[volly]

@franz12 - I got the HD600's too, had them before my 650's. Was an arranged marriage, met the lovely 650's not too long ago and it was the women I was meant to have married! Anyways, I'll chuck on the HD600's tonight and run it through the MCTH for a good listening session, might compare my findings later!

I would love to hear the Ether or the Aeon for that matter. One day.

 

[jrhill]

Hi "fortunate son"

On #512, you mentioned your purchase of the ReddyRegs 28V @ 1A5 - what is the advantage of using the higher voltage and current?

 

[GanGreinke]

Hi "fortunate son"

On #512, you mentioned your purchase of the ReddyRegs 28V @ 1A5 - what is the advantage of using the higher voltage and current?

The MCTH requires a power supply that is able to supply 28V and 1.25A. Your power supply voltage has to match the voltage requirement of the amplifier (has to be the same; otherwise you'll damage the amp). The power supply also has to be able to supply the voltage at a minimum. You can use a power supply that can supply a greater current, but the amp will only draw the amount of current it needs.

 

[jrhill]

My apologies, I got that wrong - so I'm off to build a 28volt/1.5A linear supply from a spare Sigma 11 board I have here and see what changes in the sound of the amp - it'll be interesting ....

The amp has done about 1000hrs now and the sound has finally settled down - the source signal is from the SOtM server (AMB Sigma 11 supply) to the Ayre QB-9dsd dac ('Curious Cable' prototype Interconnects and 'MSA' power cable) and feeding the modded Massdrop HE-4xxs 'phones (more open rear grill, p.watson cable) - a rather pleasant sound, not quite the same as the sound of the Liquid Carbon or the Passlabs diy HPA-1, but very okay indeed for the price

 

[Stabby]

I just ordered this amp. How can the sound signature be described through a slightly bright DAC (Topping D30) and HD650? Should I except slightly less warmth and slightly more treble? I'm a bit treble sensitive which is why I bought the HD650 in the first place, so I hope I don't end up disappointed.

 

[Bazirker]

I just ordered this amp. How can the sound signature be described through a slightly bright DAC (Topping D30) and HD650? Should I except slightly less warmth and slightly more treble? I'm a bit treble sensitive which is why I bought the HD650 in the first place, so I hope I don't end up disappointed.

I haven't heard the D30 so I'm not sure I can comment as to how that component of the chain will impact the overall sound, however I do have an HD 6XX and a CTH fed through a Mimby. I prefer warmth as I am also somewhat treble sensitive, and I have never had an issue with the highs through my rig. I find that the treble is present, clean, and well defined, however sibilance is quite rare. I would not describe the treble as rolled off, but it is smother than some might prefer (I obviously do not count myself among those however.)

My opinion is that this is an excellent amp for $250, and pairs well with the HD 650/6XX in part because they share a similar approach to smooth and non-fatiguing yet well articulated and musical treble. As always, you can sell it if you don't like it, so open the box with care!

 

[Stabby]

I haven't heard the D30 so I'm not sure I can comment as to how that component of the chain will impact the overall sound, however I do have an HD 6XX and a CTH fed through a Mimby. I prefer warmth as I am also somewhat treble sensitive, and I have never had an issue with the highs through my rig. I find that the treble is present, clean, and well defined, however sibilance is quite rare. I would not describe the treble as rolled off, but it is smother than some might prefer (I obviously do not count myself among those however.)

My opinion is that this is an excellent amp for $250, and pairs well with the HD 650/6XX in part because they share a similar approach to smooth and non-fatiguing yet well articulated and musical treble.

Thanks, feeling more confident now. Hopefully my CTH arrives in less than a month...

 

[Bazirker]

Thanks, feeling more confident now. Hopefully my CTH arrives in less than a month...

Looking forward to your observations when it arrives. I will caution you regarding judgments of the CTH performance out of the box, as I liked it but found it refined significantly after a week of mixed usage of burning in the tube and solid state components. The general character of the sound was there brand new but imaging and fine details improved quite a lot between 50 and 100 hours of play time.

 

[UNOE]

Yeah you can't judge this amp out of box. I see people selling this only owning it a week. I never owned a amp that changed that much. Even Jude mentioned this in the review. I did tube burn in on Thursday night and it was much better just from that alone. I left it playing all weekend and its quite good now. First few hours its harsh and veiled with elevation to different regions of the sound. After 14 hour tube burn in. It was very good fun sound. I like this sound it had slight microphonics which I like reminded me of a old stereo my friends dad had in the 80s, but I would not have wanted to keep that sound. After about 110 hours now microphonics are completely gone. Guitar solos so rich its much funner sound than I expected. Now I'm really interested in tube rolling.

Edit : also I paired it with Topping D50 and its good with the different filter offered. Pairing the CTH with Mojo was not preferred.

 

[someyoungguy]

I just stumbled on this at massdrop and have been reading over this thread.

I got the HD6XXs from massdrop, arrived about a month ago. I love the sound (paired with a Plenue M at least), but even though they’re a well-loved pair amongst head-fiers I had been thinking about selling them - simply because my other headphones are all easy to drive. Keeping them just complicates my set-up, requiring an amp, as I’ve got a Plenue R on the way and will probably sell the Plenue M once it arrives. The R won’t be able to drive the HD6XXs, so I was thinking for simplicity I’d just stick to easy-to-drive headphones, such as getting some HE400s’ as an open back option for listening at home.

But now after seeing this, and the price on massdrop, definitely having second thoughts about that plan. I’d be feeding the amp with the audio out of a Plenue R, or Cambridge Audio Dacmagic XS. Buying this amp would be cheaper than getting a pair of HE400s! By all accounts on here, I’m not likely to regret it either.

 

[Stabby]

Edit : also I paired it with Topping D50 and its good with the different filter offered. Pairing the CTH with Mojo was not preferred.

How does it sound with the D50 without any of the filters? How is the treble? As far as I know D30 sounds the same but doesn't have those filters. Should give me a good idea of what to expect.

 

[UNOE]

How does it sound with the D50 without any of the filters? How is the treble? As far as I know D30 sounds the same but doesn't have those filters. Should give me a good idea of what to expect.

The pairing is fine you have to choice a filter I'm side d30 has a filter enabled by default. I have only compared it to mojo and d50 pairs better on this amp. D50 is really good though. I don't think D30 will come close. I do prefer the rolled off filters.
I belive this amp will pair well with sabre dacs in general though.

 

[Stabby]

Guess I'll just wait and see. My CTH already shipped after ordering yesterday. Could still take a month to arrive though. After import fees it will have cost me $375/€300. Hopefully it's worth it.

 

[franz12]

I have two MCTHs in my hand, one is used and the other one is new. After going back and forth between them, I can say that burn-in is real. Before burn-in, bass bloats and is muddy. Also there are some hard edges from time to time. After long hours, bass is deeper, well controlled, and tighter. Mid to treble sounds more transparent, and cleaner. Soundstage opens up. It pairs really well with ether c flow.

 

[someyoungguy]

Put an order in last night, already shipped this morning massdrop are nailing it. Looking forward to hearing this.