Intro:
The ampsandsound Kenzie Encore is an improved version of the original Kenzie headphone amplifier. The amplifier uses two 1626 tubes for output and a 12SL7 for the input. It can also accept 12a(x,t)7-series tubes using an aftermarket adapter. Unlike the original Kenzie, however, this version has a second pair of RCA inputs and outputs to be used as a stereo preamp. I Purchased this unit directly from ampsandsound for my own use.

Justin Weber is the founder of ampsandsound, and offers a lifetime warranty on the Kenzie Encore. He's a great guy to work with on a customer service level and will go out of his way to give the customer what they want.

My setup: Computer running Jriver > Schiit Eitr usb>Schiit Gungnir MB>Kenzie Encore/Schiit Mjolnir>Audeze LCD-3 (fazor)/Sennheiser HD650 (no mods).

Build Quality/Features: The Encore, like the Kenzie before it, has a nice, old-school metal and wood cabinet. I personally like the "audio furniture" look. For those curious, the wood used is walnut. The Encore is sturdy and built to last. The circuit is a combination of PCB and point to point wiring. The Encore uses high quality, but not boutique components. The transformers are custom made for ampsandsound. My Encore features optional input transformers and Auricap capacitors.
In answer to many customer requests, The headphone jacks are now on the front of the amp on the top plate instead of the rear. The Encore was created with dual purposes in mind: as a headphone amp and preamp. There is one extra set of RCA jacks for a second source, and RCA outs to send to a power amp or powered monitors.


Sound impressions:
The Encore is a harder hitting, more dynamic version of the Kenzie. The Kenzie had some noticeable low-level hum around noon on the volume pot, but was never objectionable in listening. The Encore is quieter, due to a larger choke (according to Justin). When I previewed the Encore at Canjam LA, it was clearly more macrodynamic than the original. I was able to listen with and without the input transformers in the circuit, and it made a big enough difference that I decided to order mine with them. As good as the original Kenzie sounded, there were more punchy-sounding amps out there such as the Mjolnir 2 from Schiit, which I owned at the time. I can't say much about whether the Auricaps made a difference compared to the standard caps used, but I figured "what the hell".
With the RCA 12SL7 the Encore is a little sedate with some apparent sub bass roll off and a decrease in treble air, with the Sylvania, there's a bit of harshness in the lower treble that can be a bit grainy or sibilant. My favorite tube is the Siemens 12AT7, using an adapter; my impressions will be from that configuration.

Music:

Moving pictures (2015 Sean Magee remaster) is a superbly recorded, mixed and mastered album. The vocals, guitars, bass guitar and drums all have equal space in the mix. The Encore has a good sense of air on the opening cymbal crash in Tom Sawyer; the guitars have a natural, realistic timbre and the bass guitar is agile and well controlled. The Camera eye has a lot of layers once you get in to the 1st verse. the combination of electric guitars and mandolins is well resolved and layered, never seeming smeared.

Periphery's "The Bad Thing" is a crushingly heavy, de-
tuned djent tune that is well recorded and mixed yet heavily compressed. The Encore presents this like a punch in the face (in a good way). When the bass drop hits about half-way through the song, the Encore's bass response plumbs the depths of the recording.
Opeth is one of my newer favorite bands, and Ghost Reveries and Blackwater Park are two of my favorite albums from said band.
Blackwater Park was remixed by Steven Wilson and I folded back the 5.1 mix into stereo. This version is much more clean and clear than the original mix and master (which was a bit harsh and grainy, particularly in the treble). The hi-hat cymbals are particularly clean and the guitars have a wonderful body to them, free of any harshness, slightly sweetened by the Encore's presentation. The Double bass drums on "The Leper Affinity" are lightning fast, and the Encore (with LCD-3) was more than up to the task of keeping pace.Mikail Akerfeldt's vocals are primal while growling and soothing when clean.
Ghost of Perdition, from Ghost Reveries, is a brutal tour de force of brutality and progressive instrumentation. Often switching from full bore assault to milder, more progressive interludes.I think rockers would love this amp. The amp presents these dynamic swings ably.

I'm a total John Williams whore, and my favorite recording from the original Star Wars Trilogy (not my favorite film) is Return of the Jedi, included as part of the Star Wars soundtrack boxed set. The opening fanfare is bombastic and wonderfully captured here, with strings, horns and percussion perfectly mixed with a very dynamic mastering. Through the Encore and LCD-3, the recording takes on a greater sense of realism and a rich timbre.

In Conclusion, I highly recommend this amp if it fits in your budget. It is fast, transparent and not your stereotypical "syrupy" tube amp. It imparts greater beauty to any recording played through it. I find it competitive with offerings I've heard from Cavalli (liquid Crimson), Schiit Mjolnir 2, Rag) and Decware (Taboo mk IV). It is expensive, but worth it.

Disclaimer: I purchased this amp after auditioning it at Canjam Socal.  This is my honest review.
 
  The ampsandsound Kenzie Headphone Amplifier is simply an incredible-sounding headphone amp.  It offers amazing performance at a fair price, with a lifetime warranty.
 
  I had been looking for a replacement for my Oppo HA-1 for quite a while.  I had recently upgraded my DAC to a Schiit Gungnir Multibit and was on the hunt for what I thought would be a balanced amp; probably a Schiit Mjolnir 2 or something similar.  I wanted to be able to tune my sound with tubes and had grown slightly bored with the down-the-line neutral take that the HA-1 offered.  Enter the ampsandsound Kenzie Headphone Amp. (yes, that's how it's spelled, small "a" and all).  The Kenzie headphone amp is derived from Justin Weber's original Kenzie speaker amp.  He decided to take the well-regarded Kenzie design and modify it strictly for headphones.  The KHA has two dedicated headphone jacks: one optimized for 32 ohm headphones, and one optimized for high impedance headphones.  I asked him what the actual output impedance was on the 600 ohm jack and he said it's in the high 200's; so this option will be better suited for the Beyerdynamics of the world rather than Sennheisers.  Feel free to experiment as you like, though.  I tried out the Beyerdynamic T1 second-gen, and it was very pleasing: plenty of thump in the bass and excellent clarity.  I would suggest using Sennheisers such as the 6xx series and the HD800s with the 32 ohm jack: it gives a better balanced performance.  The bass can get a bit wonky out of the high impedance jack.
  Justin is not overly worried about benchmark specs and buzzwords in his designs, but he is open to any questions you may have of him. I've got to give a plug for Justin's customer service: it is in a word, awesome!  Feel free to send him an email with any questions you may have and he will give you candid and informative feedback.  He will go out of his way to earn your loyalty.  I've had the opportunity to correspond with him via email and in person, and he's a great guy and designer who is incredibly enthusiastic about speaker and amplifier design. BTW, Justin was very generous when I met him at Canjam.  I didn't currently have the cheddar to purchase the amp at the show, but he took an interest in the HA-1 I was selling to use as a dac at home.  In short he took the HA-1 off my hands and gave me a generous credit towards the Kenzie, which made all the difference. Thank you, Justin.  Thrice over!
  The Kenzie comes supplied with two NOS (new old stock) 1626 power tubes and one RCA 12SL7 input tube. This "stock" configuration is extremely compelling, and I doubt many buyers will feel the need to roll other tubes in to rectify perceived flaws: this amp sounds amazing right out of the box!  Clean, extended treble without a hint of harshness. awesomely textured mids with just a slight lower-mid emphasis, nothing too "warm" or any other tube clichés.  The bass is not accentuated at all; it's clean, hits nice and has great texture.  I would describe this amp as neutral with a hint of tonal warmth.
Tracks (or albums) that I used for this review were from Moving Pictures (2015 remaster) from Rush, Volto! Incitare (an amazing heavy rock/jazz fusion album), Metallica's Black album(24/96), John William's Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Soundtrack, Beethoven's 5th conducted by Carlos Kleiber, and Meliora by the faux-occult band Ghost; this last one falls into the heavily compressed category.
  The LCD-2's are known for having a mid-centric tilt with a slightly recessed presence region.  That being said, I really enjoy these headphones with classical music.  Some LCD-2 users describe the treble as slightly "grainy" for lack of a better word; I understand that description, but don't find that to be the case with the Kenzie HA. Listening to Return of the Jedi's Main Title, there is plenty of "air" present in the mix without getting weighed down by the midrange and lows.  Similarly, Beethoven's 5th symphony, as conducted by Carlos Kleiber and performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, is an exercise in dynamics with gentle, quiet passages and explosively loud bombast.  The overall tone falls on the heavier side through the Audezes, but that's just a matter of taste.  Try these tracks with some Beyerdynamic T-90's or T1's, and you'll have all the air and presence you could possibly want.
  Rush's Moving Pictures is a spectacularly well recorded progressive rock album.  With great separation between the drums, bass and guitars, the speed of the LCD-2's planar drivers and the tone of the Kenzie shine through. On YYZ, the drums are lightning fast, the bass rock solid with great extension, and the guitars just simply sing with no peaky-ness or stridence.  The Camera Eye is a 10-minute epic with a ton of layers.  Keyboards, electric guitar, acoustic guitars, bass and drums combine to make a great test for amp/headphone pairing.  The Kenzie/Audeze combo pull it off nicely.
On the more compressed modern side of things, Ghost's Meliora is their now-signature album, with their best songwriting to date.  While the album is very well produced, the mastering is pretty loud, and there aren't a lot of dynamics.  The Kenzie extracts all the great guitar textures, distorted bass tones and hard-hitting drums and makes them sound their best, while taking a bit of the edge off the hot mastering.  On lesser amps, the cymbals can come across extremely dry and a bit harsh. Papa and the Ghouls have never sounded better.
  Volto! is a jazz/rock fusion band that caught my attention back in 2011.  Danny Carey of Tool mans the skins, John Ziegler is on guitar. They are accompanied by Lance Morrison on bass guitar and Jeff Babko on keyboards. Incitare is essentially a live-in-the-studio effort (with a few overdubs here and there).  This is not a particularly dynamic record, but there are places where the volume drops, then kicks you in the face, such as "Drumbeaux", which starts with a Danny Carey drum solo, then explodes into palm-muted guitar wailing.  Another favorite of mine is "Gillz" which starts off with a mysterious, chorus-laden, clean guitar tone.  Ziegler brings on the mellow arpeggios, then kicks in the overdrive to bring forth an incredibly melodic lead. Lance Morrison supports the entire album with rock-solid, subterranean bass.  Jeff Babko is also great on the album: trading leads with John Ziegler throughout the album in a fun back-and-forth jammy vibe.
  In conclusion, The Kenzie Headphone Amplifier is, in my opinion, a world class piece of headphone gear that will likely make you a happy audiophile for years to come.  You have the ability to tube-roll to your preferences, it comes with a lifetime warranty, and it sounds absolutely superb.  I think a lot of potential buyers looking at stuff by Cavalli and Woo Audio should take a look at ampsandsound; I think you'll find performance that rivals the big boys and spend a lot less than say, a WA5 le, Liquid Crimson, Gold, or Glass.
 
Now, Back to the music!
 
Russell
 



Edit: Justin informed me that the output impedance of the high impedance jack is actually 600 ohms.

Intro
     The Sennheiser Momentums are my favorite pair of headphones that I own (including UE700's and the Senn HD650's).  I started a quest last year after buying a pair of (at that time) Monster Beats Solos.  Yeah, I bought into the hype.  I'm not gonna start a Beats-hating review here; suffice to say I wasn't satisfied, sold them, and looked elsewhere.  After weeks of reading reviews, going back and forth and hand-wringing over which pair to buy, I settled on the Ultrasone Pro-900's.  While I loved the 900's ultra-high resolution bass and extended treble, the mids weren't doing it for me; voices and guitars sounded too distant for my taste.  I listen primarily to rock (including prog, metal, etc.), and the Ultrasones held me at a distance.  I decided to go back to my original first choice: the Momentums.
 
Gear used
    

1. Toshiba Satellite Laptop running Jriver Media Center
2. Grant Fidelity Tubedac-11 w/headphone out
3. Ipod classic (7th Gen)
4. Fiio Mont Blanc (E12)

 
Overall Impressions
 
     I love the look of these headphones: they're elegant without being flashy and plastic-y  Love the leather earcups as they're really comfortable on my fairly average size ears.  The non-resonant metal injected ear cups are lightweight, but very sturdy-no unwanted vibrations will occur there.  The sliders stay in place and don't move unless I adjust them; they haven't loosened in the last year of heavy use.  I've travelled extensively with them, and pack them in a backpack for work nearly every day.  Very durable headphones (survived an attack by a five month old German Shepherd).
 
Treble
 
     The treble response is almost perfect for me.  Absolutely no sibilance with a very nice tonality to cymbals as well as a decent representation of the room sound while recording or the reverb applied during mixing.  The last bit of "air" is missing from the Momentums, they're not going to emulate Beyer T1's or the Senn flagship 800's, but on their own merits sound great.  Slayer's "War Ensemble" sounded clear and powerful through the Momentums, but in the drum fills during the opening riff, the room sounds slightly smaller compared to the Ultrasone Pro 900's which have quite extended treble.  The Eagles "One of These Nights" sounded terrific and full, but again, the very top end of the spectrum seemed a bit muted, the reverb on Henley's lead vocal is slightly less prominent.  Mind you, these are minor gripes, and if a listener is not coming from a more treble accentuated pair of cans, they would probably be perfectly content. Overall, really great sounding, non-eardrum abusing treble.
 
Mids
 
     Simply Gorgeous.  These are simply the best mids I've heard on a dynamic headset, open or closed, imo.  Tone is the operating word: gorgeous tone.  Now, the HD650's are known for their "liquid" midrange.  I often listen to them myself through a Bottlehead Crack Amplifier, and I ultimately prefer the rendering on the Momentums.  Compared to the mids on the 650's, which to me seem a little forward compared to both the bass and the treble, the Momentums seem to me a little better balanced.  The new driver that was developed for these cans just sound so clean and "grain-less".  On Simple Red's Greatest Hits, Sade Lover's Live, or No Doubt's Push and Shove, the vocals all sound incredibly real and immediate.  Mick's voice on "Holding Back the Years" is warm and full; Sade's vocals on "Cherish the Day" and "No Ordinary Love" are superb: Gwen's voice on "One More Summer", "Easy" and "Gravity" sounds like you've got a direct connection to the mic.  Just great stuff.  I think the transducer Sennheiser developed for the momentum is better at producing realistic midrange than even the vaunted HD-6xx series drivers.  Compared to the Momentums, the 650's seem to have a little bit of "glare" in comparison.  Not a huge difference, mind you, I just prefer the slightly more natural rendering on the little bros.
 
Bass
 
     Much has been made by the purists of the bass boost on these cans.  It's very light.  Imo, the bass is only there when it is called for in the mix; if a mix is bass-light, the Momentums will sound accordingly.  If the mix is bass-heavy, there will be a nice, visceral impact that's fairly linear from 20-100 Hz.  This is not one of those uncalled-for mid-bass bumps where the low freqs drop of precipitously after impact.  Oh, yeah, the bass doesn't bleed into the lower mids, either.  That is one of my pet peeves with lesser cans: the coloration of the entire spectrum to dark.  These are definitely warm cans, but not overly so.  Rather, they are sculpted by the Senn engineers to be both hi-fi and entertaining.  Daft Punk's Tron: Legacy Soundtrack is a terrific example of low bass impact, and the Momentums deliver nicely.  On "Derezzed", the impact is huge, and the sub bass resonates through your head.  These are not so-called "basshead" cans, but any time I lend these to a coworker that listens to hip-hop or electronica, they're always impressed by the overall balance ( and I never seem to hear they're lacking in bass).  If you'd like to check out a couple guitar-oriented tracks with tremendous low bass presence, check out Joe Satriani's "Tumble" single or the title track to "Is There Love in Space?"
 
Soundstage/Imaging
 
     A few quick words on Soundstage Imaging of these cans: to me, the difference between open and closed cans is relatively minimal when is comes to soundstage.  To my ears, the Momentums don't sound terribly congested compared to the legendary 650's, rather the 650's feel more open because there is less air compression against the ear and side of the head due to the open design.  The Momentums have greater sub-bass response due to their closed design.  Both designs have rolled off upper treble response which for me makes more of a difference than the open/closed back issue.  I know that closed back designs generally can have higher measured distortion in the bass, but in my experience it's not audible.  These cans are seriously clean sounding.
 
Amping
 
     These are easy to drive headphones with a nominal impedance of 32 ohms resistance.  That being said, they benefit from quality amplification.  Upon first listen they sound fine, but if even a modest amp like a Fiio E6 is added, there is a noticeable difference in quality and impact with the added headroom.  I'm currently running my Momentums off a ipod Classic 7th Gen with Fiio E12 amp hooked up to the ipod line out.  I have found instrument separation and bass impact to have benefitted greatly from the E12 compared to the standard ipod jack.
 
Final thoughts
 
     The Sennheiser Momentum Over-ear Headphones are a superb piece of design and a great value for head-fi enthusiasts who want a quality product that will compare favorably with more expensive headphones and in some ways, surpass them.  I've been listening for a year now, and if anything were to happen to my Momentums, I wouldn't hesitate to go out and buy another pair.  My Momentums are comfort food for my ears.