minimus

The Atticus is marketed by ZMF as its “warmest” headphone, i.e. it measures really badly. So fanboys focus their praise on the most expensive ZMF models, like the Verite Closed, which I know something about. I had to switch from open-backed to closed-back headphones, so I bought a used set of Verite Closed. It’s decent sounding for a closed-back but if I didn’t need closed-back headphones, I’d use my HD800’s all the time. It is just better sounding. Also, much more comfortable - ZMF headphones are so heavy, like strapping a brick to your head. So if you don’t need a closed-back, maybe skip ZMF.

RIP, John Stabb, lead singer of seminal '80s DC punk rock band Government Issue. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/music/blog/20780142/the-music-community-remembers-john-stabb

Agreed. I like all of his albums, but this one is profound and mood altering. I saw him last Saturday at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan -- he was great, but he was wiping away tears as he was playing a lot of these songs.

I have to say I did not like DeVore all that much when I heard them at Sound By Singer about 6 years ago. I found them to be a bit lean and fatiguing, even with tube amps. (But the store had a somewhat hostile atmosphere, which didn't help matters.) Sehring monitors carried by TTVJ I heard the same day were much better sounding and less expensive. Other efficient and/or easy-to-drive speakers I have heard that I have liked are Coincidents, either Total Victory or Super Victory (the US distributor is across town from me) and Audio Physic Virgos, which I heard at Sound by Singer. If you had room for a big speaker, the Acoustic Zen Crescendo is really nice, although it is likely still above your budget on the used market. It sounds great, but is a behemoth. All of these speakers would not get lost in your room, which is large.

Well, I have had the loaner for a week and called Todd yesterday to buy one. The amp is a great match with the HD800. It also sounds shockingly good as a preamp considering the price, easily beating my Aesthetix Calypso. If they removed the headphone jack and just called it a preamp, they would probably sell a lot more units. Kudos to Pete and Todd.

Although I own the JH16s, not the JH13s, I also love how they sound out of a good desktop setup. (Portable amps generally don't cut it). There are two amps I would recommend. The first is the ECP Audio L-2, which Doug might be willing to sell you for $2K or you could try to find used. It is completely quiet with the JH16s and has a low enough gain that you can actually make pretty good use of the volume knob. It is a very clean/fast sounding amp, but is very easy to listen to - highly recommended with the JH13/16. I also like the Eddie Current Super 7, which has a low output impedance and was designed to work with IEMs. It is not quite as quiet as the L-2, but the noise level is still low. With the right tubes (RCAs) it is a little warmer sounding than the L-2 with somewhat deeper bass. If you already own the Zana Deux, the Super 7 might be redundant, though, so the L-2 may be the best bet. And ECP offers a 30-day return privilege, which is pretty unique and nice. Also, I have owned a few other amps (Woo 22, DNA Sonnet, Luxman P1-u) and did not like them with the JH-16s, so avoid those if they were on your radar.

I am second in line to receive the loaner Teton that Todd is sending around after RMAF. If it sounds as good as I remember the Singlepower Extreme sounded before mine blew up, I will buy it. Yes, $5K is a lot for an amp, but this one appears to be built to last. I also have a prototype version of the L-2 coming in from ECP Audio in the next couple of weeks (thanks Doug), and will also be comparing the Teton to the Eddie Current Super 7. I would be happy to post impressions if any of you jaded Head-Case regulars are interested.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Most are pretty affordable too. Are the Stratos at all bright or fatiguing?

Thanks, that is helpful feedback. Can I ask what amp and speakers you are using? And do you think I should be looking at any other solid state or hybrid amps in the $5K-$7K range besides the Ayre V5X-e and the Moscode?

The Moscode 402au amp has received good reviews (probably meaningless) and is also well-liked by people who own it or have heard it. The amp has a tube input stage and a MOSFET output stage, and can be bought new for $4900...so it's a bargain. Has anyone heard it and care to comment? And can any DIY builder tell whether the amp has a good design or is overpriced crap? I am tired of listening to my McIntosh MC275's anemic bass and am mulling a new amp purchase. The Moscode is the current front-runner, with the Ayre V5-xe a close second.

If you want to demo a Class D amp, Wyred 4 Sound offers a 30-day trial. They do charge a restocking fee, so don't demo an expensive amp. The ST250 is $995 new. One is also available used on Audiogon for around $600 right now. You could make a low ball offer on that and probably resell it without too much trouble. That would probably cost less than the W4S restocking fee, if you are willing to endure the hassle. You might also consider a used McCormack DNA1 or DNA0.5, which can be had for around $600-$750. McCormack makes very good solid state amps and these models aren't too enormous or heavy.

I highly recommend the B&K 4420 (if you want a stereo amp), which I own and love. It is a really musical amp, it creates a really wide soundstage, and can be found quite cheap ($450-$550). I bought mine from a friend, who demo'd about a dozen amps before settling on the B&K about 10 years ago. He sold it to me after he replaced it with a used VAC Phi 200 and said afterwords that he wasn't entirely sure the VAC sounded any better than the B&K. I have been on the merry-go-round for a while and can tell you that the 4420 trounces one of Marantz's flagship stereo amps, the SM11-S1. And it is better in some respects (bass, soundstage, electric bill) than the amp I am currently using, a McIntosh MC275. If I didn't live in a crammed New York apartment, I would buy another 4420 on Audiogon as a backup if mine ever needs repair. However, I would stay away from the newer B&Ks (the 200.2, etc.) as I have heard from a dealer friend that reliability on B&K's new amps has gone down hill. Also, I would avoid Class D amps. I demo'd a Bel Canto Ref 1000 and bought and sold a Wyred 4 Sound ST250. Both sounded identically lousy.

I'm impressed...that must make for the smallest preamp on the planet. If it sounds good, that is even more amazing. If the credit crisis really is entering "phase 2", I might soon have to sell my Aesthetic Calypso for one of these.

As a loyal customer who bought the Wyred 4 Sound ST-250 power amp, I received a friendly e-mail response from EJ Sarmento, one of the proprietors of W4S, to some questions about the DAC2. He wrote that the DAC2's asynchronous USB was a "custom" solution that was not licensed from Wavelength, but USB through the DAC2 should sound as good as the Ayre QB-9. He wrote that a system consisting of the W4S DAC2+PS Audio Perfect Wave Transport (connected via HDMI) will sound "as good or better than" the Perfect Wave DAC + Transport and that digital sources connected using S/PDIF will sound better through the DAC2 than through the Perfect Wave DAC. So you get the QB-9 + Perfect Wave DAC all for only $1500. Sounds way to good to be true...

As I wroter earlier in this thread, I hated the Wyred 4 Sound amp I owned (and later sold). The Wyred 4 Sound DAC2, however, has piqued my interest. For one, it seems that Cullen Circuits/Wyred 4 Sound does a lot of OEM digital design for better known companies, most notably PS Audio, so they may actually know what they are doing when it comes to digital. The inclusion of an I2S/HDMI input on their DAC2 makes me think they are adopting the I2S/HDMI "solution" used in the Perfect Wave products and are trying to compete with the Perfect Wave DAC. I'm not sure why else they would offer this feature. I am also impressed that the USB input on the DAC2 is asynchronous. This is presumably to compete with Wavelength and the Ayre QB-9. I am not sure how they are doing this, unless they licensed the technology from Gordon Rankin at Wavelength like Ayre did for the QB-9. Not even the Perfect Wave DAC offers asynchronous USB, but instead wants you to buy add on products (the PW Bridge, the PW Library...) to go the music server/computer-as-source route. Personally, an asynchronous USB DAC for use with a Mac mini is a whole lot simpler than the more complicated system that PS Audio is designing. This feature set, of course, may be irrelevant if the DAC sounds crappy. We can expect Srajan Ebaen, the publisher of 6moons who seems to have a man crush on Rick Cullen, to weigh in with a glowing review any day now. I will wait for the impressions of actual owners to trickle in. But I suspect this thing will have FOTM status when it starts shipping in late April or May. Who knows, maybe it will even dethrone Audio-gd for a few days.