[Asterisk3095]

they like Class A SS sound with loads of juice on tap but they will drive ez with portable amps too - honestly an OTL is not for the GH50 at all since OTL amps do best and thrive w/ headphones with much higher impedances- The entire Kennerton line is ez to drive but some SET amps and PP amps that use tubes will make the Kennertons sing but the Bottllehead type OTLs are not a good match

Alright thanks! I might just save for a Quicksilver amp in that case

 

[jonathan c]

for me- they like Class A SS sound with loads of juice on tap but they will drive ez with portable amps too - honestly an OTL is not for the GH50 at all since OTL amps do best and thrive w/ headphones with much higher impedance- The entire Kennerton line is ez to drive but some Valve amps do work but the Bottllehead type OTLs are not a good match- if you could bump the ohm rating up to 300Ω with an inline headphone wire barrel at the end where it connects the headphone wire to the amp (think trs or XLR barrel converter- an idea I was rolling around with Kennerton a year ago) you could make all the Kennertons compatible with Crack amps or similar OLT- I know there are tons of kenneron owners who use tube amps but not the crack

John, go back to my “Valhallahorn” post (#5,814 on page 388) in this thread .

 

[jonathan c]

ah thanks for that! Glad to see that the horns to well on tubes

I have also used, to great , the GH50 JME with Woo WA6, Woo WA6SE (tube output transformer-coupled) and with Schiit Lyr 3 (solid-state / tube hybrid) h/p/a.

 

[rlawry]

I think the answer to the question as to what type of amp to pair it with depends greatly on individual tastes. I bought a GH50 JME and had it modified to a JME Mark 2. I own a Quicksilver Headphone amp and a Benchmark HPA4 which give entirely different presentations even though the QS is relatively neutral for a tube amp. That being said, I prefer a more neutral (you can read that as a non-bass heavy) sound so I went with faster, leaner, more detailed tubes like the Tungsram EL84 and Raytheon 7729 (12AX7 variant) in the QS but like the supremely detailed SS Benchmark even more. IMO, using tube amplification for the GH50 JME and JME Mark 2 is just too much of a good thing and accentuates the bass and lower midrange too much in my book which leads to thickness. If you do prefer a fuller, warmer, dark, bass-prominent presentation you may well prefer a tube amp.

 

[John Massaria]

yes of course the Woo and Quicksilver work for sure - because they can handle 32ohms all the way up to 300 where the crack can't - I had the crack for two years and it never worked well with much unless driving 150ohms or more at least for me... so yes pairing like rlawry and jonathan c know for sure first hand (I can dd- I did have the Quicksilver and its a great amp and pairs very well with Kennertons- its an exceptional amp that can drive so many headphones)

 

[Asterisk3095]

I think the answer to the question as to what type of amp to pair it with depends greatly on individual tastes. I bought a GH50 JME and had it modified to a JME Mark 2. I own a Quicksilver Headphone amp and a Benchmark HPA4 which give entirely different presentations even though the QS is relatively neutral for a tube amp. That being said, I prefer a more neutral (you can read that as a non-bass heavy) sound so I went with faster, leaner, more detailed tubes like the Tungsram EL84 and Raytheon 7729 (12AX7 variant) in the QS but like the supremely detailed SS Benchmark even more. IMO, using tube amplification for the GH50 JME and JME Mark 2 is just too much of a good thing and accentuates the bass and lower midrange too much in my book which leads to thickness. If you do prefer a fuller, warmer, dark, bass-prominent presentation you may well prefer a tube amp.

Ah yes that makes sense. I want a whole different presentation to sound entirely since I have a solid state amp currently, and that's why I was thinking of getting a tube amp that is not very neutral. What's the benefit of getting a neutral-ish tube amp the the Quicksilver amp if solid state amps are already neutral?

 

[Asterisk3095]

yes of course the Woo and Quicksilver work for sure - because they can handle 32ohms all the way up to 300 where the crack can't - I had the crack for two years and it never worked well with much unless driving 150ohms or more at least for me... so yes pairing like rlawry and jonathan c know for sure first hand

Alright I guess I'll look into Woo Audio over quicksilver since I still want a tubey sound, and not a neutral sound. Thanks for the guidance

 

[John Massaria]

When people say the Kennertons are dark I say WITH what DAC and what AMP? Maybe the amp is too mushy or the dac lacking details- if EITHER of those key parts have no resolution maybe the Kennertons will sound dark to some- I SAY -"give em all the details"... Kennerton can handle it ... be it the amp or the dac or as rlawry found along with so many Kennerton owners - find a good blend with a resolving detailed DAC with a detailed tube amp or a class A amp seems to bring out the best w/ Kennertons... thats why I love em so they like ALL the details

 

[Nostoi]

Sounds interesting, and that fact that the Rognir is close to it despite being a closed back is pretty impressive. Closed backs are getting better and better, and although I normally don't prefer open backs due to lack of isolation, there's even less reason to get an open-back for my uses.

Yes, to my ears the Rognir and D8K Pro sound about as open as each other, so the D8K Pro doesn't really have any advantage here. The benefits come from the timbre and overall presentation. I would say for anyone who wants more warmth while retaining the Rognir tonality, the D8K Pro would be the way to go.

 

[subguy812]

I am a big fan of the tonality of the D8000 Pro. One of my selling regrets.

 

[Nostoi]

I am a big fan of the tonality of the D8000 Pro. One of my selling regrets.

Yes, the D8000 Pro is really growing on me. It's a sort of slow burner, but once you're in there, it seems to do something very satisfying that no other headphone quite does. The bass texture is phenomenal. Somewhat reminds me of the ZMF VC bass texture but with much better control and definition. They tonality really hits the mark. Overall, has a very "enveloping" vibe to it.

Did you replace it with something else?

 

[subguy812]

Yes, the D8000 Pro is really growing on me. It's a sort of slow burner, but once you're in there, it seems to do something very satisfying that no other headphone quite does. The bass texture is phenomenal. Somewhat reminds me of the ZMF VC bass texture but with much better control and definition. They tonality really hits the mark. Overall, has a very "enveloping" vibe to it.

Did you replace it with something else?

It was a year ago, so I didn't replace them with another headphone per se. I really just have limited time for open back headphones. A lot of my listening time corresponds to times when my wife is around. I just hate blaring music for the world to hear and annoying folks. They surpassed my expectations the more I listened to them, but I wasn't totally impressed initially, kind of boring. Man, I hated the ergonomic nightmare rope of a silver cable you could use to pull a trailer.

 

[subguy812]

I have finally been able to spend an hour with my almost new and yet improved GH50. I will work some impressions. Sorry to keep you hanging.

 

[Nostoi]

It was a year ago, so I didn't replace them with another headphone per se. I really just have limited time for open back headphones. A lot of my listening time corresponds to times when my wife is around. I just hate blaring music for the world to hear and annoying folks. They surpassed my expectations the more I listened to them, but I wasn't totally impressed initially, kind of boring. Man, I hated the ergonomic nightmare rope of a silver cable you could use to pull a trailer.

Same with me - open backs are kind of an illogical investment for me, as I'm with wife and child both of whom are intolerant of hearing Slayer on a Sunday morning. Can't imagine why.

The cable was the first thing I replaced; it's impressive but ridiculous. The Forza cable that replaced it makes the overall experience so much nicer (ditto mod to fix headband pressure).

 

[Alien HP]

I don't use an amp with my GH50 JM MKII. I plug it directly into the iBasso DX300 and it sounds just fine with enough power. Yes, it would be better with an amp of course. I tried it with the Fiio K9 Pro and I thought it sounded great with a sense of spaciousness and authority. I also had a chance to hear it with John's expensive Prautes tube amp which made the sound even more detailed with a great deal of musicality so to speak. But I like to have a portable system and not being stuck to my desk even at the cost of losing some of those amp qualities. This is one of the reasons why I like this headphone - it's easy to drive. Given the cost, size, portability, and sound quality factors, I would probably go with the Fiio K9 Pro if I were to pick an amp for it.