[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpudHarris /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I have it on good authority that the Symphony is a superb amp and has synergie with the D7K's, I've not tried it personally but a few people mentioned it whilst I was in the process of buying the Denons. It's a little expensive for me at the moment though. I guess what I'm saying is if you had £450 to spend on an amp the Solo represents great value for money. Why would low impedance phones not sound good with the Solo? There are a lot of phones matching that description out there, Im sure Mr Slee has taken this into account...

Because... he didn't until the Novo and Solo SRG - from personal experience and my discussions with him.

That's why I'm curious - if the Novo and Solo SRG, in particular, meet that test.

 

[mrarroyo]

Gradofan2 send me your address via PM. I will do my best to ship you the Solo SRG w/ PSU1 next week. You will be able to find out for yourself.

I will need you to ship it back by Wednesday, May 27th.

 

[SpudHarris]

Ok, understand where you are coming from and you obviously have far more experience with this subject than myself. What I can tell you is that the 3 sets of phones I have going at present ALL sound exellent with the Solo. AH-D2000's, SR325i's and AH-D7000's. As I said the only issue I had was with treble glare on the 7000's but a move away from Silver cable combined with the burn process seems to have done the trick and I am very happy indeed now.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpudHarris /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, understand where you are coming from and you obviously have far more experience with this subject than myself. What I can tell you is that the 3 sets of phones I have going at present ALL sound exellent with the Solo. AH-D2000's, SR325i's and AH-D7000's. As I said the only issue I had was with treble glare on the 7000's but a move away from Silver cable combined with the burn process seems to have done the trick and I am very happy indeed now.

I have used two very hard to drive cans with the Solo SRG, the AKG K501 and the K701. Then I have used the Grado RS-1, the Ultrasone HFI-780, and the Denons D2000 and D5000. All have sounded beautifully and no problems driving any of them.

 

[Kclone]

Get off of here and go back to doing your comparison of the SRG Solo to the MPX3 Slam.

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpudHarris /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, understand where you are coming from and you obviously have far more experience with this subject than myself. What I can tell you is that the 3 sets of phones I have going at present ALL sound exellent with the Solo. AH-D2000's, SR325i's and AH-D7000's. As I said the only issue I had was with treble glare on the 7000's but a move away from Silver cable combined with the burn process seems to have done the trick and I am very happy indeed now.

I suppose I might have been too impatient with the burn in of either the Solo 2007, or my phones. I didn't really keep the Solo 2007 long enough to burn it in for more than 50-100 hrs. That may be why our experiences are different.

All I noticed was that it was GREAT with my Senns, and harsh (rough, glaring upper mids / highs) with my Grados and Denons, and the bass was poorly controlled - compared to the X-CANv8 I had at the time, which was GREAT with the Grados and Denons.

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Gradofan2 send me your address via PM. I will do my best to ship you the Solo SRG w/ PSU1 next week. You will be able to find out for yourself. I will need you to ship it back by Wednesday, May 27th.

Will do... that's GREAT!

 

[mrarroyo]

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[size=small]Part III:[/size]

Well, it is Saturday, May 09, 2009 and here I am back writing on the Solo SRG w/ the PSU1. I believe this will be my last time writing specifically on this amp. I may add a comment or so on other forums/post as I see fit. Anyways, the write up today will not be a comparison type. Instead I will write of my listening experience over the last few days.

Most of the time I was using an AKG K501, which as stated above has been re-cabled by Alex of APureSound. Here is a picture.

The amp has continued to evolve, but the changes have been IMO very subtle and the sum of all of them over the last week has been small compared w/ the changes since I received the unit or even over the last 100 hours of burn in. IMO the change over the last 25-50 hours have resulted in smoothing out the overall presentation, this has been followed by a bit more depth/width of the soundstage, and the bass amount has increased a bit. Do not expect the Solo SRG to shake the windows, it will not. However the bass is reproduced in a very tight, deep, and realistic way thus making this unit fantastic for jazz and classical users. I should also restate that the unit has amazing extension both ends.

It is apparent to those who have heard a lot of gear that some units may emphasize a frequency over others. Many of us compensate by getting an opposing headphone or source. For example, if the headphone is energetic in the top end we get a warm amp to tame the highs. No need to do so here, I find the Solo SRG to be very even in the way it present the overall frequency range, and it does so in a smooth controlled way.

For those wanting to know, I have used a variety of jazz music over the last week or so. For example:

1.Maysa
2.Mark Whitfield
3.Mark Antoine
4.Melody Gardot

My plans are to ship the unit out to a couple of aficionados so they can spend a couple of weeks with the amp and post their impressions. Even if they have a totally different opinion after listening to the Solo SRG it is IMO very good because it provides both the designer/builder as well as potential customers with valuable feedback. On one end the designer/builder can improve the product and on the other end the potential customer has a different take on the amp. To me this translates to a win-win situation.

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings.

 

[paulb09]

So you'd say the depth of the bass has been improved for the K501, mrarroyo? I wouldn't say no to a little more punch in the deep bass with my K601, but as for bass guitar the K601 already shines on my current amp... it's so clear, and lacks the horrendous boom of other 'phones I've heard in that area of bass. I think the high end clarity will be the biggest plus over my current amp, even if the K601 doesn't extend as well as 'phones like the K701.

 

[oldson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif oldson, do not know that psu. Would you please post a picture? Thanks.

Miguel
sorry for the delay. been snowed under with work of late.
this is the psu i have
Mascot | Power Supplies | Power Supplies, Inverters, DC/DC Converters & Generators | External Power Supplies | AC Output & DC Linear

cheers

 

[paulb09]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldson /img/forum/go_quote.gif Miguel sorry for the delay. been snowed under with work of late. this is the psu i have Mascot | Power Supplies | Power Supplies, Inverters, DC/DC Converters & Generators | External Power Supplies | AC Output & DC Linear

I had the same issue... the PSU-1, even when bought with the amplifier rather than alone, adds a whole £135 onto the price. At £35 this is very tempting to boost performance a bit, plus you've already used it so I know it works, which helps out.

 

[mrarroyo]

Nice find Oldson, now we need someone to find one for US voltages.

Kclone did the comparison! Considering there is close to $3,000 difference in price between the two amps the Solo did remarkably well. There is more bass w/ the MPX3 using a 5670 driving a pair of 6BL7GTA's, to me the sound is more musical/organic with a tad livelier presentation, plus the soundstage is a tad wider.

 

[oldson]

i also bought a 12v version for my v-dac, about £28.
the stock v-dac psu used to get very hot, almost instantly.
never had this issue with the stock unit for the solo. i guess as they go, it must have been a better quality!?

very pleased with the sq from them now.
but i still have the urge to try a tube amp. never heard one B4. like the look of the woo audio 6. anyway, thats for another thread.