Lisa
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2003
- Posts
- 3,662
- Likes
- 11
After Headsave closing up shop I wondered whether impressions of the New Classic were still wanted like they would be when the Classic was still in production. And apparently they are because I got some subtle reminders.
So here goes!
First of all, this is what I'm talking about.
A small home amp in Hammond enclosure.
Its dimentions are: 12.5 x 8 x 3cm (That's a AA battery next to it.) without volume knob and in-and outputs.
On the front there are the 1/4 headphone jack, the LED and the volume knob. On the back are the RCA jacks, the on and off switch and the power supply connection.
The lettering on the front looks professional and doesn't clutter the panel.
I have it connected to a NAD C 541i CDP and it's powering a humble pair of MS-1s.
I have the new version and it uses 3 OPA627s opamps. Left, right and ground. I'm using a 24V Mascot power supply. The gain is set to 3.5 and connected to the NAD I can turn up the volume all the way (CD player being on pause!) without hearing any hiss. Maybe with some more sensitive headphones there is, but not with the MS-1s and my ears.
But for this review I mainly connected it to an iRiver imp-150 PCDP. This way I could compare it best to my MINT. Which I used to use with the iRiver and the MS-1s before I got the Classic. The MINT and the Classic are the only two headphone amps I've ever heard.
Let me say that the iRiver is very impressive. Of course there are flaws like bass extension and a thin sound but the dynamics this player's got makes it sound very enjoyable.The iRiver and the Classic can make the MS-1s sound really nice.
Down to business with the actual Classic impressions.
I have to say I'm very impressed with it!
What the MINT never really could do the Classic can and that is to show me what amplification is really about. With the MINT the differences were subtle between headphone out and line-out amped. However with the Classic it's quite a bit bigger. The improvement from MINT to Classic is actually bigger than the difference with a MINT and unamped!
The Classic makes my MS-1s groove. My speakers are KEF Q1s and with the bass turned up they have a nice midbass that can make music like old Al Green recordings sound very sweet. The MS-1s never really passed the "Al Green test". But now they do, with flying colors. They don't have as much midbass as the Q1s but that's more a good thing then a bad thing. As the MS-1s have much more and better deep bass.
I've written down some impression on a post-it and to tell you all the truth I've got no idea how to make it into a story so I'll just type it over.
These are impressions from a direct comparison between the MINT and the Classic.
The Classic has:
-More Bass
-Bass is sweet and liquid
-More dept in the music
-More dimension
-Less flat
-More airiness
-Better instrument separation
-It feels like a veil is lifted that I didn't know was there.
The more and sweeter, liquid bass has been covered with the "Al Green test". If you've ever listened to the intro of Love And Happiness you know what I mean.
The lifted veil. Well, that's just better clarity and detail. It's less congested. Like the difference between listening through a closed door and an open door. Maybe not so dramatic. But it sounded like that. Only that you realised the door was closed AFTER it got opened.
About everything else I mentioned. I can best explain it by giving an example. When I was listening to Eva Cassidy- Life at Blues Alley (Thanks OneMalt!) I could just hear that she was playing in a room. Like I could hear the room, how big it was, what the acoustics were, where she was in the room, that sort of thing. It wasn't flat, it was three dimensional. Lots of that is also thanks to how good the recording is, but still, The MINT doesn't show this the way the Classic does.
I might not have covered everything from the post-it list but I think the rest speaks for itself.
The Classic makes the MS-1s glow with pride. I believe I've found very good synergy with these two and hope to resist upgradititus, because I am really very happy with my amp and headphones.
Just a few notes on other headphones with the Classic.
MX500
I've always said these babies really like amping. Gives them bass and make them sound bigger. Maybe it's just the extra bass though. I've had this experience with the MINT and with an integrated amp. (NAD C 350). But the Classic shows the flaws of these little buds. They are warm sounding and through the Classic the high mids become almost piercing. Could also be the recording. I didn't try these with other recordings.
PX100
Well I've always found these dull sounding. Amp them with the Classic and lo and behold they even have the Senn veil. Even more boring and it doesn't sound like they are gaining any detail at all. The door is not opened, like it is with other headphones I've tried. The Classic seems to show the flaws in (Senn) headphones.
Because the
HD25-1
sound better through the Classic, but the flaws also become more apparent.
More detail, clearer sound but those highs….
Everything improves. Better bass, better clarity, but also better (i.e. more) sibilance.
Actually, If you can get rid of that sibilance, and I'm told a replacement cable not made out of steel can do that, the Classic would improve the HD25-1s very nicely too.
Conclusion.
The New Classic with OPA627s is a wonderful little budget amp that has great synergy with the MS-1s. It is really unfortunate for all us Head-Fiers that Norm had to close up shop. If you have a pair of lower end Grados or Alessandros I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you a second hand Classic if you can find one. And I'm sure the Classic can make lots of other headphones shine as well!
So here goes!
First of all, this is what I'm talking about.
A small home amp in Hammond enclosure.
Its dimentions are: 12.5 x 8 x 3cm (That's a AA battery next to it.) without volume knob and in-and outputs.
On the front there are the 1/4 headphone jack, the LED and the volume knob. On the back are the RCA jacks, the on and off switch and the power supply connection.
The lettering on the front looks professional and doesn't clutter the panel.
I have it connected to a NAD C 541i CDP and it's powering a humble pair of MS-1s.
I have the new version and it uses 3 OPA627s opamps. Left, right and ground. I'm using a 24V Mascot power supply. The gain is set to 3.5 and connected to the NAD I can turn up the volume all the way (CD player being on pause!) without hearing any hiss. Maybe with some more sensitive headphones there is, but not with the MS-1s and my ears.
But for this review I mainly connected it to an iRiver imp-150 PCDP. This way I could compare it best to my MINT. Which I used to use with the iRiver and the MS-1s before I got the Classic. The MINT and the Classic are the only two headphone amps I've ever heard.
Let me say that the iRiver is very impressive. Of course there are flaws like bass extension and a thin sound but the dynamics this player's got makes it sound very enjoyable.The iRiver and the Classic can make the MS-1s sound really nice.
Down to business with the actual Classic impressions.
I have to say I'm very impressed with it!
What the MINT never really could do the Classic can and that is to show me what amplification is really about. With the MINT the differences were subtle between headphone out and line-out amped. However with the Classic it's quite a bit bigger. The improvement from MINT to Classic is actually bigger than the difference with a MINT and unamped!
The Classic makes my MS-1s groove. My speakers are KEF Q1s and with the bass turned up they have a nice midbass that can make music like old Al Green recordings sound very sweet. The MS-1s never really passed the "Al Green test". But now they do, with flying colors. They don't have as much midbass as the Q1s but that's more a good thing then a bad thing. As the MS-1s have much more and better deep bass.
I've written down some impression on a post-it and to tell you all the truth I've got no idea how to make it into a story so I'll just type it over.
These are impressions from a direct comparison between the MINT and the Classic.
The Classic has:
-More Bass
-Bass is sweet and liquid
-More dept in the music
-More dimension
-Less flat
-More airiness
-Better instrument separation
-It feels like a veil is lifted that I didn't know was there.
The more and sweeter, liquid bass has been covered with the "Al Green test". If you've ever listened to the intro of Love And Happiness you know what I mean.
The lifted veil. Well, that's just better clarity and detail. It's less congested. Like the difference between listening through a closed door and an open door. Maybe not so dramatic. But it sounded like that. Only that you realised the door was closed AFTER it got opened.
About everything else I mentioned. I can best explain it by giving an example. When I was listening to Eva Cassidy- Life at Blues Alley (Thanks OneMalt!) I could just hear that she was playing in a room. Like I could hear the room, how big it was, what the acoustics were, where she was in the room, that sort of thing. It wasn't flat, it was three dimensional. Lots of that is also thanks to how good the recording is, but still, The MINT doesn't show this the way the Classic does.
I might not have covered everything from the post-it list but I think the rest speaks for itself.
The Classic makes the MS-1s glow with pride. I believe I've found very good synergy with these two and hope to resist upgradititus, because I am really very happy with my amp and headphones.
Just a few notes on other headphones with the Classic.
MX500
I've always said these babies really like amping. Gives them bass and make them sound bigger. Maybe it's just the extra bass though. I've had this experience with the MINT and with an integrated amp. (NAD C 350). But the Classic shows the flaws of these little buds. They are warm sounding and through the Classic the high mids become almost piercing. Could also be the recording. I didn't try these with other recordings.
PX100
Well I've always found these dull sounding. Amp them with the Classic and lo and behold they even have the Senn veil. Even more boring and it doesn't sound like they are gaining any detail at all. The door is not opened, like it is with other headphones I've tried. The Classic seems to show the flaws in (Senn) headphones.
Because the
HD25-1
sound better through the Classic, but the flaws also become more apparent.
More detail, clearer sound but those highs….
Actually, If you can get rid of that sibilance, and I'm told a replacement cable not made out of steel can do that, the Classic would improve the HD25-1s very nicely too.
Conclusion.
The New Classic with OPA627s is a wonderful little budget amp that has great synergy with the MS-1s. It is really unfortunate for all us Head-Fiers that Norm had to close up shop. If you have a pair of lower end Grados or Alessandros I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you a second hand Classic if you can find one. And I'm sure the Classic can make lots of other headphones shine as well!
