[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melletron Can anyone recommend good pair of bookshelf speakers for this amp? I have a pair of Boston CR57 and the bottom is totaly missing. I could get a powered sub but I want to keep this particular setup simple and elegent. Thx.

How about the B&W CM1?

 

[Melletron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwkarth How much bottom end do you expect from a 4.5" "woofer?"

Yea, I know, but I got a great deal and figured I probably would need a powered sub. But recently I decided I really don't want to go that way, I want to keep this one neat.

I'll check out the B&W CM1. They look great. Thanks.

 

[pencechp]

For what it's worth, I plan to pair mine with a set of PSB Alpha A/V speakers, though I haven't done so yet as my amplifier is still in the mail.

 

[Melletron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pencechp For what it's worth, I plan to pair mine with a set of PSB Alpha A/V speakers, though I haven't done so yet as my amplifier is still in the mail.

Okay, thanks, I'll check them out. Let me know how they sound with the amp.

 

[KB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwkarth How much bottom end do you expect from a 4.5" "woofer?"

I have mine pushing a pair of Bose 201's and I seem to be missing the top and bottom end.

For under 200 bones I cant complain, I am not much of a speaker guy, yet... curse you Head-Fi!

kb

 

[rocktboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melletron Can anyone recommend good pair of bookshelf speakers for this amp? I have a pair of Boston CR57 and the bottom is totaly missing. I could get a powered sub but I want to keep this particular setup simple and elegent. Thx.

I am using the Dared to drive my Paradigm Reference Studio 20's. The Dared puts out TONS of bass, incredible for a 13watt amp. Not tightly controlled bass but lots of quantity. I am starting to think that Dared is designed as a speaker amp first and headphone amp second. The 3d imaging, focus, lush vocals out of speakers are AMAZING for an amp this price.

Contrary to popular opinions around here I am not 'that' impressed with Dared as a headphone amp. It's good, but nothing special. On the other hand I am SUPER impressed with Dared as a speaker amp.

Studio 20's have 6.5" woofer and goes to 50hz. In a smallish room with proper corner placement you get very satisfying bass. You can find them used for $275-400. Used ones come up periodically on both ebay and audiogon. To my ears it kicks the ***** out of B&W bookshelf speakers selling for similar price.

 

[devwild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocktboy I am starting to think that Dared is designed as a speaker amp first and headphone amp second.

There is absolutely no doubt to that.

 

[Melletron]

Thanks, Rocktboy. This place is so awesome.

 

[pencechp]

Woot! It's here! (P.S.: Thanks to Ken for an all-around pleasant purchase and prompt and safe shipping!)


How does it sound? Well, much to my chagrin, I pull it out of the box, wire it up, and get two things:

* Very quiet output (voume knob at 3-4 o'clock, which I NEVER do, as I listen VERY quietly)
* LOTS of buzz.

Step 1: Switch from the Sennheiser 280s to my KSC-75s (yeah, I know, the K501s will be in the mail soon, but until then...). This helps some.

Step 2: Obviously: switch from the USB dac to my Chaintech AV-710. Noise floor drops probably 10 dB. No joke.

In conclusion, the internal DAC is a SIGNIFICANT part of the noise problems on my unit. I can honestly say that if I tube-roll this thing a little, it should be *black*.

I'm absolutely IN LOVE with its sound for orchestral music (Beethoven and Mahler tried so far), jazz (Buena Vista Social Club, Eddie Daniels, Miles Davis), and even rock (Rage Against the Machine, Cake so far). This little guy can jam. Now, to crack 'er open, tube-roll and wire the inputs directly to the volume control as per Ian's mod....

Will post results and more listening tests over time, particularly with speakers after I finish braiding together my CAT5 speaker wire tonight.

EDIT: I'm a clarinet player, and I think I just made a personal vow never to settle for the sound of a clarinet reproduced by solid-state gear again.

EDIT NUMBER TWO: If this thing is as source-sensitive as it is, what's a nice (cheap) USB dac to pair with it? Something nice and warm -- a Lite DAC-Ah? Foobar II?

 

[Melletron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocktboy I am using the Dared to drive my Paradigm Reference Studio 20's. The Dared puts out TONS of bass, incredible for a 13watt amp. Not tightly controlled bass but lots of quantity. I am starting to think that Dared is designed as a speaker amp first and headphone amp second. The 3d imaging, focus, lush vocals out of speakers are AMAZING for an amp this price. Contrary to popular opinions around here I am not 'that' impressed with Dared as a headphone amp. It's good, but nothing special. On the other hand I am SUPER impressed with Dared as a speaker amp. Studio 20's have 6.5" woofer and goes to 50hz. In a smallish room with proper corner placement you get very satisfying bass. You can find them used for $275-400. Used ones come up periodically on both ebay and audiogon. To my ears it kicks the ***** out of B&W bookshelf speakers selling for similar price.

I'm really interested in this as a speaker amp. I see the Paradigm Studio 20 v3for $800.00. Will this amp power them ok?

 

[rederanged]

I see the MP-5 billed as a tube/MOSFET hybrid on several sites, e.g.:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin.../dared_mp5.htm
http://ipastudio.com/forums/showthre...8363#post18363

Looking at the specs for the TDA7265, there is no indication that this is a MOSFET amplifier. Are these guys mistaken, or am I just ignorant of the definition of a MOSFET amp? (The latter is certainly possible, as I'm just starting to learn about all this stuff.)

This is just idle curiosity, really. I have an MP-5 and like the sound that comes out of my headphones, regardless of whether the creaminess (see first link) comes through MOSFETs or plain old transistors.

Thanks.

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pencechp For what it's worth, I plan to pair mine with a set of PSB Alpha A/V speakers, though I haven't done so yet as my amplifier is still in the mail.

That's exactly what I would have suggested. PSBs are sound good and are priced well, also using a sensitive pair of speakers is important when your amp can only put out 13w/channel.

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocktboy I am using the Dared to drive my Paradigm Reference Studio 20's. The Dared puts out TONS of bass, incredible for a 13watt amp. Not tightly controlled bass but lots of quantity. I am starting to think that Dared is designed as a speaker amp first and headphone amp second. The 3d imaging, focus, lush vocals out of speakers are AMAZING for an amp this price. Contrary to popular opinions around here I am not 'that' impressed with Dared as a headphone amp. It's good, but nothing special. On the other hand I am SUPER impressed with Dared as a speaker amp. Studio 20's have 6.5" woofer and goes to 50hz. In a smallish room with proper corner placement you get very satisfying bass. You can find them used for $275-400. Used ones come up periodically on both ebay and audiogon. To my ears it kicks the ***** out of B&W bookshelf speakers selling for similar price.

I've used it with a pair of horribly inefficient NHT Super Ones and it sounds amazing! You're right about focus, imaging and the lushness of vocals and even instruments. Even with the inefficient Super Ones they sound quite good, though lacking in dynamics a little. I honestly stopped listening to my headphones after hearing what this sounded like.

I also took them home to power my Von Schweikert VR-5s (old model) and even though they are a lot more efficient (91dB/w as opposed to 86dB/w) the amp really struggled to power them, it would just run out of power even at moderate listening levels. However I think it has to do with massiveness of the room that they are in (they are currently set up in the basement) and the need for lots of power in such a large room. On simple, not too bass heavy songs the amp sounds exceptional.

 

[Melletron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocktboy I am using the Dared to drive my Paradigm Reference Studio 20's. The Dared puts out TONS of bass, incredible for a 13watt amp. Not tightly controlled bass but lots of quantity. I am starting to think that Dared is designed as a speaker amp first and headphone amp second. The 3d imaging, focus, lush vocals out of speakers are AMAZING for an amp this price. Contrary to popular opinions around here I am not 'that' impressed with Dared as a headphone amp. It's good, but nothing special. On the other hand I am SUPER impressed with Dared as a speaker amp. Studio 20's have 6.5" woofer and goes to 50hz. In a smallish room with proper corner placement you get very satisfying bass. You can find them used for $275-400. Used ones come up periodically on both ebay and audiogon. To my ears it kicks the ***** out of B&W bookshelf speakers selling for similar price.

I think I'm gonna go with the Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v3. The newer version 3 has a 7" woofer as opposed to the 6.5 " woofer in earlier versions. Also it's a bit more sensitive than the earlier versions. So it should be easier to drive. This rig is going to be in a smallish room. It is rated down to 50Hz, but in one of the reviews I've read, the reviewer measured it down to 30Hz. According to the reviewer the bass rolls off gradually at 50Hz and is still significant at 30Hz. I'll probably be ordering them in September, but untill then I'm still open to suggestions. Thanks to all, I think this is gonna make a great speaker amp.

 

[stan11003]

I don't have one yet but I thought I'd help the discussion. Here is some background on the usb dac

http://www.chipdig.com/datasheets/pa...7/PCM2702E.php