[Jim R]

I was looking for a very high quality headphone amp for my HD-600’s and decided to get an Earmax pro. They were hard to get this winter. I waited for 2-3 months for mine but got it a couple weeks ago. I have about 30-40 hours on it now and am very pleased.

I put a couple pics on yahoo of both the inside and outside (I don’t know how to post them but will include the link to my yahoo photo album – let me know if the link doesn’t work).

http://photos.yahoo.com/robertsjimbarb

It is very well built. The jacks are all of high quality, the volumn control feels heavy and smooth, the separate power supply feels fairly substantial (but I am not an electronics expert). It really feels like a high quality component but yet it is probably a fairly simple circuit. I pulled out the stock tubes (I couldn’t even identify the stock tubes – may have been Teslas) and retubed with a pair of NOS Amperex Bugle Boy 6DJ8’s and a Sylvania Gold Brand 6201.

I wish I could compare it directly to the MG Head, Microzotl, Melos, etc. but I have never had any other high end headphone amps before. I had been using the HD-600’s with a CMOY which is extremely good for the money but the Earmax is in a whole different league (as it should be). My point of comparison is really my main stereo system (see link).

http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/1227.html

I have a dedicated audio room in my basement with a full array of Jon Risch room treatments and dedicated AC lines. I use highly modified Maggie 1.6’s, a Sony SCD-777ES SACD player, Placette passive preamp, Bel Canto Evo 200.2 amp with all silver cabling (Chris Venhaus, silver IC’s and DIY silver foil Goetz AG-2 clones for speaker cable) as well as an ACI Titan II sub, Jon Risch AC filter, Daruma isolation devices, etc..

The best way to describe the Earmax Pro – HD-600 combination is that it is in the same league as my main stereo system. The level of detail is very close (my main system is extremely detailed), the bass response is deep (not quite as deep as the Titan II sub but pretty close). The midrange is the classic tube sound – voices are truly stunning. It is almost a flip of the coin for me to decide which system to listen to. My main system has phenomenal imaging due to the dedicated room and room treatments and I miss this with the headphones but yet the headphones have a sense on intimacy that is also very appealing. I have found that I can listen to my main system a little longer than the headphones – after a few hours the physical pressure of the headphones is slightly fatiguing (but certainly not musically fatiguing as some systems can be).

The Earmax Pro is not cheap but compared to what you have to spend to achieve high fidelity in a standard stereo system, it is a good value (especially since you can get the 600’s cheap from Jan Meier and they seem to match very well). One of the things I have learned over the years that it is sometimes cheaper in the long run to just start out buying a high end, reliable component instead of working your way up in cheaper steps. I have also taught myself to just be satisfied with my system once I reach a high level of fidelity and I seriously doubt that I will make any changes in my headphone system now that I have the Earmax (except maybe to upgrade the stock cable on the 600’s). I don’t really know how the earmax compares to some of the competitors but this is definitely a high end headphone amp (and it is really looks nice).

 

[carlo]

Jim,
your yahoo link brings up an empty photo album.

i enjoyed your writeup (i've looked at your system a few times at aa). i haven't heard an earmax pro, but will soon, i'm now much more excited to do it when the time comes.

Quote:

One of the things I have learned over the years that it is sometimes cheaper in the long run to just start out buying a high end, reliable component instead of working your way up in cheaper steps. I have also taught myself to just be satisfied with my system once I reach a high level of fidelity...

great point... but if you're still curious pm or email me if you'd like to try the mg head dt.

best,
carlo.

 

[JohnActon]

Nice review, Jim. Thanks!

 

[andrzejpw]

great review! Personally, I'm thinking of getting an MG head. Earmax is too rich for my blood.

 

[Anders]

One of the things I have learned over the years that it is sometimes cheaper in the long run to just start out buying a high end, reliable component instead of working your way up in cheaper steps. I have also taught myself to just be satisfied with my system once I reach a high level of fidelity ...

I like this! We seem to have made the same mistakes. Sometimes I have tried to save, sometimes I have bought components that I really liked, but thought were too expensive. I have never regretted the later, but the compromise components have often had a rather short lifetime. I think that these mistakes to some extent are impossible to avoid because it is hard to know beforehand at what level you become satisfied.
There are some pitfalls. At what price point do you get diminshing returns? It is easy to set that too low, thinking you are smart but only fooling yourself.
When testing exchange of a single component, you may think that the the difference between a cheaper and more expensive component is acceptable (I assume here that the cheaper is worse, which is not always the case). If you apply this to every component in the system, the differences will add up, for worse or better.

BTW, your review is convincing to me!

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

One of the things I have learned over the years that it is sometimes cheaper in the long run to just start out buying a high end, reliable component instead of working your way up in cheaper steps.

First off, very nice review, Jim.......thanks. I agree that the HD-600/Earmax Pro combo is wonderful, but I prefer the CD3000s even more with the Earmax. It tames the brightness and still leaves the incredible detail and large soundstage intact.
As for the above statement, you are most definitely correct. It is easily cheaper...................but not as much fun.