Headphone Amplification

Don't get excited, this is not an in-depth comparison but I'm on my second day with my new SMv6 with the AD8620 and switches and thought I'd post some thoughts. Well my thoughts are pretty flat lined right now... I'm asking myself what I paid for The amp is a vast improvement over the previous SM3v3 and once again sounds great and drives my DT770-250 without a problem. It's slightly dry but still airy and detailed. I've yet to roll any of the included opamps and this is only about 25 hours of burn-in. One of my main reasons for replacing it was the Hornet seemed rather poor at driving my DT770-250 (songs with heavy bass had low end distortion at high volumes). I…

I'm about to buy a pair of 6bx7gt's for my old skool toaster MPX3. First of all, will it's psu even be able to handle them? Second, what are some good ones? I'm probably gonna buy them matched from tubeworld.com, if there's a better dealer that takes paypal tell me! Would you recommend the "O" or "D" getter halo tubes? And what brands? They seem to recommend the GE branded amperex and RCA tubes, but then again they're selling them...

Just saw this over on that other forum: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2062510&postcount=5 Looks somewhat interesting but I'd like to hear comments from the more technically inclined members here.

which solid state amp should i go for? the 717 or the KGSS? i know a stock kgss is 1.5k but i don't know how much does the 717 cost...

Just wondering, what are some good tubes for an MPX3 for metal? It sounds really good and realistic on most things so far, but the liquidic presentation doesn't lend itself to metal so well. Or should I just get a grado? Also, any recommendations for the W10LTD? I know not that many people have heard it, but it's one of the AT's that leans a bit more to the w100/2002 side, but not too much. My sonic preferences would probably be at least a realistic amount of bass, and "searing soaring highs"/

So many pretty (or not so pretty but just BIG) boxes out now that it is hard to know what to get. I am contemplating a partial return to dynamics. What are the top ten hubbub-causing high-end dynamic amps?

apparently ray samuels has a new amp...a balanced one perhaps? any ideas?

it's incredible the virtues of this amp are putting my head to rest , and ears to pacifically drool over it. this amp is easily the best amp I've come across , it's absolutely linear smooth outraugeoulsy extended at both ends , it gives the most effortless presentation , while keeping the bass solidly firm and never an inch out of the picture . It's solid state , but other then this it's difficult to tell it has transistor related character , which is a very good thing . It does a very nice job with ps-1 finally . Bass and bass to mids frq.s region are both very smooth and very well rendered ; there's a great sense of deepness , coherence and authoritative con…

.. has competitors around ( sound wise ) as an all in one portable / laptop nice sound solution ? My concerns are mainly about SQ.. what Dac hide inside ? I just read Jude preliminary review on head-fi and it seems it's nice improvement(sq) over the previous bithead.

Very positive impressions from Stereophile. Go and read

I cant wait! Should be here this afternoon when I get back.... Its going to be a long few hours...

Find more info here: http://www.rudistor.com/rp1000.htm

Well, for whatever reason, I had gotten sick of the Par-Metals case I had housing my PPA v2 + STEPS. I had wanted to do something with wood, but could decide what. I had picked up some Zebrawood for another pair of woodied Grados, but was unhappy with working with it in round shapes. So I decided it had come time to use the wood for the PPA's new enclosure. Before: After: I'd have to say it came out better than I could have expected. Needless to say, it hasn't changed the amp's performance... it drives my HD650/Zu just as well as before. But it is a hell of a lot more fun to look at!

This probably dives me more insane than anything else about this hobby/obsession. So I finally make the switch and have all my music into a 5g iPod 60gb, I get the awesome Turbodock II for the line out and am using my fully burned in Hornet. The Hornet sounds awesome... nice texture, black background, good weight/depth, etc. So why did I put it on eBay... I miss the crossfeed and bassboost from my SM for some of my music. Damn I hate this! I wish I could keep both but without the parametric EQ some of the music I listen to sounds slightly too dry with this amp, which is frustrating because I'll switch to a different album and it's bliss! So off I go to sell and on…

Well I was a little bored last night so I opened up my PrimaLuna Prologue One and was very impressed by the point-to-point wiring so I took some pictures. Lower res versions here: http://head-case.org/photos/thumbnails.php?album=6

Heh. Since this place is ALL about the controversy right now and it's open season on craziness, GIVE IT TO ME STRAIGHT DOC! I loves my MPX3.

I caught this off of Ryan's review -- when did this come out?

Each time I hear sacd lover's MPX, or Edipus's PPX Slam, I reall like them. But I pretty committed to not getting a tube amp because I pretty much don't want the tweakability a tube amp provides -- switching tubes, spending lots of money on NOS tubes, not being able to find tubes that sound exactly like what you had before, etc. I just know it would drive me a bit nuts. So.... Does Singlepower have plans or has it ever considered making a solid state amp?

I was wondering if an amp designer/builder can explain why so many people have problems running the hev70. Most of the are imported from the EU and it seems to be all sorts of problems yet they work fine in the EU. Is there any possible explaination for it?

HEADAMP GSX #001 (Alaska size pics) A few shots of the long awaited GSX in my rig, just opened the package,setup her up, and took some shots...for you people of course... Now if you don't mind my ears have a date with her and I am not wasting no more time! I know they are sloppy but I got an important Date now...byebye and enjoy

After my recent experience with the Zana Deux in Cinci I was again reminded what a difference power can make. As I have found more powerful tubes to run in the Singlepowers they just keep getting better. Mikhail, I believe, has a little bias against the bigger power tubes like the 2a3/ 300b etc.. because he doesnt feel they maintain the amps refinement .... and you have to admit at a certain point how much output power is necessary. But me ... I think if you have a refined gain tube that sets the character of the amp ..... the more power you add ..... things only get better. With this in mind I contacted Mikhail about a 6c33 amp. I had discussed this about a year ago …

Possible production of new units. I am working on Craig to do a special "limited" run of the full size Zana Duex like I have. This would be for 10 to maybe 15 "hard in the books" commitment of people. He would point to point wire each and do one at a time with the possibility of some very limited assembly line type of thing going on. This amp has to be done by him personally to be correct. A one man operation. If you are last on the list it could be some time. Price is a guess at this point anywhere from $1500 to $1800. He thought he could do them cheaper but probably can't. Disclaimer: I am not an employee or partner of any kind to Eddie Current. I make nothing on this.…

I have read a lot of good things about the Es-1, aristaeus and of course the hev90. All 3 are obtainable and in the case of the hev90 if you know where to ask. But I wonder what are the differences between the three? I currently use a 007t to drive my electrostat headphone and am looking for something which improves on it. I am looking for something which tightens up the bass over the 007t and if possible goes lower. Also I find the 007t and phone has a kind of even tonal balance. I prefer things a little on the warmer side. Also I hear this metallic ringing or sheen to notes. This is distracting to say the least. So any amp which does not have any of these fl…

Anyone have an amp they can send me to "evaluate" while I wait for colin to finish my M3? I just sold my supermacro, and am ampless...