[Solude]

Quote:

 
Where did you find this.  I thought it was putting out 5W into 50.  Or maybe it's 5W into 8.  Not sure.  I think it's biased at 160va, if so that's a higher bias than the Sigma22.  

 
4/32*4=.5  EF6 crossed the 1% distortion line at 4Vrms.
 
The O22 isn't biased, the B22 mosfet outputs are.  160mA per device.  Though 160W of bias would be something else

 

[Silent One]

preproman -  Appreciate all the work you do to keep us current (no pun intended... honest 

).

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 
I tried to use them all in SE mode to have some kind of consistency.  Yes - you are correct balanced does indeed yield a different result.  

 
BTW, great write up Darryl! Thanks!

 

[potterma]

Quote:

 
BTW, great write up Darryl! Thanks!

Yes!   Good read!   

 

[preproman]

I'm back 

 
Ive been comparing the EF-6 in SE mode on the 0 setting against the GS-X mk2 in balanced mode on high gain.  There are difference, but not as drastic as one might think.
 
While playing Patricia Barbers “Crash” The first things I noticed was the added control in the bass the GS-X mk2 had at the higher volume levels and it did not distort this time. 
 
I still can push the volume knob on the GS-X to the max with out it being ear splitting like the F1J.  There’s no way I can push the volume knob on my pre amp to the max when using the F1J, my ears would bleed from it being to loud. 
 
While listening to Diana Krall “Love Me Like A Man” the highs are very tamed on the GS-X mk2 at the maxed volume levels. The EF-6 still has full control of the bass at the higher volume levels.  While I can max the EF-6 out on the volume knob, I can’t leave it there for long.  The highs can become ear piercing if not careful. 
 
The midrange on the GS-X mk2 stays clean all the way up to the max volume level and never distorts. I hear the same on the EF-6, no distortion in the midrange while maxed out.  
 
So yes, the GS-X mk2 in balanced mode does get more power so to speak.  It’s not that it gets any louder.  It’s what it does at the higher levels.  It adds more control and tames the highs and midrange much better compared to SE mode. The GS-X mk2 does a better job taming the highs when compared to the EF-6 at very high volume levels. The GS-X mk2 stays smooth through out, The EF-6 can get ear piercing on certain tracks and passages on at the higher volume levels.  The bass on both are controlled very well.  The midrange on the GS-X mk2 sounds cleaner and more refined when compared to the EF-6 at these higher levels as well. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I'm back 

 
Ive been comparing the EF-6 in SE mode on the 0 setting against the GS-X mk2 in balanced mode on high gain.  There are difference, but not as drastic as one might think.
 
While playing Patricia Barbers “Crash” The first things I noticed was the added control in the bass the GS-X mk2 had at the higher volume levels and it did not distort this time. 
 
I still can push the volume knob on the GS-X to the max with out it being ear splitting like the F1J.  There’s no way I can push the volume knob on my pre amp to the max when using the F1J, my ears would bleed from it being to loud. 
 
While listening to Diana Krall “Love Me Like A Man” the highs are very tamed on the GS-X mk2 at the maxed volume levels. The EF-6 still has full control of the bass at the higher volume levels.  While I can max the EF-6 out on the volume knob, I can’t leave it there for long.  The highs can become ear piercing if not careful. 
 
The midrange on the GS-X mk2 stays clean all the way up to the max volume level and never distorts. I hear the same on the EF-6, no distortion in the midrange while maxed out.  
 
So yes, the GS-X mk2 in balanced mode does get more power so to speak.  It’s not that it gets any louder.  It’s what it does at the higher levels.  It adds more control and tames the highs and midrange much better compared to SE mode. The GS-X mk2 does a better job taming the highs when compared to the EF-6 at very high volume levels. The GS-X mk2 stays smooth through out, The EF-6 can get ear piercing on certain tracks and passages on at the higher volume levels.  The bass on both are controlled very well.  The midrange on the GS-X mk2 sounds cleaner and more refined when compared to the EF-6 at these higher levels as well. 

Excellent...thanks!

 

[Silent One]

 I really like this description!
 

So yes, the GS-X mk2 in balanced mode does get more power so to speak.  It’s not that it gets any louder.  It’s what it does at the higher levels.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 I really like this description!
 

 

 
Thanks SO

 

[erikfreedom]

the more and more I read your impressions, the more I feel my purchase of the ef6 this week was maybe a bad idea. I should receive the amp next week.
 
maybe I should have gone the speaker amp route. I bought the ef6 because I felt I was not ready for a speaker amp setup and I wanted something that could drive both my he 6 and my hd 800 and was single ended and class a solid state.
 
speaking of hd 800, if you could try it with your ef6 and post impressions, that would be greatly appreciated. I am a bit anxious.
 
anyway most of the reviews I read on the net, the people were very satisfied with the ef6 performance soundwise.
 
we also have to remember that this amp is about 1600 bucks new. not 3000 to 4000 bucks like some of its competitor some even costing upward of 6000 bucks.
 
to me it is a bargain. a lot of amplifier for the money.

 

[wuwhere]

A speaker amp like the Parasound 1000A or 1500A designed by John Curl, he designed the legendary Vendetta phono preamp.
He's a Class A kind a guy.
 
His interview:  http://www.parasound.com/pdfs/JCinterview.pdf
 

Q: All the power amplifiers you have designed for Parasound run pure Class

A bias at low-to-moderate signal levels. How important is Class A bias?

 

JC: All else being equal the more Class A you have the better. We don’t need a

full Class A amplifier, because people don’t listen to full power levels all

the time. They really need only 10 Watts or so because that is where most

of our listening is done. However, getting that 10 Watts of Class A is really

quite a feat considering of the all other constraints of having 200 Watts

Class AB in reserve. The Class A portion is always smoother and better,

while the Class AB is always a bit rougher because it is against the law of

physics. It breaks the music into positive and negative cycles and then

splices them back together. Only one side is working while the other side

isn’t... it’s the nature of the beast. You can sometimes see the transition on

a scope; it may not be very much but it will be there. It will also generate

more high order harmonics. By definition, Class AB is not as linear as

Class A, but it is certainly much more efficient. So it’s better and easier to

run as much Class A as possible.

 

[twizzleraddict]

Thx for the notes preproman. Still good to try the HE-6 with all comers and see where things stand periodically.
 
I'm still dialing in the F1J with my HE-6s as I've not had the time nor has the weather made it easy to turn it on even (it's been 80's for a while and no air conditioning in my home) so heating up the home just to listen to the HE-6s isn't an option. The brief go I had with the HE-6s on an ecpaudio L-2 sounded good but definitely didn't let it get pushed beyond a certain level. And the HE-6s does beg you to turn it up a bit.

 

[Uchiya]

Any SA-31 owners willing to do comparisons?

 

[nigeljames]

Thanks Preproman for the comparisons.
 
I compared the EF6 to my Master-6 late last year but wanted to keep my opinions to myself until your comparison was complete.
 
I will say I agree with what you said about the EF6 as being more 'laid back' amd recessed. I found the M6 to be quite a bit more dynamic and livelier with better transients and impact.
Also the M6 shows no sign of strain when the wick is turned but I did find a slight hardening of the EF6's sound when I did the same, the 40% greater power of the M6 certainly comes in handy 

 
The M6 is the better amp for the HE6's IMO unless someone wants a laid back sound.

 

[Solude]

PWD2 and high gain?  That's nuts!  Assuming full volume in the player and dac that's ~80Vrms into the HE-6 or ~120W which isn't possible.  With such a hot source even in medium gain you're going to clip long before going wide open.  Just how loud are we talking?
 
Could be you like the sound of a mosfet and not so much bipolar devices.  I'm the other way around.  Very rarely like mosfets at the output.  They tend to have this sound that just sounds artificial to me.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

PWD2 and high gain?  That's nuts!  Assuming full volume in the player and dac that's ~80Vrms into the HE-6 or ~120W which isn't possible.  With such a hot source even in medium gain you're going to clip long before going wide open.  Just how loud are we talking?
 
Could be you like the sound of a mosfet and not so much bipolar devices.  I'm the other way around.  Very rarely like mosfets at the output.  They tend to have this sound that just sounds artificial to me.

Your numbers and logic don't seem to translate to the real world "for me anyway"  I can tell you what I've done and the results I got.  
 
You say it isn't possible I say BS - I'll show you it's possible.  Both the PWD / Master 7 into the GS-X mk2 and the EF-6.  I can turn the volume knob all the way up - full blast.  No clipping on either that I can hear.  For my own safety I don't leave turned all the way up for long - don't want to burst my ear drums.  
 
For one - you will not be able to try that sort of thing with the headphones you have.  As I said - this is only with the HE-6.  not with any other headphone that I know of this could be done, maybe the K1Ks
 
Get you a pair of HE-6s try it for your self then report back.  I'll bet my dime to your donut that you'll be eating crow..  
 
When using the HE-6 numbers and "some" logic are thrown out the window.  It takes real world experience.
 
What does it matter what kind of output devices I like?  The last impressions was based solely on how the headphone / amp performs at loud volume levels.  Not what sound I preferred.