[SuperNico]

Hi guys !

<myLife>
A few weeks ago, on an impulse, I bought an ED 9 : i was tired of crappy sounded earphones, wanted one of the best. And I must say i have rediscovered sound. Even if it was only connected to my soundcard with a grado 1/4 to 3.5mm adapter.

Then i bought a Cowon X5 : very good dap on it's own, and i tryed to connect the Ed 9 on it : a lot better than with my mac.

So... i figure now that i need a real dac and an amp to make it give is best

.
</myLife>

I read this forum a lot, searched a lot and found a few things :
- Single audio products seems to be a very good choice ( but i'm getting worried with those warnings and the "where is m.." thread )
- HeadphoneAddict says that DV336i is very good, but seems to prefer the EF1 now
- WooAudio 6 with i-dont-understand modification is the best according to jamamoto8
- Rudistor's product looks quite not popular here, no real review since a long time, and just a thread about non possible specs.

In fact, i 'm completely lost for the amp. I don't know even a thing about amp: I've got a stock Ed 9 and about 1300 Euros for a amp . I want the best (sound quality side) amp as possible without recabling my Ed 9 (afraid to send it to usa...) . And Want to connect my mac/x5 to the amp directly, and next year to buy a good dac.

Any Ideas?
Thanks for help

PS : sorry for my (bad) english

PS2 : for the DAC i'm thinking of a MHDT havana : not very expensive but well rated on the net. good choice?

 

[DaMnEd]

If you want the best around that price have a β22 built for you.

On the DAC side, that or the Stello DA-100 Signature, you have a nice promo if there is no dealer in your country (Free Shipping) on the Stello over here: http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/clt....onv&1219023333

 

[Orcin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperNico /img/forum/go_quote.gif I read this forum a lot, searched a lot and found a few things : - WooAudio 6 with i-dont-understand modification is the best according to jamamoto8

The Woo Audio 6 is an excellent amp without any modifications.



Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperNico /img/forum/go_quote.gif PS2 : for the DAC i'm thinking of a MHDT havana : not very expensive but well rated on the net. good choice?

Yes!

 

[slwiser]

I have not heard the CORDA SYMPHONY amp but the builder is European and has a great reputation. You can look up his latest amp in the search of this forum. Several people have his earlier amp/dac and love it. The link to his web site is below and just find this unit and click on follow on pages. This seems to be right in your price range. The DAC part should also be very good with the parts he is using. This would do you very well I would think. You would feed this directly from your Mac using it's USB input.

This should be a good match for the UE9. I match my UE9 with a Yamamoto HA-02 and enjoy it greatly. My DACs are the Lavry DA10s.

Meier-Audio

Link to the thread here:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/new...mphony-353839/

Specific view area in the thread where people are getting them and reviewing them:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/5044039-post199.html

 

[Currawong]

You could buy a DAC with a headphone output built in. I gather a couple of head-fi'ers were very satisfied with the Lavry DA-10 for this. The other popular choice is the Benchmark DAC1. After getting a good DAC, then you can have it as the source for a good amp down the track.

 

[SuperNico]

Well sorry DaMneD but as far as i'm a newbie i won't try the DIY or homemade amps, maybe in a few year ;o). And noted for the stella

@orcin
As i can see with the numerous threads here, i'm shure it is. But for the "i-dont-understand-mods" i mean for example the one on the woo audio website :
Parts upgrade
or Attenuator upgrade ...

and the WA6Se, does it wort it prices?

and which tubes? i read about a sophia princess ..

 

[SuperNico]

Well the DAC must have an USB input because of i don't have any Optical output on my laptop.

For the dac/amp all in one product it's quite unused (don't remember to have seen one in the Ed 9 amp registry thread), isn't it?

 

[slwiser]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperNico /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well the DAC must have an USB input because of i don't have any Optical output on my laptop. For the dac/amp all in one product it's quite unused (don't remember to have seen one in the Ed 9 amp registry thread), isn't it?

Lots of people have the Corda Opera which is the earlier unit and has a lower DAC chip setup. BTW, these do use USB input which would be directly connected to you Mac.

Now I am getting to involved with the Corda stuff. I went a different direction when I was getting into this. I got my Lavry DA10 which has a respectable internal amp and sooner than I thought I would, I got myself an amp to accompany it. Whatever you do you will probably move faster than you think you will right now.

 

[paaj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slwiser /img/forum/go_quote.gif Whatever you do you will probably move faster than you think you will right now.

even faster than jumping straight for an ED9?

 

[SuperNico]

On the one hand the ed9 is made for ss amp, but on the other tube amps sound can be changed.. with tubes.
I'm really interested in the EF1 : tube and SS, not expensive at all too.. for a future jump ? lol

 

[DaMnEd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperNico /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well sorry DaMneD but as far as i'm a newbie i won't try the DIY or homemade amps, maybe in a few year ;o). And noted for the stella

Have a look at the SPL Phonitor, looks like a very solid amp, and I've seen good impressions with the ED9 and this amp. This amp can be bought locally in Europe.

 

[ldj325]

I haven't been around the forum much this year so perhaps things have changed recently. But the Rudistor amps are very good pairings with the Edition 9s. I've had the NX-33 and now the RPX-100. Both have been great with the Edition 9s. (I am a "balanced amp" guy). The RPX-33 is reportedly an excellent SE amp for the Edition 9s.

As for the Beta 22, its a very fine amp when I heard it. But when I put my, at the time, recently purchased RPX-100 up against the Beta 22 (ASRs old one that got quite a bit of favorable "press" earlier in the year) both were good but I came away with absolutely no buyers regret about the RPX-100 and that ended my consideration of the 22. Still the Beta 22 can be great bang for the buck, but you have to be willing to deal with all the DIY manufacturor issues.

 

[fkclo]

With Edition 9, I think you won't be wrong with any of the following :

- Rudistor RPX-33, RPX-100
- SPL Phonitor
- Corda Symphony (very good USB DAC built in)
- Grace Design M902

If you are looking for a good USB DAC only to match with a headphone amp, I would suggest you give these a look :

- VAlab NOS DAC (very high cost-performance ratio)
- Ultra-Fi iRoc

Of course there are other very good USB DACs, depending on your budget and system matching, such as :
- Benchmark DAC1 USB or Pre
- Wavelength Brick V2
- Bel Canto DAC3

F. Lo

 

[majkel]

My friend complained for the lack of synergy between the SPL Phonitor and the E9's. It's safer to stick with RudiStor.

 

[bdh]

There's a few used Single Power amps for sale on the For Sale forum.