My K1000 journey (a blog)

Jul 11, 2006 at 4:15 PM Post #121 of 156
Quote:

Originally Posted by Alwayswantmore
In terms of value, the Signature 30 wins hand sdown (inclusion of a preamp, and Sig 30 drives conventional 2 or 3-way speakers -- something the F1 does not).

I'm still trying to decide what to do.


One difference is that the Signature 30 doesn't have balanced mode, whereas the FirstWatt F1 does. Is that significant?

Since RedWine Audio offers: "...a no-risk 30-day money back return policy, which only applies if the amplifier and charger are returned to us (at owner’s cost) in the same condition as it was shipped." it appears that your risk is quite low.

Of course the ideal would be to compare the two amplifiers side by side.
 
Jul 12, 2006 at 8:33 PM Post #122 of 156
Quote:

Originally Posted by tmarshl
One difference is that the Signature 30 doesn't have balanced mode, whereas the FirstWatt F1 does. Is that significant?


By my past experience with normal amps, yes. But this is not a 'normal' amp, so only listening will tell. More info on Sig 30... http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/i...&topic=28694.0
 
Jul 12, 2006 at 9:28 PM Post #123 of 156
Quote:

Originally Posted by Alwayswantmore
By my past experience with normal amps, yes. But this is not a 'normal' amp, so only listening will tell. More info on Sig 30... http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/i...&topic=28694.0


Wow, that is high praise indeed! I guess I just have to hear the Signature 30 drive my K1000s!
k1000smile.gif
 
Jul 12, 2006 at 9:34 PM Post #124 of 156
Awesome, it's about time another winner for the k1000s came out. I still think the F1 has technical advantages over it (current source and what not) but who knows, they're probably within the same league. I already received my Minimax preamp today so it's too late for me to go back now heh. Good luck with your decision Alwayswantmore, think about it though: this is a win win situation
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Jul 12, 2006 at 11:04 PM Post #125 of 156
Quote:

Originally Posted by xand1x
Awesome, it's about time another winner for the k1000s came out. I still think the F1 has technical advantages over it (current source and what not) but who knows, they're probably within the same league. I already received my Minimax preamp today so it's too late for me to go back now heh. Good luck with your decision Alwayswantmore, think about it though: this is a win win situation
smily_headphones1.gif



Good luck with 6moon's top pick for K1000s! Please, please post impressions here -- or at least give us a link in this blog!
 
Jul 13, 2006 at 5:15 PM Post #126 of 156
Quote:

Originally Posted by tmarshl
One difference is that the Signature 30 doesn't have balanced mode, whereas the FirstWatt F1 does. Is that significant?


Talked to Vinnie at RWA. Turns out the Sig 30 is balanced (at the spkr terminals). So K1000s pick up the faster slew rate, and benefit of not sharing common ground.
 
Jul 13, 2006 at 6:57 PM Post #127 of 156
My K1000 journey continues to bring unexpected twists and turns.

6moons writes...

"For the now discontinued AKG K-1000 earspeakers, the Signature 30 shares the stage with the FirstWatt F1 current-source amp as an ideal partner. The latter's otherworldly control in this context is ultimately more resolved and accurate and would thus be the choice for a recording engineer. The 30 is warmer and slightly mellower to perfectly suit endless pleasure listening sessions."

So, both the F1 and Sig 30 sound like interesting headmasters for driving K1000s to audio bliss. But in the end, it comes down to system matching and personal taste...

Check back early August for: 'Survivor -- K1000 amplifier edition'
 
Jul 13, 2006 at 7:05 PM Post #128 of 156
Quote:

Originally Posted by Alwayswantmore
My K1000 journey continues to bring unexpected twists and turns.

6moons writes...

"For the now discontinued AKG K-1000 earspeakers, the Signature 30 shares the stage with the FirstWatt F1 current-source amp as an ideal partner. The latter's otherworldly control in this context is ultimately more resolved and accurate and would thus be the choice for a recording engineer. The 30 is warmer and slightly mellower to perfectly suit endless pleasure listening sessions."

So, both the F1 and Sig 30 sound like interesting headmasters for driving K1000s to audio bliss. But in the end, it comes down to system matching and personal taste...

Check back early August for: 'Survivor -- K1000 amplifier edition'


Do you still have that F1 coming, or are you leaning towards the Sig 30 now?
tongue.gif
 
Jul 13, 2006 at 11:23 PM Post #130 of 156
Quote:

Originally Posted by xand1x
Do you still have that F1 coming, or are you leaning towards the Sig 30 now?
tongue.gif



There is no way to know which will sound better without trying them. So I'm going to put them head-to-head and keep the winner.
 
Jul 14, 2006 at 4:31 AM Post #131 of 156
Quote:

Originally Posted by Alwayswantmore
There is no way to know which will sound better without trying them. So I'm going to put them head-to-head and keep the winner.


Please give us a detailed description of your observations!
 
Jul 15, 2006 at 2:26 AM Post #132 of 156
In an earlier post I questioned whether K1000s were designed for balanced operation. Turns out both 6moons picks -- Signature 30 and F1 -- are balanced amps (at the outputs). My Ayre V-3 also happens to fit into this same camp [the Signature 30 does not support XLR inputs].

The point I'm leading up to is tonight I tried switching over to single ended RCA inputs. For this session I removed the sub, and compared my V-3 via both SE and balanced inputs [V-3s outputs remain balanced even with SE inputs]. Honestly, the difference was pretty dramatic in favor of balanced, which obectively presented more detail and sense of space.

Now there is a big catch...

I don’t have matching cables, so the question becomes: How much of this difference is attributed to cables, and how much to balanced operation? Unfortunately, lacking a matching set of cables, I may never know.

The cables in question are...

Balanced: 1M Transparent Audio Super -- which falls in the middle of their product line. I bought this cable used a few years back for $300, but believe the retail to be several times this amount.

Single end: 1M Audioquest Quartz -- A dated, but nice copper IC I bought new for $160.

quartz12gw.jpg
 
Jul 15, 2006 at 2:37 AM Post #133 of 156
If anyone has a lead on where I might borrow a quality single end IC for a couple weeks, it would be nice to have a top-shelf cable to help level the playing field for the Sig 30.

Naturally I will be able to A/B amps in single end via the Quartz. But once I change to Transparent, the F1 gains an unfair advantage.
 
Jul 15, 2006 at 3:22 AM Post #134 of 156
You know what I think would be a great conclusion, is if you turned out to like your V3 the best of all. Then we'd have yet another great K1000 contender on the loose.
 
Jul 29, 2006 at 9:42 PM Post #135 of 156
Just getting back from 9 days in Canada / Alaska. Got the F1 installed last night. Very promising. Check out these pictures of whales I took in Juneau & Sitka (56K warning!).... http://danceswithwhales.blogspot.com/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top