Dear Fellow Head-Fiers and K1000 junkies,
I've been lucky enough to get hold of a new pair of K1000s. I've been using my other pair up until now with a Ray Samuels Audio Raptor. Whilst I've really enjoyed the sound I was getting from this particular setup, I feel the K1000 truly deserves a dedicated amp, capable of getting the very best performance from these unique earspeakers.
After religiously studing all K1000 threads in the Amplifiaction forum, a few particular amps really seemed to grab my attention. In no particular order:
EAR V20... £3500 GBP (poop-load of $s) *Slighly* streching my budget! I know Wayne ("Wmcmanus") loves this setup and, correct me if I'm wrong, he puts it up there with an Orpheus setup (HE90/HEV90). Link
FirstWatt F1... ~ $2500?? More affordable, and comes very highly recomended by Srajan Ebaen at 6moons as his favorite amp for the K1000. I know here on Head-Fi "tmarshl" is in heaven with this combo. It seems highly desriable, as Nelson Pass amps (like the Aleph 3) seem to work incredibly well with regards to synergy. I do have a couple of issues reservations: i) Availability & Pricing. Not sure about either of these. ii) Using an F1 with K1000s would obviously require a preamp, adding to costs. Link
Dared VP-300b w/WE valves... Cost depends on where you are with this one. Here in the UK, the amp itself is £950. Drop in a matched pair of Western Electric 300b valves for £800 and you just spent £1750. I guess if you hunt around it can be had for less, I'm sure for you lucky guys in the US its much more affordable. I've never heard the K1000s with 300b valves, so it would be interesting to hear from others who have. Dared Link | WE Link
The thought of listening to some WE 300s again appeals greatly. The last time it was with Kevin Scott of Living Voice, who was demostrating a SME/Kondo/Living Voice setup well in excess of £250,000
. It was the greatest experience of my life, bar none. Kevin is the most incredible individual I've ever met. Read about him and his "thing" here. Immense!!!
Audio Valve RKV MII... ~$1200. The RKV & K1000 synergy is just about legendary. However it does not appeal, as I want to drive my K1000 the whole nine yards, from speaker posts on a non-headphone exclusive amp. I've been doing it the XLR -> 1/4" deal with my Raptor, I want to move on! Although the RKV keeps creeping back into my mind, as just so many people love this combo. Link
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So these were the amplifers I have narrowed down my quest to, until the Red Wine Audio Signature 30 appeared on 6moons! Did Srajan Ebaen love this battery powered, Tripath-powered, 30wpc amp or what? Read the review here. "This is one of the three best transistor amps I've heard yet". That really is quite a claim. But more importantly Srajan believes:
"For the now discontinued AKG K-1000 earspeakers, the Signature 30 shares the stage with the FirstWatt F1 current-source amp as an ideal partner. The latter's otherworldly control in this context is ultimately more resolved and accurate and would thus be the choice for a recording engineer. The 30 is warmer and slightly mellower to perfectly suit endless pleasure listening sessions."
I'm aware this is only one opinion, but Srajan has spent a lot of time with the K1000s with various amps. He seems to have been spot on with his recommendation of the FirstWatt F1, so lets hope he's right about this. It was an overwhelmingly positive review, the Sig. 30 being given the "Realsization Award". I stumbled across a thread at AudioCircle forums where some of the first owners of this amp are ecstatic with the performance they are hearing, straight out the box.
So, how much will this set me back? Answer: $1300 (roughly £700). All this is almost too good to be true! Lets say I'm definately contemplating a purchase.
I'm waiting to hear back from Vinnie (the genius himself!) at Red Wine Audio, regarding availability and his thoughts about using the Sig 30 at a dedicated K1000 amp. Also I'm thinking about getting in touch with Srajan Ebaen, as he only touched on the K1000s in his review.
I would love to hear some thoughts on this exciting development from K1000 owners.
Kind Regards,
James Hawkes
I've been lucky enough to get hold of a new pair of K1000s. I've been using my other pair up until now with a Ray Samuels Audio Raptor. Whilst I've really enjoyed the sound I was getting from this particular setup, I feel the K1000 truly deserves a dedicated amp, capable of getting the very best performance from these unique earspeakers.
After religiously studing all K1000 threads in the Amplifiaction forum, a few particular amps really seemed to grab my attention. In no particular order:
EAR V20... £3500 GBP (poop-load of $s) *Slighly* streching my budget! I know Wayne ("Wmcmanus") loves this setup and, correct me if I'm wrong, he puts it up there with an Orpheus setup (HE90/HEV90). Link
FirstWatt F1... ~ $2500?? More affordable, and comes very highly recomended by Srajan Ebaen at 6moons as his favorite amp for the K1000. I know here on Head-Fi "tmarshl" is in heaven with this combo. It seems highly desriable, as Nelson Pass amps (like the Aleph 3) seem to work incredibly well with regards to synergy. I do have a couple of issues reservations: i) Availability & Pricing. Not sure about either of these. ii) Using an F1 with K1000s would obviously require a preamp, adding to costs. Link
Dared VP-300b w/WE valves... Cost depends on where you are with this one. Here in the UK, the amp itself is £950. Drop in a matched pair of Western Electric 300b valves for £800 and you just spent £1750. I guess if you hunt around it can be had for less, I'm sure for you lucky guys in the US its much more affordable. I've never heard the K1000s with 300b valves, so it would be interesting to hear from others who have. Dared Link | WE Link
The thought of listening to some WE 300s again appeals greatly. The last time it was with Kevin Scott of Living Voice, who was demostrating a SME/Kondo/Living Voice setup well in excess of £250,000
. It was the greatest experience of my life, bar none. Kevin is the most incredible individual I've ever met. Read about him and his "thing" here. Immense!!!Audio Valve RKV MII... ~$1200. The RKV & K1000 synergy is just about legendary. However it does not appeal, as I want to drive my K1000 the whole nine yards, from speaker posts on a non-headphone exclusive amp. I've been doing it the XLR -> 1/4" deal with my Raptor, I want to move on! Although the RKV keeps creeping back into my mind, as just so many people love this combo. Link
=====
So these were the amplifers I have narrowed down my quest to, until the Red Wine Audio Signature 30 appeared on 6moons! Did Srajan Ebaen love this battery powered, Tripath-powered, 30wpc amp or what? Read the review here. "This is one of the three best transistor amps I've heard yet". That really is quite a claim. But more importantly Srajan believes:
"For the now discontinued AKG K-1000 earspeakers, the Signature 30 shares the stage with the FirstWatt F1 current-source amp as an ideal partner. The latter's otherworldly control in this context is ultimately more resolved and accurate and would thus be the choice for a recording engineer. The 30 is warmer and slightly mellower to perfectly suit endless pleasure listening sessions."
I'm aware this is only one opinion, but Srajan has spent a lot of time with the K1000s with various amps. He seems to have been spot on with his recommendation of the FirstWatt F1, so lets hope he's right about this. It was an overwhelmingly positive review, the Sig. 30 being given the "Realsization Award". I stumbled across a thread at AudioCircle forums where some of the first owners of this amp are ecstatic with the performance they are hearing, straight out the box.
So, how much will this set me back? Answer: $1300 (roughly £700). All this is almost too good to be true! Lets say I'm definately contemplating a purchase.
I'm waiting to hear back from Vinnie (the genius himself!) at Red Wine Audio, regarding availability and his thoughts about using the Sig 30 at a dedicated K1000 amp. Also I'm thinking about getting in touch with Srajan Ebaen, as he only touched on the K1000s in his review.
I would love to hear some thoughts on this exciting development from K1000 owners.
Kind Regards,
James Hawkes
