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Yamamoto Sound Craft HA-02 - Page 7

post #91 of 1341
3/24/07 at 10:48pm
Robin,

I noticed this a few times when using my 5000's a few days ago . Same ovbservations as you - think it is likely the higher sensitivity. However, after pulling the jack out and replugging it in, this went away for awhile.

Very curious - how are you finding the Yammy / W5000 combo??

Cheers,
Garry
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post #92 of 1341
3/24/07 at 10:52pm
I just placed my order for the Yamamoto and plan on acquiring the HA5000... I wonder out of which of these two known to be highly synergistic with the w5000 amps will win out.

That hum that you guys are describing is kind of freaky :/
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post #93 of 1341
3/25/07 at 12:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GarryH View Post
Robin,

I noticed this a few times when using my 5000's a few days ago . Same ovbservations as you - think it is likely the higher sensitivity. However, after pulling the jack out and replugging it in, this went away for awhile.

Very curious - how are you finding the Yammy / W5000 combo??

Cheers,
Garry
Hi Garry, well its all your fault of course
I was initially a liitle dissapointed with the W5000/Yammy combo, I thought the phones while being incredibly detailed, lacked something in the lower mids. However after about 80 hours either my ears are getting adjusted or the phones are changing as there now seems to be more weight in that area although the sound still has the 'air' around the instruments that all the ATs I've heard have.
I also feel that the Yammy/5000 combo presents the recording as it is on the disc,in other words very little if any colouration, what you hear is all that's there so if it doesn't sound very good dont blame the system.

Swapping back to the W1000s the sound seems more conjested although still a huge improvement on what I was hearing pre Yamamoto and still very, very listenable and in fact may be preferable on some recordings.

Like alot of new audio items there are moments of doubt and moments of exhileration and I've learnt not to make any hasty judgements.I have picked up details on some of my favourite recordings that I haven't found even with the RS1s which I've always found to be fairly revealing. Of course detail isn't the be all and end all and this morning while listening around 3am(my favourite time)the combo seemed to be locking into place nicely,enough to keep me up and awake for quite some time.

re the hum, I dont find it an issue but interesting that it only shows up on one set of phones.
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post #94 of 1341
3/25/07 at 12:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Icarium View Post
I just placed my order for the Yamamoto and plan on acquiring the HA5000... I wonder out of which of these two known to be highly synergistic with the w5000 amps will win out.

That hum that you guys are describing is kind of freaky :/
I'd love to try the HA5000 as well but think I've spent enough unplanned coin in the last couple of months.
Re the hum, dont let it bother you. Its very ,very low pitched and as I said earlier stays constant no matter where the volume control is. You wont notice it on playback, even with the quietest recording and only shows up on the W5000, all my other phones are dead quiet.
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post #95 of 1341
4/3/07 at 7:32pm

Has anyone tried the K1000...

with this Yamamoto headphone amp, and if so, what are their impressions.
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post #96 of 1341
4/3/07 at 8:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stax-i-nox View Post
with this Yamamoto headphone amp, and if so, what are their impressions.
Yes! Did so this past weekend at agile_one's beautiful home (it's also his beautiful Yammy). Used the speaker outs and the K1000 tail. We (there were five of us) were all quite surpised that it drove them at all. I've been listening with the First Watt since then, and, no, it doesn't do as good a job, but for a bedroom rig or a small space, the K1000s sounded a-okay.

I also want to add that I am not a fan of K701s, but with an ALO recable and the Yamamoto, I could have listened the rest of the night and been happy. As this was a meet, and there was the usual yak and gab and lack of focus going on, I can't give detailed impressions, but I will say that all the headphones there, with the exception of the K340s, sounded great. I especially liked the L3000s and W2002.

There was also the same hum mentioned in the previous post, but it did not interfere with the music at all.
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post #97 of 1341
4/4/07 at 12:41am
I have also tried my K1Ks with the Yammy speaker outs and the AKG tail. While there was plenty of gain, which did come as a surprise, I did not find the overall tonal balance satisfying enough to stay with that set up for more than a couple of days. Things felt a bit thin and un-involving, but certainly OK. The K1Ks just apparently really need much more raw power to come alive.

Oddly enough I recently acquired a used, vintage Marantz 2230 receiver [30 wpc] which had been reworked to the nth degree. Here, using the K1Ks with the speaker outs and tail wire, the sound has filled out and taken on a rounder, smoother presentation. This is a very listenable configuration and I have had it in play this way for over a week. Yes, the level of resolution and transparency we expect from modern amps is lacking somewhat, but the overall delivery is powerful and satisfying enough that I have not pursued going in another direction for the near future.

The Yammy HA02, btw, is a terrific piece with my AT W1000s. No other amp I have tried conveys as much enjoyment and pleasure thru the W1000s. Even my Sony SA5Ks seem happier when driven by the Yammy. Plus, it is a beautiful, well crafted device.
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post #98 of 1341
4/4/07 at 11:30pm
Thanks for the info on the K1000's. I am wondering if changing the source for CD playback would make an appreciable difference using the Yammy with the K1000?
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post #99 of 1341
4/5/07 at 8:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Icarium View Post
I just placed my order for the Yamamoto and plan on acquiring the HA5000... I wonder out of which of these two known to be highly synergistic with the w5000 amps will win out.

That hum that you guys are describing is kind of freaky :/
When do you plan on 'acquiring' the HA-5000?

My natural bias is towards tubes, so I'm a hair's breadth from ordering an HA-02 as well, instead of the HA-5000, to go with the ATH-W5000 I've also ordered. It's also 10% cheaper and I think I can ask to have it specced to accept 240V (UK spec).

Just a shame no one has been able to do proper A-B comparisons between the two for the W5000's, though from what I've read, I suspect that any differences will be very minor.
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post #100 of 1341
4/5/07 at 10:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fing View Post
When do you plan on 'acquiring' the HA-5000?

My natural bias is towards tubes, so I'm a hair's breadth from ordering an HA-02 as well, instead of the HA-5000, to go with the ATH-W5000 I've also ordered. It's also 10% cheaper and I think I can ask to have it specced to accept 240V (UK spec).

Just a shame no one has been able to do proper A-B comparisons between the two for the W5000's, though from what I've read, I suspect that any differences will be very minor.

If you're dealing direct with Mr Yamamoto you can indeed ask to have a 240V version made. As he explained to me they have made many amps to meet those requirements.
A comparison between the 2 would be interesting but maybe add even more temptation which I can do without.
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post #101 of 1341
4/6/07 at 4:07am
Something just struck me. I recently bought a W1000 in Hong Kong on my vacation for the cheapest price ever. Anyways, the guy told me that Audio Technicas sound horrible with tubes. I know that they have enough bass already and tubes would overkill it. What are you guy's opinions about this, and is the Yammy different compared to the other tubes when it comes to this?
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post #102 of 1341
4/6/07 at 4:10am
I wouldn't say that the AT w5000 has "enough" bass. I would be more than willing to accept a bit more out of them. I'm definitely not a huge fan of overbassing things, but I feel the w5000s are a bit light to really be balancedddddd. So if tubes bring more? I'd welcome that.

I think with this many people raving about the synergy including Mr. 6moons himself... I would have to say your salesman should give the Yamamoto HA-02 a shot before ruling it out (Not saying he won't still think tubes are weak... but...).

Anyway, I'm more curious about what the cheapest price ever is.

Edit: Oh as to the acquiring of the HA5000... that's basically on hold indefinitely. It was planned for around June/July provided they didn't go out of production and vanish everywhere. But then Qualias/RP010 hit the scene and of course that combo needed a better source/cables/power transformer and... uhm.... I'll be lucky to pay off the rest of the Yamamoto when it comes time for that.
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post #103 of 1341
4/6/07 at 4:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nenso View Post
Something just struck me. I recently bought a W1000 in Hong Kong on my vacation for the cheapest price ever. Anyways, the guy told me that Audio Technicas sound horrible with tubes. I know that they have enough bass already and tubes would overkill it. What are you guy's opinions about this, and is the Yammy different compared to the other tubes when it comes to this?
Actually, interesting you brought this up. Out of the Audio-Technica headphones, the W2002 and W1000 are well-known as headphones that do not synergize well with tubes. I doubt this has anything to do with the aspect of bass though. Most Audio-Technicas other than the L3K aren't known to have particular "strong" bass in comparison with other headphones (W1000, W2002, and W5000 aren't bass heavy at all according to most people). Tubes do not directly correlate with increased bass either.
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post #104 of 1341
4/6/07 at 4:57am
QUOTE=Nenso;2852819 . Anyways, the guy told me that Audio Technicas sound horrible with tubes. I know that they have enough bass already and tubes would overkill it. What are you guy's opinions about this, and is the Yammy different compared to the other tubes when it comes to this?[/QUOTE]


I have to say that the W1000 didn't over impress me with the Mapletree amp but is a totally different beast with the Yamamoto. I dont think it was anything to do with tubes as such, rather that the Yamamoto seems to allow the W1000s to open up where the Mapletree didn't.

I had been trying the W5000s with the Mapletree and thought they matched better and had rather foolishly written the Yamamoto off somewhat for heavier rock music.
That theory took a kick in the butt today when I plugged the W5000s back into the Yammy and fired up some classic Deep Purple(Highway Star).
Swapping between the two amps the Yamamoto was a clear winner, bigger soundstage,clearer vocals and instruments, better bass etc.

Then tried the RS1/Mapletree combo which is no slouch against the Yammmy/W5000s and the Japanese combo was a clear victor......you could say I was more than a little surprised. I could crank the volume up to what felt like concert volume and everything was under complete control, the best rock reproduction I've heard from headphones and barely past 9 0clock on the volume knob.

Also tried some live Bob Marley, there's plenty of Bass on the W5000s and not the leaden one note thump kind either. Sure not as much as the L3000s but unless you're a total basshead, more than enough.
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post #105 of 1341
4/6/07 at 11:56am
Nenso,

My experience with ATH's and tubes in 180 degrees out of phase from what you've been told. Both my W1000s and 5000s sound great with tubes. The W5000s are used primarily with my Opera (SS) at work. IMO, they are a very versatile set of cans and, to my ears, the Opera is an amp that tube lovers could be very comfortable with . . . especially if you want a different flavour.

Echoing Icarium's sentiments, it is probably a safe bet that this gentleman hasn't heard the two together.

>>>> Tuatara - Don't say you weren't warned . . . it was just a matter of time that the Yammy / W5000s combo surprised you ! My "wow this combo rocks" moment came about 2 weeks ago when, in a bit of a whim, I picked up a Jamiroquai CD. Although not a big fan of the techo pop/rock sound, this had some very bass heavy tracks and the bass I heard over the Yammy/ATHs was nothing short of astounding - snap, punch, depth, etc, etc.

Nenso, this is by far my favourite amp/cans pairing. Of all of my amps and those I've heard, the Yammy exhibits the best top to bottom tonal balance, and most fluid mid range. Surely others may do this or that better, however, more and more it is clear to me that the Yammy gets the big picture just right. YMMV.

Cheers,
Garry
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