wakeride74
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2005
- Posts
- 5,047
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- 24
Let me start by saying that this was my first hybrid amp that I've spent any time with but I was able to squeeze into the loaner program to grab some listening time with my gear (Thanks Todd!).
I used a variety of tracks ranging from 96/24 FLAC all the way down to Apple 256. I used both the uDac and Vdac and primarily used the HD800 for all testing.
The first thing that was significant and obvious to me was the added weight I'd been looking for with the HD800 headphones. There was considerable warmth and low end impact that I really wasn't sure if I'd get from these... the texture was unchanged but extension seemed reach further down and there was more weight in the overall impact. It did sound a bit more boomy than I'd been used to but I never got the sense it was uncontrolled. As with other quality tube amps I've owned or spent any time with in the past the Peak bombarded the aural senses with it's ability to properly convey percussion tones. Timbre was captured perfectly and distinguishing between the various instruments was effortless.
I also found that the warm character did a nice job taking the edge off the HD800's top end. The top end remained well extended with discernible detail but with just a bit less bite. Cymbals were rendered faithfully with natural sounding shimmer and medium decay. The overall tonality was very smooth and strident free. Soundstage was reasonably intimate and maintained a very balanced presentation from left to right and front to back. At first I thought it sounded slightly collapsed but after doing some A/B with my SRG II that was found not to be the case.
The mid range was the real star of the show, very warm, natural and audibly arresting. Vocals were brought up a few rows and were presented in a very lively manner with superlative body. Emotion and purity of female vocals were immediately engaging and maintained a rich dynamic presentation with every track I listened to.
Sorry for the somewhat brief review but hopefully this at least gives an idea of the general sound of this fine piece of gear.
I used a variety of tracks ranging from 96/24 FLAC all the way down to Apple 256. I used both the uDac and Vdac and primarily used the HD800 for all testing.
The first thing that was significant and obvious to me was the added weight I'd been looking for with the HD800 headphones. There was considerable warmth and low end impact that I really wasn't sure if I'd get from these... the texture was unchanged but extension seemed reach further down and there was more weight in the overall impact. It did sound a bit more boomy than I'd been used to but I never got the sense it was uncontrolled. As with other quality tube amps I've owned or spent any time with in the past the Peak bombarded the aural senses with it's ability to properly convey percussion tones. Timbre was captured perfectly and distinguishing between the various instruments was effortless.
I also found that the warm character did a nice job taking the edge off the HD800's top end. The top end remained well extended with discernible detail but with just a bit less bite. Cymbals were rendered faithfully with natural sounding shimmer and medium decay. The overall tonality was very smooth and strident free. Soundstage was reasonably intimate and maintained a very balanced presentation from left to right and front to back. At first I thought it sounded slightly collapsed but after doing some A/B with my SRG II that was found not to be the case.
The mid range was the real star of the show, very warm, natural and audibly arresting. Vocals were brought up a few rows and were presented in a very lively manner with superlative body. Emotion and purity of female vocals were immediately engaging and maintained a rich dynamic presentation with every track I listened to.
Sorry for the somewhat brief review but hopefully this at least gives an idea of the general sound of this fine piece of gear.
