[spritzer]

The only dedicated amp Ergo (or Precide) ever made for the Floats runs on +900V which is only 50% higher than the Sennheiser HEV90 and actually less than the KGSSHV.  In theory the amp would be capable of swinging 1700Vp-p but given its design it would be far less.  It's SRPP with ECC81's which are both huge problems, the SRPP doesn't work into a capacitive load and the ECC81's are driven to breaking point.  A KGSSHV, Blue Hawaii or a T2 will have no problem matching these numbers but the gain could be too low and the output protection resistors would have to be defeated.  They limit the current into the stators which is never an issue with Stax drivers but the Jecklin drivers will need more current so the resistors have to be changed. 

 

[givemevinyl]

Could I please get a roll call of the speaker amps current owners are using with the Float?  What type/specs are recommended to match the Float?  
 
Would anyone be able to provide a Float vs SR-009 comparison?  I realize amps would be different, but am interested in how different/similar they sound when properly amp'ed.

 

[shipsupt]

I use a Pioneer SX-950.
 
My time with the 009 in home is too short at this point for me to give a good comparison.. maybe a little down the road.

 

[givemevinyl]

Quote:

I use a Pioneer SX-950.
 
My time with the 009 in home is too short at this point for me to give a good comparison.. maybe a little down the road.

Thanks.  May I ask if the Pioneer was acquired specifically for the Floats, or was it something you already had on hand?

 

[shipsupt]

I had it on hand. It handles the floats, K1K, and speaker duties.

 

[complin]

Although using a transformer box with the likes of Stax and the Floats will never IMO be quite as good as a dedicated amplifier.  It does however allow you to tune the eventual result to some extent as the headphones will pick up the "flavour" of the amp used. 
 
Quote:

Thanks.  May I ask if the Pioneer was acquired specifically for the Floats, or was it something you already had on hand?

 

[brunk]

is there an authorized US dealer for these? has anyone tried these with a smyth realiser yet? where do you guys think this would stand on mahler's list?

 

[shipsupt]

I can't say speak for him, but in reviewing his list now I'd be very surprised if it wasn't in his top 20.  Where in that top 20 he'd place them would be really about his preferences, it's purely speculation on my part.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

 where do you guys think this would stand on mahler's list?

 
Why would anybody care about that?  Does anybody take him seriously?

 

[dukeskd]

Quote:

 
Why would anybody care about that?  Does anybody take him seriously?

+1 all the way. Not sure why everyone is using it as a reference as it is his personal opinion suited to his own tastes.

 

[brunk]

ok well not using his list then, where does it stand on your personal opinion? im just asking because im curious.

 

[MuppetFace]

Careful with language. There's a big difference between "it's his personal opinion" and "no one takes him seriously." The former is airing on the side of caution, and the latter is basically dismissing anything he says outright as useless.
 
Obviously we all have our own preferences and agendas, so obsessing about where someone else ranks a particular headphone is kind of silly unless you can calibrate your own experiences to theirs. For instance I disagree with Mahler on quite a few things, but I also agree with him on others. That's to be expected. The important thing is, I have a general idea of what his priorities and preferences are and where he's coming from, so if he says X and Y about a particular headphone I can roughly translate it into my own language. Same with Tyll. Or Skylab. Or any other "venerated" reviewer-type person.

 

[analogsurviver]

Quote:

Careful with language. There's a big difference between "it's his personal opinion" and "no one takes him seriously." The former is airing on the side of caution, and the latter is basically dismissing anything he says outright as useless.
 
Obviously we all have our own preferences and agendas, so obsessing about where someone else ranks a particular headphone is kind of silly unless you can calibrate your own experiences to theirs. For instance I disagree with Mahler on quite a few things, but I also agree with him on others. That's to be expected. The important thing is, I have a general idea of what his priorities and preferences are and where he's coming from, so if he says X and Y about a particular headphone I can roughly translate it into my own language. Same with Tyll. Or Skylab. Or any other "venerated" reviewer-type person.

+1. Subjective reviews are useful only if and when you have the access to the same equipment under at least comparable conditions - and can then relate how a particular reviewer reacts to sonic differences. Taken to the extreme, it goes so far that if a reviewer X known to absolutely hate say performace Y and tars and feathers the product for that in the review, it can be actually a recommendation to a person who loves that Y. 
 
I did not investigate David Mahler and his list in the manner deserved by the sheer number of HPs tested over a large(r) period of time; only took a glimpse of his take on the HPs I have experience with - yet calling such an experience as his "not worth taking seriously" says a lot about the person making such a statement.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Careful with language. There's a big difference between "it's his personal opinion" and "no one takes him seriously." The former is airing on the side of caution, and the latter is basically dismissing anything he says outright as useless.

 
That's because it is.  The guy is as clueless as they come but that's usually the case with people who write reviews.  Tyll being an obvious exception as he has more experience than most of us combined but he's also not afraid to ask for a second opinion. 

 

[Radio_head]

Tyll being good doesn't have to make everyone else a joke.  He is a great boon to this hobby, and whatever salary he gets from source interlink he's well worth it.  Praising one person doesn't have to mean shoving other people's face in the dirt.
 
David is a hobbyist, one who is seriously into music and its reproduction.  As such, he spent... I don't want to know how much money to maximize his enjoyment and decided to share with fellow hobbyists as his enthusiasm is pretty palpable.  Comparing an amateur hobbyist/enthusiast with a professional reviewer is like lambasting fanfic for not being as good as the original.  David seems to have generally consistent tastes within his own preferences which is pretty close to the limit of what can be reasonably expected.  He also great and varied taste in music in my completely subjective opinion which is something growing increasingly scarce in what is becoming a gear-centric hobby. (Seriously, when people answer "how does it do with classical" with "Zimmer sounds great!" And "what about Jazz" with "like Nora Jones?" It kind of ruins the rest of the review for me.)  
 
Asking for a second opinion to be able to give your own opinion means you don't really have your own opinion at all.