The heavens opened and I heard the stars sing (β22 tales) - Page 5

And now for pics... (click any for a larger version)

Post #1 has been updated with a pic of the back of both the amp and PSU. And here are the insides:

Amp unit internals



Power supply unit internals



I think I know what you're talking about, I do kinda hear the "air beneath the bass" a bit with the AD2000 (and W5000 also), but it's also not really there. I think speed response to bass is a factor in revealing the quality. I'm also not sure why you ask that in relevance to Crystal Method since the bass with their music is synthesized, not acoustic, and doesn't have air below it. I hear the quality only with my acoustic-based music.

Week 3 - Final Notes

Over the past week, I primarily listened to the B22 with the Audience powerChord E on my Plinius CD-101, sporadically re-visiting the bel canto CD-1 and dCS P8i. I heard a definite improvement with the Audience over the LAT power cord - there was an even better sense of focus, increased clarity on the transients, and a deeper & wider soundstage.

As it is right now, I really like my system as set up right now: Black Sand Silver Reference MKV power cord > Plinius CD-101 > Analysis Plus Silver Oval XLR > B22 > K701 | AD2000 | W5000 | HP2. There's such a nice sense of speed and detail that's becoming really addictive.

There's not much more that I can add about the amp. I've really been enjoying the different sounds from the Plinius, dCS, and bel canto CDPs, while swapping interconnects too. It's clearly very transparent and the sonic differences between the CDPs have given me a taste of what it's capable of.

While I can't (and probably shouldn't) pin down the sound of the B22, I can say that it's ultimately revealing of source and will make or break a system depending on what it's connected to. I enjoy it with the Plinius the most, it just reveals so much blinding speed with that CDP. New things I've heard with the setup include high-speed zings (as in, the "zing" of a guitar or banjo string), high-low frequency insta-sweeps (like, piano note impact all the way to the near-midbass "decay", or any other time a mid-range/bass note starts in the mid-range and descends very quickly), and just overall twang & explosiveness. I could see some people might complain this may be too metallic and/or sparkly-sounding, but IMO this is better and something I've been waiting a long time to hear.

The B22 is an excellent amp, and I really like how it sounds, but I also really feel like this is overkill for most dynamic headphones - I certainly feel like I'm missing at least half the picture regardless of which headphone I'm listening with (K701, AD2000, W5000, HP2). I think anyone who wants to get the most out of the B22 should be using headphones more like the Qualia 010 or K1000.

And on a final note, this B22 is not the end of my journey....

I'd also like to publicly acknowledge & thank Ti Kan and naamanf for their work in designing and building this amp, respectively.

That sucks that USPS lost your amp, was it insured? I take it you checked with your local customs? And you were in line for naamanf's 2nd Beta 22, right? Hopefully it doesn't take too long for you to get a replacement.

My last few posts in this thread shouldn't be considered a review btw, they're more like impressions bites (if that). I'd go into detail for an actual review.

Hrmm, I don't recall mentioning any CDs like that. TCM doesn't have any CDs with a name close to that (just Vegas, Community Service, Tweekend, Legion of Boom, Community Service II, London [OST], and Drive) and I certainly don't own any CDs by any other artists that have "bass" in the title, that would kinda be a new low for me.

Hrmm, lemme check...

....nope, no CDs with "bass" in the title, sorry.