[Earwax]

The claim of a rolled off high end was stated in one of the other threads. I've never heard one of his amps, is the claim true? Such a thing would show up fairly easily in objective testing, wouldn't it?

 

[Earwax]

Below are the quotes that started this discussion. I've pulled them into an new thread because I think they were off-topic in the Conspiracy thread and I really would like to hear more about this.


http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showp...1&postcount=57
Quote:

Originally Posted by ampgalore You asked for it. I don't like Ray Sammuel's amps because it does not faithfully reproduce the frequency extremes. In fact there is a severe high frequency roll off with all of his amps. On top of this, both the XP-7 and HR-2 have exaggerated midrange, to give it a fat sound. It is widely known that Ray Sammuel's amps hide the "tape hiss" present in the source, even if that "high frequency hiss" is intended to be part of the music. A good neutral amp shouldn't do this. The only reason this happens is because the high frequency sounds aren't being faithfully amplified. I have experienced this first hand with both the xp-7 and the HR-2. :

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showp...2&postcount=69
Quote:

Originally Posted by ampgalore I don't have the equipment to measure frequency response. As for backing up my statement, I back it up with first hand experience. You can see from my feedback I have owned the Grace 901, HR-2, XP-7. One of my old receivers had a high frequency hiss (dirty solder) in one of the tape outs, which I used to connect up to these headphone amps. Using the HR-2, XP-7, I was oblivious to this hiss. Using the Grace 901, the hiss was as apparent as night and day. And in case you are wondering, there was nothing wrong with the Grace 901. I had a Pimeta at the time as well. And guess what, that hiss was apparent on the lowly Pimeta as well.

 

[cpw]

Cans can also be a factor. Which?
CPW

 

[Earwax]

What bothers me about ampgalores 2nd quote is that he's talking about a system induced noise, not something that's intended to be a part of the recording. How can you blame an amp for not reproducing something that isn't in the music to begin with? For all I know, that noise could be an artifact of an impedance mismatch or something ( Is it clear yet that I know just a tiny bit about electronics -- enough to have many more questions than answers )

 

[MoodyDragon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earwax What bothers me about ampgalores 2nd quote is that he's talking about a system induced noise, not something that's intended to be a part of the recording. How can you blame an amp for not reproducing something that isn't in the music to begin with? For all I know, that noise could be an artifact of an impedance mismatch or something ( Is it clear yet that I know just a tiny bit about electronics -- enough to have many more questions than answers )

I think he makes it pretty clear, the distortion was already in the signal, and should have been reproduced by all components further downstream....

But seriously, if rolled off high end sound floats someones boat, more power to him! Same for forward/rich midrange. I for one like my music neutral and prisine: the way the musician intended it to be. But that is just my chioce.

 

[pigmode]

All the reviews (some by members whose audio opinions I have come to trust) of RS's products seem to point to great extension, especially in the upper registers. Ampgalore needs to explain the circumstances by which he has formed these impressions, and you need to temper your left click at this particular juncture. A quick look at ampgalore's profile did not, imo, reveal a system that could adequetely be used to form acurate impressions of most of RS's lineup.

 

[Earwax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pigmode and you need to temper your left click at this particular juncture. A quick look at ampgalore's profile did not, imo, reveal a system that could adequetely be used to form acurate impressions of most of RS's lineup.

1. I know he's sold off most of the gear he used to own.

2. I don't know exactly what you mean by "temper your left click". Whatever it means, it seems easier to put this issue to bed by means of open discussion than to allow it to continue to fester beneath the covers.

 

[pigmode]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earwax 1. I know he's sold off most of the gear he used to own. 2. I don't know exactly what you mean by "temper your left click". Whatever it means, it seems easier to put this issue to bed by means of open discussion than to allow it to continue to fester beneath the covers.

Imo, it is not or was not an issue till you decided to post this thread. Up to that point it was just an opinion stated by ampgalore. Now here you come along with a thread that, in a volatile manner, might very well fan the flames currently blazing away in this forum. If you really did not want to feed the fire, you could have worded your inquiry in a way that does not tie into all the crap going on.

 

[TrevorNetwork]

If you are going to quote ampgalore, I suggest you quote all the others in the original thread that agreed with him. It is not fair to single him out.

To answer the topic, yes. I do believe that the RS amplifiers I have heard (XP7, and HR2) do have rolled off treble, and a bloated, coloured midrange. This is all I would like to post in this thread.

 

[MoodyDragon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pigmode Imo, it is not or was not an issue till you decided to post this thread. Up to that point it was just an opinion stated by ampgalore. Now here you come along with a thread that, in a volatile manner, might very well fan the flames currently blazing away in this forum. If you really did not want to feed the fire, you could have worded your inquiry in a way that does not tie into all the crap going on.

How would you have worded it so that it would appear to be a genuine question and not an attempt at self censorship? I am new to this forum, and really liked the congenial atmosphere here.

 

[Earwax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrevorNetwork If you are going to quote ampgalore, I suggest you quote all the others in the original thread that agreed with him. It is not fair to single him out. To answer the topic, yes. I do believe that the RS amplifiers I have heard (XP7, and HR2) do have rolled off treble, and a bloated, coloured midrange. This is all I would like to post in this thread.

Was that with any particular headphone? High or low impedance may be relevant.

[ the others with first-hand experience are more than welcome to post here as well ]

 

[archosman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoodyDragon ...I am new to this forum, and really liked the congenial atmosphere here.

That makes me very very sad...

 

[TrevorNetwork]

HD650/zu, HP-1, MS-Pro, CD3000 woody. All exhibited the aforementioned characteristics to a noticible degree. Placing Xtreme4099's PPA (In a much less modified state) resulted in many attendees remarking on how much cleaner, clearer, tighter, natural, and extended the PPA was in comparison. The observations between the PPA and the HR2 were made mainly with the HD650/zu. I personally have evaluated an XP7 with the power supply for three weeks, and noticed the same characteristics. The headphones utilized were the HD600/equinox, HD580, and HP-2.

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrevorNetwork HD650/zu, HP-1, MS-Pro, CD3000 woody. All exhibited the aforementioned characteristics to a noticible degree. Placing Xtreme4099's PPA (In a much less modified state) resulted in many attendees remarking on how much cleaner, clearer, tighter, natural, and extended the PPA was in comparison. The observations between the PPA and the HR2 were made mainly with the HD650/zu. I personally have evaluated an XP7 with the power supply for three weeks, and noticed the same characteristics. The headphones utilized were the HD600/equinox, HD580, and HP-2.

Whatever floats your boat. With the CD3000 and HD 600, I thought the HR 2 absolutely smoked my PPA.

 

[Earwax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pigmode Imo, it is not or was not an issue till you decided to post this thread. Up to that point it was just an opinion stated by ampgalore. Now here you come along with a thread that, in a volatile manner, might very well fan the flames currently blazing away in this forum. If you really did not want to feed the fire, you could have worded your inquiry in a way that does not tie into all the crap going on.

You may not believe this, but I actually did think this would be something that could be objectively put to bed. A few frequency response graphs under various loads would satisfy me.

[oh dear, look at the time. Good Night folks]