[Jon L]

I ordered a custom matt-black Almarro A205a MkII "AKG K1000 Special Edition" from Almarro, Japan, and it's finally here! Mainly, it gets rid of the 1/8" headphone jack in the back in favor of 4-pin XLR jack in front for AKG K1000 (or any headphones terminated with 4-pin XLR).

It was a long wait, and I had to personally send some XLR panel-mount jacks to Japan for this to happen, but boy, am I happy with the results

I also happened to have received a demo PS Audio Digital Link III DAC. I have the PS Audio hooked up to Almaro in burn-in mode, so impressions are to follow later.

 

[utep10]

Jon,

That looks so convenient. So much better then having to hookup the K1000s to the back binding posts like I do. Hope it gives you the "sound" your looking for.

Also looking forward to your impressions of the PS Audio DAC compared to your "other" DAC

.

 

[Patu]

Nice looking setup you have there.

What's that thing under the Digital Link? And do you have any impressions posted about the Digital Link?

 

[humanflyz]

Did you have to go through ImagineHiFi? Because I saw a 4-pin XLR option on their website for the Almarro.

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by humanflyz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did you have to go through ImagineHiFi? Because I saw a 4-pin XLR option on their website for the Almarro.

Yes, I ordered through them.

As far as impressions, I'm still trying to burn them in some more, but I can say 2 things about the PS Audio DAC:

1. Bass is very nice, both in quantity and quality.
2. I hate only having the choice of 96 or 192 kHz upsampling as there is no bypass switch to disable upsampling

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu /img/forum/go_quote.gif What's that thing under the Digital Link?

That's the original Brightstar Little Rock, which is supposed to go on top of gear, but I've found it to work Wonderfully under digital gear, much better than even their "Big Rock," which is supposed to go under gear.

Oh, under the little rock is the Ikea Lack shelf, which also helps greatly. This is all for my speaker rig, mind you; I wouldn't worry about it for headphones..

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon L /img/forum/go_quote.gif 2. I hate only having the choice of 96 or 192 kHz upsampling as there is no bypass switch to disable upsampling

That sucks. DA100 has bypass and 192khz options. What else do you need.

Well I use 192khz always so it wouldn't matter for me.

Still waiting for more detailed impressions.

I've read that Ikea Lack works nice as an equipment rack. I use one as a normal table.

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu /img/forum/go_quote.gif That sucks. DA100 has bypass and 192khz options. What else do you need. Well I use 192khz always so it wouldn't matter for me. Still waiting for more detailed impressions. I've read that Ikea Lack works nice as an equipment rack. I use one as a normal table.

I would have more impressions if it weren't so dang HOT in SoCal these days

even for K1000.

I still love the Almarro for both my speakers and headphones. Not much new to say here; I still haven't personally tried any amps that are better for my speakers and headphones, even at > 10x the prices that I've tried. Sovtek 12AX7LPS needs to replace the stock 12AX7WA, but after that, the perfect balance among air, weight, speed, density, detail, smoothness, and most of all, sense of LIFE. It's amazing...

The PS Audio DAC, I suspect, will please most listeners. It sounds grainless, extended at both extremes, very detailed (see caveat below), balanced, neutral, with punchy, defined, extended bass ranges with right amount of slam. This is via my Lynx 2B card's modified spdif output using Stereovox XV2 digital cable. I haven't tried the USB input YET.

The only thing bothering me right now is a *slight* sense of vagueness and over-smoothing of texture in midrange. It's almost as if a bit of resolution/texture has moved out from midrange to the extreme treble and low bass ranges. This effect increases as upsampling increases from 92 to 192Khz. The midrange still sounds very good, mind you, just not quite pick-up-your-drool-from-the-floor good that Oritek Zhaolu D2a can do.

Then again, Oritek Zhaolu does not have quite the explosive bass dynamics of the PS Audio. No big surprise here for those in the know.

I admire PS Audio for delivering a DAC at $1000 that has all- discrete output stage, USB input, balanced output, great sound, but I WISH they had offered a 44.1kHz bypass option, which I suspect would have returned a bit more texture and density to the midranges a bit...

 

[Gu Sensei]

What other headphones have you used with the Almarro? I am curious if it works well with low-impedance cans like Grados.

 

[JimP]

Here's mine stock -- as noted by others, fantastic with K1000 (fed by 840c). The stock A205AmkII has a peculiar 1/8" mini headphone out on the back. With a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter, I've tried HD650 and RS1, but there is a low level hum. Also with headphone out, the volume play is limited to 8'oclock or even less on the volume knob before it's well beyond comfortable listening levels. I've toyed with modding this or getting a cutom adaptor, but I've decided to keep the Almarro as a dedicated K1000 amp (and some high sensitivity speakers in the future). The Earmax AE also in the picture serves wonderful duty for my HD650 and RS1, but that's another story. btw, absolutely no hiss/hum/noise from the EM AE.

 

[Gu Sensei]

Yeah, there are a lot of integrated tube amps around me here in Japan, and the ones with headphone outs seem to be useable for only high impedance cans. I am enamored with the Leben CS 300 at the moment. But, with my RS1s I couldnt get it past 8 o'clock.

 

[JimP]

OK I had given up using Almarro for other dynamic phones, and just keep it as dedicated amp for K1000. But I stumbled on one phone that works straight out of Almarro stock -- the DT880-600ohm version. Not only does it work, it sounds fantastic! Also stock DT880-600ohm is terminated in mini 1/8" plug (with screw on 1/4" adaptor), as if made for the Almarro. Not many A205AmkII's in the wild, but if you own one, you should try it.

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimP /img/forum/go_quote.gif OK I had given up using Almarro for other dynamic phones, and just keep it as dedicated amp for K1000. But I stumbled on one phone that works straight out of Almarro stock -- the DT880-600ohm version. Not only does it work, it sounds fantastic! Also stock DT880-600ohm is terminated in mini 1/8" plug (with screw on 1/4" adaptor), as if made for the Almarro. Not many A205AmkII's in the wild, but if you own one, you should try it.

DT880 2003 version?
I hope you didn't try the Senn HD650 out of the Almarro. If you did, well you know why I say so

 

[Gu Sensei]

Yeah, I am interested in the DT880-600ohm version. It is still discouraging that these amps just arent built for a wide range of headphones.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Jon L,

I'll go back to the HE Audio 1.2b thread to find your comments there, but it would help to have a little more details please.

Could you describe for us in a little detail about how well or not this is working for you with an SRD-7 Pro and electrostatic headphones, including how well or not all the different electrostats you have tried with it performed? Also, can you list some different speaker amps that you have tried with the SRD-7 pro that did or did not fare as well?

That would be truly appreciated