[jjcha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan Did you move back to the EarCandy cables?

Yeah, there is something seriously weird going on with that Zu Pivot. Actually, you know me, I like weird, so kinda like it. (BTW, I am seriously considering getting that Edition 7....

)

Lol. But yes, the EarCandy is a far more balanced sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan The T-amp needs a better power supply. I guarantee that will further enhance the sound hehe. Also it was a quick fix. There's other stuff in there I didn't bother with. It's a tough call between the two units. The battle continues... So far they are tied. The MP5 does have better spaciousness and layering but it's not enough for me.

Heh, I can believe it. But how much further can we really get that T-Amp? I mean there's only so much we can do eh? Maybe I should get that $4~5k Halcro!

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan One thing for sure, the MP5 is better with a better source.

Oh yeah, just to be clear to everyone else - we're using my lan modded HeadRoom Overture as source. We tried it briefly with the internal USB DAC today, and the fatiguing/hardness to the sound was there again. I also mentioned to lan that I tried it with an iPod as source and the sound was just all over the place. The iPod didn't have enough gain, unlike the Overture or Dared's internal DAC, so I had to pump up the volume, but it just sounded unbalanced and lacked anything at the extremes. I don't know what it is, but the Dared didn't like the iPod at all.

And I've been known to use the iPod to drive my old speaker rig. Nothing like an iPod behind 10k worth of audio gear.

Anyway, I can definitely understand why lan finds it to be a tie, and I agree. I will say that as much as I love detail and resolution, layering and soundstage is even more important to me, which is why I've been enjoying the Dared so much lately. It starts to hint at what the K 1000 is capable of for soundstaging, and I think that's pretty nifty for a budget component I bought just because it looks pretty. But I buy everything (well not the K 1000) because it looks pretty.

Here's the thing - I definitely think the Grace m902 outclasses the Dared + any of my sources (well, I haven't tried the Chord) as being a suitable K 1000 amplifier. But my preferences are such that there's just a hint of soundstaging magic with the Dared, which is why I prefer it, esp with the lan modded Overture.

One of these days I've got to get my K 1000 on a serious rig... but I do like the Dared plenty. It's been a lot of fun for $300.

Best,

-Jason

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meyvn Better (with better source) as in better than the T-Amp, or better as in better than it would be otherwise? It's a shame you don't have a Super-T to test, as that's what I've got. Since this particular aspect wasn't covered, compared to the T-Amp, is the Dared significantly less detailed?

I mean MP5 would be better than it would be otherwise if it had a better source. The internal DAC on there is not very good IMO especially with K1000. It might be fine with a more forgiving/easygoing headphone.

We cannot compare this T-amp with the MP5 since the former is modded and the later stock. The T-amp was more detailed and in control of the K1000 but such information is near irrelevant for most since they cannot reproduce this system and thus results.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjcha Lol. But yes, the EarCandy is a far more balanced sound. Heh, I can believe it. But how much further can we really get that T-Amp? I mean there's only so much we can do eh? Here's the thing - I definitely think the Grace m902 outclasses the Dared + any of my sources (well, I haven't tried the Chord) as being a suitable K 1000 amplifier. But my preferences are such that there's just a hint of soundstaging magic with the Dared, which is why I prefer it, esp with the lan modded Overture.

Yes I far prefer that EarCandy mini to RCA to that Zu Pivot. I can see how the Zu Pivot can be engaging but I believe the EarCandy will be the more neutral and better on the "new" MP5 you'll hear in a few weeks

That T-amp needs better power period. There's some other things which can be done

I didn't try very hard though yet. You should try it on your speaker rig

We'll see which modern tubes can maintain and even enhance that soundstaging magic on the MP5.

 

[ak622]

I've had mine for about 3 weeks and I have to say that it works really well with my K501. The soundstage makes listening to music especially live concerts (ie Diana Krall - Live in Paris) all that more enjoyable. As this is my 2nd amp, 1st being a pa2v2, I can't really give many comparisons but from my ears I have to give it 2 big thumbs up and that its definitely a worth while upgrade to me. It definitely gives full bodied sound to my music over the pa2v2 and powers my K501's nicely. It works well with the K501's midrange and adds a little to the low end. Even though many people say the K501 is bass shy, I don't find it lacking in that range. I guess I'm not a basshead so a this combo works well for me.

One of the reason why the unit peaked my interest was the internal USB DAC and it works well iwth my laptop. Now Im wondering if that is the weak link in my system and should I look at an external DAC then amp it. Other than Jason with the Grace 902, has anyone else used an external DAC, some type of USB DAC or even a Squeezebox with it? And if you did, was there much improvement compared to the internal DAC?

Thanks!
Andrew

 

[Elephas]

Here's my Dared MP-5 driving the K1000 and K701. I'm using a new K1000 tail-end cable that was custom-made by a local audio shop. It's a 2 meter DLS-SCKS speaker cable with Eichmann banana plugs.

The Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II XLR cables and Cardas XLR-RCA adapters are thick. The MP-5's RCA outputs are too close together and it's a tight fit.

 

[suharsh]

Got mine yesterday. Boy it sure has great looks!

I have started to listen to this baby using the versatile Senn HD-600. As soon as the sound started to flow in, I new that MP-5 had a unqiue characteristics.

Source was my Jolida JD-100 Tube CD Player. I have heard my HD-600s either by directly connecting to the Jolida CD Player or to ASL's MG-Head. As most of you know the MG-Head and HD-600 go very well. Dared MP-5 seems to be almost there but certainly not yet. But then I had upgrade my tubes on the MG-Head.

The sound from Dared seems to me pretty warm and thick. If there was a measure similar to Viscosity of liquids then I am sure the MP-5 would have had a relatively higher number.

Yet to try the USB-DAC and AKG 1000 on the dared. Hope the AKG pairs well.

The biggest advantage that I see of Dared is the features it offers at this price point - USB + DAC to connect to your PC/MP3 player, Headphone output for headphones and speaker outputs for either AKG 1000 or computer speakers! Now only if they had provided a remote control with it

More later ... so far I am happy. Certainly a positive investment.

 

[lan]

This unit is a hybrid amp as it has a solid state output.

The USB DAC is not that great IMO so in jjcha's unit, I will be bypassing the source selector switch and DAC and probably mini headphone jack and rewiring things direct. RCA -> Volume control. Solid state output -> speakers. The headphone jack is just the speaker outputs with resistors.

 

[ak622]

I agree with Ian regarding the DAC. My Cambridge Audio 640c player has more detail than the USB DAC. But the USB DAC is convienient and allows me to play FLAC files from my computer. I think i will look into a squeezebox or other source to feed the amp down the road...

Ian: how wil you be bypassing the source selector switch and dac? Please let us know what your results are after that mod....

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ak622 Ian: how wil you be bypassing the source selector switch and dac? Please let us know what your results are after that mod....

Easy. Just wire the RCA input jacks to the volume control directly.

 

[Mezevenf]

Has anyone been able to stop the background buzzing on the MP5 yet? It's starting to annoy me a little.

 

[Elephas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan This unit is a hybrid amp as it has a solid state output.

Gah, I hope I didn't say anything stupid before, such as "this tube amp."

--
As for the buzz/hum, I've had best results using a source with variable volume control and the MP-5's analog inputs.

 

[lan]

My background noise has been reduced by using lower gain tubes.

I was testing RCA clear top 12AU7A and now JJ Tesla 12AU7. Actually I'm using JJ tubes because it matches JJCha

since it's his amp and also I like the sound of these tubes.

The noise is one thing but the hum maybe another. I think the tube's heater is AC based. I will investigate more later.

 

[KB]

The distributor in the US for MP-5 does not sell single units, only 10's. Is the best place for people in the US the guy?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dared-new-USB-DA...QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks Guys,

Ken

 

[Meyvn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mezevenf Has anyone been able to stop the background buzzing on the MP5 yet? It's starting to annoy me a little.

I don't own the MP5, but from what I know about it, I can tell you that the way it's structured, it will probably only not hiss with the K1000s, without some serious modification. From my research with connecting headphones to the speaker outs of other amps, they almost always exhibit some sort of hiss, some amps and some headphones more than others. Since the Dared's headphone out is simply the speaker outs with resistors, perhaps this would explain why the buzz/hiss is slight, but still present. Hope this helps.

 

[devwild]

As I've mentioned, it is also is pretty much silent with the K701s. Tuberolling changes the noise level a bit. The few times I have heard any hum or buzz it has been from the preamp tubes, though most have been silent, or became silent after warm up/burn in. The hiss is clearly coming from elsewhere in the circuit.

When I bought this amp I figured based on the price I got it for, that I should be willing to spend some money experimenting with tubes. To my surprise, in doing so, I have learned significantly more about my musical tastes and what aspects I enjoy. It was not quite what I thought, after so much time with only solid state gear and brief tube/hybrid encounters. The difference in tone, detail, and presentation between tubes, even in a lowly hybrid, is more than I had considered possible. This, and other equipment on hand, gave me a wider range available to me at one time than ever previously for testing.

This is not to say that I will necessarilly be buying lots of tube gear now - I won't any time in the near future because of convenience aspects, and because a lot of what I like can also be found in solid state gear. What this experience has done however, is teach me new things to listen for in any gear, and to not get caught up in technicalities or any preset concepts of what I may or may not enjoy. Despite efforts to do this previously, clearly I still wasn't being open-minded enough. Echoing Jason's comments, it was worth it just for that.

Currently I am very much enjoying the sound of some NOS Jan GE 5751s. They are a significant upgrade over the stock tubes in the MP-5, with much better control and detail all around, while still having a nice warm organic sound (as I mentioned previously the sovtek LPS tubes became too bright for me when I switched to a better DAC). They also seem to warm up to a stable point much faster than other tubes, which is a welcome change when I don't feel like waiting to fully enjoy my speakers if the amp was off.

 

[GRhodes]

I have absolutely no buzz, hiss or anything else using AKG K280s. Maybe the amp is just AKG friendly.... ?