[88Sound]

Quote:

I find it hard to believe that a good amp can make a violin sound real and a vocal colored at the same time. Doesn't make sense. This seems to indicate we have to swap amps, speakers and headphones when we want to listen to different types of music "correctly".

Beagle,

This is exactly the trap I've fallen into, with a few caveats. I would substitute the word "correctly" with " to match my personal preference". The switch from SS to tubes seems to fall along a speed/power (SS) vs. Timbre/Thickness/Warmth (Tubes). When I'm listening to music I think sounds perfect with a certain headphone/amp combination it does not sound colored to me, it sounds perfect. This same combo that sounds perfect on some things sounds very colored on others. Maybe if I find the perfect headphone/amp combo, that will sound perfect on everything, but the search is expensive. At least most of the stuff is easy to swap and doesn't weigh very much.

Things are getting scary. I just found out that the Zeus amp is made in NJ, and not that far from me. If I audition that I may be doomed to yet another piece of expensive gear. Is it possible, a tube amp with all the strengths of tubes and solid state and none of the weaknesses? I doubt it.

Yes, I am crazy, but I'm having a lot of fun!

 

[Ross]

Kubernetes, my issue is not that everything should be prefaced with "in my opinion". However, since I'm obviously not getting my point across, I'm not proposing to argue the issue further.

Ross

 

[Vertigo-1]

Quote:

Am I the only one who tried to stay relevant to Vert's question at hand? Which instruments do we think sounds better on which type of amp? Note "do we think" is same as "IMHO", thus relates to "preferences". I'm pretty sure he just wanted straight forward opinions, not an on going debate.

Judging from what's going on in this thread, maybe I can just assume:

for Ross, everything sounds better on a solid state amp...every voice and every instrument on this earth. Solid state is just the thing and only thing that vibes with his ears.

For Beagle, Kubernetes, and I believe kelly, everything sounds better on a tube amp...every voice and every instrument on this earth. Tubes are just the thing and only thing that vibes these people's ears.

I wish my own opinion were as clear cut as these folk's opinions on this topic, but I certainly haven't heard every instrument and voice out there in this world. And I'm hoping somebody out there can still bring to my attention a certain instrument I might not have heard now, but might in the future, that'll sound better on tubes or solid states. Or that somebody with way more experience than me can make me think twice about the realism of an instrument I have heard before on a certain type of amp, such as the violin.

 

[Tomcat]

Quote:

Originally posted by 88Sound Yes, I am crazy, but I'm having a lot of fun!

No, no, 88Sound, you're not crazy, you're perfectly sane. Trust me.

An now, go to New Jersey, listen to the Zeus and tell us about it. And don't forget to take your other amps along.

Please.

Remember, you're sane.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch Ah MacDEF, now you're bringing back memories from when I was a kid, and my little sister took out her violin to practice...

So, bad experience with "violins" as a child, eh?

 

[88Sound]

I have been saved, at least until later this year. I sent an e-mail to Andy Fuchs (designer of the Zeus headphone amp) requesting an audition and received this reply:

Quote:

Due to increased production responsibilities on the Music Amplifier front, I am currently not in production on the Zeus. I will likely resume production later in the year, when the manufacturing of the guitar amps is to be subcontracted out of my shop. Stay in touch, and I'll keep you posted. AF

When It becomes possible to audition this amp I will post a review with comparisons to the amps I have at the time of the audition.

Me =

My wallet =

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by Beagle If one thing sounds better (i.e. more accurate) on a certain amp, then everything should sound better.

This has actually been discussed many, many, many times before. The truth is, there is no amp, headphone, speaker, etc. that does everything right. If it did, we'd all agree, and it would dominate the market

We're reproducing audio here. We're trying to make physical and electronic device reproduce audio that was originally played by many different instruments, all designed to make the sound of that instrument. No headphone or amp or CD player or turntable is going to be able to perfectly reproduce every instrument and/or voice (just as no recording device is going to be able to perfectly record them). Different headphones have different strengths: bass, treble, midrange, soundstage, clarity, tightness, etc. Amps do, too.



Quote:

Originally posted by fiddler Grr..... *mumble*... grr...... Don't make me have to hurt you Mac. What you meant was: "If you've actually sat in front of an unskilled amateur violinist with a $100 fiddle, it HURTS." Right?

LOL, no, what I meant was how Kurt phrased it: it hurts, but in a good way

The violin isn't necessariy a "smooth" instrument. It has a really nice attack, a slightly scratchy sound, and lots of wonderful harmonics. It's actually a rather rough instrument when you listen very carefully.

I wasn't saying this as a tubes vs. SS thing, really. Just pointing out that some tube amps are too smooth

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF The truth is, there is no amp, headphone, speaker, etc. that does everything right. If it did, we'd all agree, and it would dominate the market

No, actually, what's funny is, we will never agree. Did you read the "God is in the Nuances" article from Stereophile that someone posted? It's actually pretty interesting, and sounds correct. I've listened to the same track twice in a row, and gotten a completely different response both times.

We're human, it's our nature to be fickle, I suppose. No, that's not it...

 

[kelly]

I repeat my original assertion. Solid state amps are better in every way unless you want it to sound good.

If they'd just fix that one little thing I wouldn't have to go through the sheer hassle that tube amps are.

 

[RickG]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly Solid state amps are better in every way unless you want it to sound good.

LOL, Kelly.....

 

[fiddler]

Quote:

The violin isn't necessariy a "smooth" instrument. It has a really nice attack, a slightly scratchy sound, and lots of wonderful harmonics. It's actually a rather rough instrument when you listen very carefully.

LOL you think it's "rough" for you eh? When you practise for several hours on a daily basis with a violin directly under your left ear, THEN you know what rough sounds like. In fact, in violin playing, it's better to get a sound under your ear that's on the grainy/hissy side; You'll actually be heard in a concert hall that way and the grain/hiss will be smoothed over by the acoustics of the hall. So yeah, I guess a violin can sound unpleasant from a couple meters away to a person who's not regularly exposed to it as I am.

 

[markl]

Solid State Gear I've owned:
Headroom Home (old version)
Headroom Maxed-Out Home (old version)
Headphone Out from Marantz AV9000 AV pre-amp (actually, almost as good as Headroom amps

)

Tube Amps I've owned:
Earmax
Earmax Pro
Berning MicroZOTL
Melos SHA-Gold (really tube/ss hybrid)
Melos SHA-Maestro (really tube/ss hybrid)

Based on my experience with these amps, here are my thoughts on the tubes vs. solid-state debate:

1. Prior to getting into headphones I SCOFFED at the idea of tubes (even though I had never even heard a tubed-anything in my life). To me, it was ancient out-dated technology favored by deaf old men raised on AM radio quality sound. Great for Paul Anka, bad for Rage Against the Machine.

2. I have some big-ass speakers (PSB Stratus Goldi's), and big bad speakers like those need POWER. They have an appropriately beefy ss HT behemoth feeding them 150 watts of solid-state goodness. Itty-bitty flea-powered tubes have no place in HT-based systems. They don't have a place in decoding DD/DTS or in any modern receiver or digital playback medium (yes there are companies here and there that will stick a tube in one of those devices).

3. Big bad speakers with 150 watts of power will get you kicked out of your apartment. Wait until you have a home of your own and 2 acres of land. Then let 'er rip! For now, better go to headphones.

4. So I spent a lot of cash on a couple Headroom amps. I became aware of Headroom through Stereopile and had no idea there were so many other options out there as I had never even HEARD of a headphone amp. Anyway, and I want to be ver CAREFUL here, the Headroom amps (old versions) didn't seem like all that much of an improvement on my Marantz AV9000's headphone out, which I became aware later is actually not so bad. They were my first excursion into headphone amps, and I'd love the chance to re-hear them to figure out exactly why I reacted ambivalently toward them. In any case, I thought what the hell, headphones don't need big power, why not check out a tube amp? You know, go in the completely opposite direction. So I bought an Earmax. (BTW, I've done lots of business with Headroom and think they're great and an asset to the headphone community. Just didn't take a shine to their amps.)

5. Oooooooohhhhh! I don't know what it is with this thing but HELL YEAH, that's what I've been looking for. But, oh no, Earmax clips when you try to get any volume out of it! What to do? Get the higher-powered Earmax Pro. Problem solved. Wow! this tubed amp has BASS! Better bass than I've ever heard through tiny little headphones (HD600). Who'd a thunk it?

The EMP opened my eyes to tubes. I now have a ss/tubed hybrid the Melos Maestro which feeds my Sony R10s very nicely, thank you.

I think in the end, the circuit design, the power supply, quality of components and wiring and connections can all have a significant impact on how a particular amp sounds, so it's hard to make generalizations about tube vs. solid state. That said, in my experience it so happens that I prefer every tubed piece of gear above the Headroom ss amps and the jack on my AV9000. My experience is not exhaustive, so can I conclude that I will most likely *always* prefer a tubed amp to a ss amp?

I don't think I have enough info to conclude. And if I don't have enough info, given all the amps I've tried, not many people here do. On the other hand, if I was offered a choice between two headphone amps, and all I knew about them was that one was tubed, the other ss, I would opt for the tubed amp knowing nothing else.

I wrote a lot, but did I say anything?

markl