Hirsch
Why is there a chaplain standing over his wallet?
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2001
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Quote:
Actually, the SET phone amps I have are the Supra and HAP-03 (if the HAP-03 is push-pull, then I'm thinking about this wrongly). IIRC, the EAR is a push-pull amp, but I could be wrong. I'll have to look at the manual.
There is a commonality of sound between the Supra and the HAP-03 that's hard to describe. These are very different amps. What they do in common is simply put the listener into direct contact with the music. They are both very difficult to describe sonically, because the whole idea of a SET/OTL amp is for the amp to get out of the way. The sonics are reflective of the tube in use, and can vary wildly depending on tube choice. It's almost meaningless to talk about the "sound" of the amp without describing the particular tube in use.
Once you get to push-pull, and transformers, and feedback, the amp starts imposing its own colorations onto the sound, and the sonic signature of the amp becomes easier to define. The EAR is indeed a warm amp. Is it the transformer or the topology? I really can't know...if the EAR were SET, I'd suspect I'm hearing the transformer. I've got to RFTM
Feedback can also play a role. The RKV has a very strong sonic signature (pleasant), but the design uses a lot of feedback to control the characteristics of the tubes. Since the RKV is OTL, this is definitely not a transformer effect.
The more circuitry that gets introduced between the tube and the headphone, the easier it is to define the sound of the amp. IMO.
Originally posted by kuma Hirsch, Within all the OTL you've auditioned, how do they differ from one anothe sonic character wise? And what other SET fone amps did you try besides EAR? Thanks. |
Actually, the SET phone amps I have are the Supra and HAP-03 (if the HAP-03 is push-pull, then I'm thinking about this wrongly). IIRC, the EAR is a push-pull amp, but I could be wrong. I'll have to look at the manual.
There is a commonality of sound between the Supra and the HAP-03 that's hard to describe. These are very different amps. What they do in common is simply put the listener into direct contact with the music. They are both very difficult to describe sonically, because the whole idea of a SET/OTL amp is for the amp to get out of the way. The sonics are reflective of the tube in use, and can vary wildly depending on tube choice. It's almost meaningless to talk about the "sound" of the amp without describing the particular tube in use.
Once you get to push-pull, and transformers, and feedback, the amp starts imposing its own colorations onto the sound, and the sonic signature of the amp becomes easier to define. The EAR is indeed a warm amp. Is it the transformer or the topology? I really can't know...if the EAR were SET, I'd suspect I'm hearing the transformer. I've got to RFTM
Feedback can also play a role. The RKV has a very strong sonic signature (pleasant), but the design uses a lot of feedback to control the characteristics of the tubes. Since the RKV is OTL, this is definitely not a transformer effect.
The more circuitry that gets introduced between the tube and the headphone, the easier it is to define the sound of the amp. IMO.