[b0dhi]

Mr Takei has told me it's fine to use a balanced amp with the TR-2: -

Quote:

Earth of input terminals of TR2 are separated by Left and Right. So you can use balanced XLR from amplifier if you do some re-wiring to conect terminals of TR2.

My bal. M3 can spew out over 20V pk-pk without hitting too much noise, so I'm going to make an XLR -> stripped wire interconnect and run that to the TR-2.

Mr Takei has said that 5V pk-pk would make it loud enough but 10V pk-pk would give excellent bass performance (from the TR-2).

 

[educator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by b0dhi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mr Takei has told me it's fine to use a balanced amp with the TR-2: - My bal. M3 can spew out over 20V pk-pk without hitting too much noise, so I'm going to make an XLR -> stripped wire interconnect and run that to the TR-2. Mr Takei has said that 5V pk-pk would make it loud enough but 10V pk-pk would give excellent bass performance (from the TR-2).

Could you connect the TR-2 directly to the balanced output of a Lavry DA-10 dac? The manual says that at the maximum volume setting it is 34.72V peak to peak.

 

[Duggeh]

Connecting the TR-2 to a balanced amp isnt the problem, the problem is replacing the stereo jack socket on the TR-2 with a 4pin XLR and the jack on the H2 with an XLR jack. Without changing the TR-2 socket to XLR you still cant connect a balanced or bridged ground amp even though the TR-2 is wired with separate input grounds.

In my emails with Mr Takei I have been trying to advise him of the advantages of changing the connection over to XLR. TakeT is looking into it.

 

[cosmopragma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif "If only you were in Europe." That way I could let you hear/loan you the set I have. Find out if its what you are after without gambling the money. They should be with cosmopragma tomo or Friday if they aren't already there. I'm looking forward to his report on how the RKV copes with their massive load.

The parcel hasn't arrived yet.I'm sitting here and can't even listen to some tunes through the Omega since I don't want to miss the door bell ringing.
The same as yesterday ....
I guess I'm qualified now to contribute to your "I hate waiting for parcels" thread.

Quote:

The NAD 3020 goes on eBay all the time for reasonable money and to the best of my knowledge it shouldn't have any issues with a bridged ground.

NAD is famous for providing good sounding reasonably priced integrateds, but an age old 3020 from Ebay is risky unless you are capable of adjusting and recapping it yourself.
I've just purchased a NAD yesterday since I do need an integrated for the bedroom.It's a modern 320 BEE, one year old with one year warranty in perfect condition.210 Euros.Naturally I'll test it in combination with the TakeT and I'll compare it to pricier high-end amps at my local audio stores.
Decent speaker amps are relatively cheap compared to headphone amps.Economies of scale I guess.My 2x60 Watt class A balanced main speaker amp did cost 600 Euros new, and you can't get a balanced 0.4 Watt balanced headphone amp for such a small amount of money.

 

[b0dhi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif Connecting the TR-2 to a balanced amp isnt the problem, the problem is replacing the stereo jack socket on the TR-2 with a 4pin XLR and the jack on the H2 with an XLR jack. Without changing the TR-2 socket to XLR you still cant connect a balanced or bridged ground amp even though the TR-2 is wired with separate input grounds. In my emails with Mr Takei I have been trying to advise him of the advantages of changing the connection over to XLR. TakeT is looking into it.

Thanks for pointing that out. Checking the output socket never occurred to me, I guess because it seems like such a counter-intuitive way of doing it.

Has Mr Takei mentioned to you whether he would consider removing the socket/plug altogether and solder the H2 straight into the TR-2 if the socket type is a concern?

 

[cosmopragma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by b0dhi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has Mr Takei mentioned to you whether he would consider removing the socket/plug altogether and solder the H2 straight into the TR-2 if the socket type is a concern?

???
What's wrong with XLR?
It's an extremely reliable studio standard and better than the 1/4" plugs/jacks in any regard.

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmopragma /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've just purchased a NAD yesterday since I do need an integrated for the bedroom.It's a modern 320 BEE, one year old with one year warranty in perfect condition.210 Euros.Naturally I'll test it in combination with the TakeT and I'll compare it to pricier high-end amps at my local audio stores. Decent speaker amps are relatively cheap compared to headphone amps.Economies of scale I guess.My 2x60 Watt class A balanced main speaker amp did cost 600 Euros new, and you can't get a balanced 0.4 Watt balanced headphone amp for such a small amount of money.

So what are some decent cheap-ish modern integrated amps, then? Yes, I know, search for it yourself cat, but where should I start looking at least...

 

[b0dhi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmopragma /img/forum/go_quote.gif ??? What's wrong with XLR? It's an extremely reliable studio standard and better than the 1/4" plugs/jacks in any regard.

That's what I thought too. Maybe the engineers need the H2 to be able to be plugged in directly to some things. I can't see why anyone would want to use it without the TR-2 though. Hopefully they'll decide on XLR or dual XLR.

 

[fierce_freak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by catscratch /img/forum/go_quote.gif I guess my ideal headphone would be something with an SR-003-like tonal balance, though more extension at either end, SR-404-like soundstage and detail, and ES2-like slam and impact.

That's more or less exactly what I myself am looking for.

 

[cosmopragma]

Thanks to Duggeh's generosity I have the TakeT at my disposal since monday, but I didn't have that much time to listen, maybe five hours.
Naturally I've tried the amps I have lying around here, and I can approve that definitely no headphone amp can drive the TakeT.
In this context the 1/4" connector doesn't make any sense other than tradition and it rules out many great loudspeaker amps.You can't plug it into a headphone socket anyway.I bet there is not a single headphone amp on this planet capable of driving it.
As a frame of reference: My RKV does provide 6.6 Watt into 600 Ohm.Normal position of the volume pot in combination with the K1000s and replaygained files is 10:30, and 11 o'clock is already quite loud, 12 o'clock is dangerously loud and only acceptable for a single headbanging tune.
When I apply the art of positive thinking to the situation I could look at it this way:
The Audiovalve RKV (certainly the most powerful headphone amp into high Z loads I've ever seen) in combination with the TakeT is good for your health since you'll never listen too loud.We all know that pots are not totally transparent, and as an added benefit you could totally bypass the volume pot.
I've tested some "hot" not replaygained tunes and all I've got was distortion, and although tube distortion isn't as devastating for drivers as solid state distortion I've immediately stopped it and didn't try it again. This amp is simply not capable of driving the TakeT loudly.At low volume it does sound good though, but who cares.

I strongly suggest to utilize a 4-pin XLR in the future.It's technically better, shouldn't be too expensive since XLR plugs/jacks are mass produced anyway and would allow to use any loudspeaker amp in existence.

 

[Duggeh]

I had expected that this might be the case even with the mighty RKV, the H2 is just such a phenomenally capacitive load.

How do you like the sound?

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmopragma /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... Naturally I'll test it in combination with the TakeT and I'll compare it to pricier high-end amps at my local audio stores.

Any update on how this is working out? I'm curious, since the 320BEE seems to be one of the best choices for an inexpensive integrated to drive the H2/TR2 with.

 

[MikeLa]

Would the Redwine Signature 30 work?
http://www.redwineaudio.com/Signature_30.html

 

[MaloS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeLa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Would the Redwine Signature 30 work? http://www.redwineaudio.com/Signature_30.html

That thing is absolutely insane with a k340...can't even imagine what it would make out of the apparently glorious H2.

 

[BodieBill]

Maybe this is a somewhat naive question -- if so forgive me. But if inmates here speak of ´speaker amplifier´ I assume they just mean a ´normal´ amp, other than a headphone amp?

I am considering to buy a H2 + TR2 so want to find out whether it would work with my tube amp Cayin A88-T which has 2 x 22W triode or 2 x 45W ultralinear at 6 Ohm.
I am planning to switch manually between H2 and speakers by reconnecting the speaker cables.

Thanks for any advice!

Bodie