John E Woven
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2008
- Posts
- 623
- Likes
- 11
I know there are already a billion of these thread for this, but since I'm so great, here's mine.
Sources:
PC with Creative XFi
Ipod 5g 30gb
Technics SL1200 + Grado 'green' cartridge
Some random cheap cd player
I think that would take care of it. Decent enough, it seems.
Selected Listening Materials
Opeth - Blackwater Park (cd, FLAC)
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (FLAC, MFSL Vinyl, 'Black Triangle' vinyl, alan parson's quadrophonic mix dvd-a, 20th and 30th anniversary CD)
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (Mastersound, FLAC)
Pink Floyd - The Final Cut (FLAC, vinyl)
Bathory - Blood Fire Death (FLAC, vinyl)
Liszt and Beethoven (performed by Richter; FLAC)
Marduk - Heaven Shall Burn.. When We Are Gathered (FLAC)
Iron Maiden - Powerslave (FLAC, CD)
That about covers it. A nice selection that should point out the flaws and highlights.
Headphones
Denon AH-D2000 with partial markl mods (earpad stuffing, cup damping and stuffing, driver damping)
JVC HA-FX55 stock
No grados for now; that will come in the near future.
Cables
Stock cable on the denon and jvc
Generic rca-mini / rca-rca (well built, decently made connectors; Not spectacular, but gets the job done. I usually use s/pdif, so I don't have nice analog cables)
Virtual Dynamics Power3 (for the melos); generic powercords for everything else
That about covers it, I would think.
Build Quality
Since this is an older amp, I can't exactly judge how it is new, only the condition I recieved it in.
Faceplate: Simple, clean, well made. Looks to be about 1/4" aluminum. For one this age, it's quite well built. I can't say I'm a big fan of the selector switch labeling (position 2 labeling is to the side, while 1 and 3 are on the top and bottom, respectivly); It would be much nicer to have some consistancy there. The volume knob is a decent size and feels right, but the set screw on the bottom doesn't look appealing, since I have the amp on my left side and I keep the volume quite low and it's staring right at me.
Casing: Pretty solid, although I'm not sure those ventilation cut outs do much.
Back: Simple, to the point, and solid. Not much more to say about it.
Innards: Not much inside. A bit sloppy with the caulking, but other than that, looks solid.
Connectors: Pretty nice. Gold colored (gold plated?), tight fit. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Sound
Each track has been listened to extensivly through other amplifiers, sources, etc. I know what they sound like.
WOW. I've never heard music sound the way it does. It just comes to life. The soundstage is much larger, the sound is precise, and it's amazingly engaging. I hear things I've never heard before in the music.
Bass:
The bass extends farther, and is more precise. No longer does the denon sound like it's having a heart attack when it comes to bass. All the boomy-ness is gone, and replaced by crisp, deep bass. Mid bass had a significant bump in quality as well. It seems to have more impact, in addition to being much more captivating, while not being bloated. In particular, Iron Maiden's Aces High (off the Virtual XI album) stands out; the bass does not drop down very far, but it's quite demanding with the mid bass and mid-upper ranges. The Denon + Melos combo does this very well, even considering the mediocre mastering.
The JVC's did not fare as well; The bass sounded more like an extension to the stock bass, although much faster. Much, much nicer, although not the same amount of improvement as the denons.
Mids:
The Denons have traditionally been a reasonably balanced can in all aspects, in my opinion. One that works well for all genres of music, with no specific shortcomes. And the mids are where the melos truely makes them shine. The best description is 'creamy'. Effortlessly powering it's way through Opeth, while showing emotion with Beethoven's Fifth.
These mids are extremely seductive. Not as much as my old pair of Alessandro MS2's, no. Notably darker, from what I remember. Not sibilent, but still the sharp-ness of certain sounds and notes remain. A particular example would be Pink Floyd's Us and Them, off of The Dark Side Of The Moon, MFSL Vinyl. The Melos + Denon has absolutely no problems making this sound absolutely amazing; In fact, the best playback of this particular track I have ever heard. Far, far superior to the super audio cd version, I would say.
The JVC's didn't get a major improvement. Just as precise, dynamic, and analytical, while being slightly musical.
Highs:
The highs unfortunatly seem slightly recessed compared to the denon being run off the integrated amplifier of the ipod. I actually prefer it more now, as it is a lot less fatuiging, while actually gaining detail, without being any less musical. It sounds quite like an unamped denon, but a lot more toned down. Much smoother. The perfect track for this
The JVC's improvement was the opposite of the Denons; The highs are 'sharpened' more than anything and less musical, but more analytical. It's also a lot more sibilent, sharper, and precise, while being bland and boring. I can't say I like these changes too much.
Overall:
Denon: A large improvement over going without an amp. Night and day. It's like a veil was lifted off and I can truely appreciate music the way it is meant to be heard. Massive improvements all around.
JVC: Think of the improvement as a sidestep, rather than an improvement; The bass 'extension' is nice, the mids are quite nice, but the highs sound like a brand new grado sr325i; Sibilent, with a fast attack, but not being interesting. A true ear-hurting borefest at the high end.
Conclusion:
The Melos SHA-1 is an impressive amplifier. If it is even close to as good with grado as with my Denon D2000s, it sounds like it's the one to beat for grado. Sadly, I don't have any Grado headphones. I will have to purchase a few dozen now, just so I can know how perfect the combination is.
The only issues seem to be the reliability; There are more than a few threads here with the record of these, and it's not looking promising. As my example is quite old, I trust that it will stand up to a lot more use, and if it damaged, the electronics appear to be simple enough that even I can repair it with not much more than a soldering iron and a steady hand.
When will I be giving this amplifier up? I hope I will never have to. It's absolutely perfect to me, and has been a major treat, even having owned it for less than one day. I highly recommend the purchase of one, if you can find it.
Pictures:
What have we here?
Ignore the ferrite ring.
The Guts
Sources:
PC with Creative XFi
Ipod 5g 30gb
Technics SL1200 + Grado 'green' cartridge
Some random cheap cd player
I think that would take care of it. Decent enough, it seems.
Selected Listening Materials
Opeth - Blackwater Park (cd, FLAC)
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (FLAC, MFSL Vinyl, 'Black Triangle' vinyl, alan parson's quadrophonic mix dvd-a, 20th and 30th anniversary CD)
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (Mastersound, FLAC)
Pink Floyd - The Final Cut (FLAC, vinyl)
Bathory - Blood Fire Death (FLAC, vinyl)
Liszt and Beethoven (performed by Richter; FLAC)
Marduk - Heaven Shall Burn.. When We Are Gathered (FLAC)
Iron Maiden - Powerslave (FLAC, CD)
That about covers it. A nice selection that should point out the flaws and highlights.
Headphones
Denon AH-D2000 with partial markl mods (earpad stuffing, cup damping and stuffing, driver damping)
JVC HA-FX55 stock
No grados for now; that will come in the near future.
Cables
Stock cable on the denon and jvc
Generic rca-mini / rca-rca (well built, decently made connectors; Not spectacular, but gets the job done. I usually use s/pdif, so I don't have nice analog cables)
Virtual Dynamics Power3 (for the melos); generic powercords for everything else
That about covers it, I would think.
Build Quality
Since this is an older amp, I can't exactly judge how it is new, only the condition I recieved it in.
Faceplate: Simple, clean, well made. Looks to be about 1/4" aluminum. For one this age, it's quite well built. I can't say I'm a big fan of the selector switch labeling (position 2 labeling is to the side, while 1 and 3 are on the top and bottom, respectivly); It would be much nicer to have some consistancy there. The volume knob is a decent size and feels right, but the set screw on the bottom doesn't look appealing, since I have the amp on my left side and I keep the volume quite low and it's staring right at me.
Casing: Pretty solid, although I'm not sure those ventilation cut outs do much.
Back: Simple, to the point, and solid. Not much more to say about it.
Innards: Not much inside. A bit sloppy with the caulking, but other than that, looks solid.
Connectors: Pretty nice. Gold colored (gold plated?), tight fit. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Sound
Each track has been listened to extensivly through other amplifiers, sources, etc. I know what they sound like.
WOW. I've never heard music sound the way it does. It just comes to life. The soundstage is much larger, the sound is precise, and it's amazingly engaging. I hear things I've never heard before in the music.
Bass:
The bass extends farther, and is more precise. No longer does the denon sound like it's having a heart attack when it comes to bass. All the boomy-ness is gone, and replaced by crisp, deep bass. Mid bass had a significant bump in quality as well. It seems to have more impact, in addition to being much more captivating, while not being bloated. In particular, Iron Maiden's Aces High (off the Virtual XI album) stands out; the bass does not drop down very far, but it's quite demanding with the mid bass and mid-upper ranges. The Denon + Melos combo does this very well, even considering the mediocre mastering.
The JVC's did not fare as well; The bass sounded more like an extension to the stock bass, although much faster. Much, much nicer, although not the same amount of improvement as the denons.
Mids:
The Denons have traditionally been a reasonably balanced can in all aspects, in my opinion. One that works well for all genres of music, with no specific shortcomes. And the mids are where the melos truely makes them shine. The best description is 'creamy'. Effortlessly powering it's way through Opeth, while showing emotion with Beethoven's Fifth.
These mids are extremely seductive. Not as much as my old pair of Alessandro MS2's, no. Notably darker, from what I remember. Not sibilent, but still the sharp-ness of certain sounds and notes remain. A particular example would be Pink Floyd's Us and Them, off of The Dark Side Of The Moon, MFSL Vinyl. The Melos + Denon has absolutely no problems making this sound absolutely amazing; In fact, the best playback of this particular track I have ever heard. Far, far superior to the super audio cd version, I would say.
The JVC's didn't get a major improvement. Just as precise, dynamic, and analytical, while being slightly musical.
Highs:
The highs unfortunatly seem slightly recessed compared to the denon being run off the integrated amplifier of the ipod. I actually prefer it more now, as it is a lot less fatuiging, while actually gaining detail, without being any less musical. It sounds quite like an unamped denon, but a lot more toned down. Much smoother. The perfect track for this
The JVC's improvement was the opposite of the Denons; The highs are 'sharpened' more than anything and less musical, but more analytical. It's also a lot more sibilent, sharper, and precise, while being bland and boring. I can't say I like these changes too much.
Overall:
Denon: A large improvement over going without an amp. Night and day. It's like a veil was lifted off and I can truely appreciate music the way it is meant to be heard. Massive improvements all around.
JVC: Think of the improvement as a sidestep, rather than an improvement; The bass 'extension' is nice, the mids are quite nice, but the highs sound like a brand new grado sr325i; Sibilent, with a fast attack, but not being interesting. A true ear-hurting borefest at the high end.
Conclusion:
The Melos SHA-1 is an impressive amplifier. If it is even close to as good with grado as with my Denon D2000s, it sounds like it's the one to beat for grado. Sadly, I don't have any Grado headphones. I will have to purchase a few dozen now, just so I can know how perfect the combination is.
The only issues seem to be the reliability; There are more than a few threads here with the record of these, and it's not looking promising. As my example is quite old, I trust that it will stand up to a lot more use, and if it damaged, the electronics appear to be simple enough that even I can repair it with not much more than a soldering iron and a steady hand.
When will I be giving this amplifier up? I hope I will never have to. It's absolutely perfect to me, and has been a major treat, even having owned it for less than one day. I highly recommend the purchase of one, if you can find it.
Pictures:
What have we here?
Ignore the ferrite ring.
The Guts
