[3Double]

My Melos is enroute soon, and I'm wondering what kind of cans I should get. I will primarily be using the Melos as a pre, but I want to take advantage of its excellent headamp potential as well. I've read quite a few reviews of the cd3000 and the HD650, but I've never read any head to head comparisons, and I don't want to get involved in any conditional reasoning. So, what do you guys recommend?

My sources will be an emu 1212 and a NAD T562 dvd/hdcd player. I like all kinds of music, but I'll probably be listening to light vocal stuff, jazz, and some electronica predominantly.

 

[rsaavedra]

The Melos reportedly has best synergy with the Grado HP series. Between the HD650 and CD3000, I really don't know, haven't read which one might work best with the Melos.

 

[cmk]

I reckon the higher impedence cans will work better - ie the 650. For the CD3k, you might need to add an impedencer plug to get the best sound.

 

[NeilPeart]

1. HP-1 (an un-holy synergy, especially with Mullards - PS-1 Pro is another possibility)
2. RS-1 (synergy is present here too)
3. HD 600 (very nice - superb bass impact and sweet midrange
4. K240S (some excellent midrange and controls the bass very well)
5. SR225 (gotta love that slam and this combo will kick your *****!)

 

[3Double]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilPeart 1. HP-1 (an un-holy synergy, especially with Mullards - PS-1 Pro is another possibility) 2. RS-1 (synergy is present here too) 3. HD 600 (very nice - superb bass impact and sweet midrange 4. K240S (some excellent midrange and controls the bass very well) 5. SR225 (gotta love that slam and this combo will kick your *****!)

awesome! thanks for the list. I think I saw you recommending the HP-1s in another thread as well. Do you know where I can get the HP-1s? Is there an Allesandro equivalent to them?

 

[some1x]

HP1 are limited, you'll find one for sale on forums here (or ebay,audiogon) for anywhere between 750 to 1000.

PS1 is $1400 from toddthevinyljunkie

 

[markl]

Quote:

I reckon the higher impedence cans will work better - ie the 650. For the CD3k, you might need to add an impedencer plug to get the best sound.

Melos was designed to drive low-impedence (32 ohm) Grados.

Personally, I would rather find a pair of hedaphones I like first, then find an amp to match them rather than other way around. Much harder to find a pair of cans you like than an amp, much more variability in sound signatures with headphones than with amps.

Still, Melos is a fine amp and should work well with either headphone.

 

[3Double]

I agree with the method you're suggesting Markl. I purchased the Melos because I feel that it's a versatile device. If I don't like it as a headamp, I think it will still be a very good pre according to reviews I've read.

Also, I don't have the time/luxury to audition a lot of headphones, thus my growing addiction to this website.

 

[Chinchy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilPeart 1. HP-1 (an un-holy synergy, especially with Mullards - PS-1 Pro is another possibility) 5. SR225 (gotta love that slam and this combo will kick your *****!)

If HP-1 and Melos has unholy synergism, I wonder what we'd term an HP-1 and a modded Melos... Boy that union must spawn demonic ilk!

I'll let you know how demonic once I get my SHA-1 back from being Mezzobated by Carlo.. Put on a little Barry White and we'll see whether it makes my HP-2's sing...

 

[Hirsch]

The Melos was designed for the HP-1. However, I get excellent results using Sennheiser HD-600 and HD-650. The CD3000 also works well. It's got a lot of "slam" with the Melos. Not the politest combination around, but a lot of fun to listen to.

 

[wallijonn]

The HD600 sounded pretty good on it. Matt even connected my K1000 to it. Chances are you'll be into tube rolling pretty soon.

 

[cmk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl Melos was designed to drive low-impedence (32 ohm) Grados. Personally, I would rather find a pair of hedaphones I like first, then find an amp to match them rather than other way around. Much harder to find a pair of cans you like than an amp, much more variability in sound signatures with headphones than with amps. Still, Melos is a fine amp and should work well with either headphone.

I don't doubt the Melos can drive low-impedence cans, Grado, AT, or Sony.

My point is that with these low-impedence cans, you can only go up to maybe 9 o'clock on the vol pot, while for the medium imp cans(200-300ohms), you would get to about 12 o'clock on the vol pot. I found that the AT W100(<>38ohms) sounded a bit muddled in the mids, until adding a 120ohm plug allowed me to turn up the vol to around 11 o'clock and it sounded a lot more musical.