[wgallupe]

Hi, My first post here at Head-Fi...

I have $400 to spend and a preference for tubes. I am looking at the Bottlehead S.E.X. amp or the Antique Sound Lab MG Head DT/OTL Mk III amp to power my AKG K271 Studio headphones. Any compatibility issues?

Source is a Heart Audio CD6000ose. This is modded Marantz CDP with 6922 tubes in the output stage.

I currently use a Bottlehead Foreplay III preamp to drive my SS power amp so I'm familier with thier products. No experience with ASL products.

Any thoughts, advice?

Thanks

 

[oldears]

First the obligatory "Welcome to Head-fi, sorry about your wallet". Now that's out of the way...

I have no personal experience with the Bottlehead amp, so I won't comment on it. I do, however, own both an ASL MG Head DT and the AKG K-271 Studio. My ASL is the original version. The ASL and the K-271 work very well together--no compatability issues whatsoever. Although I have not experienced any problems with my MG Head, there have been questions raised about the reliability of the ASL amps. I would suggest that you do a search here on Head-fi and determine whether you think there is cause for concern.

I would also like to suggest that you do a little bit of research about the WOO Audio 3--a very nice entry level headphone amp which is only a little bit more expensive than the ASL, and which is highly regarded here on Head-fi.

 

[wgallupe]

Thanks for the reply and for the Woo Audio 3 suggestion. Looks nice. One concern I have is that it uses 6DJ8s. Good ones are getting harder to find and expensive. Although my CDP uses them and I keep spares on hand, I would rather not invest in more equipment that needs the 6DJ8. With that said, I will still put the Woo on my short list.

Can you describe the sound of your ASL? Have you compared it to others?

Thanks again.

 

[oldears]

While I understand your concern about the 6DJ8 family of tubes, it is one of the tubes where there will probably "always" be current production stock available. It is certainly true that the "best" NOS 6DJ8 tubes are being hunted to extinction and that prices have become ridiculous, but this is also true about most of the other popular preamp tubes. I would say that pretty much the same thing could be said about the 12AX7 tube the MG Head uses.

I have had my MG Head for about 7 years. It has been totally trouble free. The sound signature can very easily be changed simply by changing tubes. There are several threads about doing this. This makes it difficult for me to describe its sound, because I can pretty much change the sound at will. I happen to think it is a very good entry level tube amp. If you are willing to spend more money you can get deeper and more powerful bass, more extended highs, and improved dynamics.

I would say that it is better for vocals, chamber music, and small combo jazz than it is for hard rock or large orchestral pieces. For me, it is a good amp for non-critical listening. If you are trying to find fault with it, you probably will. But, if you just want to listen to music you can do so for hours without fatigue. Perhaps what I am trying to say is that the MG Head is a "good" amp as opposed to a "great" amp. You didn't really think you were going to get a great amp for $400 did you?

I think the original question was whether the MG Head will work with K-271S 'phones. The answer in my opinion is "yes" and very well too, thank you. But, it is not a combination I would recommend if you are a serious basshead or if you listen to a lot of hard rock.