sbulack
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2003
- Posts
- 2,177
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- 16
For pure bang-for-buck, you could not beat (in my estimation) the Go-Vibe V5 with Elpac PS.
If you'd like to go for the "desktop amp" performance of the M^3 for phones that you find warrant it, then your Power Supply options depend on the bias level of the M^3 and how you'd want to power it.
An Elpac PS will power both the Go-Vibe V5 and a regular bias M^3. Rockhopper Audio used to sell the Elpac as an economical PS for its regular bias M^3's. You could get one Elpac PS and share it between the two amps.
If you're going to get a High-Bias M^3 to enhance its performance with low impedance phones, you'd need more current than the Elpac will produce (according to the advice I received from Rockhopper Audio). In that case, an external 24v STEPS (with dc umbilical) can also be shared between the M^3 and Go-Vibe V5. An 18 AWG dc umbilical is a good choice in such a case. I can say from experience that the Go-Vibe V5 sure sounds nice powered with a 24v STEPS, as does a high-bias M^3.
If you were going to get a TREAD built into the M^3 (which would be non-shareable), then you'd need an Elpac for the Go-Vibe V5 if you wanted to run it with a well-suited, economical 24v PS.
I have a high-bias M^3 and I still like to use the Go-Vibe V5 with my Grados (for which running the V5 at 24v is quite a bit better than running it at 9v - the LM6172 can produce quite a bit more current for the current-hungry Grados at the higher voltage, which improves the SQ). So, with an M^3 with a built-in TREAD, you may still find the Elpac useful. It depends on what amp you want to use to listen with what phones.
So, whether or not an Elpac 24v PS would get used depends...
If you'd like to go for the "desktop amp" performance of the M^3 for phones that you find warrant it, then your Power Supply options depend on the bias level of the M^3 and how you'd want to power it.
An Elpac PS will power both the Go-Vibe V5 and a regular bias M^3. Rockhopper Audio used to sell the Elpac as an economical PS for its regular bias M^3's. You could get one Elpac PS and share it between the two amps.
If you're going to get a High-Bias M^3 to enhance its performance with low impedance phones, you'd need more current than the Elpac will produce (according to the advice I received from Rockhopper Audio). In that case, an external 24v STEPS (with dc umbilical) can also be shared between the M^3 and Go-Vibe V5. An 18 AWG dc umbilical is a good choice in such a case. I can say from experience that the Go-Vibe V5 sure sounds nice powered with a 24v STEPS, as does a high-bias M^3.
If you were going to get a TREAD built into the M^3 (which would be non-shareable), then you'd need an Elpac for the Go-Vibe V5 if you wanted to run it with a well-suited, economical 24v PS.
I have a high-bias M^3 and I still like to use the Go-Vibe V5 with my Grados (for which running the V5 at 24v is quite a bit better than running it at 9v - the LM6172 can produce quite a bit more current for the current-hungry Grados at the higher voltage, which improves the SQ). So, with an M^3 with a built-in TREAD, you may still find the Elpac useful. It depends on what amp you want to use to listen with what phones.
So, whether or not an Elpac 24v PS would get used depends...
