[Fireboy]

I checked the order queue, I think steph's is 

Ear+ HD custom

0204303 on BLACK

Payment received

 
 
and even better, my photo made the "Customer Photo of the month". http://hollowstate.netfirms.com/

 

[jaywillin]

  I checked the order queue, I think steph's is 

Ear+ HD custom

0204303 on BLACK

Payment received

 
 
and even better, my photo made the "Customer Photo of the month". http://hollowstate.netfirms.com/

you're famous !!

 

[Fireboy]

in my own mind. Yes.

 

[stephanemtl]

Hey guys,

1) what do you think of the stock tubes on the ear+?

2) as a tube upgrade to use with my Grado rs2i, mr. Peppard suggested to keep the two output tubes and get a NOS 5751 GE 5-stars tube. Opinions?

3) best, reliable seller to get the tube?

Cheers!

 

[whirlwind]

 

 
Ear+ HD
with Panasonic polypropylene film output caps 
black chassis
wood: as close to the wood on my Grado RS2i as possible
 
Anything else I should have specified?

Very nice, please post a pic of it when you receive it.
 
Nice to see some more Mad Ears arriving. 

 

[Fireboy]

"2) as a tube upgrade to use with my Grado rs2i, mr. Peppard suggested to keep the two output tubes and get a NOS 5751 GE 5-stars tube. Opinions?"

Hey Steph, Lloyd gave the same suggestion. I ordered my 5 star from eBay.
See this link. http://bit.ly/1iO2wn1 for seller info.

 

[glunteer]

edit...

 

[whirlwind]

Hey guys,

1) what do you think of the stock tubes on the ear+?

2) as a tube upgrade to use with my Grado rs2i, mr. Peppard suggested to keep the two output tubes and get a NOS 5751 GE 5-stars tube. Opinions?

3) best, reliable seller to get the tube?

Cheers!

Dr. Peppard's suggestion is a very good one.....the stock tubes are ok, for sure......but the amp can sound better with other tubes, imo.

 

[stephanemtl]

Guys! I should receive my Ear+ Monday or Tuesday at the latest. This is all so exciting!
 
question: how much time does the Ear+ need to burn in?
 
question: anything I should know to insure the longevity of the amp?

 

[Fireboy]

i started listening to it right away. Sounded pretty good from the start and I listen to it mon-fri for about 5hrs/day since it's on my office desk.
 
I've been running my Sennheiser HD650's thru the HIGH (left port) and everything is wonderful, though some Miles Davis high notes require me to turn the volume/gain down a bit - not a bad thing!
 
I've tried my Ultrasone Pro 900's on my Ear/SuperII, via the LOW (right port) and I found them too bright for this amp. The Ultrasone Pro 900's are great on my little Bellari HA540, just not a good combo for the Ear/SuperII. 
 
The laid back nature (some call it veiled) of the Senn HD650's are a charm with Ear/SuperII.
 
Like everything else in audio - my experience, your mileage may vary (YMMV)

 

[whirlwind]

My Mad was used when I received it....5 years old.....so I really do not know about burn in.
 
My latest tube that I put in...took about 40-50 hours and it really opened up nice.
 
Fireboy....I could not agree with you more on the Mad & HD650 combo......it is just wonderful with the right tube.
 
I seem to be listening to this combo a lot more than my RS1i , as of the last month.
 
stephanemtl....please post pics and your impressions here when you receive it......good times ahead for you 

 

[jaywillin]

what surprised me about the mad, its killer with a lot more than grados, my alpha dog, the lcd x, LOVE the mad !!
 

 

 

[kramer5150]

  what surprised me about the mad, its killer with a lot more than grados, my alpha dog, the lcd x, LOVE the mad !!
 
 

...Yup... its the transformer coupling.  WAY more flexible/optimal than a big cap reservoir on the output tubes.

 

[Fireboy]

I'm not electronics guy, how does that work?

 

[kramer5150]

I'm not electronics guy, how does that work?

In lamen's terms the output transformer (Hammond 119DA in this case) is a single primary / dual secondary configuration.  The headphone output is formed by tapping into the two different output coils on the 119DA.  Thats how they derive the Hi-Z and Lo-Z outputs.  An output transformer is an "impedance multiplying" device.  It takes the headphone impedance and multiplies it by a factor of the coil winding ratios.  I forget the exact mathematical ratio, but its a straight up algebraic equation... IIRC.  So when you plug in your 32 ohm Grados, the Ear+ output tubes "see" an impedance load in the ~1000 ohm ballpark presented by the 119DA primary coil.
 
Heres a discussion I had a year ago.... Large coupling capacitance versus output transformer.  Its centered around my DV337, but the Mad-Ear+ got a lot of attention at the time, and served as a reference point for my 337 "modification".
http://www.head-fi.org/t/652270/output-coupling-cap-and-transformer-mod