[kunwar]

Hi guys,

the K1000 arrived today, plugged it in and let it play for a while. Then put it on and tried my reference tracks by Secret Garden. One word - unreal. If all headphones were designed with such care to sound. Right now they are playing of the Marantz while I search for a dedicated amplifier with the dac1 as a source. I am already liking what i hear from these. What the K501 does, these just do so much better, gr8 separation of instruments, a clarity which has to be heard and the feeling of being free like no other headphone I have tried.
Listening to Giant Leap's My Culture, one can feel teh drum almost sending shivers down your spine with the realism of the experience, Instruments just sound so much better, I thought i had heard violin and piano done well, but wait there is a new favorite emerging for me, The CELLO. Casals bach suites are so beautiful, one could almost cry, yet one feels happy for the achievement that casal had in thos recordings
if these actually get better with dedicated amps, that would be one experience not to miss. all in all, one special headphone designed by kickass engineers for the audiophile. These things are evil, If anyone does not want to be turned to the K1000's then I suggest that you do not listen to them, they are seductively good and ridiculously pleasing.

now what amps would you guys recommend. Audiovalve, Norh, Cary have already been mentioned. I have heard that the Dared monoblocks really make them sing, only problem is they are unavailable here in Aus whic sucks. ANy other monoblocks which people have enjoyed. i would prefer something with good build quality. Not something too expensive though

so long then, enjoy ur music and stay healthy.

Kunwar

 

[tkam]

Hardly anyone mentions them but Dynahi's drive the k1000's really well.

 

[kunwar]

Don't know why that is so, Maybe the Dynahi's signature is on the bright side. Tubes usually are much more lush, Unfortuantely no Dynahi's here in Aus, anyone tried the K1K with a Dynahi though?

 

[Andrea]

Wow... not even a tiny trace of LAIDBACK AND DULLL ?!

 

[doobooloo]

Glad you're enjoying them! They're really something special.

Only if it didn't hurt so much on my head...

 

[kunwar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea Wow... not even a tiny trace of LAIDBACK AND DULLL ?!

Not really Smartass

.

Very much with the music, This is how live performances sound, almost every live performance that I have a recording of sounds almost like being in the concert/performance again. What a feeling indeed

 

[lan]

Congrats.

The amp I wouldn't recommend is the T-amp. It's ok but you want more than okay right?

I would try another DAC also.

 

[Edwood]

Welcome to the club.

Now you will have fun trying to max them out.

-Ed

 

[jjcha]

Man, I feel so bad. I'm so shallow that I wouldn't even try the AKG-K1000's on and didn't know what I was missing 'til the other day.

So I need to work on my computer rig. Assuming no hitches with PayPal or shipping, I've got NeilPeart's rig coming to me. I'll try the modded T-Amp, but I'm betting my Pathos Classic One is the better amp for them. I don't know if it's the optimal amp for the K1000's, but they certainly look great together!

I do need to work on a source. I hate to say it, but I think this rig will be fed by the Overture for a while...

Best,

-Jason

 

[elrod-tom]

I'm of the opinion that these cans require tubes. I've heard them a couple of times on good SS gear, but it's not the same.

I owned the nOrh SE9, and for a stand-alone (read: no standard jack for regular dynamic cans) amp, it's a whale of a bargain. Currently I own the ASL MG-Head OTL-32, and it's decent at lower volume (but not outstanding).

Hope this helps...and congrats on your new purchase.

 

[tk_suki]

Jason quick move on NeilPeart's rig. That was posted just after I searched for some on HF. Oh well, glad you have them, can A/B Ron`s stock cable vs your custom(assume you bought the whole package).

Ya know what they say, early bird gets the worm, but it is the second mouse which gets the cheese

Be more than happy to help ya test amps.

If only we could get our hands on a pair of HE90s. But the K1Ks certainly more affordable and accessible. My first impressions were favorable, reason I volunteered to return to Ron, where I could check-out on my system briefly, which sounded good(even though only 8W/ch SE Monos) and Rons which also sounded good Cary PP so more power.

-tk

 

[Jon L]

I'm of the opinion that once you ditch the awful K1000 cable, pretty much a wide range of good amps will do K1000 justice, tube or SS or even class T. Once you A-B the stock cable with something like continuous cast Solid core copper, it almost becomes a question how anyone can love stock K1000 with ANY amp. There's so much grit, unnatural brightness, lack of refinement and harmonics that rides on that stock cable it's not even funny.

 

[NeilPeart]

As soon as the PayPal stuff clears the whole enchilada will be on its way (it’s already packed up). I really enjoyed the K1000, and I had an opportunity to live with it in my own system for almost 3 months. During that time I listened to it with a variety of music and even upgraded the stock cable to a Stefan AudioArts cable (which did indeed improve the midrange clarity, reduce most of the harshness and lend the headphone a more balanced sound). Upgrading the T-amp also removed the treble etch, increased the soundstage and fixed the channel imbalance present in the original pot (thank you, Alps Blue Velvet), and the 3Amp regulated PSU really improved the impact of the T-amp compared to battery operation. Recently, my friend at Paradise AV lent me his RKV MkII (tube-rolled he said, but I don't recall the details) and the K1000 never sounded better. Sure the detail was a bit smeared compared to the T-amp, but the sound was smoother, the midrange lusher and everything was much more natural – no longer did acoustic music sound “wrong,” or “hyper-detailed” (though nothing like the artificial Qualia effect). The bass also sounded different, though I'm not sure it was better. I had the RKV MkII for almost 2 weeks, and while it did sound quite a bit more natural than the T-amp, the difference between the two wasn't life-altering (and detail freaks might still prefer the T-amp to the RKV). Even after all this I returned to my HD650 like a lost animal wandering back to the teat. I don't know why, but that headphone simply presents a sound that I cannot forsake - the HD650 simply felt more cohesive and balanced; it even sounded more speaker-like than the K1000 despite the AKG’s obvious soundstage capabilities. However, I do find myself longing for the subterranean details and dynamic that the K1000 possessed (very few 'phones achieve such startling resolution) - perhaps the HE60 can quell this yearning...

 

[Giteet]

I thought you'd never part with that Austrian torture device!

 

[wallijonn]

Kunwar,

When I went to gerG's house for a listening session, he had the K1000 connected to his SAC amp. He warned me - "Don't listen to those." He was such a tease - he knew I couldn't resist - I had to listen to them.

I put on the Hollies' "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" and lost my mind.

I became a blithering fool. All I kept saying was "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God".

gerG was smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

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It would seem that you had the same epithany.