Originally Posted by lan
Since I've got a lot of work coming up, feeling a little ill, I can only post in small increments. I have got a lot of stuff to research and checkout also since headphones are not my only gear interests. I'm now testing new camera lens, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC so I figure I might as well take some product shots to get this audio ball rolling.
This isn't meant to be a serious review since I'm not the best at writing. I'm just a regular user unrelated to any audio brand, company, or publication. I've been lucky enough to attend like 15 or so meets so I've heard quite a bit of gear. I was also fortunate to find my type of sound and have formed my own definition of what "high quality" can mean. One thing I've learned is there is usually no clear winner because the performance depends on synergy and your preferences. It's very rare to find something so above and beyond something else and these cute amps are no exception to that. I'll try and say what their characters are like, and make some recommendations what they may go nicely with.
I like a neutral and balanced presentation kind of sound. It's the kind where nothing overwhelms the other, nothing sticks out, and the presentation is contiguous. I dabble in many things related to audio. I do a bit of audio and video editing, am interested in technical things like compression methods ala hydrogenaudio.org, play video games, watch a lot of movies, do a bit of DIY tweaking, modding, etc.
Ok now for some pictures. The box and contents are basically the same throughout the line I believe. This box was from a Beyond headphones amplifier.
Some people may enjoy packaging and presentation. The experience here is nice as it's like opening a present. It's above and beyond typical DIY style amps which may offer nothing more than an unlabeled box and some bubble wrap.
The box is certainly customized for the contents. There's an area for the amp in the middle with a cutout for the volume knob, the accessories, and PSU. It's certainly been thought out. Nice.
In this particular instance for the Beyond amp, this is what you get. You may get other things for other items. For Fubar II USB DAC, you get a USB cable also which is a nice touch since you may not have one around. I also got some nice looking interconnects but I forgot which package it was from since they look all the same . Such items are a nice addition to the out of the box experience. I notice with some gear, you don't get USB cables or even powercord.
I'm not sure what it says here. Anybody want to translate It's nice to have a personal message I myself could care less about packaging and what's in the box but other people do so I thought I'd add this whole segment.
A simple manual in English describing the various parts of the amp. It has nice design touch to it.
You'll need this to open up the case if you want to change opamps. Another nice touch of something added in the box. I've always had to get my own tool to open up any amps I've had.
This is the stock PSU that powers these units I have on hand, Beyond, Fubar II, Spitfire, and Encore. It's a fairly small switching PSU so handles 50/60hz, 110-240V. The plug is for US jacks though. Hmm. I forgot to take a pic of the unit out of it's box I'll do that later when I take pic of upgraded PSU unit, the Supplier. Now for the actual Beyond amp.
It's an attractive unit. You can get different face plates colors which is cool. It feels sturdy. The volume knob is very very smooth.
The knob sticks out a bit making it easy to grasp.
Baby's got back.
This is for those of you with feet fetishes
Overall a great build quality.
I'll be checking out the Beyond and Encore amps. I'll do a write up on the Fubar II and Spitfire DACs in the sources section. I'm going to take a break now.
Round 1 w/ Encore
Headphones
HF1 (low impedence?). Is it known what impedence these are? 32, 40???
SA5000 (70 ohms)
AKG K4 (400 ohms)
Sources
My computer into Fubar II and into modded ART DI/O. Fubar II is a rather warm/darker source and I'd say my DI/O is in the middle. For reference I'd classify Benchmark DAC1 as brighter and Grace m902 on the darker side.
Experience
Fubar II + Encore is a warm sounding combo. It's a fairly hefty sounding with ample bass and lesser treble. I questioned is this less treble from amp or source so I should change sources and so I did. The DI/O gives it less bass and more treble changing the sonic balance. It was nice to see the Encore react well with the different sources. For my own personal tastes it was a touch too little bass now. To me this would make the amp be fairly neutral if it can change with what it's hooked up to. Some other amps impart too much of their own sonic signatures and I rather stay as neutral as possible with amps so I was liking this.
The volume knob is smooth and I didn't even turn it up much past 1-2 "marks" around the circle which there are 9 with the Grado's and this was in low gain mode. I didn't hear any background noises with this combo/settings. I don't listen to high volume and I'm actually too far low in the volume which usually it's common to have channel imbalance on potentiometers.
So what was constant which could be defined as it's sonic character? The amp was not harsh in the treble. I find there are some equiment which has edgy treble or is grainy. The Encore was pretty smooth. Any "weirdness" upstream which may affect the treble presented itself more of a fuzz/haze which to me is less offensive. The bass was punchy and could be pretty powerful and deep given the right source (fubar II had more than DI/O here). Midrange was not recessed. There's not really much to say about this amp because it doesn't do much wrong. I find it faily balanced sound with nothing sticking out. It'll be a matter of synergy and preference.
Pros
- Non offensive sounding making it easy to deal with.
- Above average bass response. With the fubar II, it sounds like there's a mini sub sometimes in depth and power. The better power supply could help here I suspect. Although it doesn't need more bass I find having more bass is ONLY ok if it's actually resolved well.
- Balanced presentation.
- Fairly neutral sound which mimickes up stream components easier.
Cons
- Could use a little more treble extension.
- Could use a little more detail.
These might be fixed by the upgraded power supply also. We shall see.
How I like my headphones
I think It's is an important time for a break and state I don't believe in a perfect headphone. I think it's better to play on a headphones strengths and/or minimize it's non-strengths. There's only so much you can compensate for it's non strengths. e.g. AKG K501 will never have Beyer DT770 like bass quantity.
HF1 - I think these have amazing dynamics and incredible bass. So I'm generally looking for anything to give it big slam and deep articulate bass. Treble is not as harsh as other Grados so it's a bit easier to match.
SA5000 - They are detail monsters. I'd like to keep that. I'd like non-offensive treble and articulate bass. I think this headphone needs more low level articulate bass than HF1 since it's quick to show the bass dying quickly.
K4 - Since these headphones are small, they don't have much bass so the game here is all about midrange and treble. These headphones are pretty smooth and have good "inner detail" being part electrostatic so I've never had issues with harshness or detail.
K1000 - If I get time, I'd like to try K1000s off these amps but I need to make cable/adaptor.
Round 2 w/ Beyond
I have plugged the Beyond in and let it warm for one day. These units all have hundreds of hours or burn in but it's only until now I can listen to it.
Experience
The immediate difference while using the HF1s between Beyond and Encore (using DI/O DAC) is that Beyond has more air, is a bit more detailed, and has different kind of bass. I know my ART DI/O DAC is fairly detailed and a treble presence and that wasn't getting through with the Encore plus that amp was darker sounding. The Beyond had better instrument spacing and they were crisper. The amp was pretty smooth just like it's Encore brother.
Pros
- Non offensive sounding making it easy to deal with.
- Crisp instrument separation. Percussions are nicely defined.
Cons
- None really but for my own tastes, it could use a little more bass quantity and extension. An opamp swap and power supply could fix this.
Let me try compile my thoughts using other headphones and the Fubar II now.....
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