[Strayngs]

I have the Kennerton Litz 4 pin XLR balanced cable and have a ZMF Verite which will be here soon. Will the Kennerton balanced cable work with ZMF?

thanks

 

[John Massaria]

Just ordered this- The Apache by Ray Samuels- I have no idea how I am going to get balanced cable to work with sperate left and right connectors - may have to make new custom ones- any ideas how the Kennertons will do on this?

 

[arielext]

Unless you hit a synergy mismatch I see no reason why it should sound anything less then godlike.

 

[eric65]

Hi John.

When you get your new Samuels Apache headphone amp/preamp (*), I'd be interested in a little comparison between your Gjallarhorn versus your Thekk.


Personally I had compared my Magni V2 with the Thror and the Thekk.

The Magni was brighter in the treble than the two planar headphones, with also more sub-bass, but I found the Thekk and Thror more regular and smooth (less grainy) than the Magni; also more "racy" with also more faithful timbres (than the Magni) for the reproduction of voices and instruments.
Thekk being a little warmer and more incarnated than the Thror; the latter being more linear, clearer and more limpid than the Thekk.
The Magni gave a more V-shaped listening impression than the more linear Thekk and Thror; the Magni lacked a bit of "body" and consistency in the mids (compared to the two Kennerton planar headphones) .
Listening was also less tiring with the two planar headphones (softer, less aggressive listening).

(*) : This Samuels Apache SS headphone amp/preamp looks very promising for enhancing your two Kennerton headphones (Gjallarhorn and Thekk) : start by listening with the lowest gain (nb: the headphones are low impedance and high sensitivity) and in unbalanced mode so you don't have to change cables: this amp should give more openness to the headphones and a smoother, fuller and more fluid sound than an amp that lacks power.

 

[John Massaria]

I am learning a lot- I can tell you the Topping A90 can't touch my PASS WHAMMY CLASS A with upgraded stacked dual OPA627BP ($28 each chip x 2)- my friend was amazed. The Apache is OPA based swappable but you need 4 LOL! - And as I understand it the Apache has gobs of power so difference will be met with tons of dynamic power- some may poo poo on opa amps but I can testify every single amp I tried failed when I compared it to my WHAMMY including a really well regarded Teac Amp, the Gilmore Lite Mk2 (close but not) and the absolutely awful dismal Wyre4Sound Intimo ($1500+) which really was no contest at all. The Topping A90 was close- but sounded too closed in and not dynamic enough when it comes to air and stage compared to the WHAMMY w/627. Ray Samuel promised if I want to upgrade the amp to best of best ever offered by him it would only cost $100. LMAO I thought he said $1000. Nope- he really said $100. I told him let me get hold of that pretty beast first and then I can decide... I am hoping it is better than my WHAMMY. I know the Beta22 has a good rep for class A but its no where close to the build that is by Ray Samuel and his service is nuts! He said free upgrades on my amp that I bought used! WHAT? How does that work? Who is this guy Ray Samuel and how can he afford that? Anyway- the Kennertons are worthy of seeking out better amps for sure. I have a Bottlehead Crack w/sb and that kit is crazy good with the 300 Ω HD600 but fails on the easy to drive Kennertons. That's why I asked Valentin to make step Ω adapters (150-300 Ω ) so his headphones could play well with all OTLs. (nudging Valentin as a reminder)

 

[Audio Addict]

.... The Apache is OPA based swappable but you need 4 LOL! - And as I understand it the Apache has gobs of power so difference will be met with tons of dynamic power................................ Ray Samuel promised if I want to upgrade the amp to best of best ever offered by him it would only cost $100. LMAO I thought he said $1000. Nope- he really said $100. I told him let me get hold of that pretty beast first and then I can decide... I am hoping it is better than my WHAMMY. I know the Beta22 has a good rep for class A but its no where close to the build that is by Ray Samuel and his service is nuts! He said free upgrades on my amp that I bought used! WHAT? How does that work? Who is this guy Ray Samuel and how can he afford that?..............

That is just who Ray is. I have known Ray from soon after he got into business. I met him at a Chicago Head-Fi meet. I have his Apache and can attest it goes well with the Thekk and my Utopia. It is probably 95% there for being able to drive even my HE-6 but he created the Dark Star basically for the headphones like the HE-6. I hope you enjoy the Apache. I currently have his latest OPAs in mine but I have been torn between them and the Sparkos Labs S3601. You have two choices for you headphones, either buy new headphone cables terminated in the dual 3 pin XLR or buy a quality adapter. I use a WyWires adapter as both my Thekk and Utopia have WyWires 4 pin XLR Platinum cables.

 

[PinkyPowers]

A Pure and Righteous Ideal – A Review of the Kennerton Magni
​

 

[John Massaria]

A Pure and Righteous Ideal – A Review of the Kennerton Magni
​

Awesome review informative and spoken eloquently... “The Kennerton Magni is a tasty delight, with all the clarity and detail, soundstage and musicality of a world class transducer. All wrapped in the loveliest of aesthetics. Magni is a technical and artistic marvel, and I highly recommend it. If you have ears, I suspect they’ll suit you nicely.”

 

[Greendriver]

Awesome review informative and spoken eloquently... “The Kennerton Magni is a tasty delight, with all the clarity and detail, soundstage and musicality of a world class transducer. All wrapped in the loveliest of aesthetics. Magni is a technical and artistic marvel, and I highly recommend it. If you have ears, I suspect they’ll suit you nicely.”

Agreed. An enjoyable and enthusiastic review.

 

[oqvist]

Good read. Never thought of them as being designed as portables though. Easy to drive but the design don´t appear to be meant for that purpose. Being ported they leak so not sure about office or library use either so they should be greatful for the great sound lol

 

[EternityInParis]

Good read. Never thought of them as being designed as portables though. Easy to drive but the design don´t appear to be meant for that purpose. Being ported they leak so not sure about office or library use either so they should be greatful for the great sound lol

I use my LSA HP-2 (Kennerton Gjallarhorns) as portable headphones. Great sound isolation, the world goes away even at half volume. Good for the lawn tractor too. They are light and comfortable enough to use on the go, the leather bag is a hint to not leave these sitting at home . Just get a thinner cable and tuck it under your shirt and enjoy music how it should be from your phone, no periphreals needed.

 

[John Massaria]

The Thekks got me scouring the web for all sorts of amps like the AMB Beta22 which I heard is decently good, and the Audio Gd-Master19 or Master 9 or - I am bored waiting for The Apache to arrive sometime next week - but found this... I wanted to review this amp called The Darling from Toolshed USA- but the steep price of $2599 is lofty - anyone ever hear of this company? https://www.toolshedamps.com/darling-stereo-desktopheadphone-amplifier

 

[PinkyPowers]

Good read. Never thought of them as being designed as portables though. Easy to drive but the design don´t appear to be meant for that purpose. Being ported they leak so not sure about office or library use either so they should be greatful for the great sound lol

I listen to Magni at decently loud levels at work, and the people around me rarely hear a peep from them.

 

[arielext]

Good read. Never thought of them as being designed as portables though. Easy to drive but the design don´t appear to be meant for that purpose. Being ported they leak so not sure about office or library use either so they should be greatful for the great sound lol

You get the littlest if feedback through the bass port but other then that they are quite silent from the outside. I let them burn in for a few days at moderate to high volumes and I heard almost nothing standing next to them (while the cups had a good deal on the stand).
I can easily forsee these being used at work or in a library or such places.

 

[John Massaria]

Just got the Ray Samuels Apache hooked up quickly- I will be switching over to balanced but for this test I am using the RCA and TRS to my GH50's - the Apache came loaded with 4 LT1028 CN8 OPA and I have 4 lme49710na (see in pic on top in white styrofoam) - as I hooked it up- I am thinking no way this LT1028 is going to best my PASS WHAMMY CLASS A- I was so wrong. Not really paying any mind to the chip anymore- simple fact is this amp has limitless depth and a strong muscle authority I have yet to hear of any amp so far- it must be the dual mono design from end to end- must be, the Apache is like nothing I ever heard- beyond expectations- such an emotional and organic flawless performance. The PASS WHAMMY has bested anything I tried under $1500 and it has served me so well. It sounds much better and cleaner, accurate and much more musical than the Topping A90- so much so after 20 some odd days with the Topping A90 I returned it back to APOS. I really thought it can't get much better than the WHAMMY w/Dual OPA627.... but this Apache makes you clearly see (hear) why people spend $3K on amps - its beyond euphoric. Emotional. Ray Samuels is a genius and the build on this amp is second to none. I'm in new Valhalla nirvana with my Kennerton Headphones finally getting the best of what I think is out there - the listening is so emotional and touching. I can't describe it as I listen except to say let me be and just listen.