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.

FYI, in Berning's last e-mail he said the 7-watt power amp he offered to modify is still in the design phase and is meant for speakers, not headphones, so he was uncertain how good it would sound if modded into a headphone amp. He recommended I just try to find a used Micro ZOTL. So the bad news is that Berning is not entering the headphone amp market for now. The good news is that he is planning to release an $1800 power amp that might sound really good with efficient speakers. That is a lot cheaper than most Berning gear, new or used.

After a few more e-mails exchanges with Berning, I am left with the impression that this custom-built amp would be a bad idea. In his last e-mail, Berning wrote that the cheapest amp he sells is a 7-watt power amp for $1800. He would add a few features (volume control, RCA inputs, headphone jack) so it would drive headphones for an extra $150. Doesn't exactly sound like he plans to voice the amp for headphone usage, but rather would add necessary features so it would work with headphones but eventually be used as a low-power integrated in a speaker rig.

That's a bummer. I heard no noise from the PWD when I used it pretty much the same way. PS Audio is very helpful with technical support, so you might want to run the problem by them for suggestions. They may even send you a new unit to check if the root cause of the problem is their DAC or a ground loop.

Recently I sent an e-mail to David Berning asking whether he has any intention to build a headphone amp and he offered to build me a 6V6-based amp for around $2K based on one of his low power (7 watts per channel) stereo amps. He would customize the amp to add a volume control, RCA ins, and a headphone jack. He says the final amp would sound better with low impedance headphones than high impedance headphones because it was originally designed to drive speakers. I know Berning is highly regarded for his power amps but don't know if that reputation extends to headphone amps. I know he used to make the his "micro ZOTL" headphone amp but it was discontinued a few years ago. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether a custom-build headphone amp from Berning is a good or bad idea? Was the Berning micro ZOTL a good headphone amp? Is the 6V6 tube a good one for audio/headphone applications? And is his claim accurate that an amp built to drive speakers is better suited for low rather high impedance headphones? Should I instead plan to buy a Zana Deux or Decware CSP-2 and avoid a custom built amp? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

The answer to both questions is a definite yes, as I have done this. (I used the RCA outs to connect to a cheap headphone amp and the XLRs to connect to my power amp when I was using the DAC as a preamp, and the DAC's volume control worked for both RCA and XLR outs.)

I own the Aesthetix Calypso. A great preamp and completely quiet, rumors notwithstanding. I preferred it to the BAT preamps I demo'd. However, it only has an RCA tape out, not a balanced tape out. I don't think I have ever seen a tape out on a tube preamp that was balanced, although I admit I haven't looked very hard. Good luck finding one. I would be a bit wary of Wyred 4 Sound or at least ask questions before you buy. I own one of their greatly heralded Class D amps (see reviews in 6moons, Positive Feedback, et al). It sounds really lousy and now just takes up space in my closet. If they mod one of the balanced outs on their new greatly heralded preamp to a balanced tape out, I would just make sure that you can still return the thing if you decide you don't like it at the end of their 30-day trial period. One thought is to just connect RCA cables from the Perfect Wave DAC to a single-ended or balanced preamp (the Calypso?) that drives your power amp and speakers. Also connect XLR cables from the Perfect Wave DAC to your balanced headphone amp. Just turn on the one that you want to listen to and leave the other one off. Or leave them both on if you want (not sure why you would, unless you want to listen to your headphones and speakers at the same time). I am currently doing that with my Perfect Wave DAC and it works perfectly. I am sure I am violating some golden rule of audio by doing this but it still sounds great.

Well, I own one of their well-reviewed class D amps, the ST250, and it makes my stereo rig sound like a really loud cell phone playing ringtones. Regardless of how their DAC actually sounds, I am sure that 6moons and Positive Feedback will gush about it almost as much as they gushed about the W4S amps and preamp.