Corda HA-2, best amp for less than $600
Jan 23, 2003 at 10:52 PM Post #17 of 45
Just a little note:

It's not possible to implement a stepped attenuator into the PREHEAD or HA-2. There simply isn't space and it's impossible to cut a piece out of the PCB. There are also electronic parts soldered to the other side of the PCB just below the potentiometer (short signal paths!).

Cheers,

Jan
 
Jan 24, 2003 at 4:47 AM Post #19 of 45
Is there any posibility that you could engrave the front plate, in this new Gilmore ???
 
Jan 25, 2003 at 6:53 AM Post #21 of 45
Sovkiller,

The front panel will be silkscreen labeled, not engraved.

I'mSparticus, if you are referring to the Gilmore, I already posted in this thread that there will be a new case for the amp.
 
Jan 25, 2003 at 7:03 AM Post #22 of 45
Any pics of the new one, any demo or prototype to show us , what exactly this new amp will have in addition or different from the prior....???
 
Jan 25, 2003 at 3:02 PM Post #24 of 45
antness- I'm trying to get back into headphones again and am in the hunt for a new amp. I've been away for some time and am finding that your amp(s) are quite popular. I'm very interested in the new amp but want to learn more about it. I've heard the new amp will be housed in one case and have a different styling but that is all I know. Can you share anything further about the new amp at all for this prospective buyer? Any idea when it might be available? I'm intersted but itching to buy an amp very soon. If you can let me know anything about it's features like x-feed, preouts, number of inputs, IEC receptacle, etc, I would appreciate it. Thanks.
 
Jan 25, 2003 at 3:14 PM Post #25 of 45
Antness has been trying very hard to operate within the rules of Head-Fi. For those of you with further questions who can't wait for the Mall-Fi ad, I suggest sending him an email to talk to him privately.
 
Jan 25, 2003 at 4:04 PM Post #26 of 45
Sorry guys and forgive our ignorance of the rules, we can wait, of course, just that we are anxious....
 
Jan 25, 2003 at 4:43 PM Post #27 of 45
Thanks Kelly, sorry about that, I understand. I'll send him a private message to see if he could share any information with me. I have read a number of your reviews and you have been very helpful, thanks for those! A little more than a year ago I sold a pair of HD600's and a Wheatfield HA-1 tube amp but am finding I should have held on to them. I have a nice two channel system right now. I'm in the hunt for a new amp and will likely pair it with another pair of HD600's again. Source will be an LFD Mistral CDP ($1900), with Bolder Cable cabling and YBA Diamond power cords. My interests so far are the Sonic Adventure Reality, Corda HA-2 and the Gilmore amps. I am also possibly interested in a tube headphone amp from Space Tech Lab, it doubles as a low watt SET amp as well and might be fun to power an effiicient set of small speakers. Portability is an issue as I would likely bring the amp to work and back daily so tube amps with tubes mounted outside the chassis is an issue. Being so used to listening via 2 channel and hearing the stage in front of me I wonder too if I might like the x-feed of the Corda. Remembering back to my old headphone set up I always wished for the stage to be a bit more in front of me than to the sides. I like Jazz, Classical, vocals, light Jazz and electronic ambient music. Tend towards a neutral to warm sound, but like quickness, transparency and good bass too. Not into cold, analytical, sterile, wildly detailed sound.

Anyhow, sorry for the rambling post, if you or anyone else has any off hand suggestions or opinions I'd sure appreciate it.
 
Jan 25, 2003 at 5:11 PM Post #28 of 45
Quote:

Originally posted by Sean H
Remembering back to my old headphone set up I always wished for the stage to be a bit more in front of me than to the sides. I like Jazz, Classical, vocals, light Jazz and electronic ambient music. Tend towards a neutral to warm sound, but like quickness, transparency and good bass too. Not into cold, analytical, sterile, wildly detailed sound.


I'm afraid of the possibility that what you're calling cold, analytical,sterile and wildly detailed is what I'd refer to as accurate. I don't know if this is true or not but if it is, I would avoid both the Gilmore and the Prehead (or anything said to sound similar). You might alternatively look into the RKV if you can afford a few dollars more. The RKV lacks crossfeed but has a large soundstage.
 
Jan 25, 2003 at 5:25 PM Post #29 of 45
Thanks Kelly. Accuracy is one of those funny things that seems to have multiple meanings. I definitely like accuracy of tone and timbre, realism and naturalness of instruments and vocals. Definition and precision is good too. But if it starts to sound electronic, sterile, hard, and maybe most of all glaring and bright then I do not like it. My current two channel amp is an LFD Mistral LE integrated, a simple design with a passive pre and a simple MOSFET output stage. It sounds less like typical solid state and more in line with the beguiling tone of tubes but lacking the euphonic-2nd order harmonics aspect of tubes. It's almost a hybrid sound in some ways, but it's still solid state and wouldn't be confused as sounding like tubes to many tube lovers. I like solid state, tubes too, doesn't matter to me if it sounds natural and smooth, just don't care for bright and electronic sound. Tubes are less of a hassle I guess. Sounds like the Corda, for example, is refined sounding solid state, compared to something like the Creek which might be a bit more typical in it's sound.

The RKV looks like a beauty! But it's just a bit too out of my price range. I hope to stay around $500-600 or less.
 
Jan 25, 2003 at 5:35 PM Post #30 of 45
Sean
It's hard to say. I wish you could audition for yourself. For me, the Gilmore and Prehead come the closest to being colorless, neutral and transparent. That is, they seem to reveal the most differences in the associated components and between recordings. If you *really* like the sound of your source and phones, it's hard to imagine anyone being terribly disappointed in these amps. I don't find them to sound bright, thin or harsh in the least.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top