I've read that the 901 was designed with low impedence cans in mind so I guess it would like my Grados and my CD-3000 (I don't presently own an amp that pairs well with the Sony).
My real question though is how well it would match with an HD-600 and HD-650? It may replace a Cosmic Reference with a Base Station One running from an older model Sony ES CDP. Has anyone had any experience or thoughts?
I like mine with the HD650. It works well with low-impedance cans because it has a low-impedance output, and this is what Senns like (or at least what I like with Senns). Whereas with the HD600 it may have been often suggested to be paired with a more sluggish but musical amp before, IMO a burned in HD650 needs no such crutch.
I've had my Grace 901 for about 2 years. It has been used to drive the HD600, RS-1, CD3000, K340's and the HD650's. Of all of those, I like the HD650 with the Zu Mobius cable the best. The CD3000's are my second favorite. At times, the CD3K's are more impressive than the 650's on good recordings. But on less than average recordings, they are fatiguing. The RS-1's were good but I didn't think they were worth what I paid so I sold them. The K340's are very good on vocals and they have a nice soundstage. The 650's with the Grace 901 are my favorite overall. If I want to just relax and enjoy the music, classic rock, jazz, vocals, blues, etc, the 650's are my choice. The HD600's with a Cardas cable was to laid back for me. I ended up selling them about the same time I sold the RS1's. My sources are a fully decked out Linn LP12 and a Sony XA9000ES SACD/CD player. I hope this helps.
One word: effortless. I have yet to plug anything into the 901 or 902 that it even notices. Most of my cans are of the high impedance flavor, and it is not an issue.
I do use the DAC in the 901, and I think that it is pretty good. I just wish my laptop had a toslink output.
I have used my Grace 901 with the hd600's and grado HP-2's. I find that it really works well. I find the hd600's need a fast, punchy amp to get the best out of the cans. With the grace 901 it is really good.
I have used the dac. It is connected to my Sony PS2 and the sound is much better. I have also connected it to my ML cd transport. The results were really good though I suspect this is to do with the transport rather than the dac section of the grace 901. The Grace 901 is a good all round do it all amp.
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