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recstar24

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Posts posted by recstar24

  1. Didn't you have the Moth Si2A3? I believe that was an integrated stereo amp in addition to having a headphone out. That seems to be a pretty good all-inclusive option for the few users out there. I may end up having Craig build me one so I can use that as the center of my rig, to drive my headphones and a set of cicadas I plan on getting.

    Other than that, the Cary is probably your best bet.

  2. The GS-1 is simply a great overall performer that is quite versatile. It was one of the most enjoyable amps I haev reviewed so far, and probably sometime in the future will end up owning one. When I had it here it sounded great with the hd650's. The GS-1's top end is very refined, smooth, and silky, with great bass impact, slam, and depth. The 650's bass can sounda bit wooly but the GS-1 controls it very nicely, making it tight and impactful.

  3. i've been a bit confused about the point of the lead acid batteries in the EC-H. yeah, i understand that it's cleaner power, but i find batteries in home gear to be irritating. i would rather have a really big, beefy PSU, myself.

    The fact that it is cleaner power is only the first part of it. Really big, beefy power supplies have huge capacitors rated at very big values, filtering, inductors, so on and so forth. A lot has to happen to convert the AC to DC and even more to keep it clean and regulated. Those capacitors and inductors have a large effect on the sound. Using batteries its pure clean DC right there so you can avoid those issues with it sounding better and being cheaper to boot. Both parties win.

    However, it apperas Craig has found a way other than using batteries to power the JFETS without impacting the sound signature and sounding just like the battery supply with a normal AC-DC power supply. Can't wait to hear it myself personally

  4. Sorry guys, but I got bad news for you all. The EC-H is on hold. Craig had developed a stripped down version of the EC-H that didnt use lead acid batteries to power the JFET or the special coupling caps, which he would retail at 395. In his words, the version that 909 heard with the special coupling caps and battery power on the power JFET sounds "first cabin", and that the Zana was only slightly better for a grand more (Craig's words). Also, the stripped down version at 395 was superior by far to the EC-01, and would essentially kill it. Craig wanted to send me the hybrid to compare against my HD25, but that was put on hold...

    ...for a solid state amp ;D Craig said he wanted to compare the hybrid to his all solid state design before going further with the hybrid. Well, he seems pretty keen about the solid state and should be sending it to me pretty soon to test drive. Here is a copy of the email Craig sent that highlights what it has to offer:

    "The problem with the JFET is getting it to work as a power device for audio service. np as he signs his emails makes his F3 with a slightly different approach than me. The problem I had was the power supply sonic signature. The current source np uses to get the JFET to work has a bad power supply rejection ratio, so you will hear it. I came up with DIB today, dual isolation buffer, for the power supply. It works well, and the battery supply sounds like the solid-state supply now. This means the amp can be all solid-state. I grew up in the sixties, and I had an LSD flash back listening to this all solid-state amp tonight. It is very good. The cool thing when you get the EC/DC is that the whole amp will fit in the same chassis. I need to try one more thing, and then I will layout a pcb and make a real sample. If I was np this would be in a hogged out solid aluminum chassis bla bla and sell over the pond for $3500.00. But because I'm EC it will be around $300.00. The topology is SE class A. It has gain with no feedback, and it is DC coupled on the input. "

    FYI, "np" is Nelson Pass. Craig got wind of the power jfet he has been playing around with through him, they live pretty close by and Craig has visited him and they have a pretty good relationship. Craig has told me personally that he has a lot of respect for Nelson Pass, which means a lot because Craig is traditionally a tubes guy and hardcore about it. The JFET that Craig uses is the same I believe in the FirstWatt F3. You can go to the Nelson Pass website under the FirstWatt banner and read all about the power JFET, sounds very promising.

    Will post here again when I have a chance to listen to it. I think its a good move. Not much available in terms of single ended class A solid state, which has some inherent advantages over a tubed single ended class a design. Exciting stuff nonetheless and for 300.

  5. vinyl....yummy. Vinyl just can't be beat. The question for me is whether I get into vinyl first or speakers first. I am leaning a bit towards speakers of course, especially when my fiance and I move to a new house, but the lure of vinyl is calling, I am just worried that shopping for vinyl will be like crack - cheap, dirty, so much good shit available for dirt cheap, and such a good high too. Next thing you know I will run out of money and will have to suck dick for vinyl on the corner of Clark and Belmont or something.

    The best thing about vinyl? Unlimited dynamics, unlimited extension without ever feeling harsh or strained, and smooth and warm as apple pie. The comparison between vinyl and digital is like tubes to solid state - with digital and solid state it always seems like there is a ceiling to the music, where the music can't expand above or reach you. Vinyl grabs you by the balls and really reaches you from a musical standpoint, the air is breathtaking and it sounds so open and dynamic like there is no ceiling to the music, the closest I heard to vinyl is Meridian G08 but I have my eyes on a VPI Scout and I can tell you I would be listening to the Scout much more than the G08.

    As for the inconvenience of vinyl? No one said you didn't have to work to get closer to the music ;D

  6. Hell no you guys didn't start this thread after I dropped cash on a Cardas Neutral Reference .5 IC to go 'tween my Melos and my DAC-ah! I refuse to be paranoid about impedance and resistors and all those technical things - let me just throw money at the problem and sing "lalala" to myself! :-X

    Actually your fine - I remember seeing that eric had measured the CNR on his TDR and it did not have any extraneous reflections, I believe according to his graph it was identical to his Nitrogens, so I believe you can assume the CNR has a very constant impedance down the entire length of the cable

  7. How do you ensure the security of the connection of the resistor from signal to ground? I am a bit concerned with my soldering skills and maintaining that connection through repetitive plugging in and out. Do i just need to heatshrink the shit out of it to ensure the connection doesnt get jolted and broken off?

  8. That's a nicely written review, and I do agree with your comments about top end extension. Doubling the modules, i.e. balanced, seems to cure that minor defect, and I find while playing around with all the modules with my convertable that the culprit is the Intersil HA-5002 buffer, which is not as transparent an output stage as one might want at this level of performance. It technically cannot be biased particularly far into class A, meaning that most of it's output range when single ended is switching. As a balanced module, the current delivery for each buffer is halved, and it is therefore relatively biased twice as far into Class A.

    I suggest you test your different headphones again, as I suspect you will find that the module will be happiest with a higher impedence headphone such as the HD-650, as I think you'll find the module is happier the more voltage and less current it is delivering. I can imagine the Grado's exhibit the most lackluster preformance, and I'd be interested in your take on that.

    Thank you for your comments and your time for reading, I appreciate it. In fact, if you read a bit further, I mention that the sound with the senns was easily superior to the sound with the grados, and that i suspected it was a current issue. With the senn 600's the sound was very beautiful, and I made sure to comment on that pairing.

  9. Hugo,

    Cool to hear from you, it will be nice to read more posts from you again, even though your asylum posts are very nice too. But damn you for selling that Airsine before I could get my hands on it >:( jk

    This is a pretty cool site you guys, I am glad I'm here

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