mapletree audio design (MAD) headphone tube amps...still many users out there?

[Shane D]

VERY early impressions:

When first starting some things just jump right at me. First was sound imbalance. Everything seems to be tilted to the right? Next thing was it was LOUD at 9:00? I had to turn down my DAC to 26 (out of max 37). This made 9:00 very comfortable. Also, it seems bass light. Of course I am using Grado GH2's so...
Lastly, the sound is very mid focused. But that is probably more Grado related.

60 to 90 minutes in and sounds are cleaner/clearer. Florence and the Machine sound Amazing. Then I run into the Foo Fighters and it is the opposite of clean and clear. Some songs sound muffled and distorted. And it is way too loud. I do a test and 9:00 is running at a solid 75+ Db's. The high end of my comfort zone. Usually my music has the the odd touch that high, but this was full on. I turn the amp down to 8:30 and it better, but not pleasurable.

I am now about three hours in and The Glorious Sons, Highly Suspect, early Halsey, Marcus King Band all sound wonderful.

To test bass, I always like to play Hanginaround by Counting Crows. Bass is there, but minimal. Life in Grado land.

As a huge vocals guy, this combo is all kinds of awesome.
I am VERY excited to hear the Elex's and even the HD600's on this. I am just going to keep the Grado's on all weekend and try to get feel for this set-up.

And now I must listen to the rest of Counting Crows. They are one of the many bands I like but rarely play. I hear them in a playlist and I go "That sounds great! How come I never play them?"

Shane D

 

[Shane D]

An update on my experience with the MAD Ear+ HD II.

My starting point was a little weird. I wanted to get a tubeamp, but had never actually heard one. I went through three hybrid tube amps, but was never impressed.

My initial impressions were already posted.
I really didn't know what to expect and I am very happy with the results. There is no thick, syrupy sound or heavy bass action.
It is clear, clean, crisp and airy. Every instrument sounds like it is coming from its own area. It is very subtle, but really great.

This is now ALL I want to listen to.

1) It is like the Liquid Spark was given super powers. I now see no use in keeping the Liquid Spark.

2) When I A-B this with my SMSL SP200, it is like going from open back (tube) to closed back (THX) headphones. These amps could not be more opposite.

3) The XDuoo TA-20 just sounds strange A-B'd with this amp. It will be leaving soon.

The Ear+ has a sound unlike anything else I own. It will be the centerterpiece of my system.

My headphone pairings have been as follows:

1) Grado GH2's. A Magnificent pairing! This is a crazy good combo. EVERYTHING sounds good on it. And there seems to be more than adequate bass.

2) Senn HD600's. The HD600 series has been underwhelming me for years. I keep hearing they need an amp. Then they need a good amp. Then it needs a tube amp. Well, I finally hooked up the tube amp to the Senns. It transforms them! While I enjoy the Grado's, these come very close. I now get the whole HD600 lovefest.

3) Focal Elex's are my new biggest crush. They do NOT pair well with this amp. My two biggest crushes should be a perfect match, but really aren't.

4) Senn HD58X's are just about the best value out there, IMO. And they sound Great on this amp. However, compared to the Grado's and the HD600's, they are definitely inferior.

5) Fostex TH-610's. I bought these recently and do like them. The Ear+ is not particularly great with these. It's OK, but the THX amp is a much better pairing, IMO. I think it is cause the amp is flat and neutral. Really cleans up the Fostex sound and the bass comes across cleanly.

6) Beyerdynamic T5p.2's. I don't "love" these headphones to begin with and this match is nothing special. Closed backs are always starting at a disadvantage and these never excel enough to stand out.

7) My last pair is the Meze 99 Classic's. These are my oldest headphones and I have never really found that they scale up with amplifiers. They are GREAT with phones and DAP's though.
Well, I was wrong. These sound awesome with the Ear+ amp. Full sound with a nice bass bump. I preferred these over the Beyers.

 

[AndyBurns]

Now replace that russian 12ax7 with an NOS GE,Sylvania, Telefunken or anything else and you will be completely blown away.

 

[Shane D]

Now replace that russian 12ax7 with an NOS GE,Sylvania, Telefunken or anything else and you will be completely blown away.

I think I will give it several more weeks in stock mode first. It is clarifying things in my collection.

 

[whirlwind]

An update on my experience with the MAD Ear+ HD II.

My starting point was a little weird. I wanted to get a tubeamp, but had never actually heard one. I went through three hybrid tube amps, but was never impressed.

My initial impressions were already posted.
I really didn't know what to expect and I am very happy with the results. There is no thick, syrupy sound or heavy bass action.
It is clear, clean, crisp and airy. Every instrument sounds like it is coming from its own area. It is very subtle, but really great.

This is now ALL I want to listen to.

1) It is like the Liquid Spark was given super powers. I now see no use in keeping the Liquid Spark.

2) When I A-B this with my SMSL SP200, it is like going from open back (tube) to closed back (THX) headphones. These amps could not be more opposite.

3) The XDuoo TA-20 just sounds strange A-B'd with this amp. It will be leaving soon.

The Ear+ has a sound unlike anything else I own. It will be the centerterpiece of my system.

My headphone pairings have been as follows:

1) Grado GH2's. A Magnificent pairing! This is a crazy good combo. EVERYTHING sounds good on it. And there seems to be more than adequate bass.

2) Senn HD600's. The HD600 series has been underwhelming me for years. I keep hearing they need an amp. Then they need a good amp. Then it needs a tube amp. Well, I finally hooked up the tube amp to the Senns. It transforms them! While I enjoy the Grado's, these come very close. I now get the whole HD600 lovefest.

3) Focal Elex's are my new biggest crush. They do NOT pair well with this amp. My two biggest crushes should be a perfect match, but really aren't.

4) Senn HD58X's are just about the best value out there, IMO. And they sound Great on this amp. However, compared to the Grado's and the HD600's, they are definitely inferior.

5) Fostex TH-610's. I bought these recently and do like them. The Ear+ is not particularly great with these. It's OK, but the THX amp is a much better pairing, IMO. I think it is cause the amp is flat and neutral. Really cleans up the Fostex sound and the bass comes across cleanly.

6) Beyerdynamic T5p.2's. I don't "love" these headphones to begin with and this match is nothing special. Closed backs are always starting at a disadvantage and these never excel enough to stand out.

7) My last pair is the Meze 99 Classic's. These are my oldest headphones and I have never really found that they scale up with amplifiers. They are GREAT with phones and DAP's though.
Well, I was wrong. These sound awesome with the Ear+ amp. Full sound with a nice bass bump. I preferred these over the Beyers.

Glad you like it. It is a very good amp and has great synergy with Grado headphones and I really liked mine with the Senn HD650 also.
Sylvania triple mica black plate 5751 is killer tube you may eventually wish to try.

 

[Shane D]

I had been feeling underwhelmed by this amp after a few months.
I also have a Liquid Platinum hybrid amp and a Violectric V220 solid state amp.

I recently decided to put the focus back on the tube amp. I started using the Grado's on it, I decided to re-buy the Sennheiser HD600's and I bought the Beyer DT880's (600 Ohm). Combined with the Schiit Loki, the sound is awesome.
I occasionally pull the jack and put it into the Violectric which, of course, sounds great. Not superior to the tube amp, just different.

I had been thinking about getting rid of this amp or maybe getting a different type/brand of tube amp. Now I think this amp is just fine and I just needed a nice selection of tube inclined headphones.

I am also curious about the Beyer T1 2nd gen's now. Maybe even the Audio Technica R70X's.

 

[Shane D]

Ended up shipping off my Ear+ HDII to a new home today. If I didn't own the Violectric V220, I probably would have kept it.
Wasn't as "tubey" as my LD MKIII, nor as clear/full as the Violectric.

You never know until you try.

 

[maggiesbrother]

Hi - reviving this thread from last year. Love my MADD ear + hd so much I want another for my desktop setup. I saw one for sale with only two tubes - I’ve seen a couple of photos of others but can’t find any info on the design (seller hasn’t gotten back to me). Anyone familiar with a MADD ear with only two tubes?

 

[kydsid]

A little more revival because I've used this amp for years know and been gone from HeadFi and most of keeping up with things for a while. My amp or tubes are DOA after moving recently (well a few years ago, finally got to putting it back into service). And I have no idea where to source tubes these days as it's been at least a decade since I bought any. Don't know if this is the appropriate venue but any tips on where to go for tubes for this amp would be appreciated.

 

[maggiesbrother]

I've ordered from these guys https://www.vivatubes.com/search.php?search_query=12ax7&section=product since they usually have a lot of 12ax7 in stock (still do). There's a guy locally that I have also bought from, but that probably doesn't help.
As an aside, I've reached out to MAD about buying a phono stage but never heard back - I think they are no longer in business (I may be mistaken though).
Didn't stop me from getting another MAD amp - EAR + Purist HD2

 

[kydsid]

I've ordered from these guys https://www.vivatubes.com/search.php?search_query=12ax7&section=product since they usually have a lot of 12ax7 in stock (still do). There's a guy locally that I have also bought from, but that probably doesn't help.
As an aside, I've reached out to MAD about buying a phono stage but never heard back - I think they are no longer in business (I may be mistaken though).
Didn't stop me from getting another MAD amp - EAR + Purist HD2

Local would help, I'm in the Triangle area. And I don't know if MAD is in business of selling per se, but I reached out to Al for the service manual for my Ear+ and have been trading emails all morning with him to diagnose the issue with my amp.

 

[maggiesbrother]

Oh wow - good to know they are still around. May be not taking new orders? This is the local guy - very easy to deal with, reasonable prices, and he'll ship for free locally
https://reverb.com/shop/tonal-tubes

 

[kydsid]

Thanks, after looking at the price of tubes now, I think I actually want my amp to be the problem instead of the dozen of so tubes I have to all be bad.

 

[Haidar]

Just listed my OD300 in the classifieds section