[jmf]

Dear all,
 
I'll soon have a AKG K-1000 headphone. I don't know how it could work with what I have at home :
- SOHA II,
- Cyrus one
- Charlize2
 
In case the AKG does not work with any of them, are there known decent fits for the AKG around let's say 200-400$ (second hand) ?
 
I know that much more expensive amps would certainly be better... but.
 
Thank's for the advices.
 
Regards,
 
JMF

 

[TheWuss]

what about the hifiman ef-5?
i could swear i read somewhere that it had enough power...
 

 

[Region2]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't K1000 require speaker amps not headphone amps (short of the power houses like a Beta22)?

 

[nikongod]

I would try the K1000 on the various amps you have. Im not too familiar with what you have, but worry about the amp after you get settled with the headphones on what you have now.
 
Quote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't K1000 require speaker amps not headphone amps (short of the power houses like a Beta22)?

That has always been the rule that gets repeated, but where does one draw the line of exactly what constitutes a speaker amp? I dont think I have ever seen a really firm answer.
 
Is it output impedance? People use the Pass F1 with an 80 ohm output impedance with the K1K and la-la-love it.
Is it power? A 7W (into 8ohms) speaker amp cant even put a full 1W into 120(ish)ohms so whats up with that rule?
Is it THD? What is the THD of these big big push-pull power amps at the 12-50mw actually used by the K1000? yea, whats up with that.
Where do we draw the line?
 
Last edit, honest.
I should note that slightly more powerful headphone amps have always sounded better to me with the K1000 than small OTL's (for example), but that dosnt mean you cant try.

 

[Leny]

Quote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't K1000 require speaker amps not headphone amps (short of the power houses like a Beta22)?

Well they certainly are of low efficiency, suggesting that they were designed with the output of power amps in mind. However as nikongod mentioned most people are likely to only need a small amount of power in normal use. Just 8 mW will get you a comfy 83 dB, but 100 dB peaks would need 0.5W. Remember that is power into 120 Ohms which means more voltage / less current than lower impedance phones.
 
Amp designer P Millett has previously stated that the K1 is best driven from a relatively low impedance, which would make sense if the K1 designers made them with a power amp in mind as the driving soure.
 
Having siad all that, I've just had a peek at the SOHA II schematic on Mr. Cavalli's site and it seems to have an almost 14V peak and the option to adjust the output stage current to 140 mA (by way of 0.7 V across R12 [4.99 Ohms] when P2 is adjusted to be out of the circuit). (Needs a decent heatsink on Q7 though). With those figures (and assuming that jmf's SOHA II matches the published scheme) there should be 100 dB peaks available from the K1, which is likely to be more that enough for an entertaining time!

 

[mrarroyo]

I have used a K1000 out of a PinkFloyd modded Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 w/ excellent result via a 1/4" to AKG plug. The V2 puts out 1 watt at 120 ohms. I have also used a few tri-path type amps w/ very good results, some of these amps have ranged from an inexpensive unit under $50 to a $3,000 RWA Signature 30.2
 
I would do as Ari recommended above and first try w/ the amps you currently have. Good luck!

 

[El_Doug]

I used a Charlize with my K1000 - excellent sound, very "pure" sounding without any noticeable coloration.  felt like there was no shortage of power at any moment
 
cheap, too   i used a linear power brick, but you could probably put together an o11 for a top tier amp
 
Quote:

Dear all,
 
I'll soon have a AKG K-1000 headphone. I don't know how it could work with what I have at home :
- SOHA II,
- Cyrus one
- Charlize2
 
In case the AKG does not work with any of them, are there known decent fits for the AKG around let's say 200-400$ (second hand) ?
 
I know that much more expensive amps would certainly be better... but.
 
Thank's for the advices.
 
Regards,
 
JMF

 

[ford2]

Quote:

Dear all,
 
I'll soon have a AKG K-1000 headphone. I don't know how it could work with what I have at home :
- SOHA II,
- Cyrus one
- Charlize2
 
In case the AKG does not work with any of them, are there known decent fits for the AKG around let's say 200-400$ (second hand) ?
 
I know that much more expensive amps would certainly be better... but.
 
Thank's for the advices.
 
Regards,
 
JMF

As others have suggested just wait and trial them with the amps you have,despite what some will say they are not that hard to drive.
 
 
 

 

[jmf]

Thank you all !
 
So I hear that it could work with SOHA and Charlize2 : Nice !
 
I'll do a report after tests.
 
Regards,
 
JMF

 

[JadeEast]

I'd just like to say that if you are looking at the Chalize you should probably use a resistor to try to get the impedance of the load down. Tripath amps have a rising response into higher than 8ohm loads. A 6 or 8 ohm resistor across the outputs of the amp would help. I've used a Chalize for both speakers and tried it with headphones like the k340 and some Orthodynamics. It's a good amp, reasonably priced and small enough that I built mine into an old Lacie harddrive enclosure. 

 

[jmf]

Hi all,
 
The K-1000 is at home. An "old" one (serial 2478).
 
I quickly tried it with my 3 amps :
- tweaked Philips CD722  + Cyrus one : works
- tweaked Philips CD722  + Charlize2 : works better
- USB Monica + NOT balanced SOHAII : the best (but DAC is important difference), but volume pot is 3/4. Power could become an issue in this conf...
 
I'm happy. I will have to try USB Monica+Charlize2+K1000 but more difficult as amp and DAC are harwired.
 
Regards.
 
JM

 

[HiFlight]

I have a SOHA (Jisbos) modified with blackgates, and while it does a fine job with most phones, it is underpowered with the K1000. 
 
At your price point, I would suggest a Virtue 1.2 or a Winsome Labs Mouse.  Both work extremely well with the K1Ks.  If one considers the appearance of the amp, the Virtue is a classy looking amp.  It is about a 40 wpc amp and only measures about 5" high, 3" wide and 5" deep.  No headphone out, only speaker terminals. 
 
Both it and the Mouse are T-amps and cannot be used with conventional phones having a common ground.   With the K1K, they give most of the advantages of a balanced amp. 
 
Here is the Virtue: 
http://store.virtueaudio.com/product-p/vrtu-ia-vaone.2.classic-pbf-1.htm
 
Good luck!
Ron

 

[JadeEast]

I like the Monica and Charlize combo and have used them with both K-340 and couple of Orthodynamics. While I did like
the sound my main concern was the reported rising response of the Tripath amps into higher loads. An resistor across the outputs to
the amp sees what it is expecting could nullify the impedance mismatch. 
 
 

Hi all,
 
The K-1000 is at home. An "old" one (serial 2478).
 
I quickly tried it with my 3 amps :
- tweaked Philips CD722  + Cyrus one : works
- tweaked Philips CD722  + Charlize2 : works better
- USB Monica + NOT balanced SOHAII : the best (but DAC is important difference), but volume pot is 3/4. Power could become an issue in this conf...
 
I'm happy. I will have to try USB Monica+Charlize2+K1000 but more difficult as amp and DAC are harwired.
 
Regards.
 
JM