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what balanced amp to drive k1000?

post #1 of 31
1/12/08 at 7:14am
Thread Starter 
i drive my k1000 with a sig30 from redwine audio...i'm presently looking to get a dedicated balanced headphone amp and have been interested in the beta22 and justin's gs-x. while these will be used to drive other headphones, i'm also wondering how they fare with the k1000. yes, i know that the k1000 are best driven by speaker amps but the beta22 and gs-x must have enough juice to do a decent job...right? any thoughts?
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post #2 of 31
1/12/08 at 7:28am
Well HeadAmp still doesn't have specs of the GS-X posted on the site but most signs would indicate it outputs 1W. I've never seen 1W mentioned as being enough power for the K1000 - IIRC, most people have recommended 6W minimum.

On the flip side, the Beta 22 outputs 18W in single-ended mode and 50W in balanced mode. I think that speaks for itself.

The Beta 22 also has a "high current MOSFET output stage." The GS-X is still awaiting a MOSFET output stage.
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post #3 of 31
1/12/08 at 7:39am
I tried my K1000's with the GS-X, and they worked great. Plenty of volume overhead too. The Gilmore Dynalo modules work, but Justin's still not available mosfet modules worked even better.

The Beta 22 is likely overkill, but I suppose with the hungry K1000's there really is no such thing.

-Ed
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post #4 of 31
1/12/08 at 10:53am
I have no doubt that the β22 has plenty of power to drive the K1000. Balanced with two sigma22 power supplies it puts out around 50 wpc. I also had speaker binding posts wired to the back of mine for efficient speakers or K1000's. You can drive them from the balanced outs as well, but I thought it'd be easier off the speaker taps until I know if I want to permanantly add the K1000 to my rig, and reterminate, or recable them.

fierce_freak drove the K1000 from his β22 and loved it.
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post #5 of 31
1/12/08 at 11:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwood View Post
The Beta 22 is likely overkill
is such a statement possible in this hobby of ours?
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post #6 of 31
1/12/08 at 1:16pm
I read in another thread that a RudiStor RPX-100 did a decent job of driving a set of K1000 (I think Blackmore was involved in that test). Not saying that it was ideal but it seemed to be very decent.
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post #7 of 31
1/12/08 at 1:59pm
I thought the BAP 1000 Audiosphere is the best package deal with the K 1000, but don't know if it's balanced.

**edit** I've figured it out that the BAP doesn't seem to be an amp...
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post #8 of 31
1/12/08 at 4:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwood View Post
I tried my K1000's with the GS-X, and they worked great. Plenty of volume overhead too. The Gilmore Dynalo modules work, but Justin's still not available mosfet modules worked even better.

The Beta 22 is likely overkill, but I suppose with the hungry K1000's there really is no such thing.

-Ed
I don't find the K1000 so hungry for quantity of watts, but just for quality !!! 8 SE purest watts is the very best thing for them IMO...

Best!
Nik
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post #9 of 31
1/12/08 at 4:30pm
Nik, could you explain this in details about 8 SE purist watts stuff?
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post #10 of 31
1/12/08 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwood View Post
I tried my K1000's with the GS-X, and they worked great. Plenty of volume overhead too. The Gilmore Dynalo modules work, but Justin's still not available mosfet modules worked even better.

The Beta 22 is likely overkill, but I suppose with the hungry K1000's there really is no such thing.

-Ed
ed, you're one of the few that has actually heard justin's mosfet modules...does it provide that much more oomph over the standard modules? this is what i'm leaning toward b/c of the mosfets...but who knows when justin will have these out. perhaps when the pico madness subsides?
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post #11 of 31
1/12/08 at 4:39pm
k1000 requires at least 60-100w power amplifier or it won't sound good. At least from what I heard from many over $3000 less than 100w poweramp doesn't perform well for power.
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post #12 of 31
1/12/08 at 6:31pm
Actually I have two amps: the Air Tight ATM-300 (SE 300B) 8 watts and the INT-150 Nelson Pass SS. (150 watts).

The K1000 loves the 8 watts more than the 150 !!! This is not my first experience at this regard...

Not less tha 7-8 watts is the best match for K1000.

If you do a little search you will find a lot of thinks I have said about the K1000's amp...

For what I have experienced, the SE 300B is the very best amp for the K1000, mutch better than any other hi power amps...
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post #13 of 31
1/12/08 at 6:44pm
With the K1000s it's not about how much power, because if your speaker amp has too much power, then you have very little room for volume control.

Quality is more important here: get an amp that is optimized for speaker loads (i.e, 8 ohms and lower) that puts out quality watts, i.e., class-A, low feedback levels, and short signal paths. A well-designed single-ended triode amp with minimal feedback, good output transformers, and judicious part-selection fits the bill very nicely. But it ain't gonna be cheap.
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post #14 of 31
1/12/08 at 6:49pm
You have said exaclty what the Air Tight is !

Thanks!
Nik
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post #15 of 31
1/12/08 at 7:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WindowsX View Post
k1000 requires at least 60-100w power amplifier or it won't sound good. At least from what I heard from many over $3000 less than 100w poweramp doesn't perform well for power.
I don't agree with this at all. The 30 watt Nelson Pass that drove the pair I listened to did a bang up job.
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