[oicdn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by upstateguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif NSESB USG d-_-b

meh...
I have no idea What that means...

I pointed out the stats thing because apparently, the Baby Stax is the only one that's "rolled off", and although I haven't heard any other stats outside a meet scenario and anything longer than "brief", I would have to say, rolled off is VERY subjective...and doesn't always mean "crap"....

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tev /img/forum/go_quote.gif Patrick, your graphic illustrations are fantastic!!!! Can you do one for the Power Plant Premier + VD?

The Premier Power Plant has only MWave1 because it uses a different more efficient technology (MWave4 needs a bigger buffer). In the beginning I couldn't use the Premier because the bottom end was cut off, but after I put books on top of the Premier I got more oomph in the bass with more low-level detail. Mass dampening the vibrations boosts up the bass. Virtual Dynamics uses cheap copper wiring but a lot of vibration dampening around the conductor which improves the sound.

My VD Genesis also has magnets wrapped around the cable with the force pushing against the conductor, since the magnet force comes from all directions it doesn't push the signal sideways which would normally slow down the signal, instead it pushes the signal out from the other side of the magnet "tunnel". That magnet "buffer" might make the AC cleaner since it decelerates and accelerates the signal out from the tunnel.

I made a short 7cm Valhalla power cord with Oyaide 037 connectors and plugged it between wall and power conditioner, then I added a 5feet Genesis between the Valhalla and power conditioner and got better sound!! I have never heard an audio component that improves the sound when adding it into the signal path. Genesis power cable is awesome, I drew another picture:

 

[tev]

Thanks Patrick. The PPP is a wonderful product, no doubt about it. It's great to hear that you've found a way to improve it.

 

[troymadison]

Sorry if this sounds off-topic, but does anyone else think that the K1000 flapped out all the way sounds very similar to the K501?

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by troymadison /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry if this sounds off-topic, but does anyone else think that the K1000 flapped out all the way sounds very similar to the K501?

There are similarities in the sonic sound signature, yes. A family resemblance, if you will.

 

[Patrick82]

I have my K1000 plugged into the 6vrms XLR outputs of dCS Elgar Plus DAC, I compared my tweaked K1000 against stock HD590 and got more bass from K1000. Here is how:

K1000 tweaks
1meters Nordost Valhalla 16awg Dual Filament cable for headphones.
ERS Paper around headphone cable.
Warm-up the DAC for a couple weeks. 1-2 days is minimum.
Leave music running 24/7 at normal listening volume. 12 hours minimum.

HD590
Stock headphone cable.
Put DAC in stand-by and turned on again (DAC went cold).
Drivers not used for a couple weeks.

Tweaks make a bigger difference in bass than K1000 vs HD590.

BTW. I have come to realize that all headphones between Sennheiser HD590 (easy to drive) and AKG K1000 (hard to drive) sound best when plugged into the RCA or XLR outputs of Elgar Plus. With K1000 I just use the rear switch of Elgar Plus to switch from 2 to 6vrms and the edginess transforms into warmth and bassiness with more low-level detail. It is better than all dedicated amps I have tried, as long as it has proper vibration control with Magix levitation feet and 100 lbs of mass damping. It's very sensitive when using a single box setup...

With HD590 I use -56 volume with 6vrms.
With K1000 I use -39 volume with 6vrms.

The digital volume control inside Elgar Plus goes from -60 to 0. BTW, it's much better than Foobar volume control.

IMO, a dCS DAC is the best source for headphones since the system doesn't need a pre-amp, amp, interconnects and tweaks for them. I just use a modified Dual Filament Nordost Valhalla headphone cable.

 

[troymadison]

Why didn't I think of that? You're good man!

 

[b0dhi]

I bet that's the best use of books Patrick has ever managed

 

[troymadison]

Hey Patrick, can I see a picture of your k1000s close up? They look very interesting...

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by troymadison /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey Patrick, can I see a picture of your k1000s close up? They look very interesting...

 

[gates_2]

look, the bass vs no bass issue never seems to end with the K1000`s

I`ll echo what some people have said before. The amplification used is extremely important. When I had them, I drove my k1k`s with a soha just once to see how it would sound...bass was horrible. Regardless of people saying you can drive them well off little $200 IC amps, they will never reach their full potential this way. Driven with a Firstwatt F2 current-source amplifier, its magical. Perhaps I`m just an AKG fanboy, but the great thing about the K1k is that it`s low end is accurate and dimentional. Listen to some jazz bass with a proper setup- I`ve yet to hear another headphone that does it as well.

Some people just have to have the bass bass bass- the K1K is not a *basshead* headphone, and never will be.

/misses the K1K

 

[troymadison]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gates_2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif look, the bass vs no bass issue never seems to end with the K1000`s I`ll echo what some people have said before. The amplification used is extremely important. When I had them, I drove my k1k`s with a soha just once to see how it would sound...bass was horrible. Regardless of people saying you can drive them well off little $200 IC amps, they will never reach their full potential this way. Driven with a Firstwatt F2 current-source amplifier, its magical. Perhaps I`m just an AKG fanboy, but the great thing about the K1k is that it`s low end is accurate and dimentional. Listen to some jazz bass with a proper setup- I`ve yet to hear another headphone that does it as well. Some people just have to have the bass bass bass- the K1K is not a *basshead* headphone, and never will be. /misses the K1K

Well, I just tried one of my k1000s with my reference power amplifier I just got, I didn't like how it sounded with the K1000s. Amplification *is* important but the amount you spend isn't really a factor in it since I am almost completely happy with how the Big Joe drives them. I know that Blackmore was perfectly happy using them out of a TA-10

 

[troymadison]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Very cool!!!

 

[Patrick82]

I put ERS Paper around the stock HD590 headphone cable and let the DAC and drivers warm-up. Now I had the same tweaks for both of them except for Valhalla vs stock headphone cable.

Using ERS Paper in a HD590 system made it sound too clean, smooth and empty. A new world of low-level detail had opened up but it was cut off. I could only hear the improvement from ERS Paper in the highs, but in the lows the bass didn't improve. If I use ERS Paper in a K1000 system the bass gets bigger because the background is quieter which increases low-level detail in the low frequencies. With HD590 the low-level details aren't audible which makes the bass empty and boomy. HD590 have smaller diaphragms so it makes sense why further improvements in bass isn't possible. The only good thing about HD590 are the high frequencies (tweaks make huge differences). With K1000 the highs are rolled off but there is still more detail in the highs because K1000 doesn't have pads.

Based on my tests, a headphone with smaller diaphragms than K1000 will give less bass after reaching a certain point of tweaks. The more you tweak, the more the pads hurt the sound, the nude K1000 are the best when tweaking to the extreme.

It appears that K1000 sound warmer than HD590 because there is more information in the music. The highs of HD590 sound whiter because the mids and lows are veiled, thin and empty...there is nothing there and that makes the highs emphasized. With K1000 there's a lot of things going on around the mids, but since the mids are emphasized the highs sound badly rolled off. Toning down the mids by using the tweaks I told about earlier will give synergy, but the overall performance will be reduced.

A single diaphragm headphone is too limited for audio. With loudspeakers you have 3 diaphragms which would give better synergy, however, the dust in between the drivers and ears interfere with the sound. Also, since there are more lows and highs, the mids get less emphasized. I believe that K1000 are better than all loudspeakers for a clean and detailed midrange, but it's worse for the rest. Without any tweaks the K1000 sounds horribly harsh in the mids, but with tweaks it sounds warm because of more low-level detail. The highs of K1000 are too warm and veiled, it sounds kind of annoying. I don't like diaphragms for music. Another technology is needed.

 

[troymadison]

Well, off-topic once again, but my speaker rig came today. I was wondering if using the K1000s and the speakers at the same time would be a good or bad idea?