[prisoner #6]

Hi everyone,

After surfing the boards here for several months, I thought I'd finally take a try at posting. I do want to say that this site has been a terrific resource to me as I've tried to learn more about headphones--I'm glad this community exists.

I recently got a Creek OBH-11 to power my Senn HD580s. I had been running the Senns off my AMC 3025a integrated with fairly good results, but thought I'd see if a dedicated amp improved things at all. I'm still breaking the amp in so it's probably too early to start comparing the two extensively, but one difference stands out clearly, and I thought I'd ask about it. I noticed right away that the image seemed to shift a little to the left on the Creek from where it had been on the AMC--this was particularly evident with vocals, where I noticed the singer's positioning in the soundstage a bit more to the left than where it is on the other amp.

Is this a fairly common thing? Particularly for those of you who own multiple amps, do you notice a slight shifting of the soundstage image to the left or right, depending on which amp you're using?

I've done some searches here on this, and haven't been able to find anything--so any ideas on this would be interesting to me. Thanks!

prisoner #6

 

[Hirsch]

There could be a couple of possible causes for what you are hearing. First the electical output of the channels in the amp could be slightly different. For example, resistors aren't exact, but are manufactured within a tolerance range. Using resistors that weren't matched exactly between channels could cause a difference in signal level. There actually is a use for a good balance control...

Secondly, if the amp images better than your source, the shift could simply be what's really on the recording. There may have been some imaging clues obscured by your previous amp (in the CDP), and that the Creek is revealing. So the issues may simply be the source material, and the shift in position due to a better ability to reveal the source.

I've heard the effect, but when I hear it on one amp, it's usually there on my others. So, I tend to attribute it to the better ability of my amp systems to get spatial information off the source.

 

[kelly]

As discussed in numerous ongoing other threads, the issue could also be the pot. If you notice the soundstage shifted, try bumping the volume up or down and see if the soundstage remains the same. If not, it's the pot.

 

[prisoner #6]

Thanks, Hirsch and kelly.

After doing some additional listening today, I'm realizing that the Creek is actually imaging everything better (that is, more precisely) than the AMC. As it turns out, the AMC has a slight rightward-shift of the soundstage, and I had grown so accustomed to it that when I heard something different it threw me off a bit. The Creek's soundstage is actually centered better than the AMC is--and I'm also noticing more separation between the instruments with the Creek as well. Not that this news is earth-shattering, of course--this is what I was hoping I'd get from a headphone amp, after all!

That said, while I'm learning the Creek is definitely better than the AMC, the comparison is showing me that the AMC is actually pretty good at amplifying the HD580s. It does a lot of what the Creek does, just not quite as well. From what I understand, AMC amps are quite similar to NAD amps, so given the favorable stuff I've heard about NAD headphone jacks, perhaps this is not that surprising.

Thanks again for your replies.

prisoner #6