[emericanchaos]

aside from the lunchbox everything is around the same price. i included the box cause it seems everyone says it performs above it's price.

so what's the break down. i'll be powering the 990's in my sig. i know the darkvoice amps are becoming the FOTM so i expect alot of fanfaire from it but when it comes down to it what's the skinny?

i really just want to warm up my mids and get some accuracy and stage.

 

[emericanchaos]

bump.

 

[Epicurean]

I had the 990 '05s with my PPA for a while and the strong highs were a little too much so I think some tubes might be in order.

 

[Jam_Master_J]

If you choose the Millet Hybrid, consider the Diamond buffer. I find this made a large improvement over the stock buffers.

 

[en480c4]

While I've never cared for the Beyers, and haven't heard the Darkvoice, I do have a maxed Millett and a Lunchbox, and had a maxed PPA v2. I wish I could give you an easy answer as to what would work for you, but all are so different in presentation and how they mate with different headphones that it's difficult to guess how any will work for you.

The following would be my quick summary, along with headphones used...

Millett Hybrid w/ STEPS, Diamond Buffers & Tung Sol 12FK6 tubes

1. Senn HD-650 w/ Zu - I found this combo to be a bit muddy. There was no real treble extension, and bass was muddy and uncontrolled.
2. Senn HD-580/600 - The Millett mates much better with these as they are have considerably less bass than the 650, and a little more air in the treble.
3. Grado HF-1 w/ bowls - There's real magic here... decent bass extension and smooth highs, and mids to die for.

PPA v2 w/ STEPS, OPA-637 L&R, OPA-627 G

1. Senn HD-580/600/650 - The Senns really synergize well with the PPA, with incredibly clear highs that stay smooth, balanced mids and solid bass. This would probably be why I've never understood the idea of the Senns having a veil.
2. Grado HF-1 w/ bowls - Almost unlistenable... those smooth highs from with the senns sound spitty and harsh.
3. Grado HF-1 w/ flats - This is tolerable, but I'm just not a fan of the muddiness that flats bring to to table.

Eddie Current / Laconic Lunchbox

1. Senn HD-600 w/ 650 cable or Cardas - This is the only combo I've heard with the LB. The two match very well. The presentation of the LB is great, though at times I find it a bit lacking in bass extension. But bass does have good impact and detail. Mids are good and highs have a great balance of detail and smoothness.

Hope that helps... That's the best I can do from memory while I'm at work!

 

[pataburd]

I've had good success with the Beyer DT880 and Darkvoice 336i, especially with an RCA 6AS7G gray plate in the rear, and a Ken-Rad VT-231 up front.

 

[Mrvile]

I had the Lunchbox and now currently have the Darkvoice to power my HD580, so I can post some impressions...

I found that the Lunchbox was a very warm amp, giving the sound a good little midbass boost and adding a lot of bass impact. The mids were very smooth and I noticed the highs were just a tad rolled off. This is definitely a very specific sound signature, so you might like it or you might not. I personally liked it and sometime I wish I had that sound again.

The Darkvoice (with stock tubes) is much more natural, gaining more detail within the mids and highs and losing some of the bass impact. In this aspect, you can use EQ to shape the sound a lot more, while the sound remains accurate. However, without any sort of frequency gains I find the Darkvoice by itself to be a bit boring sounding...if you're going to get this amp you'll definitely want to invest in other tubes.

 

[spacemanspliff]

tube rolling is almost a must with any sub $1k tube amp. the darkvoice 332 is also a very good amp and has BIG-time power. It made the 595s I was listening to remind me of 650s in the bass department lol.

my vote is for the darkvoice 336 or 332 or the lunchbox.

MisterX does nice things for Beyers btw so hit him up.

 

[Mrvile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacemanspliff /img/forum/go_quote.gif tube rolling is almost a must with any sub $1k tube amp.

Unfortunately I think there's only one other tube you can roll with the Lunchbox...

 

[emericanchaos]

can't thank you guys enough. i'll be researching these dark voice amps it looks like. i've already been set on the lunchbox at one point so i'm confident that if things don't pan out with the dark voice research that i have a strong standby decision in the lunchbox.

thanks alot guys!

 

[tbonner1]

QUOTE tube rolling is almost a must with any sub $1k tube amp

I so agree with this statement. The stock tubes that come with most sub $1K tube amps are basic inexpensive tubes that just get the job done. You need to put some money in your budget to get some tubes to voice your tube amp for synergy with your system.