So I'm just about ready to buy the Bottlehead Crack, however, a very real hesitation has gotten a hold over me. I'm nervous about shelling out $219 to be disappointed, as I've done in the past, unfortunately. I have a question WyldRage:
With my Shanling PH100, my AKGs get very fatiguing, very quickly -- I'm looking for a tube amp to warm things up the way my vintage Marantz 2235 receiver used to. I am under the impression that tubes offer that, but when you say the K601 sounds "bright" with the Bottlehead, I start to turn away. Bright does not mean fatiguing right?
And if it's not too much trouble, could you give some more impressions of the Bottlehead with the K601?
Examples from my experience:
- With the Shanling, Nirvana's rendition of David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World bites its way into my eardrums, the sound is not at all engaging, and I can barely hear Krist's bass guitar, sounding very light. With the Marantz, I can bathe in the sound, searing guitars are smooth and airy, the bass is equal with the rest of the mix, and it makes me utterly happy; my sonic bliss.
- When listening to the end of Breakfast at Tiffany's, Henry Mancini's score sounded perfect (to me) with the Marantz, the bass came alive with power and depth I've never heard with the K601 before, the whole sound was weightier, pure, organic; all these words I read on this forum finally becoming realized. But as I've said earlier in this thread, the Marantz is broken and the Shanling sounds exactly the opposite to me; lean, fatiguing... if the mids and highs have a loudness of 8/10, then the bass has 3/10.
So I know the sound I want is possible with the K601, I'm in search of a headphone amp that'll achieve it, but is the Bottlehead Crack my ticket? If not, what would you recommend, based on my descriptions? Anyone's input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.