[grokit]

Quote:

What's the cheapest/best XLR-to-speaker taps connector out there?
 
I want to try connecting my HE-5LE to my speaker amp (Pioneer A35R) to see if it's a good amp for orthos.  If it is, then I know I can use it as a stopgap for the HE-6 while I wait for the EF6 to come out 

 
Moon Audio has some listed and there is a guy at eBay.UK mentioned back in this thread or it's a pretty simple diy project. Supposedly Fang is coming out with a resistor-networked speaker tap adapter soon for hooking the HE-series to amps more powerful than 70-100 wpc.

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

What's the cheapest/best XLR-to-speaker taps connector out there?
 
I want to try connecting my HE-5LE to my speaker amp (Pioneer A35R) to see if it's a good amp for orthos.  If it is, then I know I can use it as a stopgap for the HE-6 while I wait for the EF6 to come out 

I'm making my own XLR to speaker terminals. I'll be using spade lugs instead of banana plugs. Banana plugs can't be tightened and can get loose unlike spades. Its not that hard to make a resistor network, just use wirewound resistors.

 

[MuppetFace]

RE: the Beta 22 and HE-6
 
This is hopefully a combination I'll be trying soon. Yes, there's no indication that it will drive the HE-6 well just because it drives the HE-5LE well. However...
 
The Beta 22, as a DYI amp, has a huge range of flexibility that other amps don't have. If one person's doesn't seem to work well with the HE-6, that's no indicator another Beta 22 won't. The Beta 22 can even be a speaker amp if built that way.

 

[kiertijai]

I don't know about the beta22 but I have contacted one of the site that will make the beta22 for you though amb website, he mentioned
that we need to assign one primary headphone for the beta22 to drive to have the maximum benefit so I don't know about the huge range of
flexibility of the beta 22
For those who would like to recable the HE6 will have to be cautious about the recable because the cable connector (to the headphone) is
difficult to make a good solder as I have experienced with one of my recable the sound did not come out from the left side . We had
checked the connetions which were OK and we had to explore the cable near the cable connector ( to the headphone) and saw the defect
there.   I am using the HE6 with the stock cable and now changed to the previously corrected Twag (for the HE5) and it worked wonderfully.  However the
another cable needed to be fix as I have to change the two sides of the connectors (the connectors that the cable company used are bigger than
the ones recently provided by the HE6 within the box but  more difficult to solder properly.
I will be able to compare the HE6 using the Twag cable   vs  the Audeze LCD-2 using the Zeus aproditecu29 or Twag   vs  the Sennheiser HD800 with the
Zeus aproditecu29 cable (which will have more copper to make the bass better) soon.  I also have one apuresound V3 cable for Audeze LCD2 but
it hasn't arrived yet.  I have already used the Twag with the Sennheiser HD800 but I don't think it's good match because it made the bass in the HD800
thinner and bass  doesn't seem right to me.  I will use my ZDT which Craig has rewired into 2 sets of 4pin XLR output and one 1/4" jack and I will use the balanced
4 pin for the Audeze lcd2 and another 4 pin for the HE6 ( then we can directly compare the two with the same song the same amplifier almost at the same time)
and  the 1/4"  jack for the HD800 but I will switch the HD800 into balanced  4pin from time to time.  I will use the 1/4" for the Sennheiser HD800 because it is easier
to drive.  During the burnin I think that the Twag make the HE6 shines, the bass response of the Audeze LCD2 is unbelievably deep with massive soundstage with the Zeus
but it still maintain its bass agility, the midrange and  bass response of the HD800 and Zeus cable has more quantity and better than the stock and Twag

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

I don't know about the beta22 but I have contacted one of the site that will make the beta22 for you though amb website, he mentioned
that we need to assign one primary headphone for the beta22 to drive to have the maximum benefit so I don't know about the huge range of
flexibility of the beta 22
 

 
Don't know who told you that, but that's complete BS.

 

[kiertijai]

OK at lease I know that this guy may not be correct in other opinion.  I am not an expert on beta22 so I cannot comment on this

 

[MuppetFace]

 
Quote:

OK at lease I know that this guy may not be correct in other opinion.  I am not an expert on beta22 so I cannot comment on this

 
There are considerations to make when building the Beta 22, like whether to go 3 boards or 4 boards depending on whether you want single-ended or balanced configuration. Also when setting the gain, the level you choose will depend on your primary driving needs. The K1000 for instance would benefit more from an overall balanced gain of 10. Even then, you're going to be able to drive more sensitive headphones, you're just not going to have as much room for volume adjustment.
 
That's hardly what I call "designing it around one pair of headphones." In fact, those are the considerations you'd make with ANY amplifier you buy. The Beta 22 is no different. Besides, unlike a commercial amp, a DIY amp is generally more easily changeable down the road if you decide to lower the gain or make another type of modification.

 

[kiertijai]

Sorry if that post may offend you.  That site was recommended to be the site to assemble beta22 by amb.
We have discussed about the specification of the beta22 and the upgrades.  Later he asked me to choose the primary headphone
to use with the beta22 as I have 3 headphones that I am using with different driving requirements: Sennheiser HD800, AudezeLCD2, HE6
and he mentioned that I need to make the decision which I will use as the primary headphone to get the maximal benefit and that is the part
of the reason that I did not pursue on with the beta22 thinking that if I have to use only one headphone while the other two may not get the
maximal benefit what is the use of that.  I already have the ZDT but I think I may need one solid state amp in case that I may use with different
kind of music especially for the balanced input for the more difficult phone.  However  I think I may be wrong as the ZDT can handle most of the
difficult cans without any problem and it does not have  balanced inputs.  It is also very good for metal or rock music and I am now listening Metallica with
ZDT + Audeze LCD2 (Zeus cable) vs HE6 + Twag  with very good , deep fast bass.
  That's the reason why I may be looking for a good solid state? amp with balanced
input that do not cost me a fortune e.g. Schiit Lyr, Ray Samuels SR71B etc.   EF6 is also considered along with the ibasso toucan and boomslang
but I am not rushing  now. 

 

[Frank I]

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

Sorry if that post may offend you.  That site was recommended to be the site to assemble beta22 by amb.
We have discussed about the specification of the beta22 and the upgrades.  Later he asked me to choose the primary headphone
to use with the beta22 as I have 3 headphones that I am using with different driving requirements: Sennheiser HD800, AudezeLCD2, HE6
and he mentioned that I need to make the decision which I will use as the primary headphone to get the maximal benefit and that is the part
of the reason that I did not pursue on with the beta22 thinking that if I have to use only one headphone while the other two may not get the
maximal benefit what is the use of that.

Your post doesn't offend me, I just feel that what you're being told isn't accurate. The Beta 22 is one of the greatest headphone amplifiers you can get right now. This "maximum benefit" is probably just the builder's stupid way of asking you for what gain you want the amplifier set. Having a higher gain isn't going to make much difference aside from how much fine-adjustment you get with the volume. If you have sensitive headphones, you'll have less room to play with before it gets loud.
 
That's something you can easily have changed later on if you decide you're only going to be driving sensitive headphones.

 

[kiertijai]

That's what I heard about the beta22 that it is one of the greatest headphone amp and that's the reason I plan to invest on it.
However after that message I have changed my mind but who knows I may come back with that idea after a while or after
getting more information like this.  Thanks for the comment and let me hear the other side that makes me understand more.

 

[BebopMcJiggy]

Quote:

Quote:

Sorry if that post may offend you.  That site was recommended to be the site to assemble beta22 by amb.
We have discussed about the specification of the beta22 and the upgrades.  Later he asked me to choose the primary headphone
to use with the beta22 as I have 3 headphones that I am using with different driving requirements: Sennheiser HD800, AudezeLCD2, HE6
and he mentioned that I need to make the decision which I will use as the primary headphone to get the maximal benefit and that is the part
of the reason that I did not pursue on with the beta22 thinking that if I have to use only one headphone while the other two may not get the
maximal benefit what is the use of that.

Your post doesn't offend me, I just feel that what you're being told isn't accurate. The Beta 22 is one of the greatest headphone amplifiers you can get right now. This "maximum benefit" is probably just the builder's stupid way of asking you for what gain you want the amplifier set. Having a higher gain isn't going to make much difference aside from how much fine-adjustment you get with the volume. If you have sensitive headphones, you'll have less room to play with before it gets loud.
 
That's something you can easily have changed later on if you decide you're only going to be driving sensitive headphones.

I'm fairly certain a 11x balanced b22 build might work for a HE6 but would have a horrible hiss with more sensitive cans.  Wouldn't just be about room for adjustment.  I could be wrong, though I am certain you can have too much gain for higher sensitivity cans. (http://gilmore2.chem.northwestern.edu/ubb/showpage.php?fnum=3&tid=7452&fpage=25 see last 2 posts, straight from AMB himself).  The builder is asking about setting the gain but I mean, it is kind of important.  But it is true you can change the gain by swapping out 2 resistors and 4 capacitors per board, so that's fairly easy.

 

[MuppetFace]

If you are in the market for a balanced solid state amp, the Violectric HPA V181 might be worth considering as well. I haven't gotten to listen yet, but reports indicate it's a great performer for under $1000.

 

[MuppetFace]

 
Quote:

 

I'm fairly certain a 11x balanced b22 build might work for a HE6 but would have a horrible hiss with more sensitive cans.  Wouldn't just be about room for adjustment.  I could be wrong, though I am certain you can have too much gain for higher sensitivity cans. (http://gilmore2.chem.northwestern.edu/ubb/showpage.php?fnum=3&tid=7452&fpage=25 see last 2 posts, straight from AMB himself).  The builder is asking about setting the gain but I mean, it is kind of important.  But it is true you can change the gain by swapping out 2 resistors and 4 capacitors per board, so that's fairly easy.

The Beta 22 I used has a total gain of 10 balanced, and at the levels I listen to I noticed no hiss personally from some of my more sensitive headphones. Perhaps if you turn the volume up more with sensitive cans, hissing would be more apparent. 
 
I've also tried it with two of the three headphones the previous post mentioned--- the LCD-2 and HD800--- and both worked very well.
 
Also, I agree it's important when the builder asks about setting the gain. I don't agree however with stating it in an obfuscatory manner to a customer rather than just explaining it clearly. From what the post says, it sounded like the builder was making the Beta 22 out to be specifically built from the ground up for a single set of headphones. That's ridiculous.

 

[BebopMcJiggy]

Quote:

 
Quote:

 

I'm fairly certain a 11x balanced b22 build might work for a HE6 but would have a horrible hiss with more sensitive cans.  Wouldn't just be about room for adjustment.  I could be wrong, though I am certain you can have too much gain for higher sensitivity cans. (http://gilmore2.chem.northwestern.edu/ubb/showpage.php?fnum=3&tid=7452&fpage=25 see last 2 posts, straight from AMB himself).  The builder is asking about setting the gain but I mean, it is kind of important.  But it is true you can change the gain by swapping out 2 resistors and 4 capacitors per board, so that's fairly easy.

The Beta 22 I used has a total gain of 10 balanced, and at the levels I listen to I noticed no hiss personally from some of my more sensitive headphones. Perhaps if you turn the volume up more with sensitive cans, hissing would be more apparent. 
 
I've also tried it with two of the three headphones the previous post mentioned--- the LCD-2 and HD800--- and both worked very well.

A total gain of 10 balanced so the gain is set to 5x on each board?  That's less than half what I was saying and an 11x balanced build is probably overkill... 10 balanced might be okay I guess but the guy who runs headfonia found his balanced 5x gain build to be insufficient for classical and other quieter recordings with the HE6.  I'm not saying anything about the B22 not being good, I think it's great... just saying, don't go too crazy with the gain.  I certainly feel it could be made to power an he6 well, especially if it's set up for speakers with 4 s22s :O.