[tune_in]

Ive been thinking of getting an amp for my ath m50.
The Arietta seems like a good bang for the buck, but I have a few questions.

Is it good for low impedance cans?

What does it sound like?
I'm looking to tighten up the bass response without losing quantity, also
I do not want to brighten the highs at all.

Crossfeed? I have read on Meier's site about how it works, but can someone explain what kind of effect it produces.
Does it make headphones sound more speaker like?

And last, Is it worth it?
I currently run out of the headphone jack on my Onkyo DX7555 which sounds great,
but I read the forum alot and everyone seems to think that a dedicated amp is the way to go.

 

[scootermafia]

1. Sure, from what I've seen and experienced, low impedance cans don't have as much trouble with solid state as with certain tube amps.
2. I've heard like from Skylab's review that it has a nice sound that is a good value, comparable to the more expensive Corda models. It has lots of satisfied customers on the board, and it has good build quality. Read his review, but I doubt it will resolve these especially complicated questions. I'd say a good amp in general does these two things. Usually solid state does not tend to "un-brighten" things as much as some tube designs do.
3. Crossfeed is circuitry that blends left/right channels slightly to prevent the fatigue that results from extreme stereo separation in headphone listening. It's going to narrow up the soundstage a little but yes, I have a crossfeed unit and it does have a slightly more authentic speaker sound with less of the feeling of headphones. It can be turned off. Some say the crossfeed does very little and they are fairly right.
4. Yeah, it's worth it, especially for the $225 shipped price that is fair for a nicely made little amp. There are lots of $800 amps out there that don't seem to be packing much more inside than the Arietta - I have never heard that it is a bad value before. For those of you with crappy $800 amps that are not worth the money, I'm terribly sorry.

So...Skylab's overall impression was that the $470 Cantate was hardly better than it, and the Cantate is a well liked amp so this is a favorable comparison. I'd say go for it. There are few other equally well made amps in its price class, although at $375 you can get an M3 from used or Rockhopper or another builder, and it's a high powered, reference quality amp in my opinion.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tune_in /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is it good for low impedance cans? What does it sound like? I'm looking to tighten up the bass response without losing quantity, also I do not want to brighten the highs at all. Crossfeed? I have read on Meier's site about how it works, but can someone explain what kind of effect it produces. Does it make headphones sound more speaker like?

The Arietta is similar to the HeadFive. I got a HeadFive when they came out and (IIRC) sold it to pick up a nice PPX3.

1. Yes. Solid state usually has a much lower output impedance than tube amps (there are some exceptions) so it has no trouble driving low impedance headphones. I thought it did a good job with Grados and wasn't bad with AKGs.

2. It's a nice, smooth solid state sound that's just a little bit warm. I liked the sound signature quite a bit. Not quite like tubes, but not as bright and harsh as some solid state amps are.

3. When you turn on the crossfeed, you'll hear the volume dip a shade (the circuit uses a little power) and the sound will get a little fuzzy, a little out of focus. I hope I don't exaggerate by saying that, because the effect is subtle. If you have hard pans in your music (e.g. Beatles or other 1960s rock), you'll notice a little sound in the other channel. If the mix is better balanced, you'll hardly notice it. The biggest effect for me is that crossfeed lowers fatigue during a long listening session. It also sounds slightly more natural, since you're getting sound from both channels in each ear, just like a live performance or speakers.

One caveat about the HeadFive/Arietta is that the gain is set fairly low. The gain is sort of like a multiplier. You take the input voltage, the amp multiplies it and feeds it out the other end.

If you have a low input voltage, the amp isn't going to make it that much louder. I found this to be a slight issue while using the HeadFive with an iPod. It didn't provide a large amount of gain, so you really had to turn it up. However, most CD players, standalone DACs, phono preamps, etc. offer a god deal more output than an iPod does. So if you buy the Arietta, I'd recommend a standalone CD player rather than an iPod.

In case you're wondering, a lower gain usually means more linear operation, which is good.

I also thought the HeadFive had excellent build quality and was attractively finished. I probably should have hung onto it, but maybe I'll get another someday.

 

[ddoingwell]

FANTASTIC little amp for the $$$. Punches way above it's weight. One of the true audio products that significantly outperforms it's price point. I have one and would buy another.

 

[swayne]

I've received my Arietta on Saturday ( three day international delivery can't be bad ) and it's fantastic.

I'm still burning it ( and my new AKG 701's ) in so I can't really comment on the sound just yet, but straight out of the box. Not bad at all.

Steven.

 

[tune_in]

Thanks for the responses.
After reading Skylabs review, it seems that the Arietta may be a even better deal then I thought before.
I dont need a DAC and if it is close to the more expensive Cantate, that would be impressive.

About the Crossfeed, I guess I was hoping it was going to be a sort of 'Super Surround Effect'.
Even if its very subtle its not a deal breaker.
I guess the only way to know if I like it is to get the amp and try it.
Ill probably end up getting it when I receive my tax refunds which is hopefully substantial ;}

Uncle Erik you mentioned input voltage, and that got me thinking.
My Onkyo CDP analog out is rated at 2.0 V (rms) @ 470 Ohms and the Arietta line in is 12k Ohms.
Just wondering if thats a good match?