Amp for SA5000

[MoodySteve]

I use my SA5000 out of a ß22 and think it sounds phenomenal; the sound is fast and detailed but not too bright (I'm not a fan of the 'bright' sound signature'). I'd be happy to bring it to the next NYC area meet.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoodySteve /img/forum/go_quote.gif I use my SA5000 out of a ß22 and think it sounds phenomenal; the sound is fast and detailed but not too bright (I'm not a fan of the 'bright' sound signature'). I'd be happy to bring it to the next NYC area meet.

Sounds right up my alley. Too bad I didn't try it out at the last meet. Also probably out of my budget.

Regarding cheap tube amps, yes you do get what you pay for, sometimes. Sometimes you get less. Sometimes you get more. Why are US businesses offshoring to places like India and China? Because they are getting more value. The same can be said for these Chinese amps. There is no reason why they can't produce a good sounding amp that in the US would cost 2 or 3 times as much. Of course, there is always a tradeoff somewhere.

I agree this is not a B52 or Isabella. Those are hand crafted in the USA, utilizing expensive parts, constructed with pride, care and expertise, but it may be a decent sounding amp even for the SA5000. You don't want to limit expensive headphones with a poor quality amp. But as this amp opens up and considering there are a lot of alternatives for driver tubes, it may sound pretty good, without having to spend thousands. Still the point is well taken. You wouldn't hook up $1000 speakers to a Realistic receiver and expect the speakers to sound their best. Maybe I just can't afford to set up a rig for the SA5000s and should consider getting a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770s.

I've tried the Gilmore Lite before. Perhaps at the time I had an inferior source but felt it was too neutral or even bright for headphones like the SA5000. I should have a LISA III coming soon and maybe that, with its bass boost, can give the SA5000 what they need. But I have a suspicion that they need tubes to sound their best.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panda /img/forum/go_quote.gif i digress, cheap tube amps go away from the strengths of the sa5000 therefore selling yourself short in its capabilities. if you want a warm and fuzzy sound, get something that sounds that way to begin with.

While the jury is still out, I am finding that you may in fact be correct. The amp only has 25 hours on it so far, and although I don't put a ton of stock in burn in, enough people have said that it makes a difference that I'm willing to wait it out a bit. If nothing else the tubes probably need to burn in a bit, although I can't find anything that specifically says tubes need burn in anywhere. In fact, I read in one article that the manufacturer would run voltages through the tubes prior to selling them.

I will wait the required 75 hours to make my final judgement but I am finding that the SA5000 does not have anywhere near the refinement I've heard on other amps. My Grados sound pretty good, but if this is how the Sonys are going to sound, I don't think I'm going to be satisfied.

 

[insomniac]

I tend to agree with the camp that favors solid state for the SA5k. While it might sound unintuitive that a headphone with a bent toward a leaner and sharper sound doesn't pair well with tubes, I found that most tube amps do indeed rob the SA5k of its strengths. A neutral solid state amp with lots of power to really grip and take control of these headphones would be my recommendation. I liked the GCHA suggestion.

Two caveats though. I don't know that there's been a headphone that I've flip-flopped my opinion on more. To support this, I think I've bought and sold a pair of these four times. And it's also been awhile since I've last owned them so I'm working off memory here. So take my comments with a grain of salt.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by erikzen /img/forum/go_quote.gif While the jury is still out, I am finding that you may in fact be correct. The amp only has 25 hours on it so far, and although I don't put a ton of stock in burn in, enough people have said that it makes a difference that I'm willing to wait it out a bit. If nothing else the tubes probably need to burn in a bit, although I can't find anything that specifically says tubes need burn in anywhere. In fact, I read in one article that the manufacturer would run voltages through the tubes prior to selling them. I will wait the required 75 hours to make my final judgement but I am finding that the SA5000 does not have anywhere near the refinement I've heard on other amps. My Grados sound pretty good, but if this is how the Sonys are going to sound, I don't think I'm going to be satisfied.

Figured I'd give an update on this: The Little Dot MKIII now has over 50 hours on it and I would say that I'm somewhere in the middle between thinking I'm losing too much detail to having the right amount of smoothness to compliment the stridency of the SA5000. The combo is actually sounding pretty good with the right tube. So far I find the Mullard M8161 to be the best match.


I still want to try one of he solid state suggestions as well as other tube amps with this headphone. What I have discovered that they can indeed be made to sound less fatiguing while maintaining a good amount of detail. My only question about keepting them long term is if I can get them to be smooth and detailed at the same time, are they going to sound too similar to my Stax Lambda Pros to be worth keeping around. That's where I see these going with the right amp, perhaps with a punchier bass.

 

[MaZa]

Solid state amp + SA5000 + NOS Dac is a good match. I dont prefer NOS dacs overall, but testing my DAC-AH with SA5000 does give a very pleasing results. Detailed and tight but still warm and "analog" sound.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Solid state amp + SA5000 + NOS Dac is a good match. I dont prefer NOS dacs overall, but testing my DAC-AH with SA5000 does give a very pleasing results. Detailed and tight but still warm and "analog" sound.

That is my inclination too with regard to the NOS DAC. I have the Ack dAck 2.0. I've considered source upgrades in the past but I think I'd have to be over the $1000 range to do better.

Solid state may indeed be the way to go, but I'm still going to explore tubes a bit more. I'll probably need to spend another few months with the LD before deciding either to go solid state or upgrade my tube amp.

Then again I may get tired of the SA5000 altogether and sell them!

 

[Jose R]

I run my SA5000s out of a CI VHP-2.

And most recently I took my hi-end gear out of storage - so, I have the VHP-2 hooked up to my Audiomeca transport/Camelot Tech Uther DAC/DIY Autoformer volume control.

Stellar performance.

 

[oldwine]

I use my SA5k with X-Can v3, it sounds nice, but it needs tube rolled to Amperex PQ tubes, the stock tubes sound bad.

 

[Sieg9198]

I wished the Luxman P-1 werent that huge in size, or else I'll get it in a heart beat. Since it's the official headphone amp Sony used with the Qualia 010, I'm sure it will sound phenomenal with the SA5000 too

 

[erikzen]

I wish the Luxman weren't so hard on my wallet. I'm afraid the budget will have to be under $1000 for now.

 

[erikzen]

I am happy to report that I think I found an amp solution for the SA5000. I still have to qualify this by stating that I'm finding the SA5000 to be enjoyable only with certain types of music, like acoustic jazz, vocal jazz. I am currently using the preamp out of the Little Dot MKIII into a LISA III amp. The combination of a little tube warmth but the bass contour knob allows me to tailor the sound to compliment the SA5000 quite nicely. Really hard, fast rock with lots of symbols and high electric guitar notes is not the best with these headphones, but it is much more listenable.

The question now is should I upgrade from the Little Dot to a higher end tube preamp/headphone amp. I also really need to try the headphones without the preamp in the path. Maybe I don't even need it with the LISA III.

 

[bergman2]

i've had good luck with my g&wt2.6f (hybrid) with mullards and a bada hd-19 cd player with a raytheon windmill getter