[sghound]

no way the HK sounds dark, bloated, boomy, or murky.

i've found a pairing which can play almost any cans to their max potential at last. effortless grain-free drive. HK DVD31 -> vDH Optocoupler toslink (beats my Kimber D-60 coax) -> HK AVR145 -> headout.

this arrangement makes use of the superior DAC onboard the AVR, making the DVD31 strictly a transport. the best part about the AVR145 is that the bass and treble contours can be adjusted to suit ANY cans without adding any detectable distortion. very nicely implemented. it's like adding room treatment or proper EQ to suit a pair of loudspeakers to any room.

results are, very smooth extended top-end, detailed low bass, neutral mids and shows whatever your cans can or cannot achieve, absolutely zero-grain. beats any of my previously owned or tried headamps, like Heed Canamp, Lehmann Black Cube Linear, Cayin, Naim Headline, RSA Hornet, Higher-Fidelity HA01 and Sugden Headmaster.

i did try the AVR145 with other CDPs (Arcam & Marantz 63SE) and DVDPs (Oppo & modded Pioneer) and they gave almost equal results. somehow with the AVR, they sound better thru either the coax or optical than the analogue outs. with the HK DVD31 i hear that smidgen better synergy and smoothness than i did pairing it with other digital players.

cans that i put thru the paces are AKG K701, Beyer DT831, DT880, DT990, DT531, Senn HD600, HD25, Denon D2000, AT-A900 & Sony CD900ST.

it's really hard to believe that an AVR can play cans so well when there are so many dedicated headamps out in the market. my education & discovery process did cost me some money but the journey felt good in the end. sometimes i dream that i'm still a skeptic, but i urge any of you to try it.

CURSE YOU HEADFI!!!

 

[banjo]

hey tbonner1, id love to have you compare the HK to the other amps on your list. Also id like jrosenth to specify which model HK that was used, was it really the same avr 145.

to sghound : to you prefer listening with dolby headphone in stereo or does it distort the sound in any way. I remember how I tried the headphone output on a small 2.1 denon in a showroom with dolby headphone wacthing LOTR, and it sounded somewhat metallic - definitely took some getting used to. That was with my hd600. Im not sure i liked it. Do you feel it offers a reasonable surround experience with movies, and is it a good substitue for a normal speaker setup?

 

[sghound]

banjo, i prefer to listen with dolby circuitry set at bypass. i have not tried it with movies.

 

[sghound]

this thread is useless with pictures

 

[banjo]

amazon has the avr145 for circa 200 dollars - thats not a lot if it performs above dedicated headamps - in fact its so little i wouldn't hesitate to try it out - Only problem is that the same unit costs 770 dollars in denmark !!!! it the suggested retail price, but i cant find it any cheaper. Can you believe it, this is so unfair. Soemthing is wrong if you can jump on an airpalne, fly to the states, buy it and bring it back and still save money! For some reason HK is one of the most expensive brands to buy in europe, with very little/no discounts being offered. I can get it in germany for less but not by much.

sorry but i just felt like sharing my frustration

 

[sghound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by banjo /img/forum/go_quote.gif amazon has the avr145 for circa 200 dollars - thats not a lot if it performs above dedicated headamps - in fact its so little i wouldn't hesitate to try it out - Only problem is that the same unit costs 770 dollars in denmark !!!! it the suggested retail price, but i cant find it any cheaper. Can you believe it, this is so unfair. Soemthing is wrong if you can jump on an airpalne, fly to the states, buy it and bring it back and still save money! For some reason HK is one of the most expensive brands to buy in europe, with very little/no discounts being offered. I can get it in germany for less but not by much. sorry but i just felt like sharing my frustration

to make things worse, the voltage is different in US and europe. i paid 440usd in Singapore.

 

[tbonner1]

Hi banjo

I have not completed testing, but my results so far is that the HK headphone port is not that good. My unit provides sound closer to Chu's evaluation. Too bad because I really wanted to like the HK.

 

[jrosenth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by banjo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also id like jrosenth to specify which model HK that was used, was it really the same avr 145.

HK3480

Never heard the jack on any other HK.

Tried it for general curiosity as well as it would have made a very convenient solution.

Too bad - just really didn't work for me - at least compared to a dedicated amp.

Don't take my word though - my ears have been known to hear strange things

 

[midnite8791]

interesting! Ive owned an HK3480 for over a year now and never used the headphone out. I have mine paired with my B&W floorstanders from the late 80's. For only a $230 amp it rocks the speakers quite well with music and movies!

 

[tbonner1]

I find the HK does sound better with speakers than through the headphone jack.

The tuner is not up to the standard of my separate tuners for DXing or sound quality.

 

[ThomDP]

Hello,

This is a very interesting thread. I’m new to these boards so please let me explain my current situation. I’m much more of a speaker, tube, two channel enthusiast than headphone enthusiast.

Over the years I’ve had many amps and speakers but one thing has remained constant and that is my Creek OBH11 and Sennheiser HD600’s. I’ve listened to the phones about a 1/10th of the time I listened to my speakers, even though the Creek/Senn combo always produced higher fidelity than the speakers I had. I can now say that my speakers sound better than my HD600’s through the Creek. The combo sounds dark slow and unmusical. I moved and the acoustics are better then the room I previously had my speakers in. I was getting frustrated and I was ready to sell the HD600’s. A few weeks ago I copied a few LP’s to CD and used the headphone jack of my Pioneer CDR to monitor. Well don’t you know I thought the Pioneer’s headphone output was pretty good. There was more clarity and detail than the Creek. Dynamics were weaker but it was still an enjoyable listen. I then purchased a vintage Pioneer Sa-510 integrated amp off EBay for $33. The amp is a beautiful looking piece and sounds excellent for two channel stereo, a real sleeper. I then decided to try the headphone output. I’m blown away. The HD600’s sound wonderful with the Pioneer amp. It absolutely blows away the Creek in every facet. I’m not sure if it’s an OP amp design of driven by the power amp. I’m ready to ditch the Creek and use the Pioneer as my headphone amp. I'm wondering if there is something wrong with the Creek?

I’ve owned many HK amps and receivers and the headphone outputs have always been horrible. It’s nice to see that they went the audiophile route for the headphone output.

Dennis

 

[LonerGenius]

I have the HK AVR-247 and with my W5000's it does a good job with sound, not fantastic for me but my dedicated headphone setup is pretty amazing. I haven't spent enough time with the HK to try very many different types of music or movies yet but this thread has inspired me and I may squeeze in some HK time this weekend.

 

[HardHeadCase]

I have my 701s plugged into my AVR 240 right now and it sounds great. Nice Pic with the DVD and the Receiver,,,,now I have to get an HK DVD-48 damn you,,,LOL

 

[sghound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HardHeadCase /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have my 701s plugged into my AVR 240 right now and it sounds great. Nice Pic with the DVD and the Receiver,,,,now I have to get an HK DVD-48 damn you,,,LOL

u won't regret it i tell ya. use the vDH Optocoupler between the dvd48 & avr240, makes a perfect transport/dac clock combo. the musical immediacy is amazing.

also, after some listening, set the treble contour on the avr-240 to -6 or -4. i find that this setting gives the best balance with the K701.

enjoy!

 

[HardHeadCase]

Thanks, thats good advice!

Much Appreciated!