4N6

I got one and it sounds great with the DX1000's and the K1000's. Not so good with the W5000's.

It is what it is...and for the comparison I has relying on memory of what a pair of HP1's sounded like that I heard two weeks ago. Yes, the PS1000 that I listened to was still tilted towards the bass, but at least the bass was a little tighter and better defined. It is also COMPLETELY different that the PS1, yet somewhat similar to the GS1000, especially in regards to the soundstage. You only WISH your amplifier was that inadaquate!

I heard the PS1000 the other day at Todd Green's home. He also had the GS1000 (recabled with balanced Equinox) on hand to compare to. The amp, of course, was the TTVJ Millett 307A, and the source was a Meridian G8 (I believe). I got to listen to both headphones and make some comparisons, although I must admit that the listening was FAR too brief. And by the way, he also had a pair of PS1's to compare to, which was interesting. The soundstage of the PS1000 was very good, and was equal to the GS1000 (even with its inherant advantage of being balanced). The bass was a little tighter, punchier, and better defined. Not by huge margins, but musically significant. The midrange on female vocals seemed a little more neutral, with the GS1000 seeming a little colored by comparison. I did not perceive much difference in the treble, but again, the listening session was short. Differences worth the extra outlay of cash? Only you can decide. I have never been a big fan of the GS1000, but the refinements made to the PS1000 make me pause and consider getting one. And for the PS1? Nice sound, punchy bass, very constricted (nonexistant?) soundstage...basically what I have heard with the HP1's and the HP2's, but with a little better bass. I liked the PS1000 far more.

Not sure I agree with this. I have both speaker systems and headphone systems, and the quality of music reproduction in both depends upon a quality source. The resolution on many high-end headphones is amazing, and definitely reveals the quality of the source. If you have a marginal source in high-end headphone listening, the intimacy of the musical experience with headphones really lets you know quickly that something is wrong. My feeling is that the source is equally important for both, if not a little more important for headphones. Oh, and BTW Riceboy, I am glad you liked the Cary!

The price of admission for this amp, to me, was WELL worth it. Before gettng the 307A, I had a few pretty good amps, yet I always had "upgraditis" due to the fact that something elusive was missing in the sound. Well, nothing is missing in the sound of the 307A. Never a second of buyers remorse and no upgraditis (at least as far as headphone amps are concerned!). Just one fantastic amp.

Thanks for posting this Riceboy! I also agree that vinyl, when properly spun (clean record with well set-up turntable/tonearm/cartridge) will sound better than a CD. This is a generalization, however. In this months Absolute Sound, the music reviewer listened to some new reissues of older rock albums and found that a few of them sounded poor and seemed to be poorly pressed (dust and hairs on a new LP) and noisy. I also agree with the article that you really do not need to spend a fortune on a good LP rig. A new Rega P3-24 with a good cartridge and phono preamp could be had for $2000-2500 and will keep up with many MUCH higher priced CP players.

I have had the Cary SLI-80 F1 Signature for a few years now. With certain headphones, the sound is quite wonderful. My favorite combination is this amp with the JVC DX1000's. Very good synergy and a very seductive sound. Accurate? Not very. But with sound that beautiful, it was easy not care about the accuracy and simply sit down and enjoy the music. I thought it was NOT a good match with the Audio Techinca W5000's, and a pretty good match with everything else I tried. I would agree that it is more midrange centric, but tube choices go a long way toward getting a more even tonal balance. I got terrific results using SEC 6550's as the power tube. I also had mine direct coupled and changed to triode-only. As I did not compare before and after, I am not sure what changes this might have done to the overall sound. From my limited experience, I would say that this is a very good, but not great headphone amp. However, if you need a "very good" headphone amp, and the ability to drive speakers, there is very little else out there that competes.

My Pack have the week off so I am stuck watching the other teams play. The Giants/Steelers game should be a good one. The Tampa/Dallas game is pretty good so far...Go Tampa!

The Cambridge Audio 840A V2 is a very good solid state integrated that powered my ProAc Response 2S and Sonus Faber Guarneri Mementos to fine form. It also has balanced inputs and a headphone jack. At $1500, it is slightly more than your limit, but may be worth the extra splurge. There are also two on Audiogon for just under $1000.

Isn't Peyton Manning the greatest quarterback EVER?!? All those Sony adds, Oreo adds, and practically being the NFL poster child, he must be!!! Too bad about those two interceptions run back for touchdowns, however!

I am sooooo looking forward to this weekends Green Bay/Indianapolis game! Should be awesome. And no, not small batch bourbon. I prefer Edradour Single Malt Scotch.

I have had very good luck with GNS. They modded my EAR 834P phono preamp and it sounds amazing. Perhaps he would be willing to take a look at the 840C.

That's what I love about this site. Calling it like it is. From what I gather, I will not be sending them my 840C. Other 840C modifiers out there that can actually be recommended? I would send it to ModWright, Exemplar, or Great Northern Sound if I thought they would work on the 840C.

Anyone with any experience with mods of the 840C? Reference Audio Mods (Reference Audio Mods, cd player mods,audio mods, audio modifications) has some interesting modifications listed for the 840C but I am still a little hesitant to send mine in.

Politics, schmolitics...and the TTVJ 307A rocks!

My world is a little rocked right now. Shoulder injury to the starting QB and two rookies as back-ups. If the shoulder is a show stopper for Rogers, Green Bay's season is OVER. I think I need a drink...

Doubtful

100% Agree. As I originally said, it was a "partial" list. Yeah, I am sure that most audiophile customers want the product to look awesome, sound awesome, cost cheap, be 100% reliable, and be available RIGHT NOW! And they will bitch if all of the above is not true.

Yeah, I love and hate Sam Tellig's "reviews." He is an entertaining yet uninformative read. I have been reading his columns since his "Audio Cheapskate" days, and during my high-end audio infancy I followed a lot of his advice (Spica TC-50 speakers powered by a B&K ST-140 amp...wish I still owned those pieces...). I no longer trust a thing he says, however, mainly for the reasons mentioned above.

Kevin, Thanks for the response and there is a lot of logic in it. It is a tough economy and has been for a long time for dedicated high-end manufacturers. Certainly not for those looking for a get-rich-quick scheme. To try to make a living in this economy running a small and very specialized business is risky at best and takes a lot of guts. I also have a TREMENDOUS amount of respect for the small manufacturers like Ray, Mikhail, Justin, Jack Woo, Craig Uthus, Tyll, and others. To put up with design, implementation, parts, supplies, orders, shipping, repairs, and simple customer service (to just cover the basics) takes an amazing amount of work, dedication, talent, skill, and experience...something that many armchair quarterbacks such as myself will never be able to appreciate.

No, that is Justin's Company. He gets the credit for making the products.

A partial list of the great amplifier designers: Nelson Pass: Threshold/Pass Labs/First Watt John Curl: Mark Levinson/Vendetta/Parasound/CTC Builders Dan D'Agostino: Krell Jeff Rowland: Jeff Rowland Design Group Antony Michaelson: Musical Fidelity Kevin Gilmore: Northwestern University??? Kevin, when are we going to see you enter the audio business and put these terrific amplifier designs into consumer practice? Personnaly, I am not a DIY'er and would like to see your designs available.

Shinichi, I hope this helps answer your question. Preamplifier = control of loudness, selection of sources Amplifier = powering speakers or headphones Both of the above are needed to play recorded music. Integrated amplifier = a single unit to power speakers that contains both the preamp and amp circuitry Headphone amplifier = a single unit to power headphones that contains both the preamp and amp circuitry. It usually does not have enough output to power speakers (Woo Audio 5 and Cary SLI-80 are exceptions, and may be better considered Integrated amps that ALSO power headphones). The RSA B-52 may be used as a headphone amp and as a preamp. So may a few other brands, such as most Headroom amps. The TTVJ 307A is JUST a headphone amp. It cannot perform the duties of a preamp as it does not have the outputs to drive a speaker amp. An electrostatic headphone amp cannot be used as a preamp due to its topology.

And BTW...the 307A with the K1000's is just KILLER!!!!!