Clutz
Tells us when we're offset.
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2002
- Posts
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In an ideal world I would be able to easily switch back and forth between both headphones and headphone amps merely by flipping a switch, and while it woudln't be too terribly difficult to construct a device that would let me do that I haven't done that in this case because I'm lazy, but more to the point - I don't have two power supplies to power both amps simutaneously (I'm working on it - but I just don't have the funds right now to build a STEPS - buying the K701 has cleared me out, and I know I'm going to owe on my income tax). Consequently, this review was done by manually switching between headphone and headphone amps.
Currently my HD580s have over 300 hours of play time, and my K701s have maybe 30 to 35 hours on them - so in totally different ballparks. That said, let's start off with a discussion of which combination of headphone and headphone amplifier I prefer over the others.
My PPAv2 amplifier is using the 627/637 opamp combination, approximately 3000uF of rail capacitance from Cerafines, I've set the buffer current to 25mA and the opamps are biased into class-A operation with 1.5mA of current. My Millet-Hybrid amp is using Cerafine caps for all the electrolytics, except for two which I used Nichicon UPW series. All of the film capacitors are Wima film caps, and I'm using the 12FK6 tubes, and OPA551 op-amp as my current buffer (having some problems with my diamond buffer).
Before I go any further, I'm also going to point out that these comments are just my opinions - and are my general impressions.
I definitely prefer the combination of the HD580 + PPA over the HD580 + Millet Hybrid. The 580 + Millet does sound good - particularly with classic rock (CCR) and some metal, but I don't generally find this combination dynamic enough. Two of my favourite artists are Radiohead and The Cure, and I found that the HD580 and the Millet just doesn't reproduce the dynamics and layering of their music nearly as well as the PPA does. I find this particularly noticable with the track "Out of this World" by The Cure and remixed by Paul Oakenfold. Listening to this track using the HD580s and the PPA is an emersive experience, where I feel surrounded by the various layers of the music - but with the Millet the layering is largely lost.
Because I generally strongly prefer my PPA over my Millet Hybrid because I really enjoyed the detail this combination produced, I expected to prefer the combination of the K701 and PPA over the K701 and the Millet Hybrid, but I don't. While my K701s only have about 35 hours of burn in (in my experience burn in is a real phenomenon, but I will not debate this issue here) and so I accept that they are probably currently brighter than they will settle down at - I find the combination of the K701 and my PPA to be overly bright and overly detailed. I definitely find I have to turn the volume down with this combination or I get a headache. With the PPA and the HD580, I keep the bass boost turned all the way down - and I had begun to regret ever installing it - but with the PPA and the k701s, I'm finding I've got the bass boost turned up about 35% of the maximum boost possible in my configuration.
I'm finding it hard to say which pair of headphones I currently prefer. The K701s definitely sound 'quicker' than the HD580s to me and they definitely have less emphasized mid-bass - but the HD580s don't sound sluggish or congested to me. I'll have to wait until I get closer to 300 hours before I reserve judgement. if I had to make a decision today to decide whether I'd keep the HD580s or the K701s, I think I would probably keep the HD580s, as much because they're a known quantity to me. I've listened to them and I know I really like them, where as with the K701s - I'm enjoying them, but I just have less confidence in them because I've had less exposure to them so far. This is definitely making me wonder though if I would prefer the HD600s or HD650s over the K701s.
Anyway
Currently my HD580s have over 300 hours of play time, and my K701s have maybe 30 to 35 hours on them - so in totally different ballparks. That said, let's start off with a discussion of which combination of headphone and headphone amplifier I prefer over the others.
My PPAv2 amplifier is using the 627/637 opamp combination, approximately 3000uF of rail capacitance from Cerafines, I've set the buffer current to 25mA and the opamps are biased into class-A operation with 1.5mA of current. My Millet-Hybrid amp is using Cerafine caps for all the electrolytics, except for two which I used Nichicon UPW series. All of the film capacitors are Wima film caps, and I'm using the 12FK6 tubes, and OPA551 op-amp as my current buffer (having some problems with my diamond buffer).
Before I go any further, I'm also going to point out that these comments are just my opinions - and are my general impressions.
I definitely prefer the combination of the HD580 + PPA over the HD580 + Millet Hybrid. The 580 + Millet does sound good - particularly with classic rock (CCR) and some metal, but I don't generally find this combination dynamic enough. Two of my favourite artists are Radiohead and The Cure, and I found that the HD580 and the Millet just doesn't reproduce the dynamics and layering of their music nearly as well as the PPA does. I find this particularly noticable with the track "Out of this World" by The Cure and remixed by Paul Oakenfold. Listening to this track using the HD580s and the PPA is an emersive experience, where I feel surrounded by the various layers of the music - but with the Millet the layering is largely lost.
Because I generally strongly prefer my PPA over my Millet Hybrid because I really enjoyed the detail this combination produced, I expected to prefer the combination of the K701 and PPA over the K701 and the Millet Hybrid, but I don't. While my K701s only have about 35 hours of burn in (in my experience burn in is a real phenomenon, but I will not debate this issue here) and so I accept that they are probably currently brighter than they will settle down at - I find the combination of the K701 and my PPA to be overly bright and overly detailed. I definitely find I have to turn the volume down with this combination or I get a headache. With the PPA and the HD580, I keep the bass boost turned all the way down - and I had begun to regret ever installing it - but with the PPA and the k701s, I'm finding I've got the bass boost turned up about 35% of the maximum boost possible in my configuration.
I'm finding it hard to say which pair of headphones I currently prefer. The K701s definitely sound 'quicker' than the HD580s to me and they definitely have less emphasized mid-bass - but the HD580s don't sound sluggish or congested to me. I'll have to wait until I get closer to 300 hours before I reserve judgement. if I had to make a decision today to decide whether I'd keep the HD580s or the K701s, I think I would probably keep the HD580s, as much because they're a known quantity to me. I've listened to them and I know I really like them, where as with the K701s - I'm enjoying them, but I just have less confidence in them because I've had less exposure to them so far. This is definitely making me wonder though if I would prefer the HD600s or HD650s over the K701s.
Anyway