[grinch]

Quote:

Originally posted by hokiefritz For what it's worth, I ordered my Headmaster from http://www.audiooutlet.com/ and got it within a week, no troubles.

i got mine from the same place, only i drove there and bought it.

i've been happy with mine for over six months now, i think..

 

[Hirsch]

I just took a look, and audiooutlet still has a picture of a SHA-1 with what looks like an HP-1000 pictured on their headphone page. They might need to update that...

 

[Vertigo-1]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly I suppose it is mostly the definition that I was trying to characterize in the bass, though I think the tightness and lack of boominess also apply. Too often in my experience do bass guitars sound like keyboards and too often do drums sound all the same. This simply isn't the case with the RKV. String instruments of a piano or bass guitar still sound like strings and have the ambience about them that they should have. I'm told this is a quality the Headmaster shares with the RKV, but as I said, I've not yet heard one.

This would indeed be something the Headmaster shares with the RKV, except I believe being able to hear distinct bass notes is a case of having a stellar source more then a stellar amp. With the 9000ES I was still hearing drums that all sound the same, and not hearing different bass instruments through the Sugden. With the Arcam, now I can.

 

[flashbak]

Kelly,
That certainly is one runaround your getting with the Headmaster! I'd give them another call and demand they give you an exact timeframe for delivery. If they can't, take your business elsewhere! Good Luck! It's too bad we don't live closer to each other so we could audition each others amp!

 

[kelly]

For those considering purchasing the RKV and use it to power small efficient speakers, Jan provided the following information in a different thread:
Quote:

For better matching and lower noise levels the impedancer is available. This is merely a high-quality transformer that is placed between amp and headphone. This transformer has different taps for 4, 8, and 32 Ohm loads.

I may purchase one soon to see if lower impedance headphones can be made to sound even better. Wonder if Nick's horns will run off of 2WPC.

Here is a photo of the impedancer from AudioValve's web page:

 

[flashbak]

Well actually low end response is very dependent on how well the amps power supply was designed!

 

[Nick Dangerous]

If you get the impedancer, we can hook it up to the Oris. Can you get one in time? 2 watts will be more than enough.

 

[kelly]

Quote:

Originally posted by Nick Dangerous If you get the impedancer, we can hook it up to the Oris. Can you get one in time? 2 watts will be more than enough.

Workin' on it.

 

[acidtripwow]

Off topic: I called Audio Outlet and they said they had no Sugden Headmasters in stock and will not get them in until August sometime. Current price is $895.

 

[Tomcat]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly The smoothness is certainly there with this amp but I don't think I would mistake the high frequency rolloff for this quality. The hit of a close mic'd cymbal was really the best example I could think of.

Hmm, kelly,

I am not so sure that cymbals are the ideal instruments to judge treble performance. Not as far as cohesion is concerned. There is no harmonic content in a cymbal clash, there's nothing its treble really relates to. This is different with high pitched instruments like trumpets or violins. With them, it's possible to tell whether there is cohesion, whether the instruments' harmonic balance is right and whether their overtone spectra are in proper proportion. And the noise a cymbal generates makes it the ideal candidate to have its sound spiced up by distortion artefacts which may or may not be noticeable as distortion products. But they might show up when listening to the timbre of a violin.

Maybe it's just that I don't care so much about cymbals.

 

[Tuberoller]

I just got the RKV today.It is a really attractive amp.It looks good sitting amongst all the other tube gear.One of these days I'm gonna try to light my listening room with all the glowing tubes.I'll let it burn in and offer some thoughts later.I'm still searching for tubes to roll.

 

[acidtripwow]

Tuberoller, try the RKV with the Grado HP1000 if you have one. The combo is awesome for certain types of music like Jazz and Classical. If you're listening to Rock music then I suggest a good closed can like the Beyer DT 770 or JVC HA-DX3. Let me know if you find any tubes to roll.

 

[kelly]

Dammit. Someone send me a pair of 770s.

Tuberoller
Excellent. If you have enough comments for a "full length" review, you might want to start another thread so the mods can bump it to the review section. Otherwise, here is fine too of course.

 

[acidtripwow]

Kelly, I can let you try my Beyer 770s if you want. I can even let you try the JVCs too. Let me know if your interested.

 

[Tuberoller]

I left it running last night to burn it in.It was connected directly to my Marantz SA-14 and plugged into the BPT which is plugged into the wall.All circuits in my listening room are protected with drop-load surge protection hard wired into it's own circuit box.when I went to check the RKV I heard the beeping from the box which indicates a short circuit or circuit protect mode.I reset the breaker only to have it blow immediately.The RKV is completely shorted causing the 30 amp circuit to blow.It's not mine so I will return it for another unit if possible.If it were mine I would pop the cover to see what might have happened.No smoke detectors went off and I smelled nothing smoked so I don't think anything burned.I will return it to Symphony Sound today and try to get the store's demo unit which is already burned in and is a known good unit.The one I have was new right out of the box.I'm really dissapointed.I'll keep you guys posted.