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Post by chris45set on Dec 26, 2006 19:11:50 GMT
First post, so please bear with me as I provide some (hopefully) relevant history. I have been in the HiFi hobby for about 35 years, and for a time was always in search of the "next upgrade". In 1985 I purchased a Linn/Naim system (Axis/Nac42/Nap110/HiCap/Nexus) and was quite happy for 17 years. Since 2002 I have replaced all of this with a 76/45 SET preamp/amp combo, built open baffle PHY-HP speakers, added a Wright sound tubed phono stage and purchased a Linn LP-12/Ekos/Akiva. Bought a portable CD player last year and added a pair of Sennheiser HD-650s. I haven't had headphone capability since the pre-Naim days and am looking to purchase an amplifier for home use only. I tried lurking about on the (board whose name shall not be spoken), and cannot seem to extract any useful information among all of the noise present there. The few products that have sparked some interest are the Wooaudio 3 or 6, Bottlehead S.E.X., the Heed Canamp, and the Xcan v3. I used to work on professional audio equipment long ago in another life, and neither a kit nor performing mods to existing equipment would be any problem. I live in the middle of the U.S. (Iowa) so there are very few people within 500 miles who share my level of enthusiasm for this hobby. Can anyone here please provide some sort of sane guidance about what questions I should ask, or what products I might investigate? I have no prejudice about SS vs tube (I love the tonality of tubes, but the speed of the Naim gear always did impress me). My musical tastes run almost the entire gambit, classic rock, late '50s/early '60s jazz, classical, even some new age Windam Hill type "Stuff".
Thanks for your indulgence, and I hope to hear some useful tips.
Chris
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 26, 2006 21:48:11 GMT
First post, so please bear with me as I provide some (hopefully) relevant history. I have been in the HiFi hobby for about 35 years, and for a time was always in search of the "next upgrade". In 1985 I purchased a Linn/Naim system (Axis/Nac42/Nap110/HiCap/Nexus) and was quite happy for 17 years. Since 2002 I have replaced all of this with a 76/45 SET preamp/amp combo, built open baffle PHY-HP speakers, added a Wright sound tubed phono stage and purchased a Linn LP-12/Ekos/Akiva. Bought a portable CD player last year and added a pair of Sennheiser HD-650s. I haven't had headphone capability since the pre-Naim days and am looking to purchase an amplifier for home use only. I tried lurking about on the (board whose name shall not be spoken), and cannot seem to extract any useful information among all of the noise present there. The few products that have sparked some interest are the Wooaudio 3 or 6, Bottlehead S.E.X., the Heed Canamp, and the Xcan v3. I used to work on professional audio equipment long ago in another life, and neither a kit nor performing mods to existing equipment would be any problem. I live in the middle of the U.S. (Iowa) so there are very few people within 500 miles who share my level of enthusiasm for this hobby. Can anyone here please provide some sort of sane guidance about what questions I should ask, or what products I might investigate? I have no prejudice about SS vs tube (I love the tonality of tubes, but the speed of the Naim gear always did impress me). My musical tastes run almost the entire gambit, classic rock, late '50s/early '60s jazz, classical, even some new age Windam Hill type "Stuff". Thanks for your indulgence, and I hope to hear some useful tips. Chris Hi Chris, These kind of questions are very hard to answer and it all boils down, at the end of the day, to your own ears. Fortunately you mention Sennheiser HD-650 as your choice in 'phones so I can at least tell you what amps I have found best with my Sennheiser HD-600. HEED CanAmp immediately springs to mind, there is no aspect of it that fails to please my ears with the HD-600 and at the price there's not many that come close to what it achieves. It's very NAIM like in both design and presentation being simple, less is more with sound quality being its number one priority. At the price I just cannot not recommend it. Perfectly suited to the HD-6** Fellow member Mrarroyo likes the Mapeltree amp (I think with Grado 'phones) hopefully he will chip in with his comments on it. I have yet to hear the Mapeltree but trust Miguel's ears / opinions. The X-CAN V3 is a great little amp and another amp particularly well suited to the HD-6** series of headphone. The beauty with it is you can "tube roll" and experiment with different valves until you find the right ones for your ears. Perfectly good but remember that tubes cost money so add this on to the cost of the purchase if you think you'll trying a few different flavours.... turns a £250 amp into a more expensive proposition if you think about it. Graham Slee Solo. Another superb amp with the HD-6** but double the price of both the HEED and X-CAN V3 and doesn't quite offer the same level of performance. Well, it does, but in a microscopic insight into the music kind of way, very revealing and requires a superb source to get the best out of her. The extra £250 over and above the price of the HEED and V3 doesn't buy you £250 worth of improvement but it does buy you a nice hand made in England amp..... it's all about what you want. DIY is a great alternative and, if you can solder, is something well worth considering. I'm not sure what's on offer in Kit form over in the USA but I'm sure Rick will be able to point you in that direction. Unfortunately, White Noise Audio has gone out of business or I'd have recommended their WNA MKlll kit. Another one you may want to look at is the Williams Hart Chiara www.williamshart.com/phono.htm one of my all time favourites but not the bargain it once was.... well worth a look though. I hope a few other people will chip in here as I'm interested to see what's on offer from the US (particularly kit amps) All the best. Mike.
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Dec 26, 2006 22:22:56 GMT
not having heard all the combinatiuons of I would say the Mapletree EAR would be better suited to driving Grados than it would be Senns.
I am not absolutely positive on this but my best guess would be if the volume levels work well with the Grados and the volume pot works in a good range it may be a bit gain light for properly driving Senns and still maintaining a good amount of headroom.Better to stick with the voltage whores than the medium gain/high drive current types.
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Dec 27, 2006 16:43:22 GMT
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Post by chris45set on Dec 27, 2006 19:16:54 GMT
Thanks to both of you for your input, it is appreciated. My instinct so far tells me to go with the Bottlehead product with the enhancements. I see none for sale anywhere, and some of the others tend to be "kicked to the curb" like an old dog. Must be some very fickle (and rich) headphoners out there. Have to see if I can get a good comparison between the Ear and Bottlehead working in my head (a very dangerous place to live these days . . .).
Thanks
Chris
Oh by the way,which one's Pink?
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Dec 27, 2006 19:35:13 GMT
either/both
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 28, 2006 0:29:15 GMT
Hi Chris, of all the amps you mentioned the Bottlehead S.E.X. is the only one I have not listen to. My favorite is the Mapletree, followed by the Heed and then the X-Can V2 or V3 with PinkFloyd's mods. However I would also say that you would be happy with any of the amps listed. Good luck. Third place! hehe, I got to get me a maple treet
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Dec 28, 2006 1:05:34 GMT
Always admired the S.E.X. amp it being a very cool design,one that is not only in an attracive package but that will drive speakers,headphones,long lines in a pinch and the replacement tubes are not so hard to find they break the bank when retubing every year or so.Never heard one but i like it just the same just because
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Dec 28, 2006 1:08:52 GMT
oh yeah,for you DIYers that may have an interest in the 6DN7 for headphone driving the Aqua Blue site has what looks to be a nice single ended amp design using it.Throw on a CCS and good iron and it may be close to the SEX amp though how you gather parts and drill out a chassis then build it for less cost/hassle than the kit I would not know.Doing the layout is 99% of the work once you have a schematic in hand and even with good planning usually requires some changes before you are done
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Post by chris45set on Dec 28, 2006 18:14:23 GMT
I considered scratch building a tube amp, but the inherent layout / hum factor seems like it takes a LOT of experimentation (and I HATE hum). I know Bottlehead has a good reputation for well thought out and executed kits. I even considered one of their kits when I built my tube system, but I wanted a 45 based amp and at that time nobody offered anything. Still considering both Mapletree and enhanced S.E.X., when I make a decision and purchase, I will keep you guys informed if you are interested.
Thanks, Chris
All you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be.
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Dec 28, 2006 18:29:34 GMT
"I know Bottlehead has a good reputation for well thought out and executed kits"A good incication of that is the time between the "announcement" and the actual kit being a reality.Getting the layout correct in a DIY freindly kit then making the build manual is a lot more work than building for personal use. the Aqua Blue : www.diyparadiso.com/6dn71.htm
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Post by chris45set on Jan 9, 2007 5:24:54 GMT
I traded some e-mails with Lloyd P at MAD, and I believe I am going to go for the Ear + Purist HD kit for $500 US. Thought about that Singlepower Extreme, but I don't think I would get $400 extra value for the money. Pus the Ear comes with all the good parts, Singlepower would add another $500 or so to match that.
Thanks to all for their comments. Wish me luck . . .
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Post by jelosno on Jan 11, 2007 12:03:36 GMT
Hmmm, had posted a reply here before but... The baseline was that I had to make pretty much the same decission. I also went for the doctor's product. A very nice person to deal with! rockgrotto.proboards39.com/index.cgi?board=m&action=display&thread=1160340839Unfortunately I had very little time to listen to it since it was finished. Let alone the project to use the 'upgrade' (?) parts. Stefan
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