[Alleria]

Well, the title pretty much says it all. Archive searches haven't turned up useful information, so I'm turning to all of you!

I'd really like to try out the K1000s, as I have this lingering feeling that soon in my life I won't have space for my full-blown speaker setup for quite a while, and that the K1000s are pretty much the next best thing.

The only problem (obviously) is that the K1000s are really hard to drive, but that I don't have the money for that big Cary integrated, or even that ASL. Thus, the question of the MicroZOTL, which I keep hearing raves about, and which I know would definitely make my two pairs of Etymotics and HD600s sing.

So: experiences with it? Or other alternatives? I was also considering some of the DecWare Zen amps, which are triodes and supposed to be very clean. Other suggestions? My budget isn't fixed, but I'd like to keep it under 1.2 grand or thereabouts, for both the AKGs + whatever amplifier (headphone or integrated or regular, it don't matter) sounds best.



Thanks!

 

[Neruda]

the microzotl is not powerful enough for the K1000. I've heard that the Cambridge audio A500 integrated amplifier drives them well, so maybe you should look into that. I think it has a list price of $450, but you can probably find it cheaper; you might even try the less expensive A300, which has less power (though it should have more than enough for the K1000's) and is said to sound almost exactly like the A500. The only amp I've heard the K1000s with though is the SAC K1000 amplifier, and that thing is astounding. Unfortunately it's also discontinued, so you can't find them anymore.

 

[shivohum]

Yes, I agree. I've tried the ZOTL with the K1000s, and the ZOTL is just not powerful enough. Decware would not be nearly powerful enough, either, I suspect.

You might want to consider purchasing some of Norh's Le Amps, which have gotten rave after rave, including one from a highly-respected speaker designer. They are inexpensive, too, at only $500 for a pair (each one will power one channel of your K1000s). And they give plenty of power at 100W/channel.

 

[Neruda]

yeah, just keep in mind that since the le amps are monoblocks, you'll need a good preamp at the same time which might end up being too expensive. Still, if you find a good deal on a nice pre, that would probably sound better than the cambridge. (I say probably because I haven't heard either.)

 

[Alleria]

Hi to both of you -- thanks for the replies!

My roommate uses the Le Amps to drive a pair of nOrh speakers to great effect, and I've been reasonably impressed with their quality at the price point overall.

My main concern is that I keep hearing the AKG-K1000s needing a truly clean source, and that this was why matching an amplifier to them would be so much trouble.

I currently use a Marantz PM-17 (their reference integrated) with my pair of nOrh speakers, and they sound fine. However, I've no idea just how clean various integrates or even dual mono amps/separates will sound with the K1000s?

(the other concern, and this may be unwarranted, is that a power amp rated at something like ~100 watts or even 60 watts like my Marantz could easily, if there were a power glitch or other interference, or even user error on my part with forgetting to lower the volume, blow an expensive headphone -- and my eardrum, to total shreds? I've always been more comfortable with headphone amps that I know can only go so loud partially for this reason. -- Is my fear justified here? As well, will I have enough granularity on my preamp sections to adjust volume for such a relatively tiny set of transducers?)

I guess the last question is with the SAC-1000s: do they come up for sale every once in a while? How much would I have to pay to tempt someone who likes them, to sell them to me?

 

[Anders]

The K-1000 is constructed to connect to a power amp. It couldn't be anything wrong with making a try. Of course, you must set the volume control low at start not to destroy the headphone speaker, and then find a suitable listening level. It is the same for most speaker systems with a powerful amp, if you turn the volume contral at max, you may destroy a tweeter. But then it sounds much louder than you ever would like to listen to.
Be careful!

 

[Neruda]

I say buy 'em and try 'em with whatcha got. if that doesn't work, then either sell them or look for something else.

 

[Alleria]

Well, I could do that. Is resale value good? Or maybe I can find a place that takes returns? In this case, can you help me out with a bit of additional info? what kind of amp binding posts do I need? Mine doesn't take spades: only bare wire, pins, or bananas. Does this work with the AKG K1000s?

The other thing is that I have the Ety 4S, and a pair of 4Ps, and 2 pairs of HD600s. All kick ass, none can touch my speakers. I understand that the K1000s are the closest? what else is out there that can do speaker-type sound?

 

[Neruda]

the K1000 sounds better than many speakers costing upwards of $5k or more, and since it doesn't suffer from room reflections and whatnot, it tends to sound MUCH more accurate. What model nOrhs are you using? (It'd be nice to include all this information in your profile, hint hint.) I can't remember what type of connectors the K1000's adapter has (the headphone itself is terminated with an XLR plug but it comes with an adapter to hook it up to speaker amps), but I think it has banana plugs.

As for resale value, I think they're relatively high. Check the For-sale forum for past sales and see how high they were. If you buy the k1000 from headroom they have a 30-day trial period, and if you're not happy you can send them back and get a refund. that's what I'd reccomend.

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Neruda the K1000 sounds better than many speakers costing upwards of $5k or more,

OK, ya got me. Which $5K speakers don't sound as good as the K1000?

 

[Alleria]

Hi Neruda, thanks for the info. I kinda forgot Headroom stocks it.

My speakers are a pair of nOrh 9.0 marbles supplemented by a single ACI Titan II LE (soon to be a pair of these wonderful subs). All hooked up using an M-Audio AudioPhile 24/96 with Nordost Red Dawn ICs and Blue Heaven Rev II speaker cabling and that PM-17 integrated I mentioned above.

Thanks,

Alleria

 

[darkclouds]

The adapter for the K1000 are not terminated at the amp end (tinned bare wires). The integrated amp you have should work fine.

 

[Neruda]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch OK, ya got me. Which $5K speakers don't sound as good as the K1000?

Well gosh hirsch, we might disagree on what speakers sound better or worse than the K1000, won't we? All I know is that I have yet to hear a speaker as neutral or as lifelike as the K1000, and I've heard some pretty good speakers. What with all the problems a speaker's gunna have in a room--placement, reflections, all that crap--it's definitely going to be hard to get one to sound as neutral as the K1K. Of course, some people aren't after neutrality, but that's why we have tubes and HD600s!

But anyway, regarding the speakers vs. K1000's thing, Just keep in mind that I said "many," which doesn't mean all and doesn't even mean most. Alleria's nOrh's might sound better for all I know. The one place where nearly any good speaker will beat the K1000's is the soundstage. The K1K's have a damn good soundstage for a headphone, but it's certainly not out of your head entirely. Unfortunately I really love a nice soundstage, and that's enough to make me want a good speaker system to go along with my headphone rig.

Alleria: cool! that sounds like a killer system (but you're not using a soundcard for a source, are you??). What do you think of those 9.0's?

 

[Alleria]

Neruda: I like 'em! Their bass leave something to be desired, but that can be fixed. About the only other issue is power handling, and word has it that high-passing out the low-frequencies (which I'll do after getting a 2nd Titan) should clear that up.

Thanks for all the help about the K-1000s, btw!

 

[noguilt]

while i didn't expect much, as the the K1000's supposedly require 7w and the microZOTL puts out only 1w, i hooked my K1000's up to my microZOTL almost a year ago and have never looked back. As far as i'm concerned, it's a terrific combination. Plus, i can use my other headphones with the same amp and cdp. Now i haven't had the leisure time to make comparisons with other amps, but i can say for sure that the microZOTL can produce beautiful and powerful music through the K1000's--it's sure doing that right now for me!

as for "excessive" amp power: my understanding is that it's not a problem, as long as you don't crank up the volume enough to blow out drivers, which are more likely to be blown by the clipping of an inadequately powered amp.

as for comparisons with speakers of a given price point, they seem specious, imho.