[WiredCon]

I'm about to make a purchase on Grado GS1000 and need some help on choosing an Amp (tube) for my set-up.

I'll be using Macbook Pro+Duet+GS1000 and want to add an tube Amp.
I was looking at the Onix SP8 for that I can get it really cheap from one of my friends. As I've read that many people use speaker rig with GS1000, I thought I would consider GS1000 somewhat like a regular speaker and look into an amp that is designed for speakers as well as headphone Amps, sich as Zana Deux. Am I going in the wrong direction? As much as I would love to give it a try on Zana, it is way over my budget.

My budget is $1000 as I'll be spending almost as much on GS1000, I really dont want to go over unless it will make whole lot of difference in sound quality.

Any advices would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Ryan

 

[MONVMENTVM]

Woo 6 or Trafomatic Experience Head One fit the GS-1000 nicely and are within your pricerange.

 

[orkney]

Just a thought -- you might want to spend a little time with the Duet as your headphone amp before upgrading, It's a neutral and clean-sounding amp and might be a good fit with the GS1000s. I've heard and liked the Cayin amp with the 1000s; not sure what the going rate is on those.

best,

o

 

[OutdoorXplorer]

I recently got myself a RSA Raptor just for the GS1K. Telefunken ECC82 and TungSol 5687s makes it lively.

 

[Currawong]

If you're going to be spending so much on headphones and an amp, I recommend investing in a much better DAC than the Duet. You could do this later on, but it'll be the area of your system that is lacking the most.

 

[monsieurguzel]

It seems to be the consent that the Apogee Duet is a pretty fabulous DAC, rivaling ones that cost upwards of $1000 in performance. Also it is supposedly extremely close to the Mini-DAC, which many consider to be top notch.

 

[WiredCon]

Currawong- I just got this Duet to use it as a DAC only, are you saying that Duet's DAC is not sufficient enough to be paired up with GS1000? Or, just telling me that there are better choices out there (for under $300, or somewhere close ^_^)?

I thought it was a good move after reading many positive reviews on headfi, especially when I've spent only half of its retail price.

I've been using home audio systems for my music listening exclusively until not too long ago. My listening environment has been changed and can't really use speakers where I am now. I got myself a pair of Shure 530, but it just didn't cut it. I've been searching for a set-up where I can enjoy my music again. Portable rig didn't work out well, and I completely gave up on that. So, no more IEMs and Protable headphones. I really don't listen to music when I'm on the go anyway.

I just want to have a decent set-up with small foot print until I'm gonna be able to enjoy my home audio again. Personally, I've never had a chance to be impressed with headphone set-up and still having a hard time justifying my plan to spend over $1000 for a headphone set-up when I'm not even sure if I will get the sound that I am looking for.

Based on my readings from headfi, I've decided to give it a try on HD600, Proline 2500, Grado 325, and GS1000.


Thank you all for your advices.

Regards,
Ryan

 

[ingwe]

OP: Hold onto the Duet for a while. IMO HD600's are driven very well out of the Duet's HF-jack. Haven't evaluated a GS1000 (or the others) on it yet.

If you have good source material, you should be astounded. I've just started using the Duet to digitize my vinyl with amazing results.

Anyway, keep things simple--only evaluate one type of component at a time. All IMO.

Oh, for me, a custom cable (in my case DIY) made ah *huge* improvement over the supplied break-out cable.

Oh #2, my macbook >duet > custom cable into my home system (bryston pre amp/power amp > B&W N803) is the best source chain I've owned. I prefer it to my Ayre CDP.

 

[robm321]

The Woo6 would be the best bet IMO. You can add mods that will still fit within your budget. It thickens the sound and takes an edge off of the high frequencies.

It's perfectly suited for the GS-1000s.

 

[leveller1642]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ingwe /img/forum/go_quote.gif OP: Hold onto the Duet for a while. IMO HD600's are driven very well out of the Duet's HF-jack. Haven't evaluated a GS1000 (or the others) on it yet............

Sorry ingwe, but I have to disagree strongly with your opinion. My experience is that the 300 ohm HD-600's bass is an unlistenable bloated mush through the Duet's headphone jack.

WiredCon, the Grado's have an impedance of 32 ohms and are obviously well within the capabilities of the Duet's headphone output. Why bother with an amp?

EDIT- sorry Wiredcon you want a tube amp.

 

[ingwe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leveller1642 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry ingwe, but I have to disagree strongly with your opinion. My experience is that the 300 ohm HD-600's bass is an unlistenable bloated mush through the Duet's headphone jack. WiredCon, the Grado's have an impedance of 32 ohms and are obviously well within the capabilities of the Duet's headphone output. Why bother with an amp? EDIT- sorry Wiredcon you want a tube amp.

Then something's wrong, my friend. Please cite a recording or three where you have experienced this. Thanks.

-m

 

[leveller1642]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ingwe /img/forum/go_quote.gif Then something's wrong, my friend. Please cite a recording or three where you have experienced this. Thanks. -m

As i read your post I was listening to Spiritualised's "Ladies And Gentlemen W.A.F.I.S." through loudspeakers via my duet. I just plugged in my HD-600s and it sounded fine. Now listening to Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" ( I am really getting to like iTunes Genius) and it sounds good too.

Previously when doing a AB comparison with my modest Proton 520 integrated, the Proton had tighter better defined bass. Now listening to the Stars "Set yourself on Fire" and it sounds ok too. To be honest it sounds good.

i might drag my Proton into the Sydney Head-Fi meet tomorrow and get a few opinions. I'll get back to you. Please pardon me for being contrary in the meantime.

EDIT- I just realised I have the iTunes equaliser on. It resembles an upward slope starting on 32 around -9db going to 16k at +12db. I thought I was compensating for lousy room acoustics, but maybe its my measurable upper frequency hearing loss.

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by monsieurguzel /img/forum/go_quote.gif It seems to be the consent that the Apogee Duet is a pretty fabulous DAC, rivaling ones that cost upwards of $1000 in performance. Also it is supposedly extremely close to the Mini-DAC, which many consider to be top notch.

This is what I've experienced:

The Duet I have sounded rather un-musical, so I bought an upgraded Zero, which has about equal SQ to the Duet, but is more musical (due to the selection of opamps). This was with K701s at the time, so the headphones would have been a big influence. Upgrading the Zero's DAC opamp to a discrete opamp (HDAM) put the Zero above the Duet. I just received a Lavry DA10 that, not surprisingly, is considerably better still. So, I'm not as impressed with the Duet as a DAC feeding high-end headphones, through an amp or not. (As a recording device, it's great and really, that's what you're paying for.) As a HP amp, it's essentially OK IMO, but I found I needed an amp to get a good soundstage and separation on all my headphones (excepting IEMs). If I was dropping $1k on headphones, I'd want the best DAC I could afford. That's the way I see it.

Edit: Added emphasis on high-end headphones.

 

[WiredCon]

It is my understanding that amp section of Duet is not its best feature and there's plenty of room for an improvement. As I plan to try out some high-end HPs for their different sound signitures, I wanted to have a decent set-up that can fully ultilize those high-end HPs' potentials.

The deal on GS1000 didn't work out, and I just made my first purchase on a full-size headphone. I bought myself a RS-2 instead of my inital choice of 325. I was having a hard time making up my mind between 325&325i and MS2i, and RS-2seemed like a reasoable solution to my dilema.

I'll be closing a deal on AKG701, and am still looking for a Senn HD600.

I'd like to be able to drive all these different types of HPs to more than 90-95% of their potentials by adding an AMP(tube)

Once again, I really appreciate all the inputs and advices.

Regards,
Ryan

 

[pinkpanther]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WiredCon /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm about to make a purchase on Grado GS1000 and need some help on choosing an Amp (tube) for my set-up. I'll be using Macbook Pro+Duet+GS1000 and want to add an tube Amp. I was looking at the Onix SP8 for that I can get it really cheap from one of my friends. As I've read that many people use speaker rig with GS1000, I thought I would consider GS1000 somewhat like a regular speaker and look into an amp that is designed for speakers as well as headphone Amps, sich as Zana Deux. Am I going in the wrong direction? As much as I would love to give it a try on Zana, it is way over my budget. My budget is $1000 as I'll be spending almost as much on GS1000, I really dont want to go over unless it will make whole lot of difference in sound quality. Any advices would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance. Regards, Ryan

Hi Ryan,

I was wondering if there was an update as to how the GS 1000 works with the apogee duet. I currently own the duet, and I am about to purchase the GS 1000. I think the duet DAC sounds great through my studio monitors, but I'm worried that it won't pump enough juice to my headphones. What was the end result with your purchases?

Thanks very much.

~Jake