[Acapella11]

Hi Audiofanboy, how do you like the HE-500 on the LD compared to the HE-400?

 

[DutchGFX]

Still having problems with the bass being muddy and boomy! I have narrowed it down to only happening with lower impedence cans. It does not occur with my 600ohm Sextetts. However, it occurs with my Q701's and my 240 MKii. I even switched from stock to RCA 6A5K tubes, still the same crap. Help please

 

[MIKELAP]

Quote:

Still having problems with the bass being muddy and boomy! I have narrowed it down to only happening with lower impedence cans. It does not occur with my 600ohm Sextetts. However, it occurs with my Q701's and my 240 MKii. I even switched from stock to RCA 6A5K tubes, still the same crap. Help please

if it helps i use a pair of  denons LA D-5000 which are 25 ohms and they sound good to me, weird!

 

[DutchGFX]

if it helps i use a pair of  denons LA D-5000 which are 25 ohms and they sound good to me, weird!

Bass doesn't sound muddy at all? What tubes are you using?

 

[MIKELAP]

Quote:

Bass doesn't sound muddy at all? What tubes are you using?

I am listening to some Marcus Miller right now  my  power tubes are 6H30PI GOLD PIN AND the drivers are  VOSHKOD 6ZHIP-EV/6AK5. check JUNKIMCHI thread p.48 she had problems with left channel  and her dac was the problem who knows check it out 

 

[DutchGFX]

I am listening to some Marcus Miller right now  my  power tubes are 6H30PI GOLD PIN AND the drivers are  VOSHKOD 6ZHIP-EV/6AK5. check JUNKIMCHI thread p.48 she had problems with left channel  and her dac was the problem who knows check it out 

It's both channels. It's weird, it's not with my 600 ohms only the lower impedence cans. This is why I don't think it's tube burn in, although it is obvious the 6A5K need burn in, they sound sub par ATM. I don't think it's tube burn in, I honestly, have no idea what the issue is.

 

[Audiofanboy]

For the muddy bass, maybe try to change your gain to a higher or max setting (especially for low impedance cans). I know my mk iv sounds like schiit when on x3 gain with low impedance cans...

Acapella, I actually have to say I really like the HE-500 on the iv se. Close to a sound from heaven when mixed in an optimized chain of gear. It is much easier sounding and natural than the HE-400 despite having higher power needs, and the little dot seems to be powering it alright. It may not be perfect and ideal (otl and orthos? It's not supposed to be a good mix...), but it sounds close to perfect in the highs and mids and in terms of imaging; I don't think I wound get much more from a different amp, and I'd lose the great otl tube liquidity. Only the bass while full detailed and extended could be a bit faster and benefit from an ss power stage I think, but that's probably half because of output power and half because of tube amplification (hard to get perfect ss-like bass with tubes, it's like the only tradeoff really).

Btw, does anyone know if the little dot specs for output power are per channel or total? I.e., 100 mW @ 32 ohms, divided by two or times two...? Actual tested impedance for HE-500 seems to be around 48 ohms, so if the 100 and some mW (300 mW @ 120 ohms, so what ~150 mW @ 48 ohms?) are per channel, it wouldn't be that low to drive basic orthos? (A far cry from the recommended 1W but it's only a few dB difference in the end)

 

[DutchGFX]

It's on 10x ATM. I'm reading that the MKiii sounds bad with low impedence cans. Should I buy an impedence adapter?

 

[Audiofanboy]

Quote:

It's on 10x ATM. I'm reading that the MKiii sounds bad with low impedence cans. Should I buy an impedence adapter?

It's not so much that it sounds bad, but that it won't always deliver as much current as necessary. A bad damping factor could also have a negative influence on the headphone frequency response. But you shouldn't be having these sort of problems with 701s, which are hardly considered low impedance all things considered. And many people use LD amps with these AKG headphones.
 
Impedance adapters probably wouldn't help you much here, besides the fact that it would be easier to get another amp instead.
 
Are you sure you're not double amping somewhere along the line between the E17 and MK III? If you were, that could cause some audible distortion.
 
Last thing, imho many 6AK5 tubes while detailed and pleasant don't have what I would consider neutral bass or very precise bass. But, again it shouldn't distort. Maybe you could try some EF92 family of tubes which would give you a different flavor of bass?

 

[Acapella11]

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIKELAP /img/forum/go_quote.gif

if it helps i use a pair of  denons LA D-5000 which are 25 ohms and they sound good to me, weird!

 

LD MKIII + Denon AH-D5000

 

I have heard the Denon AD-H5000 with the LD MK III with 6H30P Gold Grids and Voskhods 6Zh1P-EV with a Violectric V800 DAC and to say the least, it sounds really good. It is a great combination with a nice tight bass and treble sparkle. You could get addicted from that. After comparing with the HE-500, I find the great non-fatiguing treble with the HE-500s more to my liking though. The gain setting was 1. This is sufficient for the Denons because their sensitivity is really good with 106 dB (at 25 ohm) unlike 89 dB (around 38 ohm) for the HE-500s, which makes them a tougher partner to drive.

Also, consider your overall tube setup to use 6H30+nice EF95 or CV4015, or 6N6P-IR + EF95 or CV4015 for a more spatial representation.

 

 

LD MKIII + AKG Q701

 

As I am writing, I am listening to the LD MKIII (6H30P-EV, CV4015, Audiolab M-DAC /w Optimal Transient filter, which is a "gentle" one) and it does sound good. Quite hard hitting bass, nice instrument separation, good clarity on the harder side with the 6H30 tubes. My gain is set to 10.  Now I stuck the 6N6P-IRs in and that makes the sound rounder and kicks the shyte out of the cans too. I actually didn't use exactly this chain since I got all the components in and to be fair I do like it - recommended. Now, I think K701s are a little bit more difficult to drive compared to Q701, but the LD should be good still.

 

 

LD and HE-500

Quote:

 

Acapella, I actually have to say I really like the HE-500 on the iv se. Close to a sound from heaven when mixed in an optimized chain of gear. It is much easier sounding and natural than the HE-400 despite having higher power needs, and the little dot seems to be powering it alright. It may not be perfect and ideal (otl and orthos? It's not supposed to be a good mix...), but it sounds close to perfect in the highs and mids and in terms of imaging; I don't think I wound get much more from a different amp, and I'd lose the great otl tube liquidity. Only the bass while full detailed and extended could be a bit faster and benefit from an ss power stage I think, but that's probably half because of output power and half because of tube amplification (hard to get perfect ss-like bass with tubes, it's like the only tradeoff really).

 

I totally agree. I have the opportunity to compare the MKIII with the SPL Auditor (400mW, SS, excellent quality components). This amp is also for my AKG K501 phones. Interestingly, the sound signature with 6N6P-IR and CV4015 is very close to the Auditor. I won't comment on the sound differences much, because I need to do some more listening but the LD still keeps up well. The Auditor has better imaging, sounds a bit more dynamic and transparent. There is a better level in terms of SQ for me but the LD is not far behind.

 

One of the conclusions for me, as now for you as well, is that an upgraded LD MKIII in a good chain does work with the HE-500s. Although, as they are low efficient planars, you cannot achieve all the dynamics that they can deliver. I guess, the HE-500 do scale up quite well.

 

Compairing the Audiolab M-DAC in with Beresford Caiman, the Caiman still is an attractive DAC (stage, instrument separation, detail, attack), but the Audiolab has a more natural flow in its signature and you can vary digital filters as well. My point here is that the M-DAC in combination allows me the use of 6H30P-EV + CV4015 tubes without listening fatigue. And again I come back to the benefits of these tubes and know why you got yourself the DRs. Still put the 6N6P-IRs back for now .

 

 

 

 

 

[DutchGFX]

Yeah the Q's sound fine right out of the E17. I was thinking it was double amping too, but it does not have this issue on the Sextetts. Is it possible the sextetts just have so much less bass I don't notice it? I don't really want to return it, cause then I'm out another 40 in shipping, so that'd be 90 bucks. Plus, idk what other amp I would buy in that price range.

I could sell it on here, so shipping would be cheaper. I really don't know what to do. This is such an odd problem. It has the same problem when I plug directly into my laptop. This is so annoying and obscure, I really apreciate al your help so far

EDIT: Narrowed it down to GAIN. When the gain is >3 on the LD, it sounds bad. I don't know if this is solely cause its louder, or if its S/N ration is going down, due to amping crappy signal from my E17. Also, changing the gain on the E17 has 10x the bad effects as when I change it on the LD. I have a feeling this L7 dock is bogus, and its not line out. When I have gain at 12db on the E17 alone, no LD, it sounds fine. So I think its actually not line out, as I can still adjust volume and gain with E17.

EDIT AGAIN! So it is volume. I tested on 10x Gain with my 250 ohm 880's, and my Sextetts. Also, I even tried 3x gain with +6/+12db from the E17, sounds fine on those 2 cans. However, the problem persists with my Q701. I think I might need an impedence transformer, would that fix the issues?

 

[mab1376]

anyone tried these tubes?
 
http://www.aloaudio.com/siemens-6ak5-w

 

[mojorisin35]

I haven't tried them, but for sure, the box looks interesting and the price isn't bad. However, I wonder why the seller didn't post a picture of the tube itself? It sure would be nice to have some idea of the build quality compared to these beauties:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/130436695928?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_5393wt_985

I just rolled my factory matched pair of Tesla 6f32 into my LD MKIII and my initial impressions are WOW!
Without even being completely being burnt in they are something special.



The most outstanding quality thus far is the Crystal clear sparkling highs, which present themselves with great extension without any hints of sibilance.
with these I find the Highs much more pleasant than the Tung sol 6AJ5 and the the highs of the Tesla's are way more resolved than the Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV.



I find the mids are very neutral they remind me of the Tung Sol 6aj5 mids perhaps a little less warm.
However they are nowhere near the luscious mids of the mullard ef92’s so if you find the mullards to colored you might want to look into a pair of these.

The Bass is deep accurate and clear and very close to the Bass of the Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV perhaps a touch more authoritative...

The soundstage is as wide and deep as any I have heard however it has the added dimensionality of height. I had not been able to discern this before with other tubes but with these tubes there it was.
Highly recommended! I cannot wait to see what they develop into after some burn in.



i will update as the tubes age

Gary
current tubes i own
Sylavania JAN5654
Tung Sol 6AJ5
Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV
Mullard EF92

Power
6n6p gold grid

on the way
Mullard M8083
Mullard M8161
Mullard M8100
CBS / HYTRON 6AK5W

 

[gibosi]

Quote:

I just rolled my factory matched pair of Tesla 6f32 into my LD MKIII and my initial impressions are WOW!
Without even being completely being burnt in they are something special.



The most outstanding quality thus far is the Crystal clear sparkling highs, which present themselves with great extension without any hints of sibilance.
with these I find the Highs much more pleasant than the Tung sol 6AJ5 and the the highs of the Tesla's are way more resolved than the Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV.



I find the mids are very neutral they remind me of the Tung Sol 6aj5 mids perhaps a little less warm.
However they are nowhere near the luscious mids of the mullard ef92’s so if you find the mullards to colored you might want to look into a pair of these.

The Bass is deep accurate and clear and very close to the Bass of the Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV perhaps a touch more authoritative...

The soundstage is as wide and deep as any I have heard however it has the added dimensionality of height. I had not been able to discern this before with other tubes but with these tubes there it was.
Highly recommended! I cannot wait to see what they develop into after some burn in.



i will update as the tubes age

Gary
current tubes i own
Sylavania JAN5654
Tung Sol 6AJ5
Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV
Mullard EF92

Power
6n6p gold grid

on the way
Mullard M8083
Mullard M8161
Mullard M8100
CBS / HYTRON 6AK5W

 
This is great news! I have two pairs of Teslas on their way to me. One pair in that very funky box from eBay and another pair from Tubes-Store:
 
http://tubes-store.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=12&products_id=608
 
The tube graphics on the pair from Tubes-Store are different from the ones on eBay and the price was reasonable, at $4.00 a tube, so I thought I would try them too. Unfortunately,they have a minimum order of $20, including shipping, so I had to buy 3 tubes. I will be rolling them into an LD 1+. And after reading your initial impressions I am really looking forward to their arrival.

 

[gibosi]

Quote:

anyone tried these tubes?
 
http://www.aloaudio.com/siemens-6ak5-w

 
I have never seen these before, but they might be promising. My first concern was that they might be rebadged tubes, for example, Philips or GE, made in Siemen's factories after WWII. But searching Siemen's history, I can't find any indication that they sold their naming rights to another tube company, or bought another company, or entered into some sort of joint manufacturing agreement. So perhaps they were actually designed and manufactured by Siemen's. And if so, they may well have their own unique sound. I hope someone gets a pair of these soon and comes back here to give us their impressions.