[nick20]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif This looks like an interesting new contender in cheap balanced amps. It and the Headroom Balanced Desktop are the only two I can think of in that price range. Here is hoping that the circuit is up to snuff and it sounds good. Just because you balance something doesn't mean it is going to be incredible. nick20 - Why would the 6SN7 be anyones favourite tube? Oh well, there are lots of equivalents, so tube rolling will be great. Those 6080's will be nice and cheep and are generally very nice sounding. You're E5 does have balanced outputs, but just so you are aware, the discrete single ended output stage is then routed through a couple OPAMPS that convert it to balanced before sending it to the XLR outputs. You may actually find that the single ended outputs on the E5 sound better than the balanced outputs. If you plan on sticking with the E5, I highly recommend getting a zapfilter mk2 installed to get the most out of its balanced outputs. Signal Cable is a great place to get interconnects. Their prices are reasonable, and the Silver Resolution Balanced IC's that I have from them have yet to be bested in my rig. I have only compared them to a handful of other cables though, so take that with a grain of salt.

philodox:

I enjoy the premium 6SN7 tubes very much. However I didn't pay the "market" price for any of these. If I told you how much I paid, you wouldn't believe me..

So I'll keep it at that..

Why would they NOT be anyones favorite? They are EXCELLENT tubes for the money.

The 6080's are nothing to boast about.. the RCA 6AS7G gray plate, and JAN-CRC RCA 6AS7G easily better the 6080's (except Bendix). Then, there's a significant jump from 6AS7's to the 5998's.



I have planned on getting the zapfilter, as I've read good things about it in the E5 thread. I also would like to get my E5 modded by RAM sometime next year. Because I'm only 20, I cannot afford lots of large purchases at one time, but that certainly doesn't mean I don't make a good living. I'm about 1.5 years away from purchasing a condo, and building a small house on some of my parents land in Wisconsin. Soo.. that's my initial goal.

-Nick

EDIT: Thanks for the recommendation on Signal. I've been wanting to try them for some time, but have always found something else. I'll consider them when purchasing a pair of XLR IC's.

 

[Penchum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif Getting a balanced DAC is probably your best bet. Then you can just run optical from a cheap sound card, or get a USB device that has digital outputs. There are also some CD players that have digital inputs, but they are all quite expensive.

Cool. Thanks! I'll have to look into that. I'm already running Vista and I hear the EMU's are not totally Vista friendly yet.

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick20 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why would they NOT be anyones favorite? They are EXCELLENT tubes for the money.

They are just another one of those popular tubes that, in reality, aren't all that great. Since they are popular, they are way overpriced. You obviously have hookups to get them cheap though, so that is less of an issue in your case. Quote:

Originally Posted by nick20 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The 6080's are nothing to boast about.. the RCA 6AS7G gray plate, and JAN-CRC RCA 6AS7G easily better the 6080's (except Bendix). Then, there's a significant jump from 6AS7's to the 5998's.

Who's boasting? I don't use any of these tubes myself.

In the few 6AS7 tube amps that I've heard, the 6080's seemed to be a great value given the sound that you get out of them... that is all I was meaning. Quote:

Originally Posted by nick20 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have planned on getting the zapfilter, as I've read good things about it in the E5 thread. I also would like to get my E5 modded by RAM sometime next year. Because I'm only 20, I cannot afford lots of large purchases at one time, but that certainly doesn't mean I don't make a good living. I'm about 1.5 years away from purchasing a condo, and building a small house on some of my parents land in Wisconsin. Soo.. that's my initial goal.

RAM has always seemed a little flaky to me... I'd just get one of the DIY guys in your area to install a zapfilter if I were you. Quote:

Originally Posted by nick20 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the recommendation on Signal. I've been wanting to try them for some time, but have always found something else. I'll consider them when purchasing a pair of XLR IC's.

Probably not the best IC's out there, but given the purchase price, you really can't go wrong.

 

[Penchum]

For those of us searching for possible affordable balanced transports, I ran into this today and it may be what we have been looking for: Hagerman Technology LLC: HagUsb
It has the "new" star next to it.

 

[cclragnarok]

You don't need a balanced transport.

Whether the link between your transport and your DAC is balanced doesn't have anything to do with whether your system is "balanced."

 

[Penchum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cclragnarok /img/forum/go_quote.gif You don't need a balanced transport. Whether the link between your transport and your DAC is balanced doesn't have anything to do with whether your system is "balanced."

Ow, I was assuming it was acting as a DAC too. Why would they make such a unit?

 

[minivan]

i read that the Headroom Balanced Desktop used phase inverted output,i.e l-,r- are phase inverted from l,r. that mean it's not a true balanced amp.
post from mr yang stated that the little dot balanced amp use 4
amplifier for each of the 4 signal,each driven by the 4x6080, this would made it a true balanced amp.
some1 correct me if i am wrong

 

[cclragnarok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penchum /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ow, I was assuming it was acting as a DAC too. Why would they make such a unit?

Balanced digital connection (AES/EBU) is supposed to provide some benefits, but many DACs (even balanced ones) don't have that option. Unless you know your DAC has an AES/EBU input, I don't recommend buying a transport that only has AES/EBU output.

When we say "balanced," we are usually talking about the analog signal paths, which is mostly a separate issue.

 

[cclragnarok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by minivan /img/forum/go_quote.gif i read that the Headroom Balanced Desktop used phase inverted output,i.e l-,r- are phase inverted from l,r. that mean it's not a true balanced amp. post from mr yang stated that the little dot balanced amp use 4 amplifier for each of the 4 signal,each driven by the 4x6080, this would made it a true balanced amp. some1 correct me if i am wrong

I don't know where you got that, and I don't know that much about the Headroom Balanced Desktop, but my guess is that you are indeed wrong.

 

[fran]

BTW, that PClink thing that was linked back up the thread a bit: thats not a balanced connection - its an AES/EBU digital outlet - common on a lot of studio gear where XLR connectors are used for both digital and analog cables. I'm using both right now on a Fostex D20B DAt machine that doubles nicely as a DAC.

Fran

 

[Penchum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cclragnarok /img/forum/go_quote.gif Balanced digital connection (AES/EBU) is supposed to provide some benefits, but many DACs (even balanced ones) don't have that option. Unless you know your DAC has an AES/EBU input, I don't recommend buying a transport that only has AES/EBU output. When we say "balanced," we are usually talking about the analog signal paths, which is mostly a separate issue.

Thanks for the info!

I understand the balanced analog signal paths, I just didn't understand the AES output. Must match up to one of their other units.
So, it looks like finding a DAC that supports balanced is the least hassle and least costly. Back to looking!

 

[Bozz_Keren]

so to speak, to get balanced system we need:
balanced DAC -> balanced amp -> balanced headphone
or something else?

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penchum /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the info! I understand the balanced analog signal paths, I just didn't understand the AES output. Must match up to one of their other units. So, it looks like finding a DAC that supports balanced is the least hassle and least costly. Back to looking!

a few balanced dacs here. i think the prices are generally reasonable. the great march 2 looks like a pretty solid unit. no USB but there are plenty of ways around that.


Pacific Valve Digital Products

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bozz_Keren /img/forum/go_quote.gif so to speak, to get balanced system we need:balanced DAC -> balanced amp -> balanced headphone or something else?

and a cable or two to connect everything. but yes. that's it.

 

[Bozz_Keren]

any suggestion to balanced USB DAC?

 

[vcoheda]

apogee mini dac usb/firewire or benchmark dac1 usb are two popular ones. i had the former and thought it was pretty good.