[Kasper]

I have bought the AT W1000 in order to get a closed back phone for listening late at night while my wife and daughter sleeps. The W1000 looks great! - Well I think they do! And comfort wise they suit my ears. But the sound is a bit more fatiquing than my Rega Apollo - Rega Ear - HD650 combination. Also the amp sometimes gives a litlle clik while playing, something I have never experienced with the sennheisers. I know most people find the W1000 to be forward in the upper mids, and so do I, but I still think another amp could drive them better. The W1000 are 40Ohm and the HD650 are 300Ohm so amp matching might be different. I have this feeling that the W1000 might be a great phone with the right amp. So -are there any cheap amp out there that can solve my problem. I really like the sound of my HD650, but this time in my life I really need a closed back. So - how to make the best of the W1000 without getting in trouble with my wife. Spending 975 dollars on a Yamamoto would mean divorce!

 

[braillediver]

"Spending 975 dollars on a Yamamoto would mean divorce!"

At least you know the answer to your question.

I had a married friend who wanted a Porsche so he delivered pizza at night, saved the delivery money and bought a Porsche.

Another married friend wanted a new BC for scuba diving. He snorkled for golf balls and earned the $600 in a few weeks.

Anything is possible if you want it bad enough.


Mitch

 

[achristilaw]

Is your listening taking place in the same room where your Wife and Daughter are sleeping? "Sounds" to me like just backing the Volume down a bit might be a better option. Or fix a spot in the Garage. What are you looking for. Tube or Solid-State? And what was your budget?

 

[Kasper]

I believe tube is what I am after, but before bying the ear I listened to both the x-cans and some chinese tube amp and found both too forward and analytical. Then I found the Ear which with the Sennheisers sounded so relaxed with completely black background without loosing the rythm. So i guess you cant say tubes are only one sound.

And no the garage is not an option. The fantastic thing about listening in bed is sitting close to the people you love, listening to your music "Alone!"
And I do apreciate a lot of what the W1000 does. The soundstage is a lot broader and with the right recording it is amasingly transperant: notes seem to come out of nowhere. picked strings are amasing to, but bowed ones are a little harsh.

Budget I thought would be around 600 dollars
thanks for any advice

 

[braillediver]

Berning ZOTL? But it's discontinued and might be hard to find.


Mitch

 

[velogreg]

Kasper,
I understand where you are because I have the same set up. Some of my best listening has come from late night in bed jazz sessions.

I feel the W1000s are a fantastic set of cans but given their 42 0hm sensitivity, amp matching is critical IMHO. You have a nice source in the Apollo so I doubt that is the weakness. Over the past three years I have auditioned a wide range of amps with my W1000s at the So Cal meets and I would recommend that you try to find some meets in your area as well. You are in a unique situation relative to most other HeadFiers in that you have very good components in the chain, you just need the right tweaks and mating to find the sound you prefer. You might also try warmer sounding copper interconnects to start but most probably the right amp will be key so bring your cans to a meet and give a listen.

My experience with the W1000s has been that a better designed tube amp was the only thing that got me to the place I like to be. As you can guess, not all tube amps are designed to work with low impedance cans so most will not work as well with the W1000s. Some amps tend to overpower and stomp all over the music or worse yet muddy up the presentation. The only SS amps I found close to the sound I liked were the Gilmore Lite and EC/SS (newest model). They both tend to have a more musical sound though a little faster than the tube amps I have liked. Be for warned though both amps are very transparent IMHO and if your music has flaws the W1000s and the GL or EC/SS will shine a big spot light on those flaws.

I hope this helps a little.

 

[Kasper]

Thanks for the reply Velogreg! - Did I spell that right?
Yes I do think there is possibility of a nice sounding rig here. Maybe ill wait and save the money on the yamamoto some day! Just not now. I spend 2500 on my stereo last year, then becoming a father and realising I no longer had any chances of getting listening time with speakers. So now I spend almost 2000 on my first headphone and amp, then the SAA extension cord then realising I woke my daughter up and then buying the W1000. Having a family is a blessing - but expensive a times.
By the way I listen to the W1000 right now and it sounds fantastic. The problem is only on some records and I must have been listening to a lot of those the last two weeks. But that means youre right - The gilmore Light is not for me as I like to be able to listen to all records - not only the good recorded ones.
Oh - and head-fi meets are rare in denmark. But would have loved to go!
Cheers

 

[Kasper]

Just thinking - I think I read somewhere that you could buy a little thing supposed to raise the impedance of headphones to make them better partners for the amp you own, but I cant find it again. Anybody knows what I am talking about? That might solve the problem as I save for the Yamamoto!
And maybe some power conditioning? Is that an idea?

 

[Uncle Erik]

I wouldn't recommend a cheap amp. I unloaded enough gear (audio and otherwise) to get the amp I wanted. If you have old stuff in the garage, I bet your wife would forgive the Yamamoto if you sold what you don't use.

If you're looking for a mellower amp, try a single-ended tube amp with output transformers. Get one with a tube rectifier if you can. I can't think of one right now, but I think there are a few. Or you could have one of the custom builders make you one even.

Still, sell unused stuff, work a couple weekends at a temp agency, or whatever, and get the gear you want. I always end up buying the stuff I really want sooner or later, and I've found it cheaper in the long run to just go for it. Kills upgraditis dead, as well.

 

[Kees]

It sounds to me like it cauld be they are a little new yet and may need some burn in to settle down and loose some of it's initial harshness. Harshness causes fatigue...

 

[Kasper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kees /img/forum/go_quote.gif It sounds to me like it cauld be they are a little new yet and may need some burn in to settle down and loose some of it's initial harshness. Harshness causes fatigue...

Yes they are still pretty new- but not as new as the two weeks I mentioned. I got them just before christmas. I liked them a lot in the beginning and was even thinking of selling the HD650 right away. But the last two weeks I have been listening to the sennheisers again and found out they sound better with the difficult records. But as I just found out I have also listened to a lot of those lately, so maybe im overreacting a bit!
But the idea of a yamamoto is stil growing on me i must admit!

 

[achristilaw]

With a Low impedence Can, stay away from OTL designs. Uncle Erik mentioned a transformer coupled triode would suit you very well, and he is correct. A suggestion, The Woo Audio WA6. Reasonable in price, well constructed with good parts. And is attractive to boot. The wife might find it chic in appearance. I enjoy mine, and is better than a Chinese option.

 

[Kasper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by achristilaw /img/forum/go_quote.gif With a Low impedence Can, stay away from OTL designs. Uncle Erik mentioned a transformer coupled triode would suit you very well, and he is correct. A suggestion, The Woo Audio WA6. Reasonable in price, well constructed with good parts. And is attractive to boot. The wife might find it chic in appearance. I enjoy mine, and is better than a Chinese option.

Thanks - I will take a look. Anybody knows if the Chazz from DIYCable would work. Read a fine review at 6moons. It can work with triodes as I understand it. Would be OK to do some soldering.

GS solo is for sale in Denmark. That would mean I dont have to pay a huge import tax to get it. I read people like it with the W1000, but if it´s fatique free I don´t know.

I also read of one guy that had a headmax pro with some expensive AT´s. I know its OTL but isn´t the pro supposed to work with low impedance.

Still I am also interrested in those Impedance raising devices. might give me peace of mind to wait a year and save money for a Yamamoto.

Thanks for the ansvers

 

[Copperjacket]

I would buy the Pink Floyd Modded Musical Fidelity X-Cans v2 for sale on this forum or indeed the similarly modded v3 but probably the v2 for choice as it is supposedly more mellifluous and less analytical.

I have one of his fully modded v1's and it is fantastic with Etymotic ER4S, Grado SR-225 and Sennheiser HD 580/600.

I don't think you can go far wrong with either.

 

[Dash]

I loved the sound of my W1000s initially then the apparent brittle shrill nature of the upper end took hold. I ran pink noise for better than a week through them. It really helped. They are fuller sounding and more even across the whole spectrum. I know you are looking for a home solution, but my W1000s sound great with the Predator.