KICAS Caliente VS. Graham Slee Solo: Which is the BETTER amp?

[musicmaker]

Not judging it with 100 hours. I want to clock 200 hours or so before making any conclusions. Was just saying talking about my initial impressions.

 

[oqvist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by charley phogg /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have the Green Solo with out the PS1,and HD580s. Your description nails it for me, except the warm part, I would'nt know . I think it's fairly obvious the Green Solo is giving the 580'sall they can handle. They sound good through the entire FQ range, Flat but with the senn sound and no veil. I can clearly tell the 580'5 are holding the Green Solo back, especially in the detail departmen, I assume. This is not to say the I can't heard accurate details well. I am assuming I could here greater details with other 'phones, which is obvious .But they work great for me, as most of what I listen to is live recordings and the best are from the stage on back to 30' or there abouts, which plays right into the senn's 15 feet back sound, to me. Unfortunatley, I have never heard another 'phone then the HD580 so take it for what it worth aside from the disclaimer Enjoy

Yes I do believe it´s quite transparent and it will be quite true to most of your headphones. I haven´t heard a headphone sounding bad on it yet

As for live recordings well the Canamp can just throw such a huge soundstage. I don´t quite get it on the Solo but it´s second best in that dempartment of those I have heard so not bad I would say. Rather that the Canamp is very good for that in it´s price range. It´s not to bad either since sometimes both the PRO 900 and K701 voices could sound too distant.

Since I got a new speakers I may even preferr a smaller soundstage since if I want it big I use my new speakers and if I want it close and personal I go for my headphones.

 

[nigeljames]

x1 for the Solo

 

[nadavnaz]

Take into account nobody really tried them both before reccomending.

Wait for other responses.

 

[Schoenberg]

KICAS is good. Solo is a little expensive.

[size=medium][size=x-large]I am selling KICAS[/size][/size] since I got a tube amp.

The selling thread can be found in sell forum.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin.T /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm planning to upgrade my rig in a not too distant future: - New source: From Sony carousel CDP to Rega Apollo - New headphone amp: From Corda Headfive to Caliente OR Solo to power my HD-600 (mainly) and K701 (taken a backseat... might sell them eventually) I'd rather stay with SS and not go the tube lane yet. Right now, many factors are drawing me into the Caliente: I live in Canada so shipping is going to be cheaper, faster and I don't have to bother about any power supply conversion. But the Solo, being almost 1/3 pricier than the Caliente, leads me into believing it must be a better amp. Is it really? Or are these amps pretty much in the same ballpark and it's about preference? This is really what I want to know, I guess. I'm more than willing to pay the difference for a better amp, but if they're in the same league, I'd rather go the convenience route and buy a Caliente (and save myself some money along the way). Any opinion would be much appreciated; I've done many searches, and while a couple of threads have scratched the surface, I haven't seen enough to form a consensus. Thanks!

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nadavnaz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Take into account nobody really tried them both before reccomending. Wait for other responses.

Actually...

Skylab has heard them both... though... maybe not simultaneously. He may be able to offer some perspective on how they compare.