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Amp for Grado SR325is: Tubes, LD MK I+, tube rolling ??

post #1 of 5
6/29/11 at 2:39pm
Thread Starter 

My next headphone upgrade will be the SR325is, I listen to 95% rock, metal, punk, anything with electric guitars. Big things I'm looking for are clear details and a nice, tight bass to go along with fast paced rock music.

 

I currently have the FiiO E7+E9 combo and I know it gets a lot of praise here. I was wondering if it would be worth it to get another amp that would pair well with the 325is? I could keep using the E7 as a PC usb-DAC and get another dedicated amp if that would be best. I read that the Little Dot 1+ is a good choice for it, but I'd like to hear some other thoughts. My budget is up in the air mostly, ranging from "Just keep the E9" to around $300 or so.

 

And since the E9 is my first desktop amp, my knowledge of tube rolling is the bare minimum from skimming threads here at head-fi. I know different tubes can create different sounds. Are there any tubes besides the stock LD1+ tubes to get that would bring out more details or bass?


Cheers!

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post #2 of 5
6/29/11 at 2:57pm

It’s not a direct comparison but I had some recent experience with a similar setup. The E7 DAC is the weak link in your setup, imo.

 

I have an RS2 and used to drive it with the E7/E9 combo. I recently replaced the E7 with a Music Streamer II+ and the E9 with a Schiit Asgard.

 

There was a noticeable increase in impact for percussion instruments when I had replaced the E7 with the MSII+ but still had the E9. Everything sounded a bit livelier and more powerful (after I adjusted for volume differences) with the MSII+. I was quite impressed.

 

when I later replaced the E9 with the Asgard, I could not tell any difference with between the new and old amp. the E9 drives the Grados pretty well.

 

If you were to get a tube amp, you could experiment with tubes and various ways to “sweeten" the sound and that could be fun, but don’t expect a huge improvement to the sound over the E9, imo.

 

Of course, since these are Grados, I did not expect any real difference in soundstage from either upgrade since the whole point of these cans is to push it all in your face, anyway :) Other headphones could benefit more from the amp change I had made.

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post #3 of 5
6/29/11 at 4:26pm
Thread Starter 

Ah interesting. I'll look around at that DAC and other USB DACs. Thanks for the input

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post #4 of 5
6/30/11 at 7:31am

Also, the Little Dot 1+ is a good pairing with grados I've heard. The opa2107 and the WE408A tubes apparently adds more bass impact and a warmth. Honestly tough, your combo amp should get the job done, it is a powerful amp and you should be satisfied with it. I mean, both amps are in the same price range so it's more of a side-grade than an upgrade.

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post #5 of 5
7/1/11 at 3:31pm

LD I+, lm4562 opamp, Mullard M8100 tubes, LD DAC-I.

 

Works like a charm on my SR-225s :)

 

-n

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