Bob_McBob

:D

???

There's someone on head-fi selling a Dynahi that looks pretty nice. Having just sold one myself (only for the slightly retarded reason of trying a nice tube amp instead), I can tell you it is an amazing amp. The GS-1 is a dynalo isn't it?

I used 303-523-0581 when I ordered mine last night. It took me a few tries over a couple of hours to get an answer, but I'm sure he would have called back if I'd left a message on voice mail (I only had little snippets of free time to talk on the phone so I couldn't have him just call back).

Ordered! I got a stock unit with an ECC adapter, now I can have a look for tubes Mikhail was offering me some crazy-ass tubes that normally go for $300-400 for $99 each, but I declined on the phone and can't remember anything about them now

"Hi, you have reached Singlepower Audio..." %@$#%$@#%$^@#%$@$#%$@^%$@%#$@#$%#@%$@# Guess I'll try again after dinner

Calling to order mine in 30 minutes

It is actually quite frustrating dealing with SP. I much prefer to communicate this sort of thing by e-mail so I have a good record of the reply and can get my questions together more effectively. I know Mikhail is a busy man, but it would be nice if he made more of an effort to reply. I sometimes receive replies within a day, but at least 50% of my e-mails to him thus far haven't been replied to at all. I assume he just deleted them.

Sure, but I'd like some idea of what to expect going in...

What was the basic price? I couldn't get Mikhail to reveal anything by e-mail, and I asked to order one but he never got back to me.

Gah, this waiting is killing me >

Oh well, guess I've got to wait Kevin, as someone whose opinion I value greatly, I would love to hear your opinion of this amp once it's clearer what's in it.

I don't think I would bother with a stepped attenuator on the extreme. If I were going to buy a single adapter, which one would you suggest? Also, which of those are the huge bling tubes? ;)

What tubes is he shipping it with?

Has anyone got any more solid info on the EXTREME? I e-mailed Mikhail, but since my last two e-mails sent over a week are still unanswered, I'm not expecting to hear from him any time soon... I am curious about the option of an MPX3 kitted out for high power tubes, but I don't really even know what to ask Mikhail, or how much I would likely end up paying. Also, I've been doing a little bit of research into balanced headphone systems, and opinions seem to be either "meh, it's not that much better" or "HOLY CRAP BALANCED IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO!!!11!" Anyway, I have a feeling a balanced system of the level I'd be looking to buy would probably be upwards of $3500, and then there is the cost of buying a new source, reterminating, etc. Not something I can afford right now. If the EXTREME is all it's cracked up to be at the price I've seen mentioned, I may just order one of those and then re-evaluate the balanced system idea in 6-12 months. That also gives me some money for K701s and a new lens for my 30D For what it's worth, Peter McAlister did get back to me, though I don't think anything will come of it.

I did read about the Grado issues, and I wasn't thinking of buying the same amp. It was more the idea of a custom amp, or fully customized amp from a place within driving distance. I'm not really sure how well philodox's experience went. Anyway, just a wild random idea. Me too Ahh, I love how my opinion sways from day to day. I'm still waiting to see much in the way of useful impressions from that meet thread, but I guess I will probably defer to your judgement on the ZD issue. I just need to stop looking at photos: "ooh... pretty... big tubes..." If I am not going to pick up a ZD, there is plenty of time to decide what to do in the way of a Singlepower amp -- for instance, waiting for a decent used deal to come along that I could have upgraded. Please do continue your thoughts on the upgrade ideas

Would you buy this over the SLAM SE if price wasn't an issue? Is having more power really beneficial if you don't intend to run K1000s off it? On another note, I've been looking at McAlister Audio, but I don't really know how philodox's amp ended up. The guy seems to know what he's doing, and his amps certainly LOOK impressive, but it's the same situation as Space-Tech, I guess. Well, on a more positive note he is at least local (ish), so I might see if I could go for a listening session...

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but I'd rather you guys didn't argue in this thread. It's a really important/expensive decision for me \ I'm still hoping I will get some decent impressions from the Florida meet in the thread on head-fi. This treble issue with the ZD doesn't sound good, especially if I'm going to be using it with Grados. I think I am guilty of the "ooh big tubes" mentality (seriously, same thing with the PPX EXTREME), and I don't want to put down $2000 based on that. I do have a few more days to decide, though. To tell you the truth, I am rather wary of ordering the Space-Tech amp. The price configured the way I'd want it is not exactly cheap. There is also the issue that they are so little-known that I would have a lot of trouble selling it on head-fi if I ever decided I wanted something else (and would likely have to take quite a loss). They DO look interesting, though. I'm actually leaning towards Singlepower again. I hope Mikhail will post his MOT thread, since the new amp sounds/looks interesting. It's definitely good to have more choices available, especially at the lower price point. I would be interested in hearing about the relative merits of this amp vs. an upgraded MPX3 (SLAM or SLAM SE).

Whoa, that is quite an impressive selection of tubes I should probably make it clear that I'm not buying an amp to be used solely with Grados, but I definitely do want it to be able to drive the shit out of my RS-1s! I owned a Dynahi before, and it could do that without breaking a sweat, but I really want to try tubes for a warmer/more interesting sound. After the amp purchase, I intend to buy some K701s and branch out into other headphones to see what else there is out there.

So many choices! Zana Deux, Space-Tech, SLAM SE, this new PPX EXTREME...

Any thoughts on my comments?

It would be great to hear your impressions/thoughts whenever you have time, Earl. I did find out that while the basic prices of the Space-Tech amps are fairly low, upgrades and extras are not cheap. To get the 1W version fitted out in the way I'd order it (piano black case w/nice knobs and switches, dual inputs with selector knob), it would be approximately US$1300 with tax. Another $250 for the 2W version, though that is probably overkill... He also does various capacitor/psu upgrades, but I wouldn't go for any of that.

I sure am. I fired off an e-mail to the company to ask about pricing on customization like extra inputs, a nicer case, etc. Though I'm sure this thing drives Grados very well, I am concerned about its performance as an all-around amp. As I said before, this is intended to be my "final" headphone amp. I want something that is a CLEAR upgrade, top of the line for what I can afford, and the ZD and SLAM SE both sit up there in the general opinion. I have about a week to make a decision if the ZD is still in contention. I am certainly not adverse to spending $1000 less on an amp (though I'm a little concerned that the little upgrades I'd want would add up). That would give me some money for K701s as well as some extra spending cash. However, I do need to get the facts straight.

Unless you're Dick Jackie of "International Legal RX Vito" I haven't received anything

I am apparently maligning PFK He also agrees the ZD is likely a great amp. I found out that I have about a week to get in on the second pre-order if I want one. The idea of looking at a non-SP amp didn't really cross my mind before tkam mentioned it. The thing is, I have had my eye on an SP amp for over a year. This is meant to be my "FINAL" amp (), which is why I am so concerned about getting the "right" one. I would love to audition both of these, but I doubt there is anywhere within driving distance I could do this. PFK has successfully steered me away from the Supra, so I suppose it comes down to the ZD and SLAM SE unless one of you bastards can show me yet another high-end amp to mess with my head I am reading through all the relevant info on head-fi, but as usual it's rather difficult to separate the good from the bad with respect to reviews/impressions. I'd love to hear what you people have to say about the relative merits of each amp, PARTICULARLY with Grados, but certainly with other headphones as well. What I like about the SP amps is the versatility of tube rolling, upgrades, etc. Hell, the aesthetics too -- the cases look great.