANES and also noticeably deeper. After some burn-in and a lot of listening, the soundstage became wider. The bass was just a little more defined than with the PSVANES. I could live with the Rays for a long time.
Crytotone 12at7: The sound right out of the box was eye opening: better definition, placement in the soundstage more accurate (instruments and voices better separated), and much better speed. The bass was better defined and the texture more discernible. The soundstage got noticeably wider and the center image came forward a little (that is, the soundstage got a little deeper).
One surprise was that with the Burson I preferred the OS setting on the Denafrips, but with the Navy—and especially with the Crytotones—I preferred the NOS setting.
Overall with the Cryotones, the listening experience is very (very!) good. Music is sweet and watching movies immersive. I hear things in even familiar recordings I'd never heard before. With good recordings the music seems to be all around me—holographic. Small details in the treble are clear and well defined—they seem to pop out, and I suspect that was what the recording engineers wanted—I think some call this “airiness.” My plan is to get a backup set of Cryotones for the future, keeping the Rays in reserve.
I listen to music; I don't listen to the gear. My preference for the solid-state setup is to be able to hear what's in the recording, even if that reveals imperfection. Not everyone feels that way about imperfection: I've heard it called “the perfection of imperfection.” With all three tube groups, my poor recordings are listenable—mostly because I listen to the music.
The Navy pairs well with the A20.
For those of you who get a Navy, here are three tips that might help:
1. The Ray tubes needed some coaxing and force to seat all the way. With the Cryotones I applied some Deoxit on the pins (with a swab—never spray) to add some lubrication—no coaxing or added force needed.
2. When you take off the cover to get to the tubes, keep in mind the corner screws are shorter than the middle ones (4 corners, 8 middles). Thomas: an access door with fewer screws would be welcome.
3. The Navy is sensitive to ground loops. The ground-lift switch on the back is very effective, but putting all the sound-munging equipment on the same circuit will likely solve everything. I use a Mac Studio with Audirvana, and it was the only device not on the same circuit; there was a tiny bit of hum until I moved the Mac to the same circuit. Now the background is black.