[JoeDoe]

Wow. Beauty ! Ordered a MAD Ear+ HD from Lloyd today. Looking forward to it. I owned a used one two years ago & went through a whole bunch of expensive headphone amps & headphones & I've decided to get back to basics & just enjoy the music. I'm keeping my HD6xx siblings & will probably either buy an RS1 (used) or SR325e which I owned before & really really liked. I'm probably going to sell my HD800 & then that'll be it. I'm done.

Right there with you my friend! I spent the summer auditioning, wheeling, and dealing, after all is said and done (including an Auralic Taurus ( Best I've ever heard the PS1000's sound) and a Kenzie), I've scaled back and landed on the MAD again. Spruced this old timer up little bit with some fresh badges and new knob!

 

[BobG55]

When is the delivery date ?
Will be a great amp, congrats.

Thanks Whirlwind. I don't know about the delivery date. I'm on the queue though so it shouldn't be too long. When I spoke with Dr. Peppard I never thought of asking but from reading previous posts it shouldn't be too long. I've also decided to hang on to my HD800 & take a breather before deciding to get a Grade headphone or not. This is mainly due to my buying an expensive tube yesterday. All of this is costing me more because of the currency difference, my living in Canada & having to pay in U.S. dollars. But all in all I'm quite content with my decision to get back to a modest set up.

 

[BobG55]

Right there with you my friend! I spent the summer auditioning, wheeling, and dealing, after all is said and done (including an Auralic Taurus ( Best I've ever heard the PS1000's sound) and a Kenzie), I've scaled back and landed on the MAD again. Spruced this old timer up little bit with some fresh badges and new knob!

Thanks Joe. I have to confess that while browsing this thread last week I saw this picture of your Ear+ (nice job on the badges and knob BTW) & that helped me in my decision to buy one again also. I had been thinking about it for some time.

 

[JoeDoe]

Thanks Joe. I have to confess that while browsing this thread last week I saw this picture of your Ear+ (nice job on the badges and knob BTW) & that helped me in my decision to buy one again also. I had been thinking about it for some time.

I believe it. It's the only tube amp I've wanted to return to. This is the third MAD I've owned and it's not going anywhere. Couple weeks back, I did some comparing between an Auralic Taurus/Vega stack and the MAD with a Denafrips Ares and there might have been incremental improvement in micro detail via the stack, but the MAD rig didn't give up much. The Auralic stack retails for over $3k! Dr. Lloyd's amp is such a great value!

 

[BobG55]

When is the delivery date ?
Will be a great amp, congrats.

Emailed Dr. Peppard on Aug. 7 & asked him if he could give me an approximate date as to when the amp would be ready. Here's his reply :

Hi Bob,
I drilled your chassis yesterday so it will be done this week.
Lloyd

Lloyd Peppard
Mapletree Audio Design

So, I'd say another week and a half before delivery. My advantage is that we're both in Canada so the delivery should be faster especially when there's no customs involved. My tube was mailed last night form Illinois (Brent Jessee) so that should arrive around the same time maybe shortly before the amp. Then I'll be all set and we can get this thread resurrected again; for a while anyways.

 

[JoeDoe]

Check it! http://www.usaudiomart.com/details/...headphone-amp-black-gate-caps/images/1616909/

 

[BobG55]

Check it! http://www.usaudiomart.com/details/...headphone-amp-black-gate-caps/images/1616909/

Too bad the guy didn't put it up for sale a couple of weeks ago. I would have jumped all over that sucker, at that price + the capacitors & tubes included not to mention $600.00 CDN = no currency loss (I'm Canadian) = heck of a bargain. Can't buy it now since I ordered a new one from Dr. Peppard and it should be ready in the next few days. Oh well, somebody is going to get a great deal on a great amp. Thanks for the posting Joe.

 

[whirlwind]

I had a MadEar with black-gate caps once, it was an awesome amp..I would have kept it but at the time when I got a new amp, I needed the funds

 

[BobG55]

I had a MadEar with black-gate caps once, it was an awesome amp..I would have kept it but at the time when I got a new amp, I needed the funds

Yeah, I've done that so often, sell an amp or headphones in order to use the money to buy another amp or headphones. Some of the ones I sold for the reason I regretted afterwards. I'm not planning on doing that any longer.

 

[wormsdriver]

Right there with you my friend! I spent the summer auditioning, wheeling, and dealing, after all is said and done (including an Auralic Taurus ( Best I've ever heard the PS1000's sound) and a Kenzie), I've scaled back and landed on the MAD again. Spruced this old timer up little bit with some fresh badges and new knob!

Nice job! I had also thought about ordering some new badges and had even thought about sending it back to Lloyd for a check up and cosmetic facelift, but in truth the amp didn't need anything and I liked the all black anyhow. BTW, I don't know if I told you but your MAD does have the Black Gate caps in there.

 

[wormsdriver]

Emailed Dr. Peppard on Aug. 7 & asked him if he could give me an approximate date as to when the amp would be ready. Here's his reply :

Hi Bob,
I drilled your chassis yesterday so it will be done this week.
Lloyd

Lloyd Peppard
Mapletree Audio Design

So, I'd say another week and a half before delivery. My advantage is that we're both in Canada so the delivery should be faster especially when there's no customs involved. My tube was mailed last night form Illinois (Brent Jessee) so that should arrive around the same time maybe shortly before the amp. Then I'll be all set and we can get this thread resurrected again; for a while anyways.

Congrats! can wait to see pictures of that beauty!

 

[BobG55]

Congrats! can wait to see pictures of that beauty!

Thanks Wormsdriver, I will definitely post picture and comments once I get it. I'm last in the "Order Queue" and the status still reads "In progress". Two days ago the order above mine also read "In progress" but changed to "Shipped" yesterday so it shouldn't be too much longer before my amp is shipped by the good Dr. I did get the tube I bought from Brent Jessee, today in the mail. So, that's one positive step.

 

[BobG55]

My MAD Ear+ HD shipped on Friday. I also sold my HD800 & bought an RS1i from JoeDoe at a very good/ fair price and a pair of SR325e from Canuck Audio Mart (paid in CDN $) at a very good price also. I owned the SR325e last year and later on regretted selling them. The seller told me they're barely broken in, he might have listened to them on 3 or 4 occasions. I received my tube from Brent Jessee earlier this week, so, I'm just about "all ready".

 

[JoeDoe]

My MAD Ear+ HD shipped on Friday. I also sold my HD800 & bought an RS1i from JoeDoe at a very good/ fair price and a pair of SR325e from Canuck Audio Mart (paid in CDN $) at a very good price also. I owned the SR325e last year and later on regretted selling them. The seller told me they're barely broken in, he might have listened to them on 3 or 4 occasions. I received my tube from Brent Jessee earlier this week, so, I'm just about "all ready".

What tube?!?!

 

[BobG55]

What tube?!?!

12AX7 Telefunken Grass medical yellow tip smooth plate diamond mark tube / from Brent Jessee. I thought long and hard before spending the money on this tube; my reasoning in the end was twofold : buy the the best tube I can afford with the sound attributes to my taste, &, hopefully not having to spend anymore money on several tubes which won't "fully" meet my tastes.