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Need a BASSY amp!!

post #1 of 8
2/24/11 at 6:43am
Thread Starter 

I'm a major basshead and am in need of a fairly bassy amp to go with my Ultrasone Pro 900s. I currently have a Matrix M-Stage and while it sounds great, I've been craving for a deeper, more rumbly, more present low end. I have my sights set on a KICAS Caliente so far since my budget is 300 or under. The LISA III looks great but is a bit expensive, and wanted something more full size. I heard the M3 is good too but expensive as well (600 or more). I listen to mostly House, Electronica, Drum n Bass, Dubstep, Hip hop, Rock and Industrial music. Will the Caliente suffice for my needs? Anything helps thanks :)

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post #2 of 8
2/24/11 at 8:44am

Many options (from easiest to hardest)

 

1) Equalizer on source

2) Multi-pass filter (bass boost) between source and amp

3) Add bass boost to amp

 

Also, you can use a more bass-heavy opamp on your M-Stage, such as OPA2107.

 

M^3 is hardly $600, sometimes they're half that.

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post #3 of 8
2/24/11 at 9:02am
Thread Starter 

Thanks, I was actually thinking of getting an Aphex Aural Exciter with Optical Big Bottom processor for my bass cravings, I heard it does the job. I'll look into the OPA2107. Is that something you can swap very easily? Or will I have to do any soldering

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post #4 of 8
2/24/11 at 9:16am
Thread Starter 

Should I get the Dip-8 or SOIC?

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post #5 of 8
2/24/11 at 9:28am

Look inside the amp (or at one of the photos available online) for those answers ;)

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post #6 of 8
2/26/11 at 3:39pm

I just got the KICAS Caliente specifically for the AKG's that I bought.

 

I can tell you this....if it weren't for the Caliente I probably wouldn't like these headphones as much. Plus, it sounds great with other headphones like the HD650's and the D5000's (from anecdotes). It adds a lot of clean bass, but it's smooth, simply a high fidelity amplifier.

 

Before this amp, I used a Pioneer stereo's 1/4 headphone jack; which actually sounds very similar to the Kicas. It was not as a big of a difference as a pair of different headphones would make.

 

 

 

Here's a review I wrote...

 

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/540545/review-akg-k-701-kicas-caliente-w-pictures

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post #7 of 8
2/26/11 at 4:36pm
I'd second the call for an equalizer or perhaps a M^3 with the bass control.
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post #8 of 8
2/26/11 at 4:50pm

I'll second the Caliente. Unlike bass boost, it's not just a shelf boost; the warmer sound is part of the design, not just an afterthought. I find equalizing digital sources makes the music sound compressed.

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