[mcgino]

I am now listening to a set of K1000s I picked up for Joe Lau. He's been designing amps with dedicated K1000 jacks based upon calculations and never really heard them for himself. I still have an MG-Head OTL32 on loan from him with a K1000 jack (http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=21249) so I thought I'd try them out before passing them on to Joe. After all, having a dedicated jack that never gets used seems like such a waste....

First off, the K1000s are pretty cool with the drivers that can be angled. My ears tend to stick out and touch the metal grill when fully flat. Ze-Ant let me try his Stax Sigmas with their drivers perpendicular to the ear and these K1000s provide a similar effect by angling them fully open. The "natural crossfeed" is apparent and pretty cool. The angled drivers also bounce sound off the outer ear for better imaging. I found the best listening/comfort for me at a 20-30 degree angle. Dido's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" is pretty cool with the opening stereo pan/flanged electric piano.

I was really impressed by the power of these headphones. I have a set of Sony F1s and the K1000s provide the sound that I wish the F1s had (though the F1s are more comfortable - also, the K1000s tend to slide around my head when I move). The bass really kicks and is tight (am driving with the MG Head OLT32 and Philips 963SA - currently listening to Flim and the BB's Tricycle on SACD).

I must say that the OTL32 drives these headphones really well. They really "tickle the ears" with a punchy bass and dynamic intensity, wide staging, and clear high-hat/cymbals. On to classical now (Wagner) and the texture/horns are very rich, but and the highs seem a bit harsh. As a quick observation, I think I prefer the R10s to the K1000s for classical music (better detail and isolation to my ears). The K1000s do envelop you in music though. Joe Lau mentioned to me that he's also thinking of driving the K1000s with a Twinhead (possibly a dedicated jack) which would probably provide more detail.

If you are looking to use your headphones to temporarily escape the wife and kids, these aren't the headphones for you (stick with the Etys). The sound of kids crying, wife asking you to do things, etc. do interfere with the musical enjoyment.

Not sure if I will pick up a pair of K1000s for myself as I've got the R10s for home, HP-1s for the office, and Etys and F1s for walking around town with the ipod. The K1000s are fairly stationary due to the amp needed to drive them and I don't like them enough to replace my R10s or HP-1s. Very interesting and impressive sounding set of headphones though...

 

[wallijonn]

Thanks McGino.

I'd like to know if the high end harshness goes away if you change over to a regular, quality, cd player (hopefully one that doesn't have a harsh high end to start with).

And yes, everyone is envious that you have the Philips SA963

What's the damping factor and impedance output of the new amp?

 

[ServinginEcuador]

That new amp must be something special to drive those K1000s well!!! It is supposed to take several watts to do that effectively. I must admit that Joe Lau just keeps outdoing himself every time he comes up with a new product!!! thanks for the heads-up on how this amp performs with these wonderful cans!!!

 

[GlowWorm]

Hey mcgino -> I noticed in your prof' that you have a pair of HD 600's. Could you do a comparo of them vs. the K1000's with the new MG Head OTL 32? Thanks, GlowWorm

 

[andrzejpw]

I second that. I'm sure many of us here are anxious to here what the '32 sounds like with the hd600s.

 

[mcgino]

The OTL32 is low impedence, to drive down to 32 ohms, not sure about the damping factor but perhaps Joe can talk to that. The amp drives my R10s great (but I prefer the old Twinhead and can't wait to hear the new one) as well as higher impedence cans such as the AKG 240DF. I had a set of HD600s with Cardas cable, but returned them (wasn't sure when I'd listen to them with the other cans that I've got). When I did have them though, I remember that they made me change my mind about the HD600s (from not so good to really great!). Ze-Ant was also similarly impressed. Part of this was most likely due to the cable upgrade. I prefered the sound of the OTL32 to the Cosmic that I was previously driving them with.

Regarding the Philips, I got them, but also paid through the nose. Ended up shelling out around $550 USD for them which was hard knowing that you guys can get them for 400 USD or so. My SACD collection is now up to 12. Am toying with the idea of picking up a portable DVD-A player, but not happy with the ones out on the market now (Panasonic is full DVD-A, but I don't like the screen and hear that the battery life is low. Toshiba has a great screen, but will only support 2 channel DVD-A). Will probably wait to see what is announced at CES. Regarding the harshness, I don't get them with my other headphones....

Been listening to the K1000s well into the night. Amazing how quite things get at around 3am... Am liking the K1000s a lot more. The clarity, fast response (killer horn section) and staging is truely remarkable. Imaging/sound also changes as you angle the drivers out - like having a family of headphones all in one.

When having phones plugged into the 1/4 inch jack and also the K1000 jack, the 1/4 inch jack takes priority (though can hear the K1000s at a reduced level). Just an observation...

 

[GlowWorm]

Hey mcgino -> Thanks for the info, and Merry Christmas.

GlowWorm