[fishski13]

listened to these last night with unbalanced Bijou and K701:

wonderful stuff. the Bijou is the first amp i've heard that can actually allow the K701 to make music a la Naim. the M3 is fine as well, but doesn't have the presence or PRaT - it still sounds a bit sterile. this pairing will appeal to some people with different priorities. although not as detailed, i think the CK2III presents the rhythm and timing a bit more naturally than the M3. i wish i still had my Naim Headline/Hicap to try with the K701.

i agree with Holland about pairing the K701 with tubes. my Cayin HA-1A did a fine job, but not up to the Bijou. i think the bass is excellent, but others may want more. i have the HD650 if i want more bass.

mono recordings sound wonderful. i'm off to listen to one of the most beautiful recordings in my collection - tis' the opera season at chez Fishski:

 

[FallenAngel]

While the rest are great amps, they are simply in a class lower than the Beta22. If you're going for the best, build this.

 

[Maxvla]

You could recable for balanced and do a balanced beta22 also for another option, but beware the parts cost, like it's performance, is on another level.

 

[majkel]

Build whatever is allowing you to go beyond op-amp sound quality limit, so SOHA II, beta22 or something other discrete/hybrid. I never liked the OPA637 sound and I was a hard AD825 fan for months but now I'd say it would spoil my headphone setup in terms of fidelity and aural pleasure if I used it somewhere, or even if I took those "hi-end" opamps like LM4562 and put them somewhere in the signal chain.
.
From my recognition the K701's sound their best with "tough" amps like transformer coupled tube monsters, or with transistor output.

 

[V-DiV]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishski13 /img/forum/go_quote.gif listened to these last night with unbalanced Bijou and K701: wonderful stuff. the Bijou is the first amp i've heard that can actually allow the K701 to make music a la Naim. the M3 is fine as well, but doesn't have the presence or PRaT - it still sounds a bit sterile. this pairing will appeal to some people with different priorities. although not as detailed, i think the CK2III presents the rhythm and timing a bit more naturally than the M3. i wish i still had my Naim Headline/Hicap to try with the K701. i agree with Holland about pairing the K701 with tubes. my Cayin HA-1A did a fine job, but not up to the Bijou. i think the bass is excellent, but others may want more. i have the HD650 if i want more bass. mono recordings sound wonderful. i'm off to listen to one of the most beautiful recordings in my collection - tis' the opera season at chez Fishski

Thanks fishski. I'm getting moved hard in the direction of the Bijou. Considering that it gets pretty pricey when swapping in boutique components, do you know how it compares (standard BOM or common upgrades) against the current crop of commercial tube amps like the Woo 6, DV 336, etc?

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif While the rest are great amps, they are simply in a class lower than the Beta22. If you're going for the best, build this.

Thanks FallenAngel. I've also been interested in a 3 channel B22. Are you saying that it is better than the Bijou, or better than the other solid state amps? Any idea how it compares to a GS-1?

 

[FallenAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by V-DiV /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks FallenAngel. I've also been interested in a 3 channel B22. Are you saying that it is better than the Bijou, or better than the other solid state amps? Any idea how it compares to a GS-1?

It's much better than Bijou, I am really against the huge high-voltage electrolytic cap on the output of that amp, I just can't find anything of high enough quality that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars.

Yes, it's better than any Dynalo. Although the GS-1 is certainly a nice implementation of the amp, it's simply not as powerful. Now if you get a Dynahi, that's another story. I've been considering building one for a while, no firm plans but definitely looking for something.

 

[fishski13]

Quote:

Originally Posted by V-DiV /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks fishski. I'm getting moved hard in the direction of the Bijou. Considering that it gets pretty pricey when swapping in boutique components, do you know how it compares (standard BOM or common upgrades) against the current crop of commercial tube amps like the Woo 6, DV 336, etc.

i have no idea. the only other tube amp i've owned is the Cayin HA-1A. yes, i like the Bijou better.

the standard BOMs for Jeff's kits are what i would call "premium" parts. i created my own BOM, but it didn't stray much from his. my total was probably $50 more, but i also had some pricier $7 Sonicaps x 4 caps. socket any board parts holes that you would want to experiment with down the road. i would rather $et a$ide for a decent attenuator - it's made for a worthwhile difference. i've made 2 shunt-attenuators thus far with nice Electroswitch rotaries, and Vishay RN60 and Speer/KOA (Kiwame) resistors - cost about $45 a piece. i have some %1 100K nude Vishays staring at me right now. could be a "cheap" improvement, or an expensive waste of $$$. plus, building attenutors is a lot of fun

!

 

[MASantos]

I wouldn't discard opamps just because they're opamps. I remember listening to the k701's with headroom's home amplifier and it sounded really good. Even better with a balanced max. M3 and ppa also have opamps and considered high end amplifiers, a comercial version of these would never go for less than 1500$.


I second the millett hibrid as a great sinergy with these cans. I have a revMH( the one done by DrewD and n_maher) with discrete buffers and it sounds really good.

 

[V-DiV]

Hmmm, so many good amps, and so little time. Need to pick one (or two) "best" amp(s) to complement my K701, especially for classical and jazz. Looking for transparency, soundstage, and sense of air and hoping to fill out the K701 with a little more body and bottom end. I'm still intrigued by the thought of a really good tube amp - but if B22 is much better... in what ways, sonically? And I still wonder which of Bijou or B22 would have the better sound signature to complement the K701s.

Also still wondering if I should go straight to a top SS or tube or should I do a hybrid first. Millett Max has gotten the votes, no first-hander votes for SOHA II & K701.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishski13 /img/forum/go_quote.gif listened to these last night with unbalanced Bijou and K701: wonderful stuff. the Bijou is the first amp i've heard that can actually allow the K701 to make music a la Naim.

Good stuff Fishski. Here are a few selections from my weekend:

 

[myinitialsaredac]

Millett Max gets a vote from me though it is pertinent that I have not heard the other diy offerings.
It sounds great with krall, cole, hil st. soul, jeff kashiwa, jim brickman and the like. The max really gave the bottom texture, depth, and body which is welcomed in the 701s while still retaining the details and airy nature in the highs, though they have become a bit "recessed" as in they dont sound as shrill and piercing which IMO is a good thing. The mid range has also become more liquid with the max. Oh, also the soundstage has also seemed to have grown in height and depth.
Mine is the cant miss max build #1 if your curious, I'd recommend it based on what your looking for.

Good luck,
Dave

 

[frank99]

anyone tried the bottlehead's S.E.X amp? It is a transformer coupled output and it is a complete kit with everything needed.

I am considering Bijou or S.E.X for my K701, Bujou seems more popular and cheaper, S.E.X is expensive but easy to build...

 

[jcx]

I wouldn't consider the Bijou a contender for K701

the current output is just not enough to drive K701 to anywhere near 120 dB on dynamic peaks (cymbal crashes, snare hits...) of well recorded high dynamic music when listening at 95-100 dB ave levels

95-100 dB average SPL is really loud "rocking out" home listening SPL but far short of live venue SPL levels

 

[chobint]

I donno about that. I've owned k701's and hd650's and my Bijou makes me wonder if my headphones are going to explode anywhere above 50% volume. But maybe I'm not a good reference on this one...I find concerts to be so loud that everything eventually ends up sounding like crackling plastic

 

[scompton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcx /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wouldn't consider the Bijou a contender for K701 the current output is just not enough to drive K701 to anywhere near 120 dB on dynamic peaks (cymbal crashes, snare hits...) of well recorded high dynamic music when listening at 95-100 dB ave levels 95-100 dB average SPL is really loud "rocking out" home listening SPL but far short of live venue SPL levels

That's one hour to hearing damage levels as well. Sure it's not as loud as live, but your nuts if you don't wear hearing protection live. It is not however, far short of live levels except the loudest concerts.

 

[holland]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcx /img/forum/go_quote.gif the current output is just not enough to drive K701 to anywhere near 120 dB on dynamic peaks (cymbal crashes, snare hits...) of well recorded high dynamic music when listening at 95-100 dB ave levels

What makes you say this? Why do you feel you need to peek 120dB with an avg listening level of 95-100dB?