[RGA]

Cigars to all

Okay, Before I left the dealer I wanted to make sure all was well...I didn't want to make the 1 1/2 hour drive back if it didn't work.

Anyway, we took it out of the big box and hooked up...turned the switch on(allowing virtually no-time to warm up). And I gotta say WOW

Even through Grado RS2s which irritated me before began to sound like real music...not punched up extremes.

The dealer that had never seen the unit but carries ASL now wants to order one in. The dealer carries the Creek and Grado line of headphone amps but was very impressed by the "coolest little headphone amp" (in his words) and fantastic sound while still cold. This is the first one he's sold on Vancouver Island...geez I feel like I may have started a trend.

Anyway, I was surprised to see the stock tubes being Russian Sovteks...They seem good to me...so I can't wait to try out some of your suggestions.

Build: The thing is solid as a rock...nothing is loose...the tubes are strait...the front panel is in line and the balance of the feet are all even.

Sound: Initial impression as I have not had it long - First thing that impressed me was that there is absolutely no noise from this unit...for years I had thought that my cd player had a low level hum but I know know that my Arcam is the culprit

What I noticed is that in the first half hour of listening is that the unit sounds a bit like a solid state amp...something I noticed about the Jolida 202a and B&W 1NT combo. It's funny that cold tubes are said to sound pitiful - yet that sound is what sold state amps sound like ALL THE TIME.

Anyway I gave the amp the gambit: Sarah McLaughlin's Surfacing Album 1st: Air, Depth and smoothness all present...Ohh that smoothness.

Then Came Schindler's List Soundtrack - The violin sweet and extended...yet with detail that had been present in the Creek and Grado...but none of the grittiness.

After trying several others in these genres - Sade, Corelli, Mozart, Sarah Brightman, Enya, etc...I decided to see if it was true that bass was seriously lacking.

I did not find it lacking...I gave it a couple of very tough tests and listened through both my headphones - My Sony goes extremely deep in this regard.

1st up was Madonna's Immaculate collection...I wanted to see if the amp could keep up with the fast paced demands of Holliday, Cherrish etc...No problems...fast tight sound throughout.

2nd...Madonna's Justify my Love - those of you that know, this track is a wall rattler and a woofer killer. This track gave the amp a little trouble...the Bass was deep enough but tended to blur her voice a little bit...almost taking power from the mids to satisfy the bass demands. Oddly...swithing the high low switch to low(with the Senns) seemed to alleviate this considerably...though I'm not sure that is too good for the amp so I switched back.

Then I went to Corina(on the Dance mix 94) Lot's of pounding deep bass that went way way down...Again though the Senns had a bit of muddiness when pushed...The Sony had no trouble and kept the low bass while having clear vocals. The Sony is easier to drive of course but as they are a lesser can...I soon wanted to go back to the Senn.

What I learned was the Head can do it all but not with one particular headphone...The HD600 creates difficulty when playing Extreme bass heavy dance tracks - but since most of that music is not great anyway I certainly don't mind using the Sony(oddly this can is better for pure earpounding bass - innacurate as it maybe)
For everything else the HD600s are better now than I've ever heard them to be from any SS amp.(mind you I have not heard the top end of this market) - but the Grado is more expensive - My question would be Why?

For the budget conscious it's a terrific value - sure it does have room for improvement - but that room will cost and cost at least double. I can't wait to hear Good Tubes...if the Sovteks are only average...the DOUBLE WOW

 

[chych]

You listened to the MG Head with Grados? I somehow remember (and from my past experience) Grado + MG Head=bad (though HD600 + MG Head = good).

And that cold tube statement, well I must agree, the unit sounds quite thin without that lush midrange... if SS sounds anything like that, count me out

 

[RGA]

Chych:

Well remember I didn't like the Grados to start with. I found them all too bright(except the RS 1) and too thin....sort of like Paradigm Speakers. So if that is the sound you like then the tube amp is not for you. However, the Head seemed to add boddy to the midrange taking the edge off the highs and rounding out the bottom end end a bit.

I can imagine if a Grado owner heard that they would be very displeased...to me the Grado sounded a bit more like the Senns...which is a good thing IMO...Again if you bought Grados and the amp made them sound more like Senns you would probably have a fit

I only listened a bit with the Grados...I wanted to rush home to hear them on my own cans...so it is possible that extended listening with the Grados would irritate me...something tells me though that the RS2s could actually sound a lot better with this amp than people realise. They may actually find a middle ground between the smooth Senns and the in your face Grados....Hmmm...now I want to listen some more to the Grados.

 

[dhwilkin]

Congrats on your purchase, RGA! The Head is a great little amp, when quality control is good. I personally didn't like the stock tubes, but that's because I used them w/ 580s, which made the mid-range too warm and dark. However, it seems like they're a fairly decent match w/ your Grados. Are you going to start tube-rolling? It'd be interesting to see which tubes you think work well w/ the Grados, since almost all tube reviews have been done w/ Sennheisers.

 

[MacDEF]

Which Sony's are those?

 

[briantf27]

RGA - congrats! This little hunk of metal is going to bring you hours of enjoyment. Let us know when you get your hands on one of the NOS Sylvania 5751s... Your enjoyment will double.

Brian.

 

[RGA]

DHWilkin:

Actually I own the Senn HD600s. I just listened briefly to the RS2s in the store.

MacDef: The Sony MDR750s. They were a What Hi-fi 5 star can back in 1991 or 1992...about $180CDN...but remeber the dollar was much better back then.

Thanks Brian...I will keep an eye out...it seems that the Sylvanias are a trickier tube to get a hold of.
I'm surprised that the Sovteks are this good...being that this is my first tube amp(and not last) if these tubes can sound better the SS gear...I can't wait to try "good" tubes.

 

[gorgon_123]

congrats RGA! The Head is *probably* my next audio purchase..... except pesky things like my girlfriend's birthday and xmas are coming up - big $$$

How much did you pay if you don't mind me asking?

 

[wasifazim]

Smart purchase; mine's only a week old and sounds great, as in pull-out-all-my-CDs-and-listen-again great, especially compared with my old OBH11+OBH2 combo. Great value too, at Cdn$380 w/o the tube cage. Still waiting for my RCA and Sylvania black plate 5751s to arrive though.
I'd advise you to replace the stock power cord ASAP though; a decent one should come under Cdn$200. Major difference.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

MacDef: The Sony MDR750s

I was trying to figure out if your profile just had a typo

I haven't heard of the 750s before. Thanks.

 

[dhwilkin]

Oh, you own the 600s, RGA? Interesting, I guess we have slightly different sonic preferences. Ah well, to each his own.

 

[RGA]

Gorgon: It took 10 days to deliver it out here in BC from Divergent. $389.00CDN + $65.00 for the cage and detacheable power chord. Neither of which you really need but I did get.

I won't upgrade the power chord...I'm a disbeliever in this particular tweek...The Bryston Engineers would seem to agree with me on this. For reading check out bryston.ca under cables etc.

 

[wasifazim]

Give a new power cord a shot, you might be surprised. If not, just return it..