[greg_boz]

I just ordered a PA2V2 from Gary and am about to order a set of HD595s. But before I pull the trigger I wanted to see if anyone has had bad(or great

) experiences with the following configuration:

PA2V2 + HD595 for PC Gaming, MP3 and DVD on a creative x-fi extreme music.

Thanks!

-Greg

 

[jagorev]

Yup. Sounds good.

 

[Mercuttio]

I'd swap the 595 for the DT770, but that's just me. I can't think of a better gaming / movies can.

 

[003]

I've got an HD650 with a PA2V2 and an X-fi, it sounds good but the bass is very bloated and boomy and the sound is very dark. The PA2V2 is temporary however, and will be replaced with a Corda Headfive this july which I hope to fix all this.

 

[jagorev]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003 I've got an HD650 with a PA2V2 and an X-fi, it sounds good but the bass is very bloated and boomy and the sound is very dark..

Yeah. This should not be such a problem with the brighter and lower-impedance 595.

 

[niktheblak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jagorev Yeah. This should not be such a problem with the brighter and lower-impedance 595.

Definitely. The 595 has a pretty light (almost too light) bass so a warm-signature amplifier should only do good. I'm waiting for a PA2V2 myself.

 

[Pumpkin72]

Quote:

Originally Posted by niktheblak Definitely. The 595 has a pretty light (almost too light) bass so a warm-signature amplifier should only do good. I'm waiting for a PA2V2 myself.

A couple of days back I tried the PA2V2+595 combo for the first time, and found unexpected results.

The Senns became much brighter and clear, but also most of the bass response vanished. Without the PA2V2, the HD595 deliver pretty good bass (= not boomy or bloated imo), though it's also too dark (now I realize, I didn't notice this before).

Maybe my source (a little Onkyo) is to blame here, but I find it hard to believe it can't drive a 50 ohm headphone. And if this Onkyo was too dark, shouldn't the PA2V2 make it even darker rather than brighter? I just don't get it...

 

[003]

Odd, with the 650s + PA2V2 the bass slams you like a sledge hammer...

 

[niktheblak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pumpkin72 The Senns became much brighter and clear, but also most of the bass response vanished. Without the PA2V2, the HD595 deliver pretty good bass (= not boomy or bloated imo), though it's also too dark (now I realize, I didn't notice this before).

Sorry for the thread resurrection but I didn't catch this until now.

I've been listening to HD595 + PA2V2 combo for a couple of days now and definitely haven't noticed anything like this. My current combo of M-Audio Transit -> PA2V2 -> HD595 has a very satisfying, full sound with surprisingly hard bass slam. I don't understand what could be wrong with your setup.

The HD595 seems to need some pretty accurate impedance matching to sound good, and I don't agree with with the notion that HD595 wouldn't need amping. The low-impedance, current guzzling HD595 just doesn't seem to work well with low-current line outputs expecting high impedance load. Here are my experiences with the HD595 with and without amping on different sources:

SBPCI128 -> HD595: Dark, compressed, muddy
Marantz integrated amplifier -> HD595: Like SBPCI128, but somewhat better
M-Audio Transit -> HD595: Overly bright, harsh treble, no bass response to speak of
SBPCI128 -> PA2V2 -> HD595: Much brighter and balanced sound with a lot more dynamics, improved bass definition and slam and considerably clearer highs. Everything is an order of magnitude better than without amping.
M-Audio Transit -> PA2V2 -> HD595: Like in the previous combo, but better high range definition. The overbrightness disappears completely.

So I guess the sonic performance depends strongly on the behaviour of the source/amp with different load impedance. They seem to vary a lot.

 

[BennyBoy]

I used my PA2V2 with the 555's and got less bass. with the 650's I get more?

must be the 50 to 300 ohm jump?

Gary's amp is the way to go. For the best bang for the buck, I'd go 555 at $100. or even the 580's I've seen as low as $140.

 

[Narius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BennyBoy I used my PA2V2 with the 555's and got less bass. with the 650's I get more? must be the 50 to 300 ohm jump? Gary's amp is the way to go. For the best bang for the buck, I'd go 555 at $100. or even the 580's I've seen as low as $140.

http://shipdog.com/product.asp?i=SENHD580

 

[callekula]

Where can I find this PA2V2? Is there a way to but them? And how much do they cost?

I've got the grado sr60/iAudio X5, what will the PA2V2 do for good?

/calle

 

[penguindude]

www.electric-avenues.com

 

[003]

You can get them here:
http://www.electric-avenues.com/purchase.html

I forgot if it's $60 or $70.

 

[device manager]

I run my 595's unamped on an X-Fi (hooked directly into the #1 out) and it sounds really good to my ears. I can only image how much the Headfive will open things up once it gets here.