M-Stage vs MKIII

[logicalform]

Quote:

I'm no expert, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but have you thought about an Hybrid?
 
I got a Trendsaudio PA-10GE for my K702's and It really sounds great.
Not the absolute best built quality, but it's pretty decent, has more then enough juice for the 702, not expensive and tube rolling worked wonders on it.
 
Just an idea.  

 
A hybrid is actually a pretty good idea and the Trendsaudio does look nice. I've looked at the little dot I+ a bit, too, and it seems like a good deal (especially as we've recently become a single income household 

). Maybe I'll just start there and slowly work my way up. Anybody use the I+? 
 


Quote:

I tried both with a k701. For me I preferred the larger soundstage in the m-stage. Both of them are warm amps, and the MKIII was warmer in my memory. IMO they were pretty similar, the mkIII was better in the mids than the m-stage, and the highs were similar.

 
Thanks for the comparison. Which do you feel gave the best bass?
 
 

 

[Xymordos]

I really can't remember about the bass, possibly because 701 didn't have much bass in the first place, or both amps produced similar bass. m-Stage when I heard it sounded pretty tubey.

 

[haejuk]

I am not sure how well the I+ can drive the K70x, but I do have one.  It also has a socketed opamp that you can roll quite easily.  I recently rolled in OPA2701 (or something like that, you can find a thread about opamp rolling if you get an I+) and it made the sound noticeably warmer, even better I got it for free as a sample from Texas Instruments.  You are also able to roll tubes, I am still waiting for some Voshkods to arrive from Moscow.  However, to change the gain you will need to open it up and switch jumpers.  The amp provides my D2000s with loads of bass and helps to roll off the highs a bit.  I think it is a great amp for the price and definitely sounds better than my E9.