[MorbidToaster]

Magnepan is actually rolling out a loaner program with their dealers so this is entirely possible. Good idea. 
 
Quote:

Your room is big enough. See if the dealer will let you demo them in your room. I know my dealer Overture in Deleware lets me take home gear for home auditions as I did with the Revel F30 and Genesis V I owned. That way you know your going to be happy. Many dealers will let you do this.
 

 
 

 

[WarriorAnt]

Quote:

Your room is big enough. See if the dealer will let you demo them in your room. I know my dealer Overture in Deleware lets me take home gear for home auditions as I did with the Revel F30 and Genesis V I owned. That way you know your going to be happy. Many dealers will let you do this.
 

 
I used to do business with Overture in Delaware in the early 90's.  Not sure if it is the same guy who owns it now but he's a good guy.  A friend of mine in Philly has done a lot of business with him.  Pretty much everything he has ever purchased Overture let him bring home first.

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

 
I used to do business with Overture in Delaware in the early 90's.  Not sure if it is the same guy who owns it now but he's a good guy.  A friend of mine in Philly has done a lot of business with him.  Pretty much everything he has ever purchased Overture let him bring home first.

Terry Menacker is still the owner. I bought a bunch of gear there through the years.  terry good at letting gear go home. I had the Revel and Genesis V in the house befor I bought them and a bunch of other stuff like the Classe CDP .5 and CJ tube amps and solid state all on demo's before buying. He even sent mega buck amps to NY for my brother to demo.

 

[fradoca]

this is what i consider a really high end headphone monitoring system :
 
 
http://www.qeslabs.com/e_listening.asp
 
my hd 600 and my hd800 sound really amazing with reference material when driven by this amp.
 
this is a piece of gear made for the professional market but can be also used by the audiophile who is looking for the ultimate solid state amp with no coloration and absolute neutrality
 
I've been mastering for some years so i use this combo for QC before delivering masters to the record plant.
 
highly recommended.

 

[Todd]

Someone has already mentioned the Apex Pinnacle (reviewed as a preamp in The Absolute Sound and listed as a preamp in their buyers guide) that is a great preamp and a great headphone amp. One other possibility would be the Peak and Volcano. The Apex Peak doubles as a Preamp and a headphone amp and does both very well. AND I have a loaner unit that I can ship out to you for 2 weeks use should you elect to give it a try. Of course it is not the Pinnacle but it is amazing for the money and you can tailor the sound with the switch of single a 6SN7.
 
The Manley is also very good - I know because I used one as a preamp for a while. I also brought it to a couple of CanJams for all to hear it as a headphone amp.
 
And Esoteric makes great preamps too. I have used them in my system as well as their cd players.
 
Just my 2 cents...
 
Todd

 

[Mr.Sneis]

Why are so many headphone amps also pre-amps?

 

[MorbidToaster]

I'd love to have a Pinnacle but I'm about 7 grand short.
 
As for the Speak / Volcano I'd love to give it a try some day. Might take you up on that down the line when I'm building my speaker set up...Thanks Todd.
 
Quote:

Someone has already mentioned the Apex Pinnacle (reviewed as a preamp in The Absolute Sound and listed as a preamp in their buyers guide) that is a great preamp and a great headphone amp. One other possibility would be the Peak and Volcano. The Apex Peak doubles as a Preamp and a headphone amp and does both very well. AND I have a loaner unit that I can ship out to you for 2 weeks use should you elect to give it a try. Of course it is not the Pinnacle but it is amazing for the money and you can tailor the sound with the switch of single a 6SN7.
 
The Manley is also very good - I know because I used one as a preamp for a while. I also brought it to a couple of CanJams for all to hear it as a headphone amp.
 
And Esoteric makes great preamps too. I have used them in my system as well as their cd players.
 
Just my 2 cents...
 
Todd

 
 

 

[David1961]

After reading the thoughts that two headfiers had about the Esoteric C-03 preamp, I've decided the ones I'm going to audition are by Jeff Rowland, they are Capri, Corus and Criterion. From what I've read about them, they're supposed to give a musical and transparent sound, so in conjunction with the source I have and the BHSE I'm getting which are both considered being on the analytical side, I think the three together [ which ever of the three JRDG I decided to go for ] should  give me what I'm looking for. Having said that I'm thinking prematurely because I won't be getting the BHSE until March. 

 

[n3rdling]

Uncolored isn't analytical

 

[Loevhagen]

Agree.

 

[David1961]

Quote:

Uncolored isn't analytical

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by uncoloured.
 
 
 

 

[Loevhagen]

He means non-analytical..,
 
Fit-for-purpose WiKi: Analytical = sounding too bright = coloured. Sounding absolute right = neutral. Right?

 

[David1961]

Quote:

He means non-analytical..,
 
Fit-for-purpose WiKi: Analytical = sounding too bright = coloured. Sounding absolute right = neutral. Right?

Thank you for this, However I thought analytical meant detailed. The one thing I'm not very good at is the technical side of audio but I'm willing to learn.
 
 

 

[Loevhagen]

Please note: This forum is NOT about technical capabilities. It is 90% subjective (aka your ears). Disregard the "truth" presented by myself and other users. Use posted information with caution. Navigate these muddy waters with a filter. At some point in time; you will dock to the quay having the sound signature YOU prefer (aka is the RIGHT sound).

 

[David1961]

Again thank you, I guess the only way is to go out and audition audio equipment that will be pleasant to the ear, rather than read about it.