[suharsh]

I bought the unit from Audiogon from Bill who was recommended on Head-Fi. Anyone else bought from him? Is that a US unit? Seemed to be a nice guy. Would really be very disappointed to find out that I got a non-US unit

 

[Elephas]

(click thumbnails to view)

Philips EM87 Magic Eye


Siemens EM87 Magic Eye






Pair of Mullard ECC82 and Siemens EM87 Magic Eye

 

[devwild]

Did swapping out the magic eye make a noticeable change?

 

[KB]

Elephas,

Thanks for the photos, can you tell us where you picked up your tubes? I am going to try the ones you bought since the ones I bought dont work properly for my version.

THX

Ken

 

[Elephas]

I will spend some more time comparing the 3 magic eye tubes I have.

My initial impression is the difference between the Philips and Siemens isn't that great. Both seem better than the stock magic eye, but again the difference isn't that great.

The most gain in quality came from changing the stock 6N1 pair to the Mullard ECC82. Sound is noticeably cleaner, crisper and more detailed. The darker background is the biggest difference.

I bought the tubes from eBay and Yahoo Taiwan Auctions.

 

[jjcha]

Interesting.

Okay, so I've had this back for a few days now. lan's modded mine, by greatly simplifying it (man he even disabled the "Power On" light!) for pure line-inputs > volume knob > speaker jacks, which are out to my K 1000. He changed some parts around, but my understanding is that there isn't anything major on this front (yet.

).

We've got the jj tubes in it. Still using the K 1000.

A few thoughts.

1. It is interesting how apparent cable differences are in this rig. The Cablepro Earcandy versus Zu Pivot are pretty darned different. Before the sound was too hard with the Zu, so I used the Earcandy. Now, after the mods, it isn't too hard with the Zu, so I kept it with the Zu for the initial 3 or 4 days. But a few days ago I swapped back to the Earcandy, which is softer/warmer/more midrange-focused, but there is something cohesive about the tonal balance as well as soundstaging. I've been happy with the Earcandy for the last day or two, so it's staying in for now.

2. With the K 1000 - the soundstage is nice and wide and filled out. It's not super deep/3D though. It does sound nice though. Soundstage sounds like the K 1000 drivers are angled out further than they actually are.

3. With the Earcandy, I'm surprised how soft the K 1000 can sound. Actually, even with the Zu (which does sound a bit less so) I'm surprised at how soft it is, relative to the modded T-Amp. I think this will be a lot more listenable to most people than the modded T-Amp. The Dared is certainly more natural. Anyway, by calling it soft, it's not to say there isn't detail. But it is notably smoother and rounder sounding.

4. Dared has very nice power with the K 1000. I'll put the volume at my listening levels (which is loud) with the K 1000's drivers angled out at max, and it's still not distorting. Usually, with max angles and my loud volume, the sound distorts pretty bad. This is pretty impressive.

5. Can't say yet too much how much is the mods, how much is the jj tubes. I'll do some tuberolling later with the stock tubes.

Well, the Dared is definitely doing well. It's definitely not the best amp I've heard for the K 1000. But it powers them pretty well, and fits nicely in my computer rig right now. And it has a sound which is pretty enjoyable. Though I think the cable is perhaps too warm/rounding for me, despite its cohesive sound. I think we can do better with cables/tubes, even not touching the components.

More exploring/tuberolling to come...

Best,

-Jason

 

[kwkarth]

Just bought a Dared MP5 today. So far, right out of the box, it's pretty impressive for the dinero.

I have some alternate tubes on order and will report more when gets broken in and "rolled." Now if I could only find that spkr adapter for my K1000....

 

[kwkarth]

I'm very pleased with the sound of this amp so far. With stock tubes, it comes across as a little bright around 10kHz through the USB port, driving the AKG-K501s. The 701s are a bit better balanced sounding. When fed by my SACD player, it sounds more balanced with either can.

As far as noise floor goes, with no signal, it's virtually silent, even with the gain wide open, on line in or USB in. I couldn't be happier about that!

About 7 o'clock is volume all the way off, and at 9 o'clock it's a little louder than I would normally listen driving the 701's or the 501's. at 12 o'clock, it's very loud and far more so that I would ever listen. This is with the stock Chinese 12AX7s.

I have a matched pair of 12AX7EH-GOLD and a matched pair of 5751 EH GOLD on order from BOI Audioworks. Ken of Audio Line Out turned me on to the site. Their prices seem very reasonable. The 5751s should be perfect as far as gain goes, being about 70% if a typical 12AX7.

My MP5 is the US version and I bought it from Ken @ Audio Line Out. This amp seems to be an exceptional value so far!

More about the sound when I get the new tubes and find my K1000 speaker cable adapter.

Happy Listening!

 

[Elephas]

It's nice to see more members enjoying this inexpensive amp.

I wouldn't call my Dared MP-5 accurate, neutral or resolving, but it is definitely euphonic and enjoyable.

 

[sxr71]

I got one coming on Thursday and I can't wait!

 

[kwkarth]

[size=large]Updated[/size]
Comparing the stock tubed Dared MP5 with the Corda Aria driving The AKG K501, K701, and Sennheiser HD600 w/Cardas Cable, and Grado SR-200

New note WRT driving high sensitivity cans like Grado:
You MUST make sure you're supplying good clean power, using a good power cord and using good cable hygiene and cables.
If you meet these minimum standards, the MP5 will be silent even while driving the Grados with the stock high gain 12AX7s.

Pro Corda Aria:

1. The blacks are a wee bit blacker on the Aria.
2. The Aria has about 1/2 octave better response at the bottom end.
3. The Aria exhibits slightly better resolving power & pluck definition on strings with a slightly etched quality.

Pro Dared MP5:

1. I find the Dared has far more gain with the stock tubes compared to the Aria.
2. The Dared sounds more open than the Aria and does better on all stringed instruments and voices. Strings and voices are rounder, fuller, more musical sounding.
3. The Aria can be made to clip when driving the 501/701s, and even on rare occasions, the HD-600s.
4. The Dared has more than enough power for the 501/701s. No chance of clipping. Bottom line, headroom is for practical purposes infinite with the Dared and limited with the Aria.
5. I think this is my favorite amp for my Grado SR-200s

Stay tuned, more to come!

[size=large]Update:06/28/06 22:40 PDT[/size]
I received 2 matched pairs of tubes today from Boi. Both Russian made, gold pinned Electro Harmonix 12AX7 and 5751.

I like them both better than the stock 12AX7s that came with the unit.
The 5751s work well with the conventional cans, such as the 701s, 501s, Sennheiser HD-600/Cardas cable, Grado SR-200s, Beyer DT-250/80.

The 12AX7s with their higher gain, work better with the AKG K1000s. Yeah!

I found my adapter cable.

The Dared is a big improvement over the SAC K-1000 amp. In the SAC while driving the K1ks there is a distinct metallic coloration, particularly evident at higher volumes. Funny thing is, that coloration is not there when driving conventional cans like the K501s.

That coloration and the associated HF hardness is totally absent with the Dared. I am stoked that I could get such good sound out of such an inexpensive amp for the K1ks!!

I'll have to let the tubes run in a while and report back. I've also dialed in some EQ in iTunes to make the response neutral to my ears. More about that later.

[size=large]Update:06/30/06 06:30 PDT[/size]
I've been running in the 5751s over the past day and I think they're becoming my favorite tubes. These are the Electro Harmonix gold pinned versions that are supposed to be the same construction as the Sovtek 12AX7LPS. The 5751 variation has 70% of the gain of a 12AX7 and seems to be a good fit in this amp, even when driving the K-1000s.

I am still amazed at how fast and resolving the K1000s sound out of this amp. All of the slowness and metalic coloration I had associated with the K-1000s seem to be confined to the SAC K-1000 amp. Funny, because SAC does not sound all that bad when driving the K501s. Anyway, I'm really digging this combo of the MP5, AKG K-1000, EH5751G tubes. Still hard to believe for $330USD plus another 35 or so bux for the extra tubes. Awesome bang for buck!

[size=large]Update:07/01/06 17:40 PDT[/size]
Still letting things burn in. Still loving the music. Running in the 5751s. Thought I would post a pic or two:

With the "bonnet" down.

With the "bonnet" up.

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwkarth Comparing the stock tubed Dared MP5 with the Corda Aria driving The AKG K501, K701, and Sennheiser HD600 w/Cardas Cable Pro Corda Aria: The blacks are a wee bit blacker on the Aria. The Aria has about 1/2 octave better response at the bottom end. The Aria exhibits slightly better resolving power & pluck definition on strings Pro Dared MP5: I find the Dared has far more gain with the stock tubes compared to the Aria. The Dared sounds more open & more full than the Aria and does better on all stringed instruments and voices. The Aria can be made to clip when driving the 501/701s, and even on rare occasions, the HD-600s. The Dared has more than enough power for the 501/701s. No chance of clipping. Bottom line, headroom is for practical purposes infinite with the Dared and limited with the Aria. Stay tuned, more to come!

The main reason I bought the MP-5 is because I believe I'm having headroom issues with my current amplifier. I remember in one thread we were discussing the K701s and their tendency to create a "vibrato" sound when deep bass is played through them at moderate to high volumes.

Most people felt that it was the headphone, while you seemed pretty sure it was the amp. Well, I just decided to try another amp and what what I'm hearing this amp should have no problems at all driving the K701s.

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sxr71 The main reason I bought the MP-5 is because I believe I'm having headroom issues with my current amplifier. I remember in one thread we were discussing the K701s and their tendency to create a "vibrato" sound when deep bass is played through them at moderate to high volumes. Most people felt that it was the headphone, while you seemed pretty sure it was the amp. Well, I just decided to try another amp and what what I'm hearing this amp should have no problems at all driving the K701s.

I agree, this amp will have no problems driving the 701s until they smoke, or your ears bleed, whichever comes first...

Just be aware that it also rolls off the bottom half octave.

 

[kwkarth]

Updated post # 206 @ 22:45 PDT
goto post 206

 

[biged]

How does the Dared work with grado's/alessando's?

Ed