lmilhan
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2004
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This is a thread to counter the "Price no factor amp for K-1000" thread.
Lets keep the budget at $300 and below.
I am currently on a quest to find a budget amplifier that is capable of doing the K1000s justice. I don't suspect that I will find a budget amp capable of hanging with say an Aleph 3, but you never know - stranger things have happened.
I'll get it started with some potential candidates:
Before anyone pipes in with regard to Tripath amplification, I already know that there is a potential to damage the K1000s when using a Tripath amp with them. Although this is true on paper, to my knowledge there hasn't been a single report yet of damage actually occuring as a result of using the K1000s with a Tripath amp.
If you are concerned, there apparently is an easy way to safely use a Tripath amp with the K1000s, by fooling the Tripath amp into thinking it is seeing an 8ohm or 4ohm load at the outputs. I will not go into details here as to how to do this, but it can (and has) been done with reports of good results.
I for one would like to get to the bottom of this debate once and for all, so I will be firing off an email to AKG asking them if it is ok to use Tripath amplification with the K1000s. If they say it is ok to do with no risk to the K1000s, then I will consider the issue closed. If they do say that it can or will damage the K1000s, then I will ask them to explain why, and I will take it from there.
So with all of that out of the way, I want to say to use Tripath amplification with your K1000s AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Tripath amps:
Sonic Impact T-amp. ~$40
This is the little guy that really got the T-amp craze going. It is probably the KSC-75 of the K1000 amplifier world. I have used this amp to drive my K1000s, and it does a decent job. On some recordings it can be a bit harsh in the higher frequencies, so my solution was to lower the high frequncy bands with an EQ. I haven't yet tried to mod this amp to fool it into seeing a 4 or 8ohm load yet, but I am looking forward to giving that a try in the very near future. I wasn't expecting very much for the $35 I spent on this amp, but I was actually pretty impressed with the results, especially considering the low cost. This amp even made 6 moons sit up and say 'whoa'. I have also tried it out with a pair of small nearfield speakers, and the sound quality it produced in that setting really blew my mind.
Super T-Amp. ~$140
This is the big brother to the T-Amp. It is geared more to the 'audiophile crowd', and it contains several upgardes when compared to the original T-Amp. I haven't heard this amp with the K1000s yet, but I suspect the results would probably be similar to the original T-Amp (someone please correct me if I am wrong). Again, this amp impressed '6 moons' which is saying something, since I am pretty confident that those guys know what they are talking about.
Trends Audio TA-10.1 ~$130
Take the Super T-Amp, hot rod and mod it to the nth degreee in order to get better sound stage, warmer sound, and more bass impact, and this is probably the result. You'd be hard pressed to find a bad review of this little wonder. This one really wowed the boys at 6 moons (as a matter of fact it won some sort of a 6 moons award). You could even use it as a straight power amp, that way you could pair it with a pre-amp of your choice.
Although I haven't yet heard this bad boy driving the K1000s, I have one on order and I am very much looking forward to hearing what it is capable of. I should receive it by the end of february. I have high hopes for this one.
Best Audio Mods Maestro. ~$180
Basically, this is a clone of the Red Wine Audio Clari-T amp. I haven't heard this one yet, but there have been positive reports of using the Calri-T amp with the K1000s. Since this is a clone of the Clari-T amp, logic tells me that it should be as equally as impressive as the Clari-T.
Big Joe v1.3. ~$230
Please note: According to Firestone Audio, this is NOT a Tripath amp. A few members here at Head-Fi have reported very positive results when pairing this lil' guy with their K1000s. Big Joe can also be used as a power amp, if one desires to use a pre-amp along with the Big Joe. v1.3 has a few upgardes to it's predecessors, one important one being an improved heat sink (see picture).
I have one of these on order, and expect to receive it within a week. I have really high hopes for this lil' guy, and I am very much looking forward to seeing what he can do wtih my K1000s.
Little Dot T_100 $299
This is the new kid on the block. This sucker has 4 source inputs, a tube pre-stage, remote control, and what appears to be an LED display! All for $299? Sounds to good to be true. Research has revealed that the T_100 has a few bugs that are being worked out, but here at Head-Fi, we all know that Little Dot is really good at providing great products at low prices. This one looks very, very promising. I am going to wait to hear what other's have to say about it before I give it a test drive. I will be keeping my eye on this one!
So does anyone else have any ideas? I know that some have reported success when using vintage amps/recievers to drive their K1000s. Perhaps we can compile a list here in this thread.
Ok your turn, please feel free to share.
Lets keep the budget at $300 and below.
I am currently on a quest to find a budget amplifier that is capable of doing the K1000s justice. I don't suspect that I will find a budget amp capable of hanging with say an Aleph 3, but you never know - stranger things have happened.
I'll get it started with some potential candidates:
Before anyone pipes in with regard to Tripath amplification, I already know that there is a potential to damage the K1000s when using a Tripath amp with them. Although this is true on paper, to my knowledge there hasn't been a single report yet of damage actually occuring as a result of using the K1000s with a Tripath amp.
If you are concerned, there apparently is an easy way to safely use a Tripath amp with the K1000s, by fooling the Tripath amp into thinking it is seeing an 8ohm or 4ohm load at the outputs. I will not go into details here as to how to do this, but it can (and has) been done with reports of good results.
I for one would like to get to the bottom of this debate once and for all, so I will be firing off an email to AKG asking them if it is ok to use Tripath amplification with the K1000s. If they say it is ok to do with no risk to the K1000s, then I will consider the issue closed. If they do say that it can or will damage the K1000s, then I will ask them to explain why, and I will take it from there.
So with all of that out of the way, I want to say to use Tripath amplification with your K1000s AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Tripath amps:
Sonic Impact T-amp. ~$40
This is the little guy that really got the T-amp craze going. It is probably the KSC-75 of the K1000 amplifier world. I have used this amp to drive my K1000s, and it does a decent job. On some recordings it can be a bit harsh in the higher frequencies, so my solution was to lower the high frequncy bands with an EQ. I haven't yet tried to mod this amp to fool it into seeing a 4 or 8ohm load yet, but I am looking forward to giving that a try in the very near future. I wasn't expecting very much for the $35 I spent on this amp, but I was actually pretty impressed with the results, especially considering the low cost. This amp even made 6 moons sit up and say 'whoa'. I have also tried it out with a pair of small nearfield speakers, and the sound quality it produced in that setting really blew my mind.
Super T-Amp. ~$140
This is the big brother to the T-Amp. It is geared more to the 'audiophile crowd', and it contains several upgardes when compared to the original T-Amp. I haven't heard this amp with the K1000s yet, but I suspect the results would probably be similar to the original T-Amp (someone please correct me if I am wrong). Again, this amp impressed '6 moons' which is saying something, since I am pretty confident that those guys know what they are talking about.
Trends Audio TA-10.1 ~$130
Take the Super T-Amp, hot rod and mod it to the nth degreee in order to get better sound stage, warmer sound, and more bass impact, and this is probably the result. You'd be hard pressed to find a bad review of this little wonder. This one really wowed the boys at 6 moons (as a matter of fact it won some sort of a 6 moons award). You could even use it as a straight power amp, that way you could pair it with a pre-amp of your choice.
Although I haven't yet heard this bad boy driving the K1000s, I have one on order and I am very much looking forward to hearing what it is capable of. I should receive it by the end of february. I have high hopes for this one.
Best Audio Mods Maestro. ~$180
Basically, this is a clone of the Red Wine Audio Clari-T amp. I haven't heard this one yet, but there have been positive reports of using the Calri-T amp with the K1000s. Since this is a clone of the Clari-T amp, logic tells me that it should be as equally as impressive as the Clari-T.
Big Joe v1.3. ~$230
Please note: According to Firestone Audio, this is NOT a Tripath amp. A few members here at Head-Fi have reported very positive results when pairing this lil' guy with their K1000s. Big Joe can also be used as a power amp, if one desires to use a pre-amp along with the Big Joe. v1.3 has a few upgardes to it's predecessors, one important one being an improved heat sink (see picture).
I have one of these on order, and expect to receive it within a week. I have really high hopes for this lil' guy, and I am very much looking forward to seeing what he can do wtih my K1000s.
Little Dot T_100 $299
This is the new kid on the block. This sucker has 4 source inputs, a tube pre-stage, remote control, and what appears to be an LED display! All for $299? Sounds to good to be true. Research has revealed that the T_100 has a few bugs that are being worked out, but here at Head-Fi, we all know that Little Dot is really good at providing great products at low prices. This one looks very, very promising. I am going to wait to hear what other's have to say about it before I give it a test drive. I will be keeping my eye on this one!
So does anyone else have any ideas? I know that some have reported success when using vintage amps/recievers to drive their K1000s. Perhaps we can compile a list here in this thread.
Ok your turn, please feel free to share.
