[flashbak]

Kelly,
Thanks for your review of the RKV. I'm curious to know if you've ever gotten the chance to listen to the Sugden Headmaster, and if so, how you'd compare the two?

 

[Low Country]

Kelly,

I've got a Cool Grand and I'm ready to buy my first amp. My source is an Audiolab DACS/Transport and my phones are HD-600s. I was all set to purchase a MOH but then you posted your review and screwed everything up. I'm thinking about the RKV maybe now. Since you've heard both, any words of wisdom, opinions or harsh rebuke to leave you alone.

Thanks for the help!

 

[kelly]

flashbak
I ordered and paid for a Sugden Headmaster two months ago right after you guys said something like, "It is NOT bright, why don't you just buy one!!" but it still has not yet arrived. *grumble* Any day now, I'm told. It's supposedly now going to be shipped from the Canadian distributor to the US distributor and the US distributor is supposedly going to drop ship it to me. How that makes things any faster for me, I don't know.

Low Country
Attend the Dallas meeting and audition both yourself.

Aside from that, I don't know what to tell you that I didn't already say in the review. They're both very good amps if that gives you any comfort. Dparrish heard my RKV and is still sticking with either a MOHR or Max. I prefer the RKV. It's really a matter of where your priorities lie.

 

[Dnic]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum and enjoy your discussions and that's why I am compelled to share rather just lay back and read.

Kelly,

Want to share my recent experience of getting my Sugden Headmaster. I agree with you totally that many manufacturers do not have good distributor network. I have to order this amp from a UK shop, Audio Synergy, recommended by Sugden. But they are quick and within 3 weeks, it arrived. I don't know if I have paid dearly.. but this is my only way to get one.

Thanks so much for your review on RKV. I plan to try the sound of OTL amps later. Both RKV and ZOTL are my wishes. HP4 may be very good but its price range will allow me to try OTL for speaker system.

Cheers.

 

[Gergor]

I also ordered the Headmaster and it's supposed to arrive this week, however, I was just told that I'll have to wait another month to get it. Oh boy, isn't it frustrating.

I tried to order from Audio Synergy, unfortunately they only asked me to contact the US distributor.

I'm now looking for an alternative in case the headmaster never arrive. RKV seems promising, but from the review I'm still unsure if the new mkII will perform well with W2002. Does anyone have good experience with the RKV/W2002 combo? I'd like to hear from you!

 

[grinch]

great review! and nice third eye quote

learn to swim!

 

[flashbak]

Folks,
Wow! Of course I ordered my Headmaster back some months ago, but I had no such problems dealing with StoneAudio (http://www.stoneaudio.co.uk/)! Even in the midst of a mid-week Holiday, I had the amp within 15 days! Should I consider myself fortunate or is it the dealers you folks are going through?

Kelly,
I'm anxious to hear your critique of the Headmaster as well as your comparisons of it to the RKV.

 

[Gergor]

I ordered my headmaster thru an authorized US dealer. The dealer orders the unit thru the US distributor, Stanalog. I suppose everyone who order the headmaster thru this channel is having problem getting the amp. Stoneaudio is an alternative channel because it bypasses the US distributor. If you have no problem getting the amp from Stoneaudio, may be the problem is at the US distributor.

 

[Tomcat]

kelly,

That’s a very fine review! I am very intrigued by your “cohesion idea”. I have always felt that a cohesiveness and homogeneousness are very desirable qualities in audio systems, and that an analytical character can be more of a symptom of a problem than a virtue. I have this idea that there is a “musical whole” that should be preserved and that it is a sign of accuracy if a component is able to preserve the integrity of the musical signal and let it through unscathed.

You talk about cohesion primarily in regard to the RKV’s reproduction of bass frequencies. But what about the RKV’s treble (rest assured: I haven’t got a clue what I am talking about and I have never listened to the RKV

). You claim to perceive a slight roll-off. Is it really that or is the treble just better integrated? Is there more cohesion with the rest of the spectrum? Maybe the RKV’s treble is just smoother, its clipping behavior when handling very sharp and dynamic transients is more benign than that of solid state amps (or lower powered tube amps), there simply might be less distortion highlighting the peaks. Or less phase distortion, its huge soundstage might be indicative of that. The specs of Audio Valve claim a power bandwidth of 15 to 100,000 Hz. Those ought to be the -3dB points. Wouldn’t this be a lot of frequency extension? What do you think about this treble cohesion idea? Has the RKV really less treble or could it be that it’s simply cleaner?

 

[kelly]

Tomcat
The reason I highlighted the bass of the RKV is because that is the area in which I feel the RKV truly excels beyond all of the other headphone amplifiers I've heard so far. The "cohesion" does extend throughout the entire frequency range of the amplifier, but I don't truly believe this quality to be quite so difficult to find in the treble of other amplifiers.

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. If you were to AB the RKV with the Maxed Out Home or Corda HA-1 with a good recording of close mic'd cymbals, you'd definitely be able to pull out that there was something the RKV was left to envy. It's not an excruciating omission, but it's enough to tip the hat to the other amps.

For the record, I at first wanted to blame this on the Sennheiser HD600's "strange needs" but in AB comparrison, it remained true with the Etymotic ER-4S as well.

 

[Tuberoller]

I can understand the problems people are having finding some amps.Stanalog imports is run by a real nit-wit.When I first saw and photographed the Headmaster at CES in Las Vegas I was told there were only four units in the country that had been imported through the official channels.I took the display unit home and kept it for a few weeks and was interested in becoming a dealer for Sudgen.My friends at Decibel Audio also inquired about dealerships as well and got the same lame responses.The hoops that a dealer has to jump through to deal with Stanalog are not worth the trouble and small profits.this is why you will almost never see one purchased through the proper import channels.it has also made this line difficult to find.The Audiovalve line was previously difficult to get as well but a new importer has really made a superior effort to distribute and stock Audiovalve products.There are now two dealers in Chicago and both stock the RKV.Even though he does'nt yet know it,Acidtripwow played a small part in helping get the word out about US interest for the RKV.When I was calling around trying to get the Headmaster that he wanted I found out about his RKV and the really strange tubes that it uses and asked about becoming a dealer.that didn't work out but I did help connect both local dealers to the importer.Guys like Acid are how importers/distributors gage interest in products.the dozens of phone calls inquiring about the RKV helped get them some recognition.Hopefully Sudgen will find a new US importer and the Headmaster will be easier to find.I will be auditioning an RKV this week and am now trying to find a replacement tube to roll through it.I'll post my impressions here soon.

 

[kelly]

Thanks for the info, Tuberoller.

I'm at this point tempted to ask for a refund from the place I ordered my Headmaster from, since the amp is apparently going from the Canadian distributor to the US distributor and then to me--which was obviously not my intention. Maybe I will give it another week before doing so. The company I contacted had been friendly though I doubt I'll mention them by name since I'm not exactly pleased about the situation. It's kind of like when the waiter shows up with a burned steak. A part of you knows the waiter didn't burn it but a part of you wonders if it wasn't the waiter's job to catch the mistake. *shrug*

I'm glad to hear the RKV will be carried by other dealers. Headroom seemed rather disinterested in the amplifier so I thought it especially good news that Meier would be filling the need. I'm also, of course, very curious about the rest of AudioValve's line of products.

 

[hokiefritz]

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

 

[flashbak]

Kelly,
If that is the case with close miked cymbals, then that to me seems like a pretty seriuos flaw in this amp especially at its given price point! When you use the word texture with regard to its bass response are you referring to the more common terms of tightness, definition, and lack of boomyness?

 

[kelly]

Quote:

Originally posted by flashbak Kelly, If that is the case with close miked cymbals, then that to me seems like a pretty seriuos flaw in this amp especially at its given price point! When you use the word texture with regard to its bass response are you referring to the more common terms of tightness, definition, and lack of boomyness?

flashbak
I agree that it is a flaw but I disagree about it being more serious due to its pricepoint. I still consider the RKV to be an excellent value even at its full retail price. You'll find that not only are similarly priced amplifiers imperfect but that more expensive ones are also.

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.