[mafaldich]

I am looking for an amp to drive my three phones: rs1i, hd600 and k501. I used to use ra1 for rs1i and corda arietta for hd600 and k501. However, I am somewhat tired of switching amps when I want to change phones. So I am looking for an amp which can drive all of them well to replace my two amps.
 
My source is mhdt Havana. My budget is within $700 I think.  I don't have specific preference for SS or Tube amp. For now, the candidates I am considering are PS audio GCHA, Goldpoint headphone pro, and Corda concerto. I feel that the synergy between corda and grado is not that good, even though I have confidence it will drive hd600 and k501 very very well. And other tube amps I consider including Mapletree ear and lafigaro 339. I really like the sound of k501 out of arietta. So I have some concern how k501 perform when equipped with tube amps.
 
Any opinions will be  appreciated.

 

[fdhfdy]

Can I ask why you prefer rs1 to rs1i？

 

[mafaldich]

I don't have preference between the two. The one I have is rs1i. Sorry that I didn't not clearly differentiate the two cans (the title modified). 
 
Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.
 
Quote:

Can I ask why you prefer rs1 to rs1i？

 

[mrarroyo]

I have heard all three cans from various amps and the two that come mind are the Mapletree Ear + or the Musical Fidelity X-Can V2. The second would need the PinkFloyd mods and a Little Pinkie PSU to bring out its best performance so if you do not wish to deal with that then the Mapletree would be a better choice. Try to pick one in the use market and you should be able to beat your budget.

 

[mafaldich]

Thanks very much for your input. Mapletree seems to be a nice choice. I will look into it. One concern for me is given the tube dac I use (havana), I don't know if the sound will become too laid-back when paired with ear+hd. Remember  some describe the sound of ear+HD as somewhat laidback too.
 
Quote:

I have heard all three cans from various amps and the two that come mind are the Mapletree Ear + or the Musical Fidelity X-Can V2. The second would need the PinkFloyd mods and a Little Pinkie PSU to bring out its best performance so if you do not wish to deal with that then the Mapletree would be a better choice. Try to pick one in the use market and you should be able to beat your budget.

 

[mrarroyo]

A lot will depend on the tubes you choose, also if you go for the 12B4A version or the EL84 version of the Ear. Good luck.

 

[dongringo]

The MAD Ear+ HD would be an excellent choice imo. Also, I don't find it to be laid back at all. In fact it's got bass slam like there's no tomorrow. Then again, I loaded up on vintage nos tubes right away. The best vintage sylvania, ge, raytheon, etc. 5751s can be a bit expensive so you should want to take that into consideration. Imo though, once you have them, they are totally worth it and a lot of fun to roll. It's a wonderful amp, very neutral and drives low and high impedances with authority. Your tube dac shouldn't be a concern for this particular tube amp. This isn't one of those extremely colored tube amps. Hope this helps.

 

[mafaldich]

Thanks Mrarroyo and dongringo. I am now more certain that MAD ear+HD will be my next upgrade. All the praise about its synergy with grado is really tempting.... I tend to buy a new one, so I still need to save more money first.
Then the next decision I have to make will be the choice among the ear+HD, ear+HD with plus black gates upgrades, and  the super II. I cannot find some direct comparison between ear+ and super II as to SQ. If there is not much difference, ear+HD would be preferable to me.

 

[matthewh133]

What kind of price do the Mad's go for second hand here?

 

[dongringo]

Quote:

Then the next decision I have to make will be the choice among the ear+HD, ear+HD with plus black gates upgrades, and  the super II. I cannot find some direct comparison between ear+ and super II as to SQ. If there is not much difference, ear+HD would be preferable to me.

Mine has the black gate filter caps. Mr. Peppard told me that they improve the bass response so I went for it. I haven't heard one without the black gates, but my Ear+ has such slammin bass it still blows my mind. Btw, he's a great guy to deal with by phone and always answers questions by email promptly. I can't recommend MAD enough.

 

[CastanonY]

Quote:

Thanks very much for your input. Mapletree seems to be a nice choice. I will look into it. One concern for me is given the tube dac I use (havana), I don't know if the sound will become too laid-back when paired with ear+hd. Remember  some describe the sound of ear+HD as somewhat laidback too.
 

 

If you want a faster amp to better match your tube dac then I suggest the Burson HA-160.  It also matches well with your hd600, k501 and RS1 which in my option are all hard to drive phones.  The RS1 in particular gives amazing micro details when teamed with the HA-160. 
 
 

 

 

[matthewh133]

I am also in a similar situation. Looking for an amp for the RS1i and HD650. The MAD Ear+ HD sounds like it should compliment both very well. Now I have to wait till one pops up on the forums as I cannot afford one brand new..

 

[tisb0b]

Personally I'm extremely happy with my concerto and I think it is a great amp for the price. Tubes to me always came across as a bit too high maintenance and as far SQ goes there doesn't seem be any dramatic differences between amps around the same price point even with vastly different designs. 

 

[matthewh133]

Yeah I am kind of tossing up between the Ear+, Concerto, HA160 and the WA6. They all sound like great amps.

 

[dongringo]

For what it's worth, my brother has the Concerto and still wants to buy an Ear+. Don't get me wrong, the Concerto is a great amp for about the same price, and sounds very similar to the Ear+, but my Ear+ with BG filter caps has a more slamming bass response and tube rolling capabilities. And it's not high maintenance at all like someone said. All you do is turn it on and listen. lol