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What if I want a super cold headphone amp? - Page 2

post #16 of 31
5/19/10 at 8:32pm

 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by SP Wild View Post

The Lehmann Black Cube Linear. 

 

German precision, without a soul.  Often described as the closest to a straight wire that neither adds nor subtracts from the signal. People around here really despise this amp for its transparency, detail and transient speed coupled with zero emotion.  I couple it to my K701 with a Bryston BDA-1 DAC (a reference studio dac) and I find it ruthlessly revealing (I personally love the combination).  Also a great amp for evaluating all my headphones and their outright technical capability.


This is why I love audio equipment reviews - first review hit on Google describes the Lehmann Black Cube Linear as "Creamy-smooth" and "tube-like".  Good times.

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post #17 of 31
5/19/10 at 11:27pm

Forget what I posted before.

 

"cold The same as "cool," only more so. Having somewhat excessive upper-range output and weak lower-range output."

"Cool- Moderately deficient in body and warmth, due to progressive attenuation of frequencies below about 150Hz."

 

Sounds like a weakly designed amp to me, is that what you're looking for?

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post #18 of 31
5/20/10 at 4:31am

Yup, "cold"  generally means it's very analytical and lacking in "fun." It's in context with what's been discussed in the thread.

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post #19 of 31
5/20/10 at 4:42am
I find that cold amps are good for live music of rock because it sounds kind of similar to the sound system since the solid state is used for the house speakers. But for acoustic music, jazz and classical it gives a somewhat false presentation since those styles of music tends to sound more natural and warmer.
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post #20 of 31
5/20/10 at 4:55am

It's going to be a long debate, what's neutral, natural, bright and warm for headphones, because a neutral flat line isn't going to do the trick for headphones. At this point I'm going for an amp that measures neutral (yes, I've been looking for months but I'm being careful, it's a fairly big cash outlay for me at this point in time) and let the headphones take it from there. Maybe in the future I'll worry about synergy as my tastes develop with my hp and live experiences. 


Edited by Ypoknons - 5/20/10 at 10:07am
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post #21 of 31
5/20/10 at 5:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SanJoseCanJunkie View Post

 


 


This is why I love audio equipment reviews - first review hit on Google describes the Lehmann Black Cube Linear as "Creamy-smooth" and "tube-like".  Good times.


Absolutely depends on the source as the amp is devoid of personality.  With my Dacmagic it is neither "Creamy-smooth" nor "tube-like", with my Bryston DAC (at a price of which I could have purchased 6 Dacmagics) it can be arguably so.

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post #22 of 31
5/20/10 at 5:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mochan View Post

Yup, "cold"  generally means it's very analytical and lacking in "fun." It's in context with what's been discussed in the thread.


This post is a bomb waiting to explode

tic, tac, tic, tac.....


Edited by loopfreak - 5/20/10 at 10:29am
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post #23 of 31
5/20/10 at 7:24am

KABOOM!!!

 

What's the go with the word "fun" - this description of audio reproduction has no basis for figurative audio qualities.

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post #24 of 31
5/20/10 at 8:46am

Fun to read though.

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post #25 of 31
5/20/10 at 1:24pm
Thread Starter 

I guess what I'm looking for is something that will expose the quality of a recording and the mastering and mixing.  If it sucks, then I want it to sound bad.  But if it's good, then good.  I guess that has little to do with "warm" or "cold".  I'm beginning to think that the answer is that I need several amps, several sources, and several pairs of headphones.

 

I have another goofy question: does too much "warmth" equate to "muddy"?

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post #26 of 31
5/20/10 at 1:30pm

Definitely a good Dynalo (Headamp GS-1, Sheer Audio HA-006++). Very neutral amps.

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post #27 of 31
5/20/10 at 1:34pm

There are quite a few posts raving about the Matrix M-Stage (essentially a Lehmann clone for all we know) with the K70X

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post #28 of 31
5/20/10 at 2:09pm
Thread Starter 

Does a Dynahi pair better with a 701 than a lo?


Edited by Michael Takashi - 5/20/10 at 7:09pm
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post #29 of 31
5/20/10 at 3:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Takashi View Post

Does a Dynahi pair better with a 701 than a lo?


The Dynahi is arguably the best solid-state amp available and has a wire-with-gain neutrality to it. I don't think it would pair badly with any headphone given your source is up to par.

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post #30 of 31
5/20/10 at 10:23pm
Thread Starter 

What are some popular Dynahi models? or are they always DIY?

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