[Stax-i-nox]

Is anyone out there in the process of making the ULTIMATE, and possibly the best sounding AMP for the K1000? ....or is there one in existence right now.

 

[DanT]

I don't know I can't afford it anyway but you might check this tread for amp in existence

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=223951

Not sure how much is actual real experience with the K-1000 tho

 

[Afrikane]

I would love to able to tell you that the Air Tight ATM-300 is the ultimate and certainly this weekend was a revelation but there are so many amps I have yet to try. So far the ATM-300 is far better in every aspect than the only other amp I have tried the K1000s with, the PS Audio GCC250. What really is confusing me is that I have read that the K1000 does not have that much bass impact and that this is especially true of the later serials, yet last night Ray Browns' "Superbass" had my earlobes vibrating, and this at what I consider a moderate listening level and two fingers of toe out.
Obligatory eyecandy:

 

[stewtheking]

Oh dear. I nearly had an accident there. That Air tight is absolutely sublime.

 

[Dexdexter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewtheking /img/forum/go_quote.gif That Air tight is absolutely sublime.

It certainly is!

Don't know if I could ever get the hang of separate left/right attenuators, though.

 

[Afrikane]

Looks pretty unassuming to me. Fortunately it sounds much better than it looks

 

[stewtheking]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Afrikane /img/forum/go_quote.gif Looks pretty unassuming to me. Fortunately it sounds much better than it looks

Unassuming? With those valves like glass footballs? Crikey, what looks crazy to you?

 

[aluren]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Afrikane /img/forum/go_quote.gif

When are you gonna raffle that away??

j/k...

That's an awesome looking amp. I would love to get my hands on that (and the k1000) someday....

 

[Voltron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stax-i-nox /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is anyone out there in the process of making the ULTIMATE, and possibly the best sounding AMP for the K1000? ....or is there one in existence right now.

There are a couple of different answers to your question. One amp maker is currently working on an ULTIMATE K1000 amp and has a prototype that should be making a debut at the Int'l Meet in April. That one will be a trifecta with balanced & single-ended headphones jacks and speaker binding posts meant specifically for the K1000. I will let the maker or the buyer speak up if it is not top secret. Otherwise, you will have to come to the meet or read the threads.

As to existing amps, there are a couple people who would say that Afrikane's (and also Nik's) dead-sexy Air Tight 300M amps are the pinnacle, others would say that the Aleph 3/30, FirstWatt F1 or RWA Sig 30 are the tops in powering K1000s. Many other amp options are out there, some of which might be the ULTIMATE to some members (mostly their owners).

Speaking of which, I have not heard anyone else talk about amping their K1000 with my particular amp, but I have a Moth Audio 300B Paradigm that is outstanding with these cans. I just recently got it along with the Equinox'd K1000s. Last night I reconfigured my setup with very good results, and I am really liking the combination more as I get used to it. I have been writing about it sporadically in this forum.

Just for fun, a little more eye candy:

 

[humanflyz]

It's going to be pretty difficult to find the ULTIMATE amp for the K1000s, since the choices of speaker amps are almost infinite, unlike with most headphone amps where a few manufacturers dominate the market. I think most people can hear pretty much most of the headphone amps made if they go to meets, but the same can't be said about speaker amps.

 

[Stax-i-nox]

Those are def eye candy! Since I won't be able to come to the meet, I will look forward to hearing about this trifecta amp! Thanks for the pics and info!!

 

[Afrikane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewtheking /img/forum/go_quote.gif Unassuming? With those valves like glass footballs? Crikey, what looks crazy to you?

The Atma-Sphere MA3 mentioned in the other "ultimate" thread looks way crazy to me. As humanflyz correctly points out, it is an almost impossible task to pick out just one amp as the supreme K1000 amp. This coming weekend will find me strapping the K1000 to a pair of custom 25w monoblocks sporting a pair of Gold Lion KT88s (Re-issue), one Tungsol Round plate VT231 and one RCA Red base 5691 per side.

 

[stewtheking]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Afrikane /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Atma-Sphere MA3 mentioned in the other "ultimate" thread looks way crazy to me. As humanflyz correctly points out, it is an almost impossible task to pick out just one amp as the supreme K1000 amp. This coming weekend will find me strapping the K1000 to a pair of custom 25w monoblocks sporting a pair of Gold Lion KT88s (Re-issue), one Tungsol Round plate VT231 and one RCA Red base 5691 per side.

Ah. Touche.

 

[KrooLism]

Someone suggested these on my stupid thread.

http://www.dartzeel.com/pages_E/gamme_E.html