Most of the time now (as I noted in a post yesterday) I really wouldn’t change a thing in my current setup, and will simply add a Caldera Closed with a Norne Audio cable in a few months.
To make room for that, I’ll reluctantly sell my Bocote Eikon and its matching stand… the poor thing isn’t getting much listening time these days as the Atrium Closed scratches the sub-bass itch when it hits.
You may want to take a hard look at your amp if you get the Caldera. The Caldera has a 60 ohm impedance and may sound a little compressed with the OTL WA2. Having never owned the WA2, I don’t know how well it powers moderate impedance headphones, but in this case, I recommend trying before buying. The Caldera is fairly efficient and I would have no qualms with most transformer coupled tube or SS amps, but OTLs are definitely case by case.
I assume you’re referring to the current Bifrost 2/64. It’s a top notch DAC. Some people like the 2 a little better compared to the 2/64, but both are excellent.
I have a 2 and a Yggy LIM- the LIM is a little less thick sounding and is more detailed / clear than the BF2. Comparing the Bifrost 2 to my older DACs (Schiit Modi+ and Topping D50) both the 2 and the LIM are thicker, more natural and more lively in their presentation.
Hope that helps, and I should add that while the differences are audible, they’re small. You’ll hear a much bigger difference between a tube amp and SS amp or between headphones. I wouldn’t worry too much about the DAC until you’ve settled on an amp and gotten to know it so you can select a DAC that pairs well with it.
You may want to take a hard look at your amp if you get the Caldera. The Caldera has a 60 ohm impedance and may sound a little compressed with the OTL WA2.
The HA-3A & Bifrost finally arrived! Listening to it on my Calderas, and I honestly can't tell if I'm tearing up because of the hole in my wallet, or at how amazing it sounds.
I've never been great at describing sound but generally speaking, the soundstage and separation feels like it just expanded tenfold. At the same time, it also just feels so much more intimate (?) I really don't know how to put it in words apart from that it's fascinating.
I wonder if this amp might pair better with Bifrost 2. That’s my next experiment.
Listening now, my impression is this doesn’t have the resolution or cleanliness of my Archel 3, and I can approximate the tonality of it with the Archel’s tone controls. This was using Atrium Closed.
Further listening…yeah, I think the “darker” BF2 might really help here. Could just be a lack of synergy.
If there is one thing I’ve learned on my audio journey, it’s that synergy is the key to getting from good (or even very good) to great sound.
And once you have it and have ANY luck being content and happy with what you have- “musical nirvana” lies (for me) with shifting focus: Simply letting go of the way your gear facilitates the presentation of the performance to being swept away by the emotions of the music.
If your gear (and mental state, so to speak) allows you to do that, and you permit yourself to, congratulations. You not only saved time, money, and effort, but gained a lot of fun as well.
Then again, some of us love the journey itself. So you may read the above and shake your head and chuckle. And that’s cool too! If we all experienced this obsession hobby the same way, Head-Fi would be a boring community.
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You not only saved time, money, and effort, but gained a lot of fun as well.
you're supposed to emerge with a NIB / NOS quad of GEC 6AS7G .... 
