[a1rocketpilot]

What is that strange looking Singlepower amp about halfway down page 2? The one right next to the enormous vacuum tube that is, in the longish rectangular enclosure?

Aditya

 

[tjkurita]

Was that an amp or a power supply?

 

[thrice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by a1rocketpilot What is that strange looking Singlepower amp about halfway down page 2? The one right next to the enormous vacuum tube that is, in the longish rectangular enclosure? Aditya

Do you mean this:

That's the Concerto ES on the left and it's power supply on the right.

 

[nichifanlema]

Maybe somekind of tube buffer?

 

[tjkurita]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjcha Dang, I certainly have to agree with this. I thought that little NX-33 and HD600 hiding in the corner was a real joy to listen to. Nicely refined and yeah, no veil around. I've heard utterly amazing things out of the HD600 from a number of different amps. I would have liked to hear the NX-33 side by side with a Dynamight and a balanced Singlepower, as well as tjkurita's 300B SET amp. You know, we ought to have a HD600 mini-meet one of these days. Best, -Jason

I can host. But I've only got one of the amps you mention and a burned in pair of HD600 on an Equinox.

If there are other NYers with the rest of the gear, I'm happy to have people over. I've got significantly less room, though. So it would have to be fewer than 8 people. This could also serve as an official 600/650 shootout. What amps make the one sound better than the other? What exactly is the difference between the two?

I DO have a couple of different Rectifier tubes to roll in the power supply and some 6sn7s to try out.

EDIT: What was the Zana Deux like? I haven't heard many reactions to it aside from the usual bloom-is-still-on-the-rose "this is the greatest dynamic amp ever" comments. It seems like a really good amp in its price range (comparable to the Cary 300SEI or middle/high end Singlepowers?). But I'm not exactly sure. Was there a 300SEI to compare it to at the meet?

Basically, I'm saying that it seems like a direct competitor with the 300SEI (price-wise) so I'm wondering if it is any better.

Also, just how good was that homemade 6sn7 (I assume those are 6sn7s) amp?

 

[a1rocketpilot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrice Do you mean this: That's the Concerto ES on the left and it's power supply on the right.

Holy crap! So now the ES-1 can drive dynamic phones too?? Is this Concerto ES considered higher on the ladder than the SDS then?

Also, for those that listened to the Tomahawk, how did you feel it compared to other "home" amps other than the RKV?

Aditya

 

[machead]

First, and at the risk of adding to the chorus of repetition, I thank Tom for his selfless dedication to the task of "hosting" another great meet. His willingness to share such an awesome equipment collection purely for the love of the hobby rather than any thought of self-aggrandizement is simply the nature of the man; and we are all the richer because of his generosity.

As Romanee has already related, our participation was severely limited by an unfortunate decision to travel to Babylon by car rather than by train. I hope this lesson is still burned into my memory if a future meet is held there. It was interesting to note that several of the photos posted above showed daylight streaming through the windows! It was already dark by the time we arrived.

As luck would have it, my first port of call (after the bathroom, that is -- 4.5 hours behind the wheel affects more than one's patience) was Ray Samuels' table. It was illuminating, as usual, to talk to him engineer-to-engineer about his latest creations. His insistence, kind but firm, on limiting the ultimate level of detail he will reveal even to his disciples, creates an engaging sense of mystery that encourages an almost religious adherence to his way of thinking about audio. (Rudi Stor, BTW, is cut from similar cloth.) I spent far too much time listening to the B-52/balanced HD650 combination; but in my defence I will claim that it was almost as addictive as an HEV90/HE90. As I remarked to Ray, I would not like to live with someone who thought of this system as "laid back". It had a completely seamless integration across the frequency spectrum and sounded wonderful with every type of music I chose to throw at it. There are amplifiers that lend the HD650 a little extra in the way of spaciousness; but I suspect this is achieved at the cost of frequency balance. I was less impressed when listening through the balanced PS-1 or the (unbalanced) R-10; but this was not surprising given that I have never warmed to the Grado or Sony sound. They seem to work best with music that I can't listen to for any length of time (even through Sennheisers).

The Tomahawk provided an amazing combination of sound quality and battery life, although I think I might have preferred one of the alternative designs that Ray considered, which traded shorter battery life for what he considered a slightly more "musical" sound. I don't like to use disposable batteries; but the remarkably low power consumption of the Tomahawk means that NiMH cells will, for most users, exhaust themselves due to self-discharge rather than amplifier drain!

Romanee's three-way comparison between the new AE-1, Hornet "M", and pimped Portaphile did not change my preference (among those models) for the Portaphile, at least through my E4s. All the same, I don't think I'll be trading in my SR-71 any time soon: I'm happy with its size and I can use rechargeable lithium polymer batteries for long life and negligible discharge during long periods on the shelf. Its non-snap battery contacts are so easy to use. I like the sparkle and soundstage depth of the Portaphile but I hate having to wrangle the 9V battery on and off its connecting cable. It might be worthwhile investigating an external battery pack and dispensing with the internal (infernal?) battery altogether. The difference in sound between the Hornet "M" and the SR-71 is small enough to be insignificant except in direct comparison; and I find the Hornet limiting in terms of power options. I thought the AE-1 was rather bass-heavy (again, with the E4) and not ideal for the acoustic music I listen to most of the time.

I really wanted to hear Aaron's Meridian/Rudistor/Sennheiser combination but I never made it to that corner of the room before everything was being torn down.

I listened briefly to the Aristeus/HE90 combination and was disappointed -- something must have been awry in the setup and it was too late in the day to investigate.

I brought along my Headphile-modified K340s, in the hope that I might find an amplifier that made them sound as good to me as so many other owners have raved. Alas, I heard nothing better than the AudioValve RKV (which I already own). To make matters worse, I had the opportunity to do a quick last-minute A/B with dave_Derek's unmodified pair and definitely preferred his! I suppose I'll have to ask Larry what he did to mine, then try to "reverse-engineer" them back to the original configuration. I'll keep the BlackMax cables, however.

Or, I could just sell them as they are. Are you listening, m8o?

 

[machead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjkurita I can host. But I've only got one of the amps you mention and a burned in pair of HD600 on an Equinox. If there are other NYers with the rest of the gear, I'm happy to have people over. I've got significantly less room, though. So it would have to be fewer than 8 people. This could also serve as an official 600/650 shootout. What amps make the one sound better than the other? What exactly is the difference between the two?

I have a burned-in pair of HD650, also on Equinox, and a RudiStor RP6-DQ that really opened up the Senns for me. If that interests you, then please keep me in mind if the mini-meet goes ahead.

Back to the meet impressions...

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by a1rocketpilot So now the ES-1 can drive dynamic phones too??

No. The ES-1 is electrostatic only. The Concerto ES is the combo amp. Quote:

Is this Concerto ES considered higher on the ladder than the SDS then?

Depends on what you have Mikhail put inside. Not sure if the combo nature limits what can fit in the case, but Mikhail will basically do anything you want (for a price).

 

[PeterP]

Well, I guess I have been too much of a lurker. It’s taken me this long to find out where the comments from the NYC show end up

I didn’t even know that there was a Meet Impressions Forum.
First I’d like to thank bozebuttons for organizing the event. It was the first HeadFi meet that I’ve been to. Lots of great equipment and an opportunity to hear more equipment and headphones than I’ve ever seen in one place. All of the gear was great. I was especially taken with some of the Single Power stuff. I normally listen to DT880s but brought along a pair of Grado SR125. I was really taken with the Grado GS-1000 and AKG K-1000 both were very, very nice, in a whole different world than the equipment that I have.
When I got there I set-up my amp and a Sony DiskMan as a source. With one short listen Yikes told me that I definitely need a better source and offered up his CD player and cables all of which remained attached for the rest of the meet. I can’t thank you enough, I finally go to hear what the amp is capable of.
As for my amp looking like a railroad tie, please give me a break that top plate is a slat off of an old gas BBQ

Yes it’s 6SN7 based. SRPP front end with the lower resistor bypassed – into a White Follower – cap coupled to output transformers.
It was a great meet and I’ll have to try to get to more of them and contribute to the forum a bit more.

Thanks.

 

[Jahn]

the gas grill amp. totally awesome. if you ever start making these for the public, i bet you'll find an audience!

 

[hYdrociTy]

That industrial amp of yours is amazing. I can't wait till next time to try it with properly cabled 580s..and the k1k that ill be desperatly trying to acquire..

 

[jjcha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn the gas grill amp. totally awesome. if you ever start making these for the public, i bet you'll find an audience!

Seriously, between the gas grill amp and one of Singlepower's old toaster amps, we can stealth a headphone rig from the wife in the kitchen!

Best,

-Jason

 

[m8o]

Quote:

Originally Posted by machead I brought along my Headphile-modified K340s, in the hope that I might find an amplifier that made them sound as good to me as so many other owners have raved. Alas, I heard nothing better than the AudioValve RKV (which I already own). To make matters worse, I had the opportunity to do a quick last-minute A/B with dave_Derek's unmodified pair and definitely preferred his! I suppose I'll have to ask Larry what he did to mine, then try to "reverse-engineer" them back to the original configuration. I'll keep the BlackMax cables, however. Or, I could just sell them as they are. Are you listening, m8o?

LoL...! I am. But then what will I do with the his other, cleaner, stock K340 that I bought from Dave that evening?

BTW, I've started [ahem] mod'ing mine already.

Don't fret. I just stuffed some acoustical foam (from a donor near dead doggie toy) under the outside edge of the pads to raise them up a bit for comfort. Amazingly similar soft fabic doggie chew toy stuffing is to acoustical stuffing you put within sealed enclosure to increase the acoustical mass of air within it.

I have plenty of both [some minor speaking building recently, and my dogs kill all toys asap] and I sure can't tell the difference between the two materials.

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by a1rocketpilot Holy crap! So now the ES-1 can drive dynamic phones too?? Is this Concerto ES considered higher on the ladder than the SDS then? Aditya

Also realize that the Concerto's P/S is 2 separate power supplies in one box. It has to charge the stats and provide power for the dynamics. There are 2 separate umbilicals leading to the amp. As you can see, the Concerto is housed in the same chassis used for the Maestro and the SDS 2 -box (which I think is georgeous and exudes industrial strength). I can't vouch for what's inside, though, it wasn't warmed up when I had an opportunity to listen and I wasn't able to get back to it.