bullpup
Been here a while!
How much is that doggy in the window?
Posts: 517
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Post by bullpup on Mar 17, 2007 14:54:06 GMT
Afternoon all.
After a period as a longterm lurker where I have picked up a lot of very useful information - thank you very much, I now have query to which I can't find an answer so here goes.
After reading pretty well all the threads here it seems the optimum amp to drive my only proper headphones - Grado 225s is a WNA MK III- also called the Gradomeister.
I have found an already built MK I at a sensible price or a full MK III Kit with optional dual power supply for big bucks but no MK II.
So which one to go for i.e. which will have the best synergy with the Grados? Do I buy the MK I and tweak it or grab the bull by the horns and go for the MK III and do I buy the optional power supply? Or do I continue to search for a MK II?
Many thanks
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xerxes
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Posts: 1,115
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Post by xerxes on Mar 17, 2007 17:05:53 GMT
I may be wrong, I've never had a pair of Grados, but I always understood that all versions of the WNA were prefered with Sennheisers and that they were not such a great match with Grados. If someone knows better, please feel free to correct this.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 17, 2007 17:41:34 GMT
I may be wrong, I've never had a pair of Grados, but I always understood that all versions of the WNA were prefered with Sennheisers and that they were not such a great match with Grados. If someone knows better, please feel free to correct this. Quite the opposite xerxes, in fact the WNA is the perfect partner with Grado headphones and many Grado / WNA owners have commented on an almost perfect synergy when partnering the two. For sure, out of all my amps the WNA MKlll drives the Grado SR-225 the best. To the OP I would tend to avoid MKl, it was primarily designed as a buffer amp.... only with Mkll and MKlll did David White actually optimise them solely for headphones and he even bought a few pair of headphones to help in the development of them. MKl was described as a buffer amplifier (could also be used as a headphone amp) and came with all kinds of sound destroying components such as light bulbs in the signal path..... don't get me wrong it was a bloody great little amp but MKll / MKlll are a lot better with headphones, especially 32 - 600ohm some of the early MKl amps came with 12uF output caps fitted, barely good enough for 300ohm let alone 32 ohm, of course replacing these with 470uF makes the Mkl compatible with both 32 / 300ohm 'phones. If you can get a MKlll then go for it, very nice sounding amp with Grado 'phones. Just be sure to fit an opamp into only one of the rail splitters (don't fit one in both as the manual suggests or you'll take out all the transistors) this was a mistake in the manual and I doubt David rectified it before he retired and went off to write a book..... everything else is per the manual but populate only one of the rail splitters with an opamp. He advertised it as "dual rail splitters",,,,,, WRONG! Dual capacitance multipliers
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bullpup
Been here a while!
How much is that doggy in the window?
Posts: 517
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Post by bullpup on Mar 17, 2007 17:59:10 GMT
Thank you for the comprehensive reply. Do I need the matching Super-regulated PSU which will supposedly supply the MK III with an independent 24V DC supply for each channel? I assume I would actually need only a single 24V DC supply?
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 17, 2007 20:11:24 GMT
Thank you for the comprehensive reply. Do I need the matching Super-regulated PSU which will supposedly supply the MK III with an independent 24V DC supply for each channel? I assume I would actually need only a single 24V DC supply? Single 24V supply will be fine bullpup, I'll have to look the instructions out and reacquaint myself with the MKlll build.
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bullpup
Been here a while!
How much is that doggy in the window?
Posts: 517
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Post by bullpup on Mar 19, 2007 12:00:34 GMT
Thanks for the clarification. £300 for a kit (including a power supply kit) seems a bit much - or is it? I think I will keep looking.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 19, 2007 12:47:17 GMT
Thanks for the clarification. £300 for a kit (including a power supply kit) seems a bit much - or is it? I think I will keep looking. If that's £300 with all the enclosures, knobs, potentiometer, phono sockets, feet..... EVERYTHING.... then about right but if only the PCB and a sprinkling of parts then, yes, too much especially considering what you could get for that kind of money fully built up from China Plus you must remember David White has gone AOL and will not respond to e-mail enquiries so if the build goes tits up you're pretty much on your own..... I, personally, wouldn't recommend the MKlll unless you're a seasoned builder.... he rushed the design and the manual is all over the place.... perfectly understandable if you're use to the WNA but if a total beginner not too good.
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Mar 30, 2007 20:50:53 GMT
actually Mike a "buffer amp" makes a superb headphone driver but only if the output is optimised to drive a headphone load.It is not about current delivery but impedance so if that buffer is optimised to "see" into a line level load,one in the 10K ohm+ range (as the MK-l seems to have been) it may be usable but will not be close to optimal when driving a lower impedance. in fact with the current move to full size headphones with lower voltage drive requirements I totally expect more headphone amp offerings to be straight 1X gain buffer stages with low impedance/high current drive outputs since all a gain stage can add if not needed for actual voltage gain is circuit noise. at least if they are SMART they would make the shift though how they would be able to market it at an inflated price while trying to convince you less is more (even though it IS many times) without going to 24K gold knobs i can;t say
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Mar 30, 2007 21:03:16 GMT
as an addy : The iPod is driving the industry so ALL major headphone manufacturers are shifting to designs that are easier to drive as a way to increase sales beyond the casual high end home user to the "I WANT" generation where as we know who has the biggest d*ck...I mean most expensive/flashy cans (because they are mostly d*ckless wonders and NEED to make up for it elswhwere )......is the coolest so the previous formulas are beng shit canned in favor of wider appeal even IF there were damn good reasons for high impedance/low efficiency cans (pro arena-600ohms is damn near blowout proof unlike the new cans that need to be treated like a fkn pampered pet). so becuase it is "IN" to be wearing a 'pod and because technology is crossing over from one arena to another to where we will eventually end up with a single portable device for ALL forms of data (digital music is just bits folks) the headphone will be an integral part of the system an so the re-tooling before the rush. At the same time batteries are getting smaller while demands on those batteries higher due to all the extra 'features" being crammed into the portable devices with the end result of the line output/headphone jack interface taking the biggest beating in SQ terms.In a world where "Small" and "efficient" and "long battery life" take precedence "sound quality" MUST take a back seat so while the cans are moving to the devices the devices are AGAIN moving away from the cans (if quality sound is your yard stick anyway) which is great news for the aftermarket modders and headphone amp manufacturers who will be in big demand to restore the missing essential quality the EEs never give a rats ass about QUALITY OVER UNUSABLE FEATURES JUST BECAUSEat least that is my take on where we are headed......if we don't fkn go extinct from terminal PC first or we don't blow up the entire planet (or suffocate from being buried in piles and piles of meant to break electronic products with no place left to pile them the planet already at the critical garbage overload point that RoHs is only making worse not better...........................
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