Headphone Amplification

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no such thing as a new production JAN tube, yes?

Ha! ... gotta love the Gilmore Raptor

Sorry for the quality of the pictures... I really need to get a tripod. A few points: - Yes, the 1/4" jacks are different. Yes, it will be fixed. - The Power keystart switch failed and Peter had to bypass it... I'm glad this happened before he handed the amp over. - The faceplate didnt really turn out as Peter and I wanted it. Neither of us payed anything for it though so no harm. Steve [swt61] should be able to remedy this for us in any case. - The XLR jacks are way too close to the volume knobs... this is one of the things that we will try to remedy with the new faceplate. - I believe Peter mentioned that there is some more exterior finishing th…

House Fire Where? Who? When? and we know the supposed why.

Well, I was supposed to get my new balanced McAlister Audio amp Sunday morning... turns out that the faceplate guy had issues with the green sublimation process. I decided to get the amps name in a forest green colour. Should have just left well enough alone! But then again, maybe not! I get a call from Peter on Sunday afternoon. He says he has been listening to my amp, and while it sounds incredible, he decided that he wants to go a little more 'over the top' with it. A man after my own heart. So, it looks like there will be 4 more tubes, for a grand total of 13... as well as two more metal can capacitors. He says that it looks like a BEAST. I can't wait to se…

Considering the overwhelmingly negative sentiment on Head-Case regarding RSA and its designs I have up until now stayed silent. I defer to KG technical expertise. I do read most of the anti-Ray propaganda that is posted. I believe that all of this propaganda has given me a slight predisposition against liking the Sonics of RSA?s products. It is with this predisposition that I attended this weekends NYC meet. I tend to pay attention to products that might be considered very high end. I already own what I consider to be the finest portable amp so I had little interest in listening to the new Tomahawk or even the Hornet, so I won?t comment on their performance or value ex…

So, I just ordered a FirstWatt F1 for my K1000s, and I'm getting that feeling that you get when you get new toys WHEEE

"The Tomahawk" "...resolution you can never imagine." http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=205466 http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/index3.html Discuss

Or, as they call it on Head-Fi, the Xiansheng. Alright, I found the tube compliment as being 1 6N3, 2x 6922, 1 6Z4 and 1 6N1. Meh, the only ones of those that I have are the 6922's...and not even that many of those... My boss just bought one (under my recommendation, so there's a little bit of pressure to do well, here). It's distorting. My first guess would be one of the tubes, but he does have a whole new system (using the MF A308 as transport, to long digital cable to cheap DAC to short ICs to Xiang Sheng to Sony MDR-7506/-V6's [i forget which, but it's actually a nice match]), so there's a possibility that it's something else, but I figure: check the tubes first…

I'm trying to think -- I don't think I've heard a worse amp than the Raptor. (Mints don't count, because they're not commercially available.) Am I forgetting something?

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I felt really bad hijacking humanflyz thread so I've created this seperately. I've done plenty of searching at the other place. Earl one of your posts from Headfi. Just doing some searching for uber Grado amps. I'm convinced the 6BL7GT/A is the way (if this will provide tons of current for the Grados) I want to go, unless there is a more high current tube that can be stuck in the MPX3 without driving the costs to Supra levels. Out of everything I'm looking for in a tube amp bass slam, and bass control is probably the most important thing for me. I'd like tight controlled bass with excellent attack and decay. And uh...don't mess with the Grado midrange too m…

All I remember was seeing a MOT thread in Head-Fi several months back. It looks like it's been released, but I can't seem to find anything about it. So I take it no one has heard this anything anywhere?

What do you guys think about these 2 amps coming out soon? Not much info on them. Basically, i'm wondering if anyone can give some insight about the quality of their products and whether these 2 new amps will be worth checking out.

I tried to share this pic at head-fi, but my thread has been deleted fro some reason... Here's a compacted version of the front panel's picture that Justin has just sent.

The more I think about, the more I realize that I don't really want an Omega 2 setup, and all the RS-1 loving has really got to me, so now my target is on a RS-1 setup. I'm set on getting a Singlepower amp to mate with the RS-1s, so this thread is to get some good info. 1) I'm going to get a MPX3 as the base, with octal tube sockets for maximum flexibility. 2) Gain tube: So far I know you can use the 6SN7, 7n7, 7af7, and their 12/14v variants. I'm a bit wary of using the 6SN7 since good NOS 6SN7 are expensive as hell. And also, what does the 12v option do to the sound? If I get it, does that mean I can no longer use the 6v variants? 3) Output: I'm pretty much set on…

Last I heard he was in the early testing phase. Did things get worked out and are these now available in the GS-X?

For those of you who've held on to your GS1000s (there are a couple left, right?), what amp are you using?

So, I've been impatiently waiting for the new TooleAudio balanced amp to come out, and am wondering when everyone thinks it will be done...

Hey folks, what are your thoughts on the new high end stuff like the B52, the PPX3 XLR and such like that? I've heard that the B52 will cost in the 5-6000 range, anyone hear anything directly from Ray or otherweise know anything about it? It's made the rounds at a few meets now (most recently the Boston Meet), but things seem really tight lipped about the thing. What is it exactly? A headphone amp that also has preamp functionality? A preamp that is also a good headamp? (yah yah a headamp is basically a specialized preamp, but you guys know what I mean)... Any ideas on the tube complement? The 5687s x 4 seem to have been identified, but what about the other 4? they se…

Has anyone here heard a Woo 3 with top of the line super duper exotic tubes? I'm just wondering how it would compare to something like a singlepower. It would be alot more convinient for me because of the size, but I don't want to lose out on SQ. By the same token, how about an Earmax?

The Backstory: So, Nate ordered a Lunch Box from Eddie Current, and realized he wouldn't need it because of his plans to build an Akido. I had almost ordered one, and a trade was worked out so that I would get the Lunch Box for my office rig. The office setup was completed by another trade with Nate to get his HD-600's since this amp is for headphones with > 150 ohm impedence. The Arrival: Well, it finally arrived yesterday @ Nate's office. As we only work a few miles apart, it was all I could do to wait 'til after work to get it! So you can imagine my disappointment when I get home after work, insert the tubes, plug it in and find it won't turn on! No! So it left…

Damn! I want to go home early to play with my new toy. I just received my Headroom Desktop Portable with the home module and the DAC. It?s going to serve as my Bedroom amp. It?ll be driven with USB or SPDIF from my computer (All MP3?s at 256K) or my Pioneer DV-563a for all silver discs both analog and possibly SPDIF. I?ll have to listen to determine the exact setup that I?ll end up with. I could go USB from the computer and SPDIF (Custom Siltech RCA to 1/8? digital cable) from the Pioneer for Redbook, and analog (Via Siltech Forbes Lake G6) for SACD and DVD-A. It?ll also see portable use with my Ety ER4S and my Archos AV420 with MP3 (all at 256K) I LOVE getting n…

So much for a cheap amp upgrade... As the topic says, I'm now trying to decide between the Singlepower PPX3 SLAM and the Mapletree Ear+Purist HD. I would have to find the Singlepower amp second hand to be able to afford it, probably in Canada (a long shot but I can wait). The Ear+HD is not worth buying used since I can get it tax-free here, and I seriously doubt I would be able to buy it second hand from a Canadian. They would likely end up being about the same price. As I said in the previous thread, I currently own RS-1s and UM2s, and I will probably be picking up some Senns or Beyers in the not-too-distant future to see how I like them. However, RS-1s are my prim…

I currently have a Millett Hybrid as my main headphone amp, and I'm considering switching to an nicely speced M3. I would probably have to sell the Millett to finance the M3, but I don't think it would be a significant financial outlay beyond that. I know people here and on head-fi have a pretty high opinion of the M3, and think perhaps somewhat less of the Millett (I have heard it described as a "fun" amp especially with Grados). The real issue is that I don't have the oppertunity to compare the two before I do this, so I would definitely appreciate some comments from you guys before I proceed. The Millett has fairly nice components. Here is what the builder says: "tr…