[conquerator2]

Hi guys! Thanks for all your tips. Right now Im leaning towards the Audio GD SA-31. What do you think?

 

[HaVoC-28]

Quote:

Hi guys! Thanks for all your tips. Right now Im leaning towards the Audio GD SA-31. What do you think?

 
Plenty of power for your planar , should be good .

 

[soundtemple]

The Audio GD SA-31 certainly has a lot of power. It is solid state. However reviewing the opinions before mine the consensus leans towards a preference of amps with tubes. I purchased a HE500 recently. I am still going through the try out phase. In my opinion an amp to consider is the Shanling PH 300. It's a hybrid - giving the musicality of tubes and the power of a MOSFET. It is about half the price of the Lyr. It is also branded as Music Hall 25.2 in the USA. It is on Stereophile's recommended list. In my view its a great starter / intermediate amp. I purchased it on a whim, to try out the tube sound. I am always surprised how good it sounds - especially the bass. The Shanling has great synergy with the HE500, better than my Burson HA 160 (it is a stunning amp in its own way). The Shanling is about US$300 on ebay.

 

[Clemmaster]

Quote:

Hi guys! Thanks for all your tips. Right now Im leaning towards the Audio GD SA-31. What do you think?

I have this particular pair, I can't recommend it highly enough!
 
With the Stello U3 + Metrum Quad, it's simply excellent! A Reference 5.32 should arrive soon, I can repport on how well (or bad? But I don't expect that) they pair up when it arrives

 

[conquerator2]

Quote:

I have this particular pair, I can't recommend it highly enough!
 
With the Stello U3 + Metrum Quad, it's simply excellent! A Reference 5.32 should arrive soon, I can repport on how well (or bad? But I don't expect that) they pair up when it arrives

 
Glad to hear that
 
I guess I cant go wrong that way

 

[Clemmaster]

Still, it depends on what "type of sound" you like most (if any).
 
Kingwa gives it a good description "[size=small]We describing its retains rich details and high clarity with its abundant music flavor with wide and deep sound stage". [/size]I would add that the sound is slightly warm and, for some, it can be too warm when paired to a warm DAC (such as NFB-3.1 which I own).
 
I cannot comment much since I'm fairly new to this world and I never heard any other gear in this price range or above. My previous setups were NFB-3.1 + m-stage, then fostex HP-A3.
 
The major improvement of the SA-31 over the m-stage with the HE-500 are the following:
- The soundstage is MUCH wider and deeper.
- Instrument seperation is better (as a result from the bigger soundstage).
- The bass is in a totally different league (in both extension and impact. What a SLAM it has!)
- The dynamic is much better (as a result of a 50x power output increase, maybe?).
- The PRaT is also better (as a result of all the above).
 
I cannot really say that it has better definition since I am using a much better source (Stello U3 + Metrum Quad) than what I used to have at the time of the m-stage (NFB-3.1 through coax output of Squeezebox Touch, which is not great). But what I can say is that it is capable of STUNNING detail retrieval with my current setup .
 
Again, I'm not experienced with 2k+ gears so keep all the above in its context. So far, I could not find anything I don't like (or slightly disappointed) about it.
 
If I have time I could make a comparison with the m-stage and my current source. The m-stage is a really great amp, no doubt (I kept it for 2 years and never felt the urge to upgrade it) but It might not have enough power for the orthos and since your budget permits it, go with the SA-31. 

 

[conquerator2]

Quote:

Still, it depends on what "type of sound" you like most (if any).
 
Kingwa gives it a good description "[size=small]We describing its retains rich details and high clarity with its abundant music flavor with wide and deep sound stage". [/size]I would add that the sound is slightly warm and, for some, it can be too warm when paired to a warm DAC (such as NFB-3.1 which I own).
 
I cannot comment much since I'm fairly new to this world and I never heard any other gear in this price range or above. My previous setups were NFB-3.1 + m-stage, then fostex HP-A3.
 
The major improvement of the SA-31 over the m-stage with the HE-500 are the following:
- The soundstage is MUCH wider and deeper.
- Instrument seperation is better (as a result from the bigger soundstage).
- The bass is in a totally different league (in both extension and impact. What a SLAM it has!)
- The dynamic is much better (as a result of a 50x power output increase, maybe?).
- The PRaT is also better (as a result of all the above).
 
I cannot really say that it has better definition since I am using a much better source (Stello U3 + Metrum Quad) than what I used to have at the time of the m-stage (NFB-3.1 through coax output of Squeezebox Touch, which is not great). But what I can say is that it is capable of STUNNING detail retrieval with my current setup .
 
Again, I'm not experienced with 2k+ gears so keep all the above in its context. So far, I could not find anything I don't like (or slightly disappointed) about it.
 
If I have time I could make a comparison with the m-stage and my current source. The m-stage is a really great amp, no doubt (I kept it for 2 years and never felt the urge to upgrade it) but It might not have enough power for the orthos and since your budget permits it, go with the SA-31. 

 
Thanks Clemmaster!
 
Exactly what I hoped for.
 
Im coming from the infamous Ultrasone pro 900 (with its abundant "fun" factor...) so those attributes are very much welcome
 
Additionally I dont own a dedicated DAC as of now... (Im planning to use the NFB-16 DAC/AMP as a DAC with the SA-31 in tandem, the NFB-16 is neutral)
Now this might not be ideal for now but I do am planning to get an external DAC sooner (or later - depending on funds of course)
 
My sources being - a PS3 a smartphone and a PC of course.
 
So as you can see, my current setup ( Ultrasone pro 900 - NFB-16, E11, smartphones, consoles or PCs) is not quite audiophile grade yet (other than my nice new fancy cables - which if anything alse give me a good feeling... (Not gonna comment any further in this regard)
 
But Im really hoping to make a good leap forward with my upcoming tools
 
What are your impressions?
What do you guys think? Will a 200 bucks battery powereed Audio GD NFB-16 (simillar to NFB 12) DAC/AMP serve me good as a stand alone DAC, with the SA-31/HE-500, atleast for now?
 
My music quality isnt stellar either, but the HE-500 is much more forgiving than the unforgiving Pro 900 so if I was able to live with that, im far off I hope 

 
Thanks!
Best regards, Luke

 

[HaVoC-28]

Quote:

 
Thanks Clemmaster!
 
Exactly what I hoped for.
 
Im coming from the infamous Ultrasone pro 900 (with its abundant "fun" factor...) so those attributes are very much welcome
 
Additionally I dont own a dedicated DAC as of now... (Im planning to use the NFB-16 DAC/AMP as a DAC with the SA-31 in tandem, the NFB-16 is neutral)
Now this might not be ideal for now but I do am planning to get an external DAC sooner (or later - depending on funds of course)
 
My sources being - a PS3 a smartphone and a PC of course.
 
So as you can see, my current setup ( Ultrasone pro 900 - NFB-16, E11, smartphones, consoles or PCs) is not quite audiophile grade yet (other than my nice new fancy cables - which if anything alse give me a good feeling... (Not gonna comment any further in this regard)
 
But Im really hoping to make a good leap forward with my upcoming tools
 
What are your impressions?
What do you guys think? Will a 200 bucks battery powereed Audio GD NFB-16 (simillar to NFB 12) DAC/AMP serve me good as a stand alone DAC, with the SA-31/HE-500, atleast for now?
 
My music quality isnt stellar either, but the HE-500 is much more forgiving than the unforgiving Pro 900 so if I was able to live with that, im far off I hope 

 
Thanks!
Best regards, Luke

 
Go Like this concentrate first on AMP , and use your NFB-16 as DAC (you could upgrade it if you feel the need for) , or use NFB-16 for something else as portable device etc) , First headphone , Amp after , DAC/source last IMO . 

 

[preproman]

What does NFB mean anyway?

 

[HaVoC-28]

Quote:

What does NFB mean anyway?

 
"About NFB?
NFB means Non-Feedback."
 
It's written in some Audio GD product details page using WM8741 as DAC (like NFB-16) 

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
"About NFB?
NFB means Non-Feedback."
 
It's written in some Audio GD product details page using WM8741 as DAC (like NFB-16) 

 
 
Gotcha 

 

[Clemmaster]

@conquerator2: I bet you will be more than pleased with the setup, especially when driven off USB (if you manage to have it working ). 
 
In one word, what you will get by upgrading the amp is a BIGGER sound (soundstage + impact).

 

[TwoEars]

I can also recommend the Burson HA-160 - it works great with the HE-500.

 

[Andolink]

I'm running my HE-500's from the little brother of the SA-31, the NFB-6.  With it's preamp I can run fully balanced using my Audiolab 8200 CD player.  This CD player uses the ESS Sabre32 9018 chip.  The results are quite stunning! 

 

[preproman]

This amp is not under $600 but:
 
I just had a long listing session (3 hours) with the HE-500s and my Balanced M^3.  This combo is really great together.  The bass the M^3 provides really works very well with the HE-500s.  The hot treble on these headphone became non existent and there is no sibilant sounds at all.  The Midas became even more lush.  Overall I'll say this is the best amp I have thus far to pair with the HE-500s.