[terance]

Hey again everyone,
 
I have installed the new tubes, and they sound great, with one caveat.
 
I have the volume knob at the maximum volume, and to me, it is very, very quiet. (I usually do not listen to music too loud).
 
When purchasing the tubes, I specified that I wanted a matched pair, but did not specify "high gain" tubes.
 
My question:
 
Should I buy another pair of tubes and specify "high gain"?
 
 
The system is very, very quiet.  Too the point where I must have the volume knob at the maximum if I want to hear music, regardless of the volume.
 
My phono stage is a bellari vp130, and worked perfectly fine with another amplifier, voulmes were good.
 
 
Thanks everybody,
 
_ matt

 

[illkemist]

I'm so surprised to see that people are still talking about this little amp. I have had one for almost two years. It has served me well, but it may be on its way out soon. I have a Leben CS300 that will be taking over amp duties as soon as it is back from repair.
 
The Dared really is a nice piece of equipment. I bought it from a Usher dealer when I got my S520s. Not a bad combo at all. Actually, I think it may still be possible to purchase them in Taipei.

 

[terance]

I am having a little, well big, problem with my Dared MP-5 =/
 
My amp develops a bad channel imbalance if I turn it off.  I'll explain.
 
In order for my L and R channels to have the same volume I have to switch the L and R tubes.  I have to do this daily, or else the amp will have a very obvious lean towards the right channel.
 
The tubes are matched, so I know that this is not the problem, and I've checked all of my connections. 
 
I just really do not understand what is going on.  I love the amp, but having to take the tubes out and switch them on a daily basis gets pretty old. . . .fast.
 
Thanks for reading,
 
- Matt

 

[Bostonears]

 

I am having a little, well big, problem with my Dared MP-5 =/

It might be a problem with the preamp section of the Dared, but have you tested these tubes since this problem appeared?  If not, the most obvious thing to try is a different set of tubes.

 

[Smugsie]

Wow, how old is this DAC/Amp?

I just got these from another user on headfi, I'm currently pairing these with my AKG Q701's. This is the best pairing I've had, considering I don't have many "insensitive" headphones to begin with. When I mean insensitive, I mean the Q's aren't very efficient, and the pros about this is I don't hear the electrical whine/hum. I'm not sure if ordering a monoprice power cord will reduce this (I'm using a power cord that came with my power supply unit). Or maybe replacing the tubes. The previous user replaced the tubes with NOS Sovtek 6N1P-EB's.

My previous DAC/amp combo I had was the ODAC/O2.
The soundstage is about the same with the Dared to the ODAC/O2.
Bass is more solid and has more weight.
Sibilance in my music has been reduced to natural distortion, which is nice.
Mids are more lush, smooth, clear.

(Note the above differences aren't anymore than just minor improvements)

Also trying to figure out a way to reduce the sensitivity for the magic eye tube... I'm not driving any speakers and I only have low impedance desktop speakers. I'd like a dancing tube

My third complaint is this thing's aesthetics is a double edged sword; it's a fingerprint magnet.

Overall I'm quite happy with my purchase.