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K1000 and Sonic Impact T-AMP / 2

post #1 of 15
11/23/05 at 4:12am
Thread Starter 
So I've been wondering about this combo...

Has anyone tried the newer version?

Neil
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post #2 of 15
11/26/05 at 5:44pm
Neil, if you want a great sound out of the K1000s at a budget price, just mate them with a Luxman or a Yamaha Natural sound intergrated amp. They are available (used) for less than $200 on Ebay! You will be in for a pleasant surprise.
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post #3 of 15
11/26/05 at 9:34pm

tried it

with senn 650s once. it was astounding, but there were problems (weird feedback audible) at the time. never took up the rest of the project as i wanted to work on tube amps.

Clark
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post #4 of 15
11/26/05 at 10:19pm
I would avoid the T amp with headphones if I were you. The T amp is known to leak unacceptable levels of DC voltage - too high for headphone use. Not much of a problem with loudspeakers, but the tiny drivers on headphones might (eventually) suffer from those repeated DC charges. The above suggestion, to buy a used Luxman or Yamaha for amplification, is probably a better idea for K-1000 owners on a tight budget.
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post #5 of 15
11/26/05 at 10:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael G.
I would avoid the T amp with headphones if I were you. The T amp is known to leak unacceptable levels of DC voltage - too high for headphone use. Not much of a problem with loudspeakers, but the tiny drivers on headphones might (eventually) suffer from those repeated DC charges. The above suggestion, to buy a used Luxman or Yamaha for amplification, is probably a better idea for K-1000 owners on a tight budget.
I just ordered a new pair of K1000s. Although I do appreciate the warnings from people who are 'in the know' regarding the possible evils of using a t-amp with the k1000s, have there actually been any reports of k1000s being destroyed or harmed by powering them with a t-amp?

Just curious.

Thanks.
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post #6 of 15
11/26/05 at 11:51pm
Thread Starter 
thanks for the reply, and I will look into the yamaha or luxeman amp. It's not that I'm on a particularly 'tight' budget, it is more that I want to play around with this headphone before I 'move on' so to speak... If I like it enough it will stay. Very unique.

However, I heard this headphone with the EAR V20 yesterday (fri) at Sleestack's place. While I thought it sounded great, it still suffered from what I can only deem as a 'cold' presentation with very little bass. However I do not think this needs to be the case. While the V20 is the smooth, I have heard other combinations can yield a greater bass punch and mid range glow. I have a krell 400xi I use for one of my speaker rigs, maybe I should try this.

Neil
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post #7 of 15
11/27/05 at 12:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neilvg
......... While the V20 is the smooth, I have heard other combinations can yield a greater bass punch and mid range glow. I have a krell 400xi I use for one of my speaker rigs, maybe I should try this.

Neil
The best bass punch I heard in any headphone combo was the K1000 with the Krell 300i. You should give it a try with the Krell 400xi. Only problem with mysetup was the gain was too much.
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post #8 of 15
11/27/05 at 12:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lmilhan
I just ordered a new pair of K1000s. Although I do appreciate the warnings from people who are 'in the know' regarding the possible evils of using a t-amp with the k1000s, have there actually been any reports of k1000s being destroyed or harmed by powering them with a t-amp?

Just curious.

Thanks.
No actual reports of driver destruction that I know of. But, since it is possible that low levels of DC leakage could cause damage in the long run I would not take the gamble. I would'nt want to be one of those K-1000 owners that, eventually, lost their drivers to DC leakage. Replacement drivers are said to cost somewhere in the vicinity of $300 (each), not counting the labor costs to have the factory change them out. And I've also heard that the K-1000's themselves are being discontinued after this year. Two possible reasons why I'd be doing everything I could to make sure my K-1000's will last me as long as possible.
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post #9 of 15
11/27/05 at 12:14pm
T-Amp and Krell power amp are the complete opposites. Both can be called "best for the price", it just depends on what kind of sound you're after.

T-Amp has detailed, clean, cold and neutral sound. While Krell has bass, warmth and speed. Both are lacking in what the other one is best at.

The ultimate K1000 amp would be these two amps combined, with T-Amp you can't do it because of the tiny power supply but with the Krell you can if you spend a lot on power conditioning, it will also give extra bass as a bonus!

My Krell KAV-500i is meant for "background listening" at low volumes, so it's a good match with K1000.
There is HUGE amount of gain and I only use 5-13% of what this amp can do! But surprisingly it seems that it doesn't matter at all. I have found out that the limit is in most recordings and not this amp.

PS Audio GCC-100 is another amp you can try. Many say it's better than Krell amps, but for K1000 the bass might not be as good.
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post #10 of 15
6/9/06 at 2:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick82
The ultimate K1000 amp would be these two amps combined,


PS Audio GCC-100 is another amp you can try. Many say it's better than Krell amps, but for K1000 the bass might not be as good.
I got the Underwoodhifi modified GCC-100. No problem with bass, same as Krell. It's WARM and clean without burn-in. It sounds like T-Amp + Krell KAV-500i combined, and more. I haven't tried without power conditioning and isolation though.
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post #11 of 15
6/22/06 at 4:16pm
if by the newer version, you mean the Super T-Amp, I use it currently, and really enjoy it. I haven't a lot of basis for comparison, though, as the only other power amps I have are cheap old receivers. The lows and highs are a definite improvement over the standard T-Amp. It also does not distort on me with speakers, unlike the T-Amp.
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post #12 of 15
6/23/06 at 4:54am
I have lived with t-amp + k1000 for a while,If they sound cold,too neutral for your taste,you need a warmer source + warm IC's.it will make a HUGH difference.(t-amp + k1000 combo could be very revealing)e.g.the cheapest solution would be sony d-303 + Black CDR.D303 has a very colour midrange that is very easy on ears.with black CDR,D303+tamp+k1000 has some kind of tube sounds,the mid is very enjoyable.

If you have money to spend,get a notebook and scott nixon's usbtd,airy high,lush mid,and tight,impactful bottom,overall much fuller sound but it's less detail than d303.

OR

you could get the very expesive wavelength brick,brick has bigger and deeper sound stage,less lush mid and less amount of bass than usbtd.
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post #13 of 15
6/23/06 at 9:24am
I had this combo for months. My driver DID die but I'm not sure it was due to DC voltage leakage. After some analysis with a meter, the leakage wasn't a whole lot on mine (the newer one) to cause a problem.

However, acoustically, this combo isn't as great IMO as many claim. The treble is WAY TOO thin and tinny with the T-amp and bass response is not what it could be with something like an Aleph. With that said, for the price, its a sweet deal.
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post #14 of 15
6/30/06 at 11:32pm
Does Super-T amp have DC voltage leaks too?
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post #15 of 15
7/1/06 at 2:33am
Has anyone thought of using a Charlize amp with a SMPS as seen here?

www.diyparadise.com
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