[Head Whipped]

Well I ordered the regular Ear+HD hope I made the right decision.

 

[Grimspoon]

From what I've been reading, I doubt you'll regret it!

Only thing you might regret is your timing, looks like the queue has really grown since I put down my order.

Hopefully mine is up next! Right now, I just REALLY wanna know what that Ear+ HD250 protoptype is all about!!!

 

[cheemo]

If I were looking for a MAD amp, I would check out this FS listing on audiogon, it is in the FS section here too. This is a steal and will no doubt power some Senns or Grados. This is the pre-Super model HD2 and I am not sure what upgrades Dr.Peppard did to create the Super but it only has 2 tubes instead of the 4 on the Super. Good luck as I enjoy my Ear+HD with my RS1's but no experience with Senns...yet

 

[diego]

The HD2 is almost the same as the HD. The circuit is the same and they operate at the same voltages. The main difference is that the HD2 uses a ECC99 for the output instead of two 12B4A tubes. The ECC99 is a double triode so one half can be used for each channel. The tube change required an extra resistor in front of each grid, otherwise the circuit is the same. A second difference is that for the HD2 Solen capacitors were used for output coupling instead of Black Gates. The ECC99 is currently manufactured which might be an advantage for some.

 

[cheemo]

^Thanks diego, I stand corrected

. Now what is Grimspoon talking about with the Ear+ HD250 protoptype? Is this something new brewing up at MAD?

edit: OIC in the queue...hmm? Hopefully someone who ordered it will chime in on the layout of this prototype design.

 

[uberburger101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimspoon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anyone have any idea what an "EAR+ HD250 prototype" is?

Was wondering about the exact same thing.

And one thing I've noticed so far with my amp is that it enhances what the RS1 does best and tries to minimise its flaws. Tightens up the bass, highs are silky smooth and the mids are to-die-for. Might be the Sylvania Gold Brand.

Soundstage has very nice depth and decent width. Incredible air in the notes. Sweet.

 

[Ampersand]

I've had my Ear+ Purist HD for over 2 years now, and i'm still giddy over it.

My wallet hates it, but i've had lots of fun tube rolling. RCA TMBPs and command series, Sylvanias TMBPs and cryo'd versions, GrooveTubes, GE 5star TMBPs, and new JAN-Philips. It seems crazy, but my favorite tube for this amp is the cheapest

- the new production JAN-Philips 5751.

Although it looks like the price of these has gone up significantly since i bought mine, i'd still buy it at today's price. I'm that happy with it.

 

[Afrikane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheemo /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^Thanks diego, I stand corrected . Now what is Grimspoon talking about with the Ear+ HD250 protoptype? Is this something new brewing up at MAD? edit: OIC in the queue...hmm? Hopefully someone who ordered it will chime in on the layout of this prototype design.

At this point there is not much to get excited about. The HD250 proto is being built around a few specific requirements of mine, one is the main tube set of 12ax7s and EL84s; another is output optimisation for a pair of AKG K1000s via speaker taps. There will be one standard headphone out jack for HiZ headphones only. So, in its current guise the HD250 proto hardly conforms to MAD’s normal headphone amp line up. Of course a proper EAR+ HD250 can easily evolve out of the basic design using the same tube set but that is Dr Peppard’s purview and I am not privy to that.

 

[Gradofan2]

Has anyone ever seen a post critical of this amp - the HD+, or HD+ Super, or HD+ 100 (excluding the HD+ 150, and HD2)?

I can't recall having ever seen any - it seems everyone loves these amps, without exception.

 

[mrarroyo]

Your are correct Roger! I miss my Ear + Purist HD100.

 

[unlimited]

The MAD Ear+ Purist HD's totally made me love my Grado Rs1
it sounds so warm..

 

[sbulack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by unlimited /img/forum/go_quote.gif The MAD Ear+ Purist HD's totally made me love my Grado Rs1 it sounds so warm..

What tubes are you using in your Mapletree Amp with your RS1?

 

[Grimspoon]

I'm curious how hot the various Ear+ HD amps get. I think I saw in the instruction manual that the Ear+ HD is expected to get fairly warm. However, mine seems VERY warm.

Any idea how hot is too hot?

 

[mrarroyo]

If you can lay your hand on the transformer case and leave it there indefinetly w/o burning your self the amp is OK. High tech answer!

 

[diego]

My SP Extreme used to run hot too, so I think that's normal. I was able to put my hand on top of it for a long time without burning but I think it was running at least above 40C .