[reddog]

Thanks!   Do you think there balanced provides a clear improvement?

Yes I was surprised how much better the Alpha Prime's sound through a balanced amp The bass, is tighter, but detailed, the same for the mids and highs. The soundstage opens up and become more holographic. But t I still listen to the AP'S through single-ended amps such as my lyr2 and Asgard 2. I love how the lyr2 with Telefunken E88CC platinum tubes makes the AP'S sing.

 

[Jayville36]

Yes I was surprised how much better the Alpha Prime's sound through a balanced amp The bass, is tighter, but detailed, the same for the mids and highs. The soundstage opens up and become more holographic. But t I still listen to the AP'S through single-ended amps such as my lyr2 and Asgard 2. I love how the lyr2 with Telefunken E88CC platinum tubes makes the AP'S sing.

What DAC do you use?

 

[atsq17]

Thanks!   Do you think there balanced provides a clear improvement?

Moving from a single ended geek pulse to a fully balanced nfb 1.32 with mjolnir was a huge improvement but it's an unfair comparison. The balanced setup was far more expensive.
The pulse already sounded very good but my balanced setup was a whole other level.

 

[reddog]

What DAC do you use?

I use the dac on my pioneer Reciever, saving money for the Yggdrasil.

 

[MrSpeakersPeter]

I use the dac on my pioneer Reciever, saving money for the Yggdrasil.

Schiit sells all of their b-stock stuff on amazon. You can save some coin if you don't care about a minor cosmetic blem.

 

[aamefford]

I'm using an Oppo HA-1.  It has "good" balanced and single ended implementations.  I use the word "good" specifically.  Both are good, not crappy, not best out there.  Good, as in as good as one could expect in the price range ~$1200 all in one box.  I use it balanced almost exclusively, because I can.  In all seriousness, I can't tell any difference between balanced and single ended save for the volume setting required for the same sound pressure level at the headphone.  I've used a couple of other balanced solutions, and many single ended solutions.  I think good balanced and good single ended solutions are both, well, good.  I've come to the personal conclusion that balanced or single ended is not a feature on which I would base a go/no go decision for an amplifier.  I use balanced because I have it available.  The Lyr2 being single ended does not stop me from wanting one.

 

[reddog]

Schiit sells all of their b-stock stuff on amazon. You can save some coin if you don't care about a minor cosmetic blem.

Yes and if there was a b stock Yggdrasil available I would nab it in a second.

 

[reddog]

I'm using an Oppo HA-1.  It has "good" balanced and single ended implementations.  I use the word "good" specifically.  Both are good, not crappy, not best out there.  Good, as in as good as one could expect in the price range ~$1200 all in one box.  I use it balanced almost exclusively, because I can.  In all seriousness, I can't tell any difference between balanced and single ended save for the volume setting required for the same sound pressure level at the headphone.  I've used a couple of other balanced solutions, and many single ended solutions.  I think good balanced and good single ended solutions are both, well, good.  I've come to the personal conclusion that balanced or single ended is not a feature on which I would base a go/no go decision for an amplifier.  I use balanced because I have it available.  The Lyr2 being single ended does not stop me from wanting one.

+1 the oppo HA-1 has been tempting me. I still use my lyr 2 everyday, I need my tube fix lol. But the Ragnarok is a incredible amp, especially in balanced out.

 

[toobuzz]

I own both.  I love both.  I do think that its a bit unfair to compare them side by side.  I will say that for the $$$, the TH-900 is the winner for me.  If the Primes were $650, then it would be a toss up.  Here is what I like about both:
 
Alpha Primes
- Truly a closed headphone.  I can rock out at work (quiet office, open, with no cubicle walls) while sitting a few feet from coworkers and they don't hear a thing.
- All genres sound great.  The presentation is very engaging, it's hard to stop listening to music with these things on your head.
- The mid-range sizzles (mostly in a good way) and elements that may have gone unnoticed before jump out at you. Lots of rhythm guitar or other background elements really become part of the groove.
- This engaging mid-range does not come at the expense of bass, however.  I could talk for 30 minutes on what I think (good and bad) about the bass, but overall its good.  Unique, but good.
- The soundstage is also very good when you consider the amount of isolation that you have.
- I make these work as a portable.  I carry them back and forth to work everyday.
 
TH-900
- Pretty much an open headphone.  Leakage is not much different (according to my wife sitting next to me on the couch) than these and an HD600.
- Clarity is amazing.  It's like someone put on a different version of your favorite recording, almost like you were being fooled all your life and now you get to hear the Hi-Res version.
- Soundstage is amazing too.  It's both wide and deep.  These things are like a little recital hall on your head.  A good hall, at that, one with lots of wood on the walls.
- Bass is luscious and treble has tons of air
- Classical, acoustic, and electronic music sound wonderful.
- I love the cable too.  I can really stretch out and relax at home
 
What I don't like:
 
Alpha Primes
-Price
-Needs lots of power (not necessarily a con, but it needs to be considered)
-Sometimes I get a weird smearing sound on vocals or other lead instruments.  It seems to be exacerbated when the recording is near clipping.  (Anyone else notice that Hozier's vocals are recorded so hot, that they distort a little?)
 
TH-900
- Can't work as a portable (not necessarily a con, but it needs to be considered)
- Certain genres can be difficult to listen to (Queen and Metallica for instance) due to a sharp, grating treble.
- The treble sharpness can be tamed (mostly) with the right equipment, but this can be tedious and expensive

 

[atsq17]

I found the TH900 hard to match because if you pair it with dark equipment, the bass overwhelms everything. 
 
You definitely don't want to pair with bright equipment because of the treble. 
 
Neutral stuff is more balanced but can be a bit boring sounding. 
 
I think ideally it'd be a midrange centric equipment (like what the Eximus DP1 is supposed to be but I never got the chance to try). 
 
When I can find a well priced unit (and when I have the cash to spare) I want to have one re-cabled with hybrid copper/silver (not SPC) litz to balanced XLR connection. 
 
See if I can not take it to the next level with some good equipment. 

 

[Schopenhauer]

That Dan's a clever chap you know! 

31 is the clear winner for my preferences although I only tried 31-36 as I knew I wanted a slight top end lift.

I couldn't be happier with my Primes.  Even my beloved HD800s only rarely gets a look in these days.  Most importantly I've finally stopped looking for other headphones and you can't put a price on that! (well, technically you can but you know what I mean :tongue_smile: )

I'm getting a Burson Soloist SL and an Icon Audio HP8 MKII (upgraded) later this week.  Hopefully these will match well as I'm delighted with the sound coming directly from my Audiolab M-DAC already.   

Would love to hear your impressions of the AP + HP8 pairing.

 

[Schopenhauer]

My apologies if this topic has already been dealt with here. A search of the thread turned up only a few posts. How are we to understand the difference in efficiency between the Alpha Dog and the Alpha Prime? My principal amps for the Alpha Dog are, currently, the Gustard H10 and the Dragon IHA-1. The former pushes around 2.7W into 50Ohms while the latter pushes around 1W. Both amps are fully capable with the AD and I assume that they'd be capable with the AP. But I wanted to check in to see if I'm correct in my assumption.

 

[jk47]

  My apologies if this topic has already been dealt with here. A search of the thread turned up only a few posts. How are we to understand the difference in efficiency between the Alpha Dog and the Alpha Prime? My principal amps for the Alpha Dog are, currently, the Gustard H10 and the Dragon IHA-1. The former pushes around 2.7W into 50Ohms while the latter pushes around 1W. Both amps are fully capable with the AD and I assume that they'd be capable with the AP. But I wanted to check in to see if I'm correct in my assumption.

 
in an interview at canjam published at innerfidelity dan said he recommended at least 200mW into 50 ohms, so you're all set.

 

[tepet08]

   
in an interview at canjam published at innerfidelity dan said he recommended at least 200mW into 50 ohms, so you're all set.

if that is the case,my newly-received AHA120 is underpowered to properly drive it then (60mW rms into 32ohms) However somehow I notice a bit of improvement from it compared to running it straight out of dx90 on high gain.the bass seem to be more 'thumpy' (in a good way) and a slight increase in soundstage (now it extend slightly to the back of my ears,if that make any sense at all).and somehow there is a different way some songs sound,placement wise,most noticeable  so far is how when listening to 'Dont know why' (the vipers,best of jazz audiophile voices),I notice how the vocal somehow sound a bit 'off centre' compared to DX90 only.maybe a slight increase in clarity and instrument seperation too.I have a Pa2v2 and a solid silver cable terminated with RSA just in case i wanna go balanced slowly making its way from halfway around the world (hope won't be long now but regular mail from US usualy take ages to arrive to this side of the pacific).

 

[aamefford]

  My apologies if this topic has already been dealt with here. A search of the thread turned up only a few posts. How are we to understand the difference in efficiency between the Alpha Dog and the Alpha Prime? My principal amps for the Alpha Dog are, currently, the Gustard H10 and the Dragon IHA-1. The former pushes around 2.7W into 50Ohms while the latter pushes around 1W. Both amps are fully capable with the AD and I assume that they'd be capable with the AP. But I wanted to check in to see if I'm correct in my assumption.

I had the AD's and was an upgrade guinea pig.  The Primes are a little less efficient.  Not enough to make a significant difference, unless you are already on the margin of "loud enough".  You have to turn the volume up a little bit more.  Not very much more.