jornfin
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2006
- Posts
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Earmax Pro, X-Can V3 and Lehmann Black Cube Linear
Two very good head phone amps – and a spectacular one.
1. The short version
I sometimes get carried away. So if you can’t be bothered to read through all of this, here it is in a nutshell: The spectacular one is the Earmax Pro, which is being promoted by Audio Advancements LLC in New Jersey. To me, in any case. That’s to someone, who is looking for musicality, for authenticity, for the feeling of listening in to actual musicians performing real music live - rather than listening to music recorded and then reproduced through equipment, no matter how well reproduced.
2. The long version
I do get carried away, but rarely. After 20 years into high end, I know that few components stay in a system forever. And a lot of the stuff people get all worked up about (on these pages or any others), may well be on sale at Ebay by the time you read the rave. So why bother?
The one reason why I do bother is when I feel obliged to express gratitude. When I feel that someone has went out of their way to produce something truly special, that is highly musical (as defined above), well crafted and cheap on top of that, given it’s performance. Such a product is the Earmax Pro. Thank you, Stefan Brocksieper, thank you.
If my review is to tell you anything at all, you need to know my set up. So here goes: Shunyata Taipan and Hydra 6 power line gear. Densen 400 XS CD-player (if you are not familiar with the company, read up on it at www.densen.dk. I’d say the sound is somewhere between Meridian and Rega. Highly analogue.) Then Goertz silver cabling to head phone amp. Finally, Sennheiser 650s with Moon Audio Silver Dragon (version 2) cable. By the way, that’s another thing I felt grateful for – the new Silver Dragon. Nothing (and I mean nothing) like it to lift the Sennheiser veil and make for a highly detailed yet truly natural sound.
Now for it. I’d been happy with my X-Can V3 for 3 years. I chose it over some units by Pro Jet and Creek, which were cheaper, admittedly, but fell so far short of the X-Can in terms of musicality, that the X-Can seemed a steal in comparison. Again, musicality meaning the feeling of listening in on the real thing. Musicality meaning a grin stretching from ear to ear, starting 10 secs into the first tune. So if I was that happy, why look for alternatives? Three reasons, two of which you may well dismiss. Most people I know do. But they are my reasons anyways:
1. Musical reason: The X-Can sounds excellent at a certain medium high volume level. At low levels (which I prefer), too much drops out of the picture. At high levels (which I prefer occasionally after that extra glass of wine) the sound becomes slightly harsh and even aggressive. So, there should be more power. I could, of course, simply have got the X-PSU, I know. But there are those other two reasons…
2. Aesthetical reason: The X-Can looks like something from the discounter down the street. Oversized and clumsy, cheap looking, uninventive and much too big lettering. Two of those in my (and my wife’s) living room? No thank you. I have to add here, that my other components – the Densen, my Pathos Classic One hybrid amp and my Dynaudio C1’s – look like something you might come across at the Met. Museum of Modern Art. I didn’t buy them because of that, they just do - and in their company, the X-Can is an eyesore.
3. Moral reason: I live in a country (Finland), where everybody knows somebody who lost their job, because production (usually of cell phones or software) was moved to East Asia. It bugs me. I’d rather pay more, than see all those people loose their jobs, because some company wants to sell their stuff a couple of euros cheaper. And this is exactly what Musical Fidelity does. Produce everything industry style in some developing country, and you can keep your retail prices low and look good in the value-for-money category.
As I said – most people do not understand those last two reasons at all. That’s okay. I would not have thrown my X-Can out of the window because of them, either. But given the musical reasons, and since this is a hobby and it’s fun to look around, anyways, the thought of replacing them was not out of the way by any means.
So I started to read up on alternatives. Most of the gear I found was simply out of the question because of reason 2: You want to put Meier Corda or Head amps up in your living room? Fine by me. But I have eyes to please, too, not just ears. Also, an amp without any tubes? I used to have those myself, but since I listened to and immediately bought my Pathos amp, I am very sceptical. That said, the Lehmann came up so often and had so many professional reviewers arguing in it’s favour, that I wanted to give it a shot. The Earmax interested me for the one reason that is was Ken Kessler who recommended it above its competition. Kessler was one of the first (along with Sam Tellig) who went nuts about Pathos amps, so I could safely assume that he appreciates the same things in an amp as I do.
As for the amps and fine tuning: I spiked my X-Can right after I bought it, using Soundcare adhesive spiked feet (www.soundcare.no) and they do have a surprisingly strong effect on the amp, making for more precise imaging and more detail on both ends of the spectrum. (They are cheap, too!) I used the Lehmann with a 400 euro Shunyata Copperhead power cord. The Earmax Pro I used just as it came out of the box. So what is this, you might ask – here is this guy comparing a 400 euro hybrid to a 700 euro solid state with a 400 euro cable and then a 550 euro triode OTL design? Does any of this make sense? Well, it does, when a) it’s not so much about the money (I’m not rich, but I’d rather save up another couple of months than make a compromise) and b) when you admit that, philosophies aside, the ideal solid state and tube design would sound identical – they would both sound like they weren’t there. Like there was just music. So I gave everything that was not ugly a shot. X-Cans and Lehmann were fully burned in. The Earmax wasn’t.
The Lehmann was a real surprise, in so far, as its sound is totally different from what I was used to with my X-Cans. The sound is very, very detailed, very, very dynamic, very, very complete – and, to my ears, it doesn’t sound anything at all like live music. I have spent (wasted?) my youth in jazz bars. I have been to more chamber music and symphonic music concerts than I care to remember. It’s great to get oodles of detail – but I kept saying in my mind “that’s amazing, only I know you don’t hear that at a concert. An example: A whole orchestra would burst into a symphony and I’d be stunned by the dynamics and the completeness of the musical picture. Then a solo instrument would start playing and I fall out of it, and hard. A piano simply does not sound like that. A violin, a cello, a human voice – they just don’t sound like that. If, at this point, you are thinking, “So what, I don’t like classical”, keep in mind, that jazz and all acoustic music depends on these same qualities. If, on the other hand, you mainly listen to amplified music, hard rock and such, buy the Lehmann. That kind of music is not dependent on the timbre of the individual voice or instrument, and as for dynamics and speed, the Lehmann was unmatched by the others.
There are some very favourable reviews of the Lehmann on the internet, and I can only agree with them – except for the point where it is said to have a “natural, almost tube like sound”. I didn’t to my ears and given my musical preferences, that ruled it out. It did demonstrate for me all the things the X-Can was not good at. It set new standards as to how much detail and dynamics can be reproduced through the Senns 650. Which makes my two weeks with it a very rewarding experience anyhow. For me, though, I never once lost the feeling I was listening to equipment, to music (as I said), that had been recorded and was now reproduced, rather than to live music.
So I dismissed the Lehmann, and I have to say this for my X-Can – for all the shortcomings the Lehmann had pointed out - I had not enjoyed listening to the Can as much as I did now, right after shipping the Lehmann back to the seller. Because of its superior musicality, I was more at peace with it than I had been.
But still, there were those shortcomings. … So I sent out for an Earmax, after reading the review by Ken Kessler which I mentioned above. It had all the key words in it: “feeling of being there”, “musical” and etc. I bought mine (with a money back guarantee) at the Tube Amp Doctor in Germany. It came within days.
First of all, since looks are important, this thing is sooooo beautiful! I read some comments by people who liked an earlier finish better, and I cannot comment on that. But this thing looks exquisite as it is. No pictures on the internet convey this. The finish is very high grade, the craftsmanship is great. There is only one button on this thing, which is the volume control with an Alps pot inside. Both X-Cans and Lehmann use that, too, but it doesn’t feel nearly as exquisite, as – well – expensive, as with the EMP. I won’t go into features, there are none. No in-and-out loop, no gain switch, no nothing. But I don’t need that either, since my CD-player features two sets of outputs. For me, as I said (and repeated, I know), it’s all about the music. So what about that?
I gave the EMP 20 hours of break-in time. It’s supposed to need 100 or so, but I couldn’t wait. Nor did I have to! After 20 hours this little unit produced such musical beauty, such face splitting smiles! (Well, “demented” is the word my wife used, but let’s not get into that…) The sound is tube-like, in so far that each and every single voice or instrument sounds just like it really does. I can truly say that within moments I found myself sitting in that jazz club, that chamber, that symphony hall, listening in to the real thing. The Earmax Pro – Silver Dragon V2 – Sennheiser 650 combo comes so close to the actual sound, it’s unbelievable. IIt actually matches my Pathos – Dynaudio combo in this respect which is 9 times (!) the price. Let’s see, if I can explain this in detail.
In technical terms: The bass is abysmal. It might be even deeper than the Lehmann’s and is a world away from anything the X-Can can do. The midrange is beautifully structured, full and rich, leaving both competitors far behind (the Lehmann farther than the X-Can), the upper end is full of beautiful detail and airy, without sounding as analytic as the Lehmann does or as (slightly) unfocused, as the X-Can. The soundstage is big and well structured. I have never heard a head phone amp create such a feeling of space.
In musical terms: Music through the EMP sounds like music through hardly anything at all. Meaning you just don’t notice you are listening to an amp. You are too involved with the music! The music is authentic and immediate - the two most important adjectives to describe high end gear, in my book. And the first two to come to mind when listening to the Earmax Pro.
A few examples:
Bill Evans Trio live at the Village Vanguard. With the X-Can, the conversational structure of three equally important instruments never really came out, mostly because of the weak bass. The Lehmann brought that out, beautifully – only none of the three instruments sounded the way they really do. This is the music I know best from live gigs, and the Lehmann doesn’t put me there at all. The EMP combines the completeness of the Lehmanns musical picture, presents all three instruments equally and clearly separate from each other, and on top of that makes each one of them – percussion, stand up bass and piano – sound (just about) the way they really do. Lovely!
Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, When I go; Tracys EP. These are two of my favourite voices in popular music. Well, as popular as folk is, today… But that’s another matter. Both use a lot of fine tuning in their phrasing, sometimes more or less telling the stories, then singing beautifully together. Carter at times being ironic, sometimes a little silly, always very human. Tracy in the background, sometimes leaving that, adding a wistful note to Dave’s lyrics. On these two CDs you get 6 or 7 different guitar-like instruments. With the X-Can, the music is quite beautiful, but the bottom drops out at small volumes and the differences between instruments used are not very clear. Also, there could be more snap to single guitar notes. The Lehmann gets that right, but … well, see above.
With the EMP all those instruments have a very different character. The voices are so human, it makes me weep to think of Dave Carter’s death. The Earmax pro also does something more: It reproduces the feel of the setting. “When I go” was recorded in Tracy Grammers kitchen, for budget reasons. The recording is far from bad, it’s, well, homely. And I never got that feeling the way I did with the EMP. Quite astonishing!
Whitesnake live in the heart if the city. (What? Yes, yes… a few drinks and my past caught up with me….) This should have been a home run for the Lehmann. It wasn’t. Yes, the guitars do have more attack through the Lehmann. But the EMP a) creates a feeling of space, of being right there inside that BIG Hammersmith Odeon, that got me hooked. The audience sounds more like an audience than anything I heard in my life. Yes, in my life. And as Coverdale gets carried away on “Ain’t no love” or bursts into the opening lines of “Mistreated”, the emotional impact is so intense! Also, Moody’s guitar might not be just as snappy, but it’s got a blues feel to it, that – yet again – sounds just right. This is part of the sound that distinguished Whitesnake from say Rainbow or Deep Purple in the first place and I love it. The X-Can might be the most effective compromise for this kind of music. Then again, the feeling of being there (though not as non-existing as with the Lehmann), is not quite as intense as through the Earmax Pro. Nevertheless, if this is your preferred kind of music, check out the X-Can, too.
(Sober again…) Beethovens 5th piano concert. Same picture. The EMP takes the completeness and dynamics of the Lehmann, adds spaciousness and clearly distinguishable and authentic sounding instruments and makes for a musical experience that I was unprepared for. I never thought the actual feeling of a symphonic concert hall, the swelling up and down of the orchestra, the beautiful intimacy of the solo instrument could be reproduced like this. With this kind of music, the EMP even blows my Pathos – Dynaudio combo away and that is saying plenty!
Bachs “Well tempered piano”. Don’t even ask. The cembalo is so hard to get to sound right, and the EMP does it. Usually this instrument just makes you wish you were listening to a recording using an actual piano, instead. But not this time. There is so much finesse to every note played, such an airiness to the instrument’s sound. This is beauty manifest. This is also home turf for the Earmax Pro, neither of the others even plays in the same league.
So is this the perfect head phone amp? Of course not. As I said before, if Metallica is your favourite act, get the Lehmann. There is no way you’ll be sorry. If 400 euros/dollars is already stretching it, get the X-Can. It really is an all round performer, in spite of the weaknesses mentioned. It sure beats the daylights out of the competition in that price range.
Another thing: With solid state in the signal path (all the way, as the Lehmann, or in the power amping stage as with the X-Can) amps have an “emphasis on the leading edges of notes”, as Ken Kessler put it. The music seems to lean forward. This may well be desirable with some rock, pop or electronic music. It is, nevertheless, artificial. It is not a natural result of the way the instruments are played, but a result of the way the music is amplified, as it is being reproduced. Almost everybody is used to this, though, so the EMP may at first seem somewhat laid back. But when compared to live music, not so much as to other gear, I can only state that the EMP simply gets it (more) right. So, since I want music to sound through my cans the way it does right there in that bar/club/hall/etc. I just love the EMP.
Talking about price: Whereas the X-Can is made industrial style in East Asia, the Earmax Pro is hand made by a German engineer (its designer, Stefan Brocksieper) in Germany, the way the Lehmann is. It’s produced in very small quantities and is exquisitely made. If it came at twice the price - I am still sober – I’d still say it’s worth every cent. At its price, it’s a steal! Get two, put one in the bank, enjoy the other – music never sounded so real before.
Two very good head phone amps – and a spectacular one.
1. The short version
I sometimes get carried away. So if you can’t be bothered to read through all of this, here it is in a nutshell: The spectacular one is the Earmax Pro, which is being promoted by Audio Advancements LLC in New Jersey. To me, in any case. That’s to someone, who is looking for musicality, for authenticity, for the feeling of listening in to actual musicians performing real music live - rather than listening to music recorded and then reproduced through equipment, no matter how well reproduced.
2. The long version
I do get carried away, but rarely. After 20 years into high end, I know that few components stay in a system forever. And a lot of the stuff people get all worked up about (on these pages or any others), may well be on sale at Ebay by the time you read the rave. So why bother?
The one reason why I do bother is when I feel obliged to express gratitude. When I feel that someone has went out of their way to produce something truly special, that is highly musical (as defined above), well crafted and cheap on top of that, given it’s performance. Such a product is the Earmax Pro. Thank you, Stefan Brocksieper, thank you.
If my review is to tell you anything at all, you need to know my set up. So here goes: Shunyata Taipan and Hydra 6 power line gear. Densen 400 XS CD-player (if you are not familiar with the company, read up on it at www.densen.dk. I’d say the sound is somewhere between Meridian and Rega. Highly analogue.) Then Goertz silver cabling to head phone amp. Finally, Sennheiser 650s with Moon Audio Silver Dragon (version 2) cable. By the way, that’s another thing I felt grateful for – the new Silver Dragon. Nothing (and I mean nothing) like it to lift the Sennheiser veil and make for a highly detailed yet truly natural sound.
Now for it. I’d been happy with my X-Can V3 for 3 years. I chose it over some units by Pro Jet and Creek, which were cheaper, admittedly, but fell so far short of the X-Can in terms of musicality, that the X-Can seemed a steal in comparison. Again, musicality meaning the feeling of listening in on the real thing. Musicality meaning a grin stretching from ear to ear, starting 10 secs into the first tune. So if I was that happy, why look for alternatives? Three reasons, two of which you may well dismiss. Most people I know do. But they are my reasons anyways:
1. Musical reason: The X-Can sounds excellent at a certain medium high volume level. At low levels (which I prefer), too much drops out of the picture. At high levels (which I prefer occasionally after that extra glass of wine) the sound becomes slightly harsh and even aggressive. So, there should be more power. I could, of course, simply have got the X-PSU, I know. But there are those other two reasons…
2. Aesthetical reason: The X-Can looks like something from the discounter down the street. Oversized and clumsy, cheap looking, uninventive and much too big lettering. Two of those in my (and my wife’s) living room? No thank you. I have to add here, that my other components – the Densen, my Pathos Classic One hybrid amp and my Dynaudio C1’s – look like something you might come across at the Met. Museum of Modern Art. I didn’t buy them because of that, they just do - and in their company, the X-Can is an eyesore.
3. Moral reason: I live in a country (Finland), where everybody knows somebody who lost their job, because production (usually of cell phones or software) was moved to East Asia. It bugs me. I’d rather pay more, than see all those people loose their jobs, because some company wants to sell their stuff a couple of euros cheaper. And this is exactly what Musical Fidelity does. Produce everything industry style in some developing country, and you can keep your retail prices low and look good in the value-for-money category.
As I said – most people do not understand those last two reasons at all. That’s okay. I would not have thrown my X-Can out of the window because of them, either. But given the musical reasons, and since this is a hobby and it’s fun to look around, anyways, the thought of replacing them was not out of the way by any means.
So I started to read up on alternatives. Most of the gear I found was simply out of the question because of reason 2: You want to put Meier Corda or Head amps up in your living room? Fine by me. But I have eyes to please, too, not just ears. Also, an amp without any tubes? I used to have those myself, but since I listened to and immediately bought my Pathos amp, I am very sceptical. That said, the Lehmann came up so often and had so many professional reviewers arguing in it’s favour, that I wanted to give it a shot. The Earmax interested me for the one reason that is was Ken Kessler who recommended it above its competition. Kessler was one of the first (along with Sam Tellig) who went nuts about Pathos amps, so I could safely assume that he appreciates the same things in an amp as I do.
As for the amps and fine tuning: I spiked my X-Can right after I bought it, using Soundcare adhesive spiked feet (www.soundcare.no) and they do have a surprisingly strong effect on the amp, making for more precise imaging and more detail on both ends of the spectrum. (They are cheap, too!) I used the Lehmann with a 400 euro Shunyata Copperhead power cord. The Earmax Pro I used just as it came out of the box. So what is this, you might ask – here is this guy comparing a 400 euro hybrid to a 700 euro solid state with a 400 euro cable and then a 550 euro triode OTL design? Does any of this make sense? Well, it does, when a) it’s not so much about the money (I’m not rich, but I’d rather save up another couple of months than make a compromise) and b) when you admit that, philosophies aside, the ideal solid state and tube design would sound identical – they would both sound like they weren’t there. Like there was just music. So I gave everything that was not ugly a shot. X-Cans and Lehmann were fully burned in. The Earmax wasn’t.
The Lehmann was a real surprise, in so far, as its sound is totally different from what I was used to with my X-Cans. The sound is very, very detailed, very, very dynamic, very, very complete – and, to my ears, it doesn’t sound anything at all like live music. I have spent (wasted?) my youth in jazz bars. I have been to more chamber music and symphonic music concerts than I care to remember. It’s great to get oodles of detail – but I kept saying in my mind “that’s amazing, only I know you don’t hear that at a concert. An example: A whole orchestra would burst into a symphony and I’d be stunned by the dynamics and the completeness of the musical picture. Then a solo instrument would start playing and I fall out of it, and hard. A piano simply does not sound like that. A violin, a cello, a human voice – they just don’t sound like that. If, at this point, you are thinking, “So what, I don’t like classical”, keep in mind, that jazz and all acoustic music depends on these same qualities. If, on the other hand, you mainly listen to amplified music, hard rock and such, buy the Lehmann. That kind of music is not dependent on the timbre of the individual voice or instrument, and as for dynamics and speed, the Lehmann was unmatched by the others.
There are some very favourable reviews of the Lehmann on the internet, and I can only agree with them – except for the point where it is said to have a “natural, almost tube like sound”. I didn’t to my ears and given my musical preferences, that ruled it out. It did demonstrate for me all the things the X-Can was not good at. It set new standards as to how much detail and dynamics can be reproduced through the Senns 650. Which makes my two weeks with it a very rewarding experience anyhow. For me, though, I never once lost the feeling I was listening to equipment, to music (as I said), that had been recorded and was now reproduced, rather than to live music.
So I dismissed the Lehmann, and I have to say this for my X-Can – for all the shortcomings the Lehmann had pointed out - I had not enjoyed listening to the Can as much as I did now, right after shipping the Lehmann back to the seller. Because of its superior musicality, I was more at peace with it than I had been.
But still, there were those shortcomings. … So I sent out for an Earmax, after reading the review by Ken Kessler which I mentioned above. It had all the key words in it: “feeling of being there”, “musical” and etc. I bought mine (with a money back guarantee) at the Tube Amp Doctor in Germany. It came within days.
First of all, since looks are important, this thing is sooooo beautiful! I read some comments by people who liked an earlier finish better, and I cannot comment on that. But this thing looks exquisite as it is. No pictures on the internet convey this. The finish is very high grade, the craftsmanship is great. There is only one button on this thing, which is the volume control with an Alps pot inside. Both X-Cans and Lehmann use that, too, but it doesn’t feel nearly as exquisite, as – well – expensive, as with the EMP. I won’t go into features, there are none. No in-and-out loop, no gain switch, no nothing. But I don’t need that either, since my CD-player features two sets of outputs. For me, as I said (and repeated, I know), it’s all about the music. So what about that?
I gave the EMP 20 hours of break-in time. It’s supposed to need 100 or so, but I couldn’t wait. Nor did I have to! After 20 hours this little unit produced such musical beauty, such face splitting smiles! (Well, “demented” is the word my wife used, but let’s not get into that…) The sound is tube-like, in so far that each and every single voice or instrument sounds just like it really does. I can truly say that within moments I found myself sitting in that jazz club, that chamber, that symphony hall, listening in to the real thing. The Earmax Pro – Silver Dragon V2 – Sennheiser 650 combo comes so close to the actual sound, it’s unbelievable. IIt actually matches my Pathos – Dynaudio combo in this respect which is 9 times (!) the price. Let’s see, if I can explain this in detail.
In technical terms: The bass is abysmal. It might be even deeper than the Lehmann’s and is a world away from anything the X-Can can do. The midrange is beautifully structured, full and rich, leaving both competitors far behind (the Lehmann farther than the X-Can), the upper end is full of beautiful detail and airy, without sounding as analytic as the Lehmann does or as (slightly) unfocused, as the X-Can. The soundstage is big and well structured. I have never heard a head phone amp create such a feeling of space.
In musical terms: Music through the EMP sounds like music through hardly anything at all. Meaning you just don’t notice you are listening to an amp. You are too involved with the music! The music is authentic and immediate - the two most important adjectives to describe high end gear, in my book. And the first two to come to mind when listening to the Earmax Pro.
A few examples:
Bill Evans Trio live at the Village Vanguard. With the X-Can, the conversational structure of three equally important instruments never really came out, mostly because of the weak bass. The Lehmann brought that out, beautifully – only none of the three instruments sounded the way they really do. This is the music I know best from live gigs, and the Lehmann doesn’t put me there at all. The EMP combines the completeness of the Lehmanns musical picture, presents all three instruments equally and clearly separate from each other, and on top of that makes each one of them – percussion, stand up bass and piano – sound (just about) the way they really do. Lovely!
Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, When I go; Tracys EP. These are two of my favourite voices in popular music. Well, as popular as folk is, today… But that’s another matter. Both use a lot of fine tuning in their phrasing, sometimes more or less telling the stories, then singing beautifully together. Carter at times being ironic, sometimes a little silly, always very human. Tracy in the background, sometimes leaving that, adding a wistful note to Dave’s lyrics. On these two CDs you get 6 or 7 different guitar-like instruments. With the X-Can, the music is quite beautiful, but the bottom drops out at small volumes and the differences between instruments used are not very clear. Also, there could be more snap to single guitar notes. The Lehmann gets that right, but … well, see above.
With the EMP all those instruments have a very different character. The voices are so human, it makes me weep to think of Dave Carter’s death. The Earmax pro also does something more: It reproduces the feel of the setting. “When I go” was recorded in Tracy Grammers kitchen, for budget reasons. The recording is far from bad, it’s, well, homely. And I never got that feeling the way I did with the EMP. Quite astonishing!
Whitesnake live in the heart if the city. (What? Yes, yes… a few drinks and my past caught up with me….) This should have been a home run for the Lehmann. It wasn’t. Yes, the guitars do have more attack through the Lehmann. But the EMP a) creates a feeling of space, of being right there inside that BIG Hammersmith Odeon, that got me hooked. The audience sounds more like an audience than anything I heard in my life. Yes, in my life. And as Coverdale gets carried away on “Ain’t no love” or bursts into the opening lines of “Mistreated”, the emotional impact is so intense! Also, Moody’s guitar might not be just as snappy, but it’s got a blues feel to it, that – yet again – sounds just right. This is part of the sound that distinguished Whitesnake from say Rainbow or Deep Purple in the first place and I love it. The X-Can might be the most effective compromise for this kind of music. Then again, the feeling of being there (though not as non-existing as with the Lehmann), is not quite as intense as through the Earmax Pro. Nevertheless, if this is your preferred kind of music, check out the X-Can, too.
(Sober again…) Beethovens 5th piano concert. Same picture. The EMP takes the completeness and dynamics of the Lehmann, adds spaciousness and clearly distinguishable and authentic sounding instruments and makes for a musical experience that I was unprepared for. I never thought the actual feeling of a symphonic concert hall, the swelling up and down of the orchestra, the beautiful intimacy of the solo instrument could be reproduced like this. With this kind of music, the EMP even blows my Pathos – Dynaudio combo away and that is saying plenty!
Bachs “Well tempered piano”. Don’t even ask. The cembalo is so hard to get to sound right, and the EMP does it. Usually this instrument just makes you wish you were listening to a recording using an actual piano, instead. But not this time. There is so much finesse to every note played, such an airiness to the instrument’s sound. This is beauty manifest. This is also home turf for the Earmax Pro, neither of the others even plays in the same league.
So is this the perfect head phone amp? Of course not. As I said before, if Metallica is your favourite act, get the Lehmann. There is no way you’ll be sorry. If 400 euros/dollars is already stretching it, get the X-Can. It really is an all round performer, in spite of the weaknesses mentioned. It sure beats the daylights out of the competition in that price range.
Another thing: With solid state in the signal path (all the way, as the Lehmann, or in the power amping stage as with the X-Can) amps have an “emphasis on the leading edges of notes”, as Ken Kessler put it. The music seems to lean forward. This may well be desirable with some rock, pop or electronic music. It is, nevertheless, artificial. It is not a natural result of the way the instruments are played, but a result of the way the music is amplified, as it is being reproduced. Almost everybody is used to this, though, so the EMP may at first seem somewhat laid back. But when compared to live music, not so much as to other gear, I can only state that the EMP simply gets it (more) right. So, since I want music to sound through my cans the way it does right there in that bar/club/hall/etc. I just love the EMP.
Talking about price: Whereas the X-Can is made industrial style in East Asia, the Earmax Pro is hand made by a German engineer (its designer, Stefan Brocksieper) in Germany, the way the Lehmann is. It’s produced in very small quantities and is exquisitely made. If it came at twice the price - I am still sober – I’d still say it’s worth every cent. At its price, it’s a steal! Get two, put one in the bank, enjoy the other – music never sounded so real before.
