New MEIER AUDIO headphone amp "CORDA CLASSIC"
Apr 9, 2014 at 11:53 PM Post #286 of 489
  For Skylab Jan has provided a couple years ago following info about the maximum output of Classic:
 
  1. At 600 Ohm: 160 mW / channel
  2. At 300 Ohm: 320 mW / channel
  3. At 50 Ohm: 1.9 W / channel
  4. At 30 Ohm: 3.2 W / channel
 
Jan suspected that "CORDA amplifiers do not produce a WOW-effect". I am not sure this is true. When you at first time hear a neutral sounding good quality equipment like the Classic, it is possible that they do not give you an immediate WOW -feeling, especially if you have been accustomed to hear equipments exaggerating bass and dynamic. But if you have enough patience and keep on listening to them, after a while you start to hear details and nuances in the music you have not heard before. At this point come the WOW -feelings and they continue to keep on coming after that.

 
These are the figures I was referring to - would the output of the Concerto be similar?
 
Thanks
 
Apr 10, 2014 at 12:30 AM Post #288 of 489
You should receive the user manual with the amp. If you do not receive the manual or a reply from this forum as the man who made it.

 
Thanks, the seller didn't indicate whether or not the manual is included, I guess I'll know in the next few days...
 
Apr 10, 2014 at 1:41 AM Post #289 of 489
^ power is less than the Classic, but not by much. As well it is less warm but just as clean as the Classic, which helped it sound just as lively with my LCD2.

If you don't get the manual and if Jan can't provide a PDF, I should be able to find mine in a week or so. In the process of moving house right now...
 
Apr 10, 2014 at 1:41 AM Post #290 of 489
  I'm expecting to get my Concerto in the next couple of days, bought for a really good price from a kind Head-Fier via the For Sale forum. Especially looking forward to listening to my W5000 and HD650 with it.
 
My question is, does anyone have a clue at the output power on these? I've seen a table of output power per impedance for the Corda Classic, but I don't know if it's necessarily the same as the Concerto. Anyone here knows?

Hey intlsubband,
I would very much welcome your thoughts on how the W5000 pairs up with the Concerto. I nearly bought them this month, but decided on the W1000X instead. But I'm still interested in the W5000.
 
Many thanks!
 
Apr 10, 2014 at 1:44 AM Post #291 of 489
^ power is less than the Classic, but not by much. As well it is less warm but just as clean as the Classic, which helped it sound just as lively with my LCD2.

If you don't get the manual and if Jan can't provide a PDF, I should be able to find mine in a week or so. In the process of moving house right now...

 
Thanks! I'll let you know if I can't find it in other ways.
 
  Hey intlsubband,
I would very much welcome your thoughts on how the W5000 pairs up with the Concerto. I nearly bought them this month, but decided on the W1000X instead. But I'm still interested in the W5000.
 
Many thanks!

 
Will do! Until I get the amp and will find the time for some proper listening, I'd expect to be able to write my impressions in about a week's time.
 
Apr 20, 2014 at 5:44 PM Post #292 of 489
Just a note that I recently had delivered to one of my work sites the new 'fazored' LCD3, my first experience with this phone. Not wanting to wait until I got home I took with me my iPod Classic and Meier Classic, these being the most 'portable' rig I could achieve at short notice.

My goodness, the Classic/LCD3 sounded superb, and from memory noticeably better than I get with the Classic/LCD2! Precise imaging and sound-staging, layering: it was all there. Obviously I expected a lot from the LCD3, but I didn't expect to hear it all right then and there. Especially given the humble source.

When I got home I tried the BMC PureDAC's balanced and IIRC 'current-driven' hp out for comparison. Good, but not as good. Since then I've tried my Decware Taboo as well. Not a direct A/B, but my impression is they're too close to pick a winner.

I'm very impressed how the Classic has scaled up with the LCD3, reputed to be much more amp-fussy than the LCD2. I fully endorse the review submitted in German early in this thread (and subsequently translated thankfully).

I think this illustrates how Jan's design philosophy - as he described it a page or two back in this thread - produces highly versatile products that scale and work well with many phones, where often other amps and DACs synergize with a somewhat narrow set of phones.

The view I've developed is that the LCD3 is the perfection of audez'e's original design goals for the LCD2 rev 1. The 3 achieves what the 2r1 was trying to do. The 3 is a much more balanced, mature phone. Comparatively, the 2r1 reminds me of myself as a teenager - excellent in parts, brash and overdramatic and/or weak in others!

Thus it's interesting that the Classic really 'works' with the LCD3 TME, whereas it's merely 'good' with the 2r1.
 
Apr 21, 2014 at 5:45 PM Post #293 of 489
Hey AiDee hope you're enjoying your music through Classic + LCD3. Your enthusiasm shows through your writing. I hope you're happy knowing that's yet another expensive headphone added to my wish list 
eek.gif
 
smily_headphones1.gif

 
But in all seriousness, finding and listening to music also spending too much time on headfi.org has fast become a very enjoyable and all encompassing daily ritual for me with the new gear. I thought I would add to yours and a number of other's point on the qualities of the equipment.
 
Comparing from my previous set up, I find the music from the meier equipment soothing - By which I do not mean it in the sense that it's warm and fuzzy. Out of curiosity, I went back to my previous set up for a while with my headphones and I have to say the music sounds great. I was a little surprised at first. What I was hearing was clean and well defined, and I was expecting a considerable fall in sound quality, which this was definitely NOT.
 
However, when I switched back to the daccord and classic, what struck me was how hearing the same piece of music was so much more soothing, smooth and easier on the ears. In other words comfortable and very noticeably so. We mention 'neutrality' and 'clean sound' the the meier gear have, which from my readings in the headfi forums can also carry negative connotations, but from my experience of upgrading, it is definitely possible to have a neutral and at the same time a soothing character. 
 
From my perspective, my headphone upgrades brought me more detail in what I was listening to and the meier dac and amp brought an upgrade to the refinement of how those details are presented to my ears. This has been my most recent revelation with the equipment. No doubt there will be more.
 
Apr 21, 2014 at 7:11 PM Post #294 of 489
^ Nice notes and the soothing and refined quality does make sense.

I reviewed Jan's StageDAC against two others back in '11, and I've since compared privately and informally with two others. The StageDAC shows this refinement too. Nothing is exaggerated or under-done. It simply gets out of the way.

I'm sure it's already been said to you in your two months here but welcome to headfi; sorry about your wallet!.
 
Apr 30, 2014 at 9:46 AM Post #296 of 489
   
Thanks! I'll let you know if I can't find it in other ways.
 
 
Will do! Until I get the amp and will find the time for some proper listening, I'd expect to be able to write my impressions in about a week's time.

 
Quick nudge to see if you had a chance to share your thoughts on the  W5000 and your new amp 
smily_headphones1.gif
 No matter if not. 
 
Apr 30, 2014 at 7:18 PM Post #297 of 489
   
Quick nudge to see if you had a chance to share your thoughts on the  W5000 and your new amp 
smily_headphones1.gif
 No matter if not. 

 
Thanks for the nudge! I didn't forget to write, I just didn't have a whole lot of time to spend with it given my work schedule.
 
That being said, the little that I did get to use it on the W5000, I was very happy. This is the first time I feel like I'm starting to touch on the potential of these headphones. They really do need power, when I previously played them off portable amps and AV receivers they were not very impressive. But on the Concerto lots of small details seem to come to life.
 
I still feel though that the bass is pretty subtle on the W5000 even when plugged to the Concerto on high gain, and for some reason the crossfeed button seems to make the bass a bit weaker, so in general I listen with the crossfeed off.
 
Acoustic music and jazz sounds truly wonderful on the W5000 and the Concerto! I think that this is its main strength. but for rock, the Concerto and the HD650 is a true winning combo in my ears...
 
May 1, 2014 at 3:48 AM Post #298 of 489
IIRC cross feed does indeed reduce bass. There is compensation in the Classic and the two DACs but not the Concerto I think...
 
May 1, 2014 at 8:12 AM Post #299 of 489
   
Thanks for the nudge! I didn't forget to write, I just didn't have a whole lot of time to spend with it given my work schedule.
 
That being said, the little that I did get to use it on the W5000, I was very happy. This is the first time I feel like I'm starting to touch on the potential of these headphones. They really do need power, when I previously played them off portable amps and AV receivers they were not very impressive. But on the Concerto lots of small details seem to come to life.
 
I still feel though that the bass is pretty subtle on the W5000 even when plugged to the Concerto on high gain, and for some reason the crossfeed button seems to make the bass a bit weaker, so in general I listen with the crossfeed off.
 
Acoustic music and jazz sounds truly wonderful on the W5000 and the Concerto! I think that this is its main strength. but for rock, the Concerto and the HD650 is a true winning combo in my ears...

Many thanks for your thoughts during your busy schedule. Much appreciated.
I'm still intrigued by W5000. I've heard and read opinions from both sides, but my music definitely tends to be towards the acoustic, classical and jazz. I do like the AT sound signature, so currently saving up for it. 
 
I tend not to use the high gain on the Classic when I'm listening with the W1000X. It gets really loud quickly without it, when I start to turn the volume wheel. Also on some recordings, a background hiss is more apparent when the high gain is engaged, the degree to which varies according to the recordings. Only noticed this a few days ago. I think the output impedance of the Classic is very low, so I don't think it's the amp? Most of my music is through FLAC streaming service - it may be the bad recordings... 
 
May 29, 2014 at 4:17 PM Post #300 of 489
i had Audio-gd Master 9 , i traded it  for Meier Classic + cash, i mainly listen to J-pop and i hate to lose Treble or Mids warth, the Meier is very Neutral and was a very nice combo with my X-Sabre  
 
the reason why i did trade the Master 9 with this amp which worth nearly 900$ more than it is because the Master 9 is TOO revealing , and i listen to J-pop so it was a bad combo, in case i was listening to something else then the Master 9 would be a good amp for me.


Glad that i have this amp , hard to believe that its only  750$ , using it atm with my CIEM, next week my TH900 will be here so i will see how does it sound on this amp.
 

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