Could the current, perhaps, not influence volume but control? So if you have, say, IEMs that probably are pretty easy to drive, you do not need that much current but if you have a headphone then you might need the current to better control membrane/coil whatever...?
That's more my understanding (with zero engineering background).
Also, Class A is more about sacrificing power efficiency in return for better performance (SQ) so I think the 20/40mA could be about how much power it uses rather than how much it produces. Just an idea...
Could the current, perhaps, not influence volume but control? So if you have, say, IEMs that probably are pretty easy to drive, you do not need that much current but if you have a headphone then you might need the current to better control membrane/coil whatever...?
@DrKC Either our E12's sound different or our B1's sound different - to my ears the E12 is a much warmer and colored amp, adding a "watery" presentation to the sound. My audiophile friend as well was able to pick this difference up (as well as a few others, for example coherency) after about 15 seconds, after a/b-ing it with the B1. I would assume that you and your friends would pick that up too, especially after listening to music for so many years. I really don't know what's happening here
Hmmm... 15 seconds?
Did you guys use a stopwatch? I'm sure you did as one can tell from this and your 2 previous posts that your goals are objectivity, logic and accuracy. Your buddy, as an audiophile, certainly already knows the value of auditioning a component to really know how it will sound to you. Please pass along my kudos for listening himself and making his own assessment instead of relying on someone else to tell him what he should believe. Those pesky differences in what we heard - as I alluded to earlier, it could be the mad cow or that different people hear and perceive things differently (someone should look into that). My money is on the mad cow though.
Hmmm... 15 seconds?
Did you guys use a stopwatch? I'm sure you did as one can tell from this and your 2 previous posts that your goals are objectivity, logic and accuracy. Your buddy, as an audiophile, certainly already knows the value of auditioning a component to really know how it will sound to you. Please pass along my kudos for listening himself and making his own assessment instead of relying on someone else to tell him what he should believe. Those pesky differences in what we heard - as I alluded to earlier, it could be the mad cow or that different people hear and perceive things differently (someone should look into that). My money is on the mad cow though.
He tried the B1 for 20-30 seconds or so to get a feel, and then immediately after I switched to the E12 he took his 'phones off and said they're nothing alike. "15 seconds" was just to say right away, as it took me much longer myself to differentiate the 2. My friend did listen to the 2 amps for a few minutes longer to be sure though, and to make sure it wasn't just an initial impression. That is why I am thinking it's probably a difference in either source equipment, music tracks, or headphones to explain why our opinions are on the opposite sides of the spectrum.
As I noted earlier, this is not the place for this exchange. I don't know what I said in my review, but it apparently lit you up. I haven't been pursued and attacked like this since I was holding the last bag of Cool Ranch Doritos at a Superbowl party a few years ago. I'm starting to feel like Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. You aren't affiliated with law enforcement are you?
And I wasn't arguing about 15 seconds either. And I'm not trying to make ANY points. My review stands as what it is. I don't mean to be rude, but I really don't care what you think about it. I have tried to be patient, despite the general incoherency of your posts. You really are starting to look silly with all this. I suggest for the sake of your mental health that you just let it go.
You can certainly continue to discuss this amongst yourselves, but I will no longer participate as it does nothing to enhance this thread. Be well, my friend.
I'm not sure what incoherence my posts are conveying, but I'll look into it so I can improve later on if need be. I thought we could have a logical debate here, but it seems that it's not meant to be. Good luck!
Addendum to My B1 Review (link here) Headphone Pairings with the B1: *******Important Notes******* Tested with my source volume maxed, only controlling volume via the B1's pot Tested each headphone listed on the B1 against the same headphone with:
no amplification
the Oppo HA-2 lineout to amplifier only
the Schiit Lyr 2 desktop tube hybrid amplifier (best amplifier in my collection imo)
*********************************
With the Bose SoundTrue In-Ear Headphones:consumer-orientated in-ear headphones
Settings preferred: low gain, low current. Does not require amplification. Does not scale significantly with external components. I primarily used the lower 20mA current setting simply to conserve battery life on the B1.
There was no noise that I could hear in background at all comfortable listening volumes that I tested with SoundTrue (source volume maxed, volume pot up to 25 degrees from 0 volume, low gain). I could detect a high pitched whine when there is no music playing at volume pot settings above 30 degrees. Volume levels above 30 degrees for these headphones on my settings is too loud for listening to my ears.
Only slight concern is that there is not as much play room with the volume pot when maxing out the source volume even at low gain for the B1. However, more detailed volume adjustment is possible using a combination of the source volume and the B1 volume pot.
The SoundTrue in-ear headphones are a consumer-geared pair of in-ears with a pleasantly colored sound signature that features a subtly recessed treble to prevent sharpness/brightness and a significant bass boost. More warm and fun sound rather than detailed and analytical. Not the most resolving pair of IEMs out there, the SoundTrue does not really scale much with additional power. Used this headphones to test whether the B1 plays nice with general consumer-orientated pair of IEMs lacking published specifications. I do think that it is unnecessary to use the B1 for consumer-grade in-ear headphones. With the Oppo PM-3:portable closed over-ear planar magnetic
Settings preferred: low gain, high current. Does not require amplification. Does noticeable scale with different external components. I primarily used the higher 40mA current setting as planar magnetic headphones can benefit from additional current.
While I am perfectly comfortable running the PM-3 unamplified, I do think the B1 shows the scaling ability of the PM-3 quite well. Improved overall sound quality, most noticeably tighter bass notes and improved sound stage. Maintains the PM-3’s neutral-orientated well-balanced sound signature. Good pairing. With the Audeze EL-8 closed:portable closed over-ear planar magnetic
Settings preferred: low gain, high current. Does not require amplification. Does slightly scale with different external components. I primarily used the higher 40mA current setting as planar magnetic headphones can benefit from additional current.
The EL-8 does not require additional amplification. To my ears, I do not think that the EL-8 scales very significantly with additional power. If I was to use the EL-8 on-the-go, I personally would not bring the B1 as the EL-8 is already quite hefty and bulky. For home usage, I would pair the B1 with the EL-8. I do personally have some concerns with the EL-8’s overall sound signature and tuning, so I prefer a warmer, more colored amplifier such as the WA7 to pair with the EL-8 to better emphasize its strengths. With the AKG K553 Pro:full-sized closed over-ear dynamic headphones
Settings preferred: low gain, low current. Does not require amplification. Does scale with different external components.
I found the K553 to have a very clean, well-balanced sound signature with a subtle touch of warm and a slight sharpness to its treble. Extremely competitive sound quality for its price point, the K553 is highly resolving and has stellar soundstage for a closed headphone. The B1 really emphasizes the K553’s strengths without causing the treble to become too bright. Recommended pairing. With the AKG K7xx Pro:full-sized open over-ear dynamic headphones
Settings preferred: low gain, high current. Benefits from amplification. Does significantly scale with different external components.
To my ears, the K7xx represents one of the strongest contenders in the mid-tier open headphone category with an extremely revealing and unforgiving sound. Performance and sound quality will not be embarrassed when directly compared against flagship headphones. The K7xx does easily pick up the characteristics of external components used in the chain and requires high quality source files. Amplifiers that add too much additional warmth and coloration really does a disservice to the K7xx’s strengths. Most notable improvements with the B1 pairing was improvements to the K7xx’s speed, bass quality, and the addition of a coherent smoothness to the midrange texture while maintaining the K7xx’s articulate micro-detail retrieval. Notes appear more realistic with subtle tonal variations more easily identifiable. Did not lose the nice crispy airy treble characteristics of the K7xx. Highly recommended pairing. With the Hifiman HE-560:full-sized open over-ear planar dynamic headphones
Settings preferred: high gain, high current. Definitely require amplification. Does very significantly scale with different external components. I primarily used the higher 40mA current setting as planar magnetic headphones can benefit from additional current.
I personally really like the HE-560’s sound signature and view it as a very well-balanced neutral presentation of music with solid bass quality. The HE-560 serves as my main pair of headphones that gets the most headtime. The B1 does appear sufficient to drive the HE-560 to my ears as I did not notice any clipping effects. There was no decrease in dynamic range, muddiness to notes, or artificial brightness to its sound. I do enjoy the HE-560 paired with a warmer tube amplifier, but I have found Class A amplifiers such as the Oppo HA-1 or Gustard H10 to also be an extremely good pairing with the HE-560. The B1 does not alter the HE-560’s sound signature, but does make it sound a bit fuller with more presence to notes. The Lyr 2 exaggerates this effect more than the B1 with its hint of tube warmth. While I do personally prefer the Lyr 2 pairing with my HE-560, I do find the B1 to be an acceptable and competent amplifier for the HE-560. With the Audeze LCD-X:full-sized open over-ear planar dynamic headphones
Settings preferred: low gain, high current. Does not require amplification. Does noticeable scale with different external components. I primarily used the higher 40mA current setting as planar magnetic headphones can benefit from additional current.
I greatly enjoy the bass quality and subtle Audeze darkness of the Audeze LCD-X. I primarily use it as my genre-specific headphones, especially with I want to get really engaged into the music. The B1 definitely highlights the LCD-X’s strengths (and weaknesses) with its clean but full sound. The unique coloration of the LCD-X is not hidden, but clearly highlighted. The LCD-X maintains its fast transient response and good imaging abilities on the B1. The attack is extremely hard-hitting and clean. Decay has a little bit of bleed. The LCD-X treble sparkle and organic midrange is preserved. There is further improvements to the viscerality of its bass and a more vivid sense of energy that makes the B1 an extremely enjoyable and engaging pairing for the LCD-X (if you enjoy the LCD-X’s sound signature). I do personally give the B1 the edge over the HA-2 for pairing with the LCD-X as the B1 strongly emphasizes the LCD-X’s sonic characteristics that I find enjoyable. With the Hifiman HE-1000 beta unit:full-sized open over-ear planar dynamic headphones
Settings preferred: high gain, high current. Require amplification and scales very well. I primarily used the higher 40mA current setting as planar magnetic headphones can benefit from additional current.
I consider the HE-1000 to be my most technically capable headphones with the most scaling potential that will allow for the easiest identification of differences in components. Despite that, I found that the B1 did not appear to be lacking in any way with paired with the HE-1000. Beyond the more obvious differences in presentation between my amplifiers, it was extremely difficult to consistently isolate specific sound quality attribute differences between my amplifiers. I was still able to identify the subtle textural and tonal shifts as well as the low-level micro-detail on with this pairing. The bass quality of the HE-1k remained very competitive, though perhaps a subtle decrease in decay speed. The midrange still had its subtle liquid texture combined with articulate clean details. There may have been a bit of decrease to the “shininess” treble and some loosing of the reverberation of the cymbal crashes. The B1 still really picks up that richness to the underlying body of the notes and highlights the realistic presence of every note. Soundstage and imaging may be subtly better on my Lyr 2. I do feel like the soundstage of the HE-1000 scales significantly depending on the amplifier. Treble and midrange quality is another aspect where scaling differences are more noticeable. I do feel like the Lyr 2 provides a significant technical improvement in performance, but the difference was startling smaller than I expected. Overall, I would be perfectly comfortable using the B1 with the HE-1000, and I do think the B1 is a subtly better pairing than the HA-2 for the HE-1000 specifically.
***Update 6/5/15: I have done direct sighted comparisons of the B1 against a few other desktop amplifiers using the HE-1000. Not a fair comparison I know, but I have found that I could hear a subtle differences in sound quality against the Hifiman EF100. It was more difficult to hear the difference against the Audeze Deckard. There was a significant upgrade in sound quality in a sighted test (specifically with the Auralic Taurus MKII, Beyerdynamic A2, and McIntosh MHA1000). Differences were most pronounced in the MHA1000 which I found to be the best sounding amplifier out of all the ones I tried. Extremely life-like and gorgeous sound! The direct comparision with the MHA1000 is the first time I noticed extremely significant scaling with external components. A direct comparison against Chord Hugo did not yield that much of a sonic improvement to my ears. The sonic upgrade was significantly more easily noticeable on the MHA1000 over the Chord Hugo in my opinion. The Chord Hugo alone definitely does not drive the HE-1000 to its full potential. Using these amplifiers and dacs, I could definitely see how the HE-1000 scales up greatly with different components and would recommend investing in a more high-end amplifier for the HE-1000 to maximize its potential.***
***More pairing analysis on the Mr. Speakers Alpha Prime and Ether coming soon*** Overall thoughts on headphone pairings: I do want to note that some of my comparative findings were quite extremely subtle changes that required very extensive direct comparisons and even then, I am still a bit hesitant about certain aspects of my findings. Please note that you may have different experiences due to differences in our headphone and amplifier background.
The B1 had minimal coloration to each headphones unique sound signature. Improves different aspects of sound quality on each headphone while maintaining the headphones’ original tuning and frequency response. Suitable pairing for headphones that you are already satisfied with its sound signature. Not suitable as a method for trying to ‘tune’ or adjust to the headphones’ sound signature, and will not ‘fix’ frequency response flaws of your headphones. Can cause a dramatic improvement for headphones that benefit or require additional power. More subtle improvements for headphones that can be driven without an amplifier. I was really surprised by the relative closeness in performance of the B1 to the Lyr 2. The Lyr 2 performs extremely well as one of the most competitive options in the sub-$1000 category. The relative differences between the B1 and the Lyr 2 were much smaller than I would have imagined and required extensive direct comparisons to isolate. This gives me the impression that the B1 is extremely competitive for its price point and a very solid performer.
Hey money4me. What did u find between high and low voltage? i saw that u menyioned there is a noticable difference. I kay have missed it but i didnt see where you specified what was different.
Hey money4me. What did u find between high and low voltage? i saw that u menyioned there is a noticable difference. I kay have missed it but i didnt see where you specified what was different.
It was a really subtle difference and really headphone specific. Amount of difference is variable depending on the headphones. I found that my orthodynamic headphones benefited the most from higher current settings. Things such as improved dynamic range, better bass control, subtly tighter decay transients, and sound stage were the most easily noticeable for me. I found the attack transients to be already quite good on the low current settings, so difficult for me to notice a difference there. The PM-3 displayed the most noticeable improvement in the sound stage aspect. I found the LCD-X and HE-560 had better bass control on the higher current setting. I thought the HE-1k showed the most 'scaling' with different settings, but even then, it took a lot of testing before I was comfortable posting those impressions. There may have been some other aspects, but it was really hard to call to my ears. I think I would be fine using low current settings for my portable headphones. Really only use high current settings when I am plugged in and using the B1 as a 'desktop' amplifier.
It was a really subtle difference and really headphone specific. Amount of difference is variable depending on the headphones. I found that my orthodynamic headphones benefited the most from higher current settings. Things such as improved dynamic range, better bass control, subtly tighter decay transients, and sound stage were the most easily noticeable for me. I found the attack transients to be already quite good on the low current settings, so difficult for me to notice a difference there. The PM-3 displayed the most noticeable improvement in the sound stage aspect. I found the LCD-X and HE-560 had better bass control on the higher current setting. I thought the HE-1k showed the most 'scaling' with different settings, but even then, it took a lot of testing before I was comfortable posting those impressions. There may have been some other aspects, but it was really hard to call to my ears. I think I would be fine using low current settings for my portable headphones. Really only use high current settings when I am plugged in and using the B1 as a 'desktop' amplifier.
On a whim I decided to acquire a B1, class A always held a certain attraction and the general opinion of the initial B1 reviews seemed nicely positive. The unit arrived yesterday and I decided to try my stock Beyer DT-880 600 ohm as a first exposure. Right now I am listening to a set of Grado PS1000e's. Way too early to go into detailed thoughts but I did find one thing last night with the DT-880's that I want to mention since it has been an often repeated aspect of the B1 design with not a lot definite impressions as to whether it makes a difference in sound or not. On the 600 ohm Beyers I felt that the higher current setting sounded better as it seemed to better control them. On the high setting the sound had a bit more focus and refinement throughout the frequency range. On switching to the lower current setting the highs seemed less defined, somewhat loose and the bass lost a small amount of detail. As I said it is way early for me with a mere few hours of head time with the B1 and I will be looking to begin trying more of my other phones and to eventually do some direct comparisons with some my other amps which cover a range of different design approaches and sonic characteristics. For now though I just want get more time in on my new toy. The B1 has surprised me in how well it handled the 880's, not the easiest of loads and just how good it sounds for an amp with such a reasonable price tag, got mine for $185 shipped. Next up will probably be my T1 and HE-500, something to look forward to next week. I do intend to make sure I keep it from becoming work, I do not want to lose track of the music anywhere along the line. Great hobby isn't it?
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
![20171214_213049[1].jpg](https://cdn.head-fi.org/a/10041750.jpg)
![20171205_124130_001[1].jpg](https://cdn.head-fi.org/a/10037838.jpg)
