s1rrah Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 A little bit back I sold all my dynamic stuff and went complete electrostat. I was tired of the admittedly lovely, but nit picky Grado GS1000's which sounded like god on certain stuff but which would fall apart on certain other tracks (think early 80's, very thin, sharp in the highs Husker Du tracks, etc.). I haven't been disappointed with the decision. The Stax SRM-323S amp ... Stax SR-307 and Koss ESP950 headphones that I chose are pretty much a dream combination in so far as working with my entire collection of digital music which spans everything from Black Tusk to Bach to Dana Kurtz to Alela Diane to Judas Priest to the Swans. Pretty diverse and on constant random rotation. And, the Stax stuff doles it all out in spades ... But sometimes I find myself missing the pounding bass slam that a dynamic rig can provide and so I've decided to spend about $1000 dollars (500 amp / 500 cans / adjustable ratio between) on such and that will coexist with my main Stax/electrostat set up. I'm pretty sure I'll go with Grado PS500's for the cans but I'm completely clueless what the best amp, in the smallish size range, SS or Tube based, will give me the best for the money. I have very limited space. I share a 3 bedroom home with two others and pretty much all I have is my desktop (occupied by the aforementioned Stax setup, some 5.1 computer speakers, a keyboard, mouse and a dual monitor setup (the latter which is high enough to not really matter). But space is key ... and so I was hoping I could get some suggestions. My main concerns: Amp footprint has to be no larger than 6.25" x 5.5" ; it will rest on top of my DAC; no flexibility here An AMP/DAC combo would be nice for some variation vs. my standard DAC but pure amp is fine too as I'll simply run out of the parallel out of the Stax amp Solid state or tube is fine. Whatever will work well with 32ohm Grados Price range is $300 to $600 dollars Interested most in synergy with Grados (probably RS1's or PS500's) ... If you have any suggestions, please post. Here's a shot of the space the amp will have to occupy: ... danke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 gilmore lite m3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1rrah Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Gillmore lite is perfect I think ... will start hunting. Thanks ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikongod Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Gillmore lite is perfect I think ... Yes, yes it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkam Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Schiit Lyr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellylh Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) Gilmore Lite will be perfect if you can find one. Also, couldn't you stack the DAC on top of the amp instead of the other way around? You could then get something a little bigger if needed. The Schiit might be something to look into if you can't find a Glite. Edited January 18, 2014 by shellylh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1rrah Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) Gilmore Lite will be perfect if you can find one. Also, couldn't you stack the DAC on top of the amp instead of the other way around? @Shelly I certainly could. But regarding the maintenance of my own queer sense of visual aesthetic/gestalt (IE > bottom piece should be wider than the top piece) ... which is super important for reasons of OCD ... that would equal a pretty big amp ... and just going by some gross, personally defined size to cost ratio? ... Most amps that large would be outside of my price range ... (the Stockholm DAC's width is about 11 inches across ...) BTW ... what are the dimensions of that ECP "proto" that you have? ;-) (oh yeah ... re: Gilmore lite ... all I can find are WTB posts) ... feck. Edited January 18, 2014 by s1rrah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1rrah Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Schiit Lyr I was reading about a modded Schitt Lyr on another forum ... it sounded like a power house, K1000's were mentioned .. speakers, maybe (LOL) and so, not knowing too much about all the impedance/ohm stuff .. .I sort of wrote it off in regards to Grados. You think that amp would work for the 32ohm variants? I admit liking the idea of tubes as historically, and just speaking of dynamic amps, ... I've always used mostly Grados ... and the tube amps have worked the best (though the ECP SS amp I heard was even better for whatever reason) ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellylh Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 BTW ... what are the dimensions of that ECP "proto" that you have? ;-) Couldn't work, it is deeper than it is wide (and it's not for sale). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefQon Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 I was reading about a modded Schitt Lyr on another forum ... it sounded like a power house, K1000's were mentioned .. speakers, maybe (LOL) and so, not knowing too much about all the impedance/ohm stuff .. .I sort of wrote it off in regards to Grados. You think that amp would work for the 32ohm variants? I admit liking the idea of tubes as historically, and just speaking of dynamic amps, ... I've always used mostly Grados ... and the tube amps have worked the best (though the ECP SS amp I heard was even better for whatever reason) ... Modded Schit Lyr, K1k's? power house??? You sure that isn't the Yggdrasil you're talking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1rrah Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Modded Schit Lyr, K1k's? power house??? You sure that isn't the Yggdrasil you're talking about? I confess .. I combined a for sale post from H-fi (the satanic, apparently) and a 6 moons review (also, possibly satanic) ... But here's the H-fi post I mention: http://www.head-fi.org/t/699971/professionally-modded-schitt-lyr (sorry if that offends anyone. I've already had mods at H-fi reprimand me for linking to images/content at this forum (which I really didn't understand) .. and I really am not aware of the politics between these silly forums and I don't want to fucking know .. you all just chew on each other and leave me be) But yeah ... ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1rrah Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Couldn't work, it is deeper than it is wide (and it's not for sale). goddamnit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudeWolf Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 I second the Gil-Lite recommendation, however the Lyr... It has a lot of power on tap, but not sure if you'll ever need it. Also the higher noise floor might be a concern. Headphone wise if slam is what you need try finding a Paradox modded T50RP. For me it trounced anything Grado could muster up. For amps I'd try these guys. Maybe even order a kit to play around. My two euro cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1rrah Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 I second the Gil-Lite recommendation, however the Lyr... It has a lot of power on tap, but not sure if you'll ever need it. Also the higher noise floor might be a concern. Headphone wise if slam is what you need try finding a Paradox modded T50RP. For me it trounced anything Grado could muster up. For amps I'd try these guys. Maybe even order a kit to play around. My two euro cents. I've already talked a bit with the Garage1217 guys ... a nice bunch of folk. I haven't read too much about those neat looking little amps, though and so I'm reluctant. It is a curious little amp, though ... cute. Would really like to demo one before buying, though ... or at least hear something about it from a reputable source. So cheap, though ... might get one anyway just because. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screaming oranges Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 If going M^3 route, Mike is selling the zebra amp. Win-win for everyone. The footprint exceeds requirements though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1rrah Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) If going M^3 route, Mike is selling the zebra amp. Win-win for everyone. The footprint exceeds requirements though... To tell you the truth ... after reading around quite a bit ... the M3 is by far my favorite and seems to offer the most for the money. I'm assuming that amp is in the for sale section? I'll have a look and might be able switch things around on the desk a bit ... thanks for the heads up. EDIT: I think that amp will fit perfect on top of my SRM-323S. If I could get dimensions and check for that fit ... and if it fits ... I will buy it immediately. Let me know ... Edited January 18, 2014 by s1rrah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellylh Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Didn't realize Mike's (Tyrion) Zebra M^3 was still up for sale. Buy it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1rrah Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Didn't realize Mike's (Tyrion) Zebra M^3 was still up for sale. Buy it!!! His classified at another site is closed but I messaged him anyway that I wanted to buy it. I think it would stack perfect on top of the Stax amp (see what I did there?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellylh Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) According to the "original" ad, it was built in a Hammond 1455T2201BK case which is about 8.6 x 6.3 and then Naaman put custom front and back wood panels on it. That should give you an idea. Edited January 18, 2014 by shellylh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_maher Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 I think the only thing that is wood is the face plate and knobs. The bodies are still aluminum, IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellylh Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Just noticed that and fixed my post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1rrah Posted January 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 Turns out the M3 amp is sold. Holding out for another one; I think I'll be happier with the m3 as opposed to the regular... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellylh Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 Joel, When you get an dynamic headphone, let me know if you want to borrow the DIY Torpedo. It has been in my office so most likely bb free. It is a really fun amp and works with high and low impedance amp. The only downside is it has a hint of hum which I don't notice at all except when there is no music. According to Doug, this has been fixed in the newer version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsavitsk Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 Yes, there are a couple of cheap/easy mods that gets rid of just about all of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellylh Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 Would they work on the prototype? Oh wait, I don't think I should be messing with HV just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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