go vibe v6 and hd580

[XENOPHOS]

is the go-vibe v6 have enough power to run the hd580 well? I'm also hoping to run er-4s's with them too. any reccomendations

 

[undo]

it drives er4s with no problem (imho); anyway, this is what v6 exists for
if we take into account that v6s drive up to 300ohms (i'm not sure), it'll probably drive a hd580 as well.

 

[EFN]

Just send an email to Norm and tell him you have HD580, Norm is very good at fine tuning his customer's amp (gain) based on their rig - you only have to ask

 

[episiarch]

I just plugged an HD580 into my GV6/8620 and to be honest I was not that delighted by it. Superficially it sounds fine - quite nice, even - but there's a lack of transparency to the sound, as if there were sort of a light scrim lying over portions of the music. Things that should be sharp and clear are sort of spread out and diffused, and sonic grain and texture are softened and slightly burred. Perhaps this is the fabled Sennheiser Veil we hear so much about. I've never noticed such a thing running an HD580 from a Gilmore Lite, but running it from this little amp, I think I may have encountered it at last.

In all fairness, if you are new to amps and to headphones at this level then it is likely that you'll still be pleased with the combination. It does sound good -- it's just that I've heard the HD580 sound a good bit better.

A really big thumbs-up on driving the ER-4S with the GV6, though. Very highly recommended.

I also have a GV5/6171 and the earlier GV6 with 8397, and I can give the HD580 a spin with those over the weekend and report back, if you're interested.

Edit: if you're going to contact Norm, you might ask if a GV6M+24V Elpac would drive an HD580 well. You'd still have the very nice GV6 + Ety combination for mobile use, and for less-mobile use I wouldn't be surprised at all if the GV6 drove the HD580 noticeably better on 24V wall power than on 9V battery power.

 

[freakmax]

Hi. episiarch.
What version do you have ? Hi gain or Low gain?
I'm going to buy Govibe v6 soon but I don't know which version to get.
I will use it with my er4s.
If you got the hi gain govibe , do you notice a hiss ?

 

[mlarn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EFN /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just send an email to Norm and tell him you have HD580, Norm is very good at fine tuning his customer's amp (gain) based on their rig - you only have to ask

XENOPHOS, could you please post any response from Norm on this? Im also intrerested to hear what he says.

 

[episiarch]

freakmax, my GV6's are the low-gain version. I have the GV5 in both low-gain and standard-gain. There is a good deal of overlap in their useful ranges: either one would be suitable for the ER-4S and an iPod, though I prefer the low-gain model because it has more precise control at the ultra-low volumes I sometimes use for napping. If you're mainly going to drive an HD580 then the standard-gain model seems like the more natural choice, but again I think either one would do. The low-gain model achieved plenty of volume with the HD580, it's just that the volume knob was up at the high end of the range.

I haven't noticed hiss, but I play it at modest volumes and through not-so-sensitive earphones (ER-4S pretty much exclusively) so it might be there and simply below what I can hear. I suppose I could put an ER-6i on it and see if there's any hiss with that.

 

[mlarn]

I emailed Norm, and this was his reply:

A regular gain Go-Vibe V6M with a 24v Elpac power supply (assuming you are in North America) would be an excellent match for HD580s.
If you are outside the US or Canada, then I can recommend suitable alternatives to the Elpac.

Ive emailed him a couple of times now on questions, and he is always very quick to respond with complete and very helpful answers. Haven't heard sny of his amps yet, but excellent customer service it seems.