Rudistor realeased a new flagship amp - Page 10

Quote:

Originally Posted by baka1969 

I actually had the SE535 with my b22 before I had it (the amp) send out for work. I never did plug it into the b22 though. I sold the Shure shortly after I received them and didn't think of it at the time. That said, there really isn't a one-size-fits-all amp that's perfect at everything. Ask the many members on Head-Fi that have multiple amps. :) It's also part of the reason I don't have the HE6. The way I have the b22 configured won't have it fully and perfectly drive every headphone to it's absolute potential. I suspect the uber expensive b22 build in this thread can't either.

A B22 should handle the SE535 fine. The susceptibility to hum is not good - low noise is a pretty basic requirement for an amp... Even if you can't hear it with less sensitive headphones, the noise is still there and could be seen on a scope.

I think that a B22 with a guarantee of no hum (even with very sensitive headphones) would be worth some premium, but it doesn't seem like the Bellatone B22 is guaranteed not to hum with the SE530/SE535.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacedonianHero 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armaegis 

As mentioned earlier, too many things to change per board. I would just set the gain at 5x or 8x, then use a shunt and/or parallel setup for the pot and use a switch to select the resistor values. Parallel config with a low value resistors can get you fine control at low levels (but it will ramp up very quickly at high levels).
 

I realize that, I'm just saying regardless, there is likely a market for a new B22...say B23 that has enough gain to properly drive say the HE-6s all the way down to low impedance cans like Grados or Denons. I know I would be interested.

It's not a matter of gain but of volume control. A custom tuned stepped attenuator might be the answer rather than trying to jigger the internals of the amp. Standard linear pots or even "log" pots have poor control at the low end.

A pot in parallel config also changes the curve response of the pot, and using a switch to change the value of the parallel resistor can give you the control that you'd want depending on the headphones used.

This thread really jumped the shark when Spritzer said that you could get  $150,000, 700 pound Krell MRA monoblocks for the same price of PJ's Beta.

http://www.higherfi.com/amplist/amplist.htm

It would be easy to wire up a switchable fixed attenuator before the volume control and then you could go from very quiet to silly loud at the flick of a switch.  There are issues with this approach but there is a way to do it correctly. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Eddy 

Also, I'm curious. Were you as critical of the Pinnacle's $10,000 price tag?

 

se

Yes but I also know how silly expensive good transformers can be.  I also don't doubt Pete and Todd charge as much as they need to charge which I very much doubt is the case with this B22...

Quote:

Originally Posted by scootermafia 

This thread really jumped the shark when Spritzer said that you could get  $150,000, 700 pound Krell MRA monoblocks for the same price of PJ's Beta.

http://www.higherfi.com/amplist/amplist.htm

You are aware that I was talking used prices?  The prices on these amps have plummeted on the used market, just look at the prices that the partnering Krell subwoofer goes for.  People are giving this stuff away.  Ditto for the KAS...

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer 

Yes but I also know how silly expensive good transformers can be.  I also don't doubt Pete and Todd charge as much as they need to charge which I very much doubt is the case with this B22...

Sure. But if we use the "rule of thumb" model, you're looking at $4,000 in parts cost. And I'm having a hard time seeing $4,000 worth of parts in the Pinnacle.

Far as I'm aware, PJ hasn't even come up with a price for his B22.

se

Quote:Originally Posted by MacedonianHero 



"It's certainly not for a lack of power with the B22, but with the HE-6s, a gain factor of 5 (typical) is simply not enough to bring these orthos to adequate listening volumes. Again, I am not suggesting a change to the B22, but maybe a new product offering with user selectable gains...like on the Meier Concerto."


Remember that a gain of 5x on a 4 channel balanced b22 is equivalent to 10x on a SE 3 channel build. Also the balanced amp is twice as powerful. I've never tried the HE6 on the balanced beta but I've read such conflicting reports with both the SE and balanced amp that I'm not sure if the b22 is ultimately ideal for the hungry planar. Even if eaither the 3 or 4 channel amp could do the HE6 the justice it deserves then it would have to be configured in such a way so it wouldn't perform well with high efficiency headphones.

That said, with almost any other headphone I do believe, especially the balanced b22, can be set up to be very versatile with a wide array of cans without the need for a gain switch. I think it's more an issue with the HE6 than a deficiency with the b22 design. The HE6 is just a bear that doesn't allow for much else except huge amounts of power. Damn the practicality. LoL

Quote:

Originally Posted by baka1969 

Also the balanced amp is twice as powerful.

Not twice. Four times.

se

Quote:Originally Posted by MacedonianHero 




"Good point, but wouldn't a balanced b22 be a bit too much for say 32 ohm headphones? I have only heard SE b22s."


I don't know. Maybe someone can answer that. Say 2x gain on the balanced b22? Even so, I'm not sure 2x would suit the HE6. Even balanced.

Don't forget to consider source when thinking about gain. A 1Vrms source is very different from a 4Vrms source. 

Quote:Originally Posted by Steve Eddy 




"Not twice. Four times.
se"



So the balanced B22 puts out 72 watts @ 8Ohms?

Quote:

Originally Posted by baka1969 

Quote:Originally Posted by MacedonianHero 

That said, with almost any other headphone I do believe, especially the balanced b22, can be set up to be very versatile with a wide array of cans without the need for a gain switch. I think it's more an issue with the HE6 than a deficiency with the b22 design. The HE6 is just a bear that doesn't allow for much else except huge amounts of power. Damn the practicality. LoL

The B22 can output 18W into 8 ohms unbalanced, and 50W into 8 ohms balanced, so it has plenty of power on tap for the HE-6 @ 50 ohms.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcg27 

Don't forget to consider source when thinking about gain. A 1Vrms source is very different from a 4Vrms source. 

Yes, but balanced outputs are typically just twice their unbalanced output. And when you double voltage, power quadruples.

se