MAD Ear+ Purist HD appreciation thread. - Page 3

Like the HD600, the HD580 mates very well with the Ear+. I'm also getting some 325i's on Monday from Asr's loaner program for comparison reasons. I'll post my impressions of HD580 vs Grado 325i's in the coming week.

I've had my Ear+ HD for a while now, and I can't see myself ever parting with it. The first time I listened to it with my MS-2s, I had a solid two hours of eargasmy goodness. It was almost magical. There was a time when I thought the MS-2 was just a bit shy with the bass. This was a time before the Ear+.

Did I mention the soundstage? It's large. Instrument spacing and seperation is amazingly realistic.

God, I love that thing.

Anyone recognized that the 12B4's are the miniature of the recommended 6080's on the SP Extreme ? And the 12ax7 and 5751 can also be used on Extreme with ECC1 adapter ?

It was the reason why I bought the SP for both GS1000 and K1000. The love of EAR+ HD is still there.

I'm in the process of building an exact copy right now.
Assembled my own collection of identical parts and chassis', don't wanna use the word clon*
Chassis is drilled, ready for paint.

Enjoy making your copy or clon*

It would be cool if you post some pictures. I would say your amp is "based on" the Mapletree design. However if you want to you could always send $50 or so to the good Dr. Lloyd just to keep the PEACE.

I was thinking the same thing.

Intend to send a donation to the good Doctor.
I'm building this with his blessing, though perhaps I should not have been public.

On the HD2, how do you select between the two inputs? I've looked at the pics and manual and cant see anything?????

They are both wired in parallel with no input selector. You pick between the two sources connected to the amp .... and use one or the other.

I just ordered an Ear+ Purist HD2 while having a 35 minute phone conversation with Lloyd...interrupted the Stanley Cup Playoffs too!

A few notes to share from the conversation:

1. He confirmed that he designed the amp while using Sennheiser's.
2. If pushed, he considers the Red Chassis/Black Sides to be the Mapletree Signature Look. Guess which colors I ordered Also, he said that even though he uses the same finishes from the same manuafacturer, the Red and White paint jobs tend to turn out the best with the other colors sometimes getting a bit of orange peel. As to the Red, he said it almost always looks like it was powder coated.
3. In his words, if stranded on a desert island, he'd take the HD2 over the HD.
4. When I inquired about upgrades, he essentially told me to save my money and "spend it on cd's". He did like the stepped attenuator, but thought it was too expensive ($220).


What an awesome guy! Really. He's an engineer who loves music and loves to talk audio with complete strangers. Even though some of the other guys have good customer service (like Jack Wu), Lloyd's bedside manner is impeccable.

Dr. Lloyd is one heck of a guy and someone I will do business with again. However I disagree with him. IMO the HD is the better sounding amp.

Never heard the HD (own a HD2). Opinions seems to be divided here, i would love to give the HD a try. I LOVE the HD2 sound though ...

Yes, the good Dr. is a terrific and helpful chap and I wouldn't hesitate in dealing with him at anytime.

I love my custom Ear + purist ( which really is a HD in a round about way ) but haven't had the opportunity of being able to listen to a HD2 seeing where I'm located ( down under ).

I have owned my Ear+ Purist HD for a month now. In that time, I’ve played no music through my Plinius/Magnepan QR 1.6 combination. Considering how nice that combination sounds, it feels like a big compliment to Lloyd and my Mapletree!

I originally had a Canamp on order (not through Blackbird, or I’d probably have a Heed), but the ship date kept moving farther into the future. That’s when it suddenly hit me that I have a lot of solid state gear, but no tubes. Why not try something different?!

The simple design and high parts quality initially led me to the Mapletree. I upgraded to the Blackgate capacitors and asked Lloyd to set up the amp so that I could try it as a true preamp in my system. By the way, I considered the HD2 and like that it used tubes that should be easier to find. However, I thought the two-tubes-in-back-one-in-front look seemed more balanced visually.

When the unit arrived, I was impressed with the heft of the nicely packed box. Weight isn’t everything, of course, but I have yet to see a non-portable component that is improved by reducing weight.

As a headphone amplifier, this amp is sonically stunning. Listening through the AKG K701s, there’s detail aplenty. The Information suddenly felt like a fitting title for Beck’s latest. Mary Chapin Carpenter's What Was It Like has bass that comes from somewhere near the center of the earth, bass that the Maggies just can't do justice to like this amp/phone combo. In HDCD, Neil Young's Prairie Wind sounds live, immediate, and close.

I listen a lot in the evenings (partly because I like to see the glow of the tubes, but partly because the AKGs don't block out much background noise). Even in a very quiet room, hum is completely absent. Although I have several other headphones, I don’t need to even try them; all is just right with this setup. I don’t even think I’ll save up for the RS1’s.

As a preamp, it’s both annoying and impressive. Because of the high gain, hum makes its presence known. Just as with tics and pops in LPs, I find the hum distracting enough to prevent complete immersion. On the other hand, there’s a bigger feeling of air around the instruments than with the Plinius integrated’s built-in preamp. If I could reduce the hum, I would use the Ear+ permanently as my preamp.

I've taken a bit of teasing about the Ear+ just beneath my Sota turntable, tubes glowing just as they would have 50 years ago. When I put the headphones on any teaser's head, though, the teasing stops.