Happy Camper
Headphoneus Supremus
Gotta love monoblocks.
we need a beefed up F1J version for the he-6, the original claims 10w at 8r , double that figure would be more than welcome(more than double the price of course)
the first watt ive used so far are the J2 and the F1J . its was not even close - the F1J brings out every bit of sounds - its sounds just right .
Why? The F1J is fine just the way it is.
But we are, and the F1J will not be changed or upgraded anymore. So yes -"it's fine just the way it is"
I need help from the EEs out there on using speaker amps with the HE-6 and other headphones.
I have been experimenting a bit lately and got outstanding results from the HE-6 using several amps with a wide range of power rating and designs--some of the recent successful amps are the First Watt M2, Threshold S300, Nakamichi PA-5 II, Mark Levinson KAV 400xi, Conrad-Johnson MV75, BAT VK75SE and, unexpectedly, the Harman Kardon HK775, 770 and 870.
With more efficient headphones such as the HD800, TH900 and PS1000, however, I typically get a constant background noise (low hum, buzz or hiss depending on the headphones and amps) when everything is connected even with zero volume from the direct source (Oppo 105 or PS Audio PerfectWave Mk II) or from the preamp when one is used (Krell KAV 400xi or Jeff Roland Consummate). It sounded like the noise is from the amps themselves and is louder with more efficient headphones. This happened with or without 8-ohm arrays used at the speaker outputs.
Is this normal and is there any way to reduce or eliminate that noise?
Sorry to be off topic but I thought that folks using this thread may be the most knowledgeable about this problem--and hopefully solutions. Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi...
I am also interested in this.
I have both my DAC and amplifier plugged into an isolation transformer. This is something I started doing years ago, and I test it fairly regularly and continue to find that plugging power into an isolation transformer will audibly reduce the noise floor as compared to plugging devices into the wall or normal surge protector. If there is a ground loop hum, however quiet, this sort of configuration 100% removes that.
However, since getting the old used D75A, I find that this amp seems to introduce a little bit of new noise -- not a noise floor, but more like an occasional quick, irregular crackle that will pop up audibly every now and then in either channel. It's quiet and will never be heard over loud music, but can sometimes be heard during soft musical passages or silence. I wonder if this is an effect due to an old amplifier's aging internal parts? I wonder if I could replace capacitors and such in the D75A to make it perfectly fully silent, or if I should consider something like a Schiit Mjolnir which is brand new and shouldn't have any issues.
TO be clear here, it is not a noise that is enough to really affect enjoyment of the music. You have to really be listening for it, and it appears seldomly. If I didn't replay parts of tracks consistently when I do hear it, I'd think it was just a minor flaw in the source recording.