[lmilhan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeggy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know it's early but how does it compare to the SI t-amp so far (assuming you've tried it).

To be completely honest, the Big Joe sounds leaps and bounds better than the SI T-Amp.

The T-Amp is a bit too harsh on some recordings, sounded a little thin, and fatigued me during long listening sessions. The Big Joe is a lot warmer, not harsh (until you really crank the volume to ear splitting levels), has ample bass, and I have listened to Joe this weekend in two sessions each about 5 hours each without any fatigue whatsoever.

So in summary, my early impressions are that Joe trounces the SI T-Amp.

To be fair, I haven't tried the SI T-Amp with an 8ohm load on the outputs yet. Perhaps that will change the sound characteristics of the SI T-Amp to be more desireable?

More to come.

 

[smeggy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmilhan /img/forum/go_quote.gif To be completely honest, the Big Joe sounds leaps and bounds better than the SI T-Amp. The T-Amp is a bit too harsh on some recordings, sounded a little thin, and fatigued me during long listening sessions. The Big Joe is a lot warmer, not harsh (until you really crank the volume to ear splitting levels), has ample bass, and I have listened to Joe this weekend in two sessions each about 5 hours each without any fatigue whatsoever. So in summary, my early impressions are that Joe trounces the SI T-Amp. To be fair, I haven't tried the SI T-Amp with an 8ohm load on the outputs yet. Perhaps that will change the sound characteristics of the SI T-Amp to be more desireable? More to come.

Awesome, thanks.

That was the main crit I had with the SI, thin and harsh which is why it's now only connected to the Stax where it seems a much better match. Dunno why, it just works with those old SR-X's.

Ok, looks like I'm going to order a nice warm cup of Joe too.

 

[Blackmore]

This is very interesting, thanks so far. Can I ask you one favor please. If you have this record, PINK FLOYD LIVE calls "Delicate Sound Of Thunder". The reason I ask is because this particular CD sounds very thin and weak through my Pioneer receiver. I know, I know, this isn't exactly the one to be used with K1 but still interesting. Cos other records, like Diana Krall "Girl In The Other Room" or Rik Braun "The Best of" sounds pretty full and rich with good level of volume as well.
Well, If you can tell more your impressions, will be wonderful.

Another question is about Big Joe. What kind of connections he have, seems that spike kind of, isn't.

thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmilhan /img/forum/go_quote.gif To be completely honest, the Big Joe sounds leaps and bounds better than the SI T-Amp. The T-Amp is a bit too harsh on some recordings, sounded a little thin, and fatigued me during long listening sessions. The Big Joe is a lot warmer, not harsh (until you really crank the volume to ear splitting levels), has ample bass, and I have listened to Joe this weekend in two sessions each about 5 hours each without any fatigue whatsoever. So in summary, my early impressions are that Joe trounces the SI T-Amp. To be fair, I haven't tried the SI T-Amp with an 8ohm load on the outputs yet. Perhaps that will change the sound characteristics of the SI T-Amp to be more desireable? More to come.

 

[lmilhan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackmore /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is very interesting, thanks so far. Can I ask you one favor please. If you have this record, PINK FLOYD LIVE calls "Delicate Sound Of Thunder". The reason I ask is because this particular CD sounds very thin and weak through my Pioneer receiver. I know, I know, this isn't exactly the one to be used with K1 but still interesting. Cos other records, like Diana Krall "Girl In The Other Room" or Rik Braun "The Best of" sounds pretty full and rich with good level of volume as well. Well, If you can tell more your impressions, will be wonderful. Another question is about Big Joe. What kind of connections he have, seems that spike kind of, isn't. thanks.

I'm afraid I don't have that particular song in my collection.

As far as the connections/switches on Big Joe:

1 pair of L/R RCA inputs
L/R banana jacks out
1 DC in jack
1 low/high gain switch
1 on/off switch

When everything is plugged in, the on/off switch is very difficult and awkward to get to.


I have been bouncing Email messages back and forth to Jacky at Firestone audio. He (she?) has been very, very helpful and is very friendly. Although I really enjoy how Big Joe sounds with the stock Opamp (BB OPA2604), I am interested in rolling opamps for giggles. So I asked Jacky for some suggestions, and he said to give OPA2227 and AD827AQ a try. He said that the AD827AQ provides more bass. I will get around to playing with opamps once my Big Joe stock evaluation is over.

So far my experience with Big Joe and Firestone Audio has been very enjoyable and pleasant.

More to come...

 

[threEchelon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmilhan /img/forum/go_quote.gif To be fair, I haven't tried the SI T-Amp with an 8ohm load on the outputs yet. Perhaps that will change the sound characteristics of the SI T-Amp to be more desireable?

You should elaborate on the 8-ohm mod as it's very pertinent to those using Tripath-based amps.

 

[euclid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmilhan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree that warming up the K1000s a little bit would definately make them sing. That is why I am enjoying the Aleph 3 - it is the closest I have heard a solid state amp come to sounding like a tube amp. But since the Aleph 3 isn't exactly a 'budget' amp, I digress...

i'm watching this thread with great interest as well, i have an Aleph 30 driving a pair of Zu Druids and the warmth and body is a strong point. the highs are still balanced but they are very smooth and never etched. i had a Clari-T for a few months as well and the highs were abit more engeretic and forward but alittle unnatural sounding and the T amp just could not power the body of the music properly.

but i have a Sony HT reciever driving a pair of Gallo Nucleous Micro and thought it sounded decent, i hooked up the Clari-T and the difference was spectacular. i still sold the Clari-T with plans build a Charlize or modify my own T-amp, now im curious what this threads little contenders can do, the price is nice on all of them.

 

[brospin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmilhan /img/forum/go_quote.gif So far my experience with Big Joe and Firestone Audio has been very enjoyable and pleasant. More to come...

Any new impressions after having used the Big Joe for a longer time? Is V1.3 exactly like the unit on the picture of the first page of this thread (with additional heat dissipators)? Is the BJ a solid-state poweramp, no class D?
Thanks

 

[Blackmore]

Pics will do fine, we need pics pls

 

[rb67]

How about a Dynalo, the younger person of the Dynahi.

 

[humanflyz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rb67 /img/forum/go_quote.gif How about a Dynalo, the younger person of the Dynahi.

Definitely not enough power to get realistic dynamics from the K1000s; you would get volume, but you'd have next to zero headroom. I tried this once, wasn't very pleasant, AT ALL. The Dynahi, on the other hand, is okay, but still not an optimal match.

 

[DigiPete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by humanflyz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Definitely not enough power to get realistic dynamics from the K1000s; you would get volume, but you'd have next to zero headroom. I tried this once, wasn't very pleasant, AT ALL. The Dynahi, on the other hand, is okay, but still not an optimal match.

How about the Dynamite.. twice the power of the Dynahi

 

[humanflyz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigiPete /img/forum/go_quote.gif How about the Dynamite.. twice the power of the Dynahi

Yeah, tried the K1000s out of a Dynamite, albeit single-ended. There's enough power.

 

[KrooLism]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmilhan /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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.

Oh this thread is much more helpful.

 

[Blackmore]

Is TRENDS already arrived? Can not wait your Firestone vs TRENDS impressions.

 

[Dead Ghost]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackmore /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can not wait your Firestone vs TRENDS impressions.

Me 2