[Tyler J]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMCIII /img/forum/go_quote.gif In a word - YES. Nothing comes close. I'll go a bit further. the Original master probably beats competition above its price point too. it's sweet, especially witht the K601's. I'm kind of surprised that the TBH didn't have the juice to make your K601's strut their stuff - mine (with the new gain switch) does just fine during the few times i use them paired. Are you sure your batteries don't need replacing?

I have been running the bithead powered by my 5 year old eMACs USB, so that may explain it. It gets loud enough but the red clipping indicator comes on at about the point I get to my max volume. It powers my 770 80s and SJ5s just fine. Thanks for the feedback about the OM, I think I will give it a shot. Is AAA audio the only way get an OM?

 

[pingong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyler J /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is AAA audio the only way get an OM?

Depend on which part of the global you live.

We are the only one provide 120v North American version. (It is 120v not 110v, we have in the States and Candana, go measure your power outlet). To keep the price low, we currently only do direct sell, not through other dealers.

Ping

 

[HiFiSaMuRaI]

need to save up and get myself one

 

[Otaku-Cyber]

Original Master Rocks!! it has great performance / value ratio, you won't regret getting one for that price.

 

[doctorjuggles]

I haven't heard anything that's still available new that beats it at that price-range. It's pretty much the de-facto standard at $200.

 

[badmonkey]

Well I have to put a damper on this. The OM is great but it is not very powerful, and has trouble powering the K601s to a good level. It's fine at less than full volume (12 - 3 o'clock) for most music, such as rock or loud pop (compressed... loudness war!), but it's only barely adequate at full volume (5 o'clock) for classical or quiet acoustic.

This is not too say it's too quiet; but for things like DVDs with their lower signal strength, it is not sufficient unless you normalize / pre-amp the level. There really needs to be more gain available for the K601s.

 

[parrot5]

This is strange. I listen to my K701 through the Original Master at about the 8am - 9am level, never ever past 9:30 even for quieter recordings (better recorded classical music and performances). I guess my MicroDAC has a very strong output then.

 

[badmonkey]

The K601 is harder to drive than the 701.

 

[parrot5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by badmonkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif The K601 is harder to drive than the 701.

Thanks. Didn't know it's THIS much harder.

 

[augustwest]

I listened to the OM with the Sennheiser 650's, and was very impressed. A true value!

- augustwest

 

[scompton]

Is this a warm solid state amp? I'm looking for one for my MB Quart QP85 which are easy to drive but a little lean on bass.

 

[badmonkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by parrot5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks. Didn't know it's THIS much harder.

Don't get me wrong, it's powerful enough, otherwise I'd be getting rid of it. It's perfectly fine for most music - 12 o'clock is not a rare position for me. But with classical or other quiet acoustic stuff, it creeps up and I sometimes find it hitting max.

And like I said for DVDs without pre-amping it definitely wants more, I couldn't watch a quiet drama movie for example without normalizing the audio via software. So I'd prefer a little more margin of gain, but otherwise it's fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is this a warm solid state amp? I'm looking for one for my MB Quart QP85 which are easy to drive but a little lean on bass.

I wouldn't say it's particularly warm, I think it's fairly neutral. Read the Soundstage review.

 

[Goh]

I had the same exact experience as badmonkey with my K601s when fed with my M-Audio Transit. I did get enough volume for DVD's, but it was JUST enough. I would have felt more secure with my purchase if I didn't have to max out the volume.

 

[pingong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goh /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had the same exact experience as badmonkey with my K601s when fed with my M-Audio Transit. I did get enough volume for DVD's, but it was JUST enough. I would have felt more secure with my purchase if I didn't have to max out the volume.

Master has pretty good gain. Low DVD outputs from PC audio output is too low as your input for any amps. USB DAC is the way to go with PC, it is even better than using PC sound card optical output with DAC. Ping