[KBerube80]

Thanks for the info.  The HE-500 are definitely on my short-list radar.  I own the Cary SLI-80 Signature F1, Direct-Coupled, Triode Only, Zero Negative Feedback Edition fro Upscale Audio.  I also have the original Jensen CiO caps replaced with V-Caps which further enhanced the amp. (quicker, tighter, better on both extremes)
 
Davo50, what speakers are you running?  I am driving the Merlin TSM-MMi's with Master RC's. 
 
I am also looking into trying the AKG Q701's.  What headphones have you guys tried with this amp?
 
I havent used the headphone out too much.  It turns my Grado SR80 into a completely different animal.  So I'm not sure if I should just climb up the Grado line or not.  I coiuldnt stand the Senn HD600's. (too dark and veiled, muddy bass)

 

[ardilla]

I'm  using HD650, LCD-2 and HE-500 on the SLI-80. All recommended. This amp makes any headphone shine
 
Were the HD600 properly amped, by the way? Also - Q701 is same same as K701. Just a higher price-tag. Never heard it on the Cary. But I guess it's better on the Cary than on whatever I heard them on - they need som juice to shine.
 
But again, really recommend the HE-500 
 
Quote:

I am also looking into trying the AKG Q701's.  What headphones have you guys tried with this amp?
 

 

 

[KBerube80]

Quote:

I'm  using HD650, LCD-2 and HE-500 on the SLI-80. All recommended. This amp makes any headphone shine
 
Were the HD600 properly amped, by the way? Also - Q701 is same same as K701. Just a higher price-tag. Never heard it on the Cary. But I guess it's better on the Cary than on whatever I heard them on - they need som juice to shine.
 
But again, really recommend the HE-500 
 


 

Thank you for the feedback.  Yeah, the HD600's were with Cardas Cable and ran through my SLI80.  How would you compare the HE-500 to the HD650?  How about v.s. LCD2?
 

 

[Magick Man]

Auditioning one tomorrow, going to see how it works with my HE-6. It's a dealer demo.

It's just sexy.

 

[ardilla]

Enjoy! It sounds fabolous with the HE-500, my guess is it will do good with the HE-6. Looking foreward for your reports. 
Quote:

Auditioning one tomorrow, going to see how it works with my HE-6. It's a dealer demo.
It's just sexy.

 

 

[Magick Man]

So far, so good. I picked it up and I'm trying it out, I have a week to decide. The adapters are going to arrive tomorrow, then I can really give it the beans. I know one thing, though. My Swan Diva 2.1s I use as PC speakers never sounded so good.

My wife isn't home yet, let's hope it has a high WAF.

 

[ardilla]

My wife loves it and is always eager to demonstrate it to new guests..

So far, so good. I picked it up and I'm trying it out, I have a week to decide. The adapters are going to arrive tomorrow, then I can really give it the beans. I know one thing, though. My Swan Diva 2.1s I use as PC speakers never sounded so good.
My wife isn't home yet, let's hope it has a high WAF.

 

[Magick Man]

Yeah, my wife loved it. She commented about how "awesomely steampunk" it looks.

Oh, and I do switch between triode and pentode modes, it goes from smooth and soulful to fast and fierce with one flip. From the amps I've heard, this is the tube amp for the HE-6. Hell, I'm enjoying it with all my `phones.

Funny, my Q701s really love it, it's brought them out completely. So, yeah, Q701 owners just need to grab one of these and they're set.

Oh, and I guess I'm going to shop for a more flexible DAC now... ugh.

 

[ardilla]

Great! Yeah - the K/Q701 are supposed to need some juice. What tubes do you use?
 
Quote:

Yeah, my wife loved it. She commented about how "awesomely steampunk" it looks.
Oh, and I do switch between triode and pentode modes, it goes from smooth and soulful to fast and fierce with one flip. From the amps I've heard, this is the tube amp for the HE-6. Hell, I'm enjoying it with all my `phones.
Funny, my Q701s really love it, it's brought them out completely. So, yeah, Q701 owners just need to grab one of these and they're set.

Oh, and I guess I'm going to shop for a more flexible DAC now... ugh.

 

 

[Magick Man]

Great! Yeah - the K/Q701 are supposed to need some juice. What tubes do you use?

I assume it's the original stock tubes, that's what the dealer said. I want to try some rolling at some point, what do you recommend? The Shuguang Treasure CV-181-Z looks completely bad a**.

 

[ardilla]

Haven't done any rolling yet. EAT KT88 are supposedly very good. There are some recommendations in earlier posts.

Have you heard the he-6 on other amps? What's the difference - elaborate

 

[Magick Man]

Haven't done any rolling yet. EAT KT88 are supposedly very good. There are some recommendations in earlier posts.
Have you heard the he-6 on other amps? What's the difference - elaborate

With regards to the HE6, the only other amps that I have spent very much time with are the EF-5 and the Kenwood M2A. The M2A is a monster, very neutral and transparent. It has a soundstage as wide as my ex-wife's hips and as black as her shriveled heart. It's basically a dual mono amp, no preamp section, but it has a headphone jack directly off main power with a couple resistors. Odd configuration. 220w /ch @8ohms and 15W @50ohms from the jack. Quite frankly it's an ugly little spud, but I really like it.

The EF-5 isn't bad, though I feel bass suffers a little. It was a bit on the bright side, but the Mullard tube seemed to help even it out. Though I feel it's sufficient for the task, the HE-6 really demands more power than the EF-5 can muster to bring out it's best.

 

[Magick Man]

So, made some killer new 1m interconnects to go from DAC to amp. I used the last of my red PTFE Canare Star Quad cable, with my last four Neutrik NF2C connectors, and crimson braiding.


and they don't seem to have made any difference at all. Oh well.

 

[Magick Man]

Hmmm.. I think I spoke too soon. Going from the 22AWG silver, which is what I normally use for interconnects, to the Canare Star Quad (copper), I am finding very subtle differences. I do need to use just a little more gain and some of the treble ~8kHz has lessened, I may have lost a tiny bit of detail as well. Well, back to the A-B tests.

 

[bearded man]

Hi Guys I join to SLI 80 crowd
Im very impressed with this amp,SLI 80 is much,much better in every aspect of my previous headphone amp (Graham Slee Solo Ultra Linear) which is not so bad.
I use Grado PS1000 and AKG K1000 and both sounds amazing,its quite hard to find the right amp for K1000,SLI 80 is a very good,but only through speakers connectors.
The best part is that,paying once you get a beautifully looking ang amazing sounding headphone amp for most dynamic headphones,right amp for K1000 and powerful high quality sounding tube amp for speakers.You can choose from many speakers SLI surely drive them well.
You can't go wrong with SLI 80
I still using stock tubes but i will go for mullard 6922 they should bring more warm and magic,then I will try to roll another tubes.I will post results.
Thanks, bearded