[mahlerfan]

I just ordered the akg k501. Great to see the price has dropped must be the release of the 601 and 701!

Anyway I currently have a go-vibe with the ad8620 op-amp, which is really meant for my Sennheiser 580. Will it do justice to the k501? The Senns are dark, the amp helps brighten them up. I'm worried though that the 501s are bright and then will the amp will make them just harsh!

Also I worry that the go-vibe won't give the k501 enough juice, it just decently drives my 580s which have higher power sensitivity.

So questions-- (a) will the go-vibe do it justice? And in that case just switch opamps? or

(b) what portable amp do you rec and opamp?

I listen mostly to classical music, and I'm *not* looking for anything like a bass boost, I just want a fairly neutral but warm amp to make the 501s sing and I don't want to spend too much-- under $200 please.

I can wait and see if the go-vibe will do the job, but I see little reason to think that would be true!

Thanks for your time.

 

[Filburt]

If you want to change amps, you could try picking up one of the PINT kits from AK Zip and building it or having someone build it for you...if you can find someone to do it. I just listened to 501s on my PINTs a couple days ago and it matched up pretty well. The dual AD8397 combo might be slightly aggressive for the 501s, though, so you could look into an AD8397/LM6172 hybrid combo or 2 LM6172s on it. The dual AD8397 configuration, though, did still sound quite good to me and had enough power to drive the 501s. You'll probably need gain 5 or 6 to comfortably drive them, although 4 can probably handle it in many cases. They take a _lot_ of power

If you can roll op-amps in your GoVibe, you may want to experiment with that.

 

[jagorev]

The GoVibe should be just fine with the K501.

If you want something warmer, I'd consider the PA2V2.

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jagorev The GoVibe should be just fine with the K501. If you want something warmer, I'd consider the PA2V2.

Well, if he can roll op-amps in his GoVibe, I'd probably try OPA637s or 627s in it and see how it works out. I interpreted 'decently' as he thinks he doesn't have a lot more power on tap, but maybe he meant that he still has quite a bit available. If that's the case, then the GoVibe will probably work fine.

Another option is a PIMETA.

 

[mahlerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jagorev The GoVibe should be just fine with the K501. If you want something warmer, I'd consider the PA2V2.

Oh I don't care for the pa2v2. I'll go ahead and wait then and see if my govibe can handle the k501s.

For the Senn 580s I have to turn up the volume around 2/3-3/4 depending on the recording to hear it well. That's why I'm worried that it can't handle the pa2v2. And yes this is with the portable at full volume.

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mahlerfan Oh I don't care for the pa2v2. I'll go ahead and wait then and see if my govibe can handle the k501s. For the Senn 580s I have to turn up the volume around 2/3-3/4 depending on the recording to hear it well. That's why I'm worried that it can't handle the pa2v2. And yes this is with the portable at full volume.

Hmm, if you're at 3/4 with the 580s, you may run out of volume on the K501s, if I remember the 580's power requirements correctly. At least when I was using episiarch's Gilmore Lite, the K501 proved to be significantly more difficult to drive. At one point, I had the GLite all the way cranked up whereas I never went past maybe 2/3-3/4 on the K701 on a couple of quiet songs.

Sounds like you may want to use something with higher gain, and possibly with buffers unless you go the PINT route as, with AD8397s, it has probably over 250mA on tap (AD8397 is rated for 310) which should be plenty of current.

 

[dhp]

If it means anything to you, the PINT amp is probably the best portable amp I've heard except for the mini^3 prototype which was also damn good, but I didn't spend much time with that. I will second Filburt's suggestion and say that you should go for the PINT, there's one in the FS forum made by MisterX, who's one of the best DIYers out there (imo).

EDIT: oops, that MisterX one is a homeamp. You can still go get a PINT kit from [AK]Zip and get someone to build it for you if you're not up to task. My PINT drives my K501s beau-ti-fully.

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieInAFire If it means anything to you, the PINT amp is probably the best portable amp I've heard except for the mini^3 prototype which was also damn good, but I didn't spend much time with that. I will second Filburt's suggestion and say that you should go for the PINT, there's one in the FS forum made by MisterX, who's one of the best DIYers out there (imo). EDIT: oops, that MisterX one is a homeamp. You can still go get a PINT kit from [AK]Zip and get someone to build it for you if you're not up to task. My PINT drives my K501s beau-ti-fully.

Well, I don't think it'd be *that* difficult to convert that one over the battery power. It just involves adding the battery terminals in. It probably already has both diodes installed and such, and you can probably add the regulation circuitry if it's not already there, or just remember not to plug it in while batteries are present. That is one sweet looking amp, though.

 

[mahlerfan]

Oh I should say home amps are okay as long as they're not too large. The amp is for at home and in the office, so I have to be able to carry it around in my backpack. Since I've never had a home amp, I don't know how big they are. Or if they're robust enough to carry it around.

 

[dhp]

holy crap, i just looked at the pics and that PINT looks sweet. I would try to add battery terminals to the PINT, and then use velcro so as to keep the rechargable batteries stuck in place so that then it would be a home amp that you could listen to on the go (sort of) but would be easily transportable, since it doesn't look to be a particularly large home amp

 

[mahlerfan]

It looks tempting... but the gain is set at 3, I think that would be too low.

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mahlerfan Oh I should say home amps are okay as long as they're not too large. The amp is for at home and in the office, so I have to be able to carry it around in my backpack. Since I've never had a home amp, I don't know how big they are. Or if they're robust enough to carry it around.

I'd probably pick up that PINT in the FS forum, then. The larger case will probably work better in a home/office setting as it may stay put more easily, and man it just looks so sweet anyhow

 

[mrarroyo]

... I just want a fairly neutral but warm amp to make the 501s sing and I don't want to spend too much-- under $200 please.
...QUOTE]

Except for the price you just described the AE-1 which used can be bought for $250.

You could also buy an use Supermacro w/o the switches, they do not come up for sale often but when they do they are cheap because most people want the switches. Good luck.

 

[mahlerfan]

Well it turns out my go-vibe is having no trouble driving the k501s!! Sounds fantastic!