[lmilhan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robm321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow lmilhan! That's good stuff to hear. How would the Big Joe compare to the Melos SHA-1 (if you've heard it with the K-1000)? I can't justify having a monster amp, and a speaker amp around. I just don't want to load my place with giant, hot amps. The RWA is an option, but pricey too. Sounds like something like the Big Joe might be a good option if it gets close to the Aleph, that's good enough. I'm just wondering if the SHA-1 comes close too because it sounds really good with the K-1000.

I'm sorry to say I haven't ever heard the Melos SHA-1 yet (but I would of corse love to).

In my rig, I honestly couldn't hear a big difference between Joe and the Alpeh 3 at low to moderate volume levels. I know some are going to think I have lost my mind - I couldn't even believe it when I heard it for myself!

When you listen to Big Joe and the Aleph 3 at higher volume levels, that is when the differences come a bit more apparent. But since I don't listen at high volume levels, I couldn't justify keeping the Aleph 3. Oh for what it is worth, my favorite Opamp so far is.... ah crap I forgot the model number off the top of my head. I will update this thread when I get home.

And I'll tell ya', that TA-10.1 isn't a joke by any means. But don't take my word for it, hop on over to 6moons, and see what the pros have to say about it. Great with efficient floorstanding loudspeakers, and very capable with the K1000s, provided you use the resistors as I mentioned. I'm not as crazy about it with the K1000s without the resistors.

More to come...

 

[euclid]

big thanks for your thoughts.

 

[strungoutt1]

Ok, Ive all been covinced to add the big joe to my lineup. Mostly because the other amps that people rave about are so far out of my price range. If this thing can honestly power the K1000's to a level close to the Aleph 3, it will probably be all I need at this point without a good DAC(right now K1000 right into Audigy 4). Plus, at this point all I have is the K1000. And with any other amp but the RWA sig 30 I will need a pre amp. And seeing as most of my music is at 128k, the money I would spend on a RWA sig 30 would probably better be spent on a DAC, big joe and some quality music. Im still tempted to bite the bullet though and go big with the RWA.

How is the bigjoe without using some tube rolling? If I were to get this amp, I can pretty much gurantee that I wouldnt be using a pre amp.

Maybe someone will have Big Joe at the Intl' meet

 

[Blackmore]

Thanks LmiLhan. LOL

And please come with more about TA10.1

 

[hugz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackmore /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any updates

From me I've been way busy and haven't had any time to enjoy music. At best it's become background music

One thing I can say so far is that I like the trends quite a lot! I'm usually pretty damn picky and I've dismissed many solid state amps, but at the very least I can say that the sound signature of the trends is nice. not too bright, not too dark, not too thin, etc. Just nice.

unfortunately I cant yet go into the details of how it sounds. I have however put it into "power amp" mode (ie change the jumpers to skip the preamp) and I'm using my attenuator as a preamp instead. No idea if it improved the sound quailty thoug ..

 

[Dead Ghost]

So, in the end, which one is better with k1000? Big Joe or Trends (with resistor)? I'm asking this because the Trends is much cheaper than Big Joe...

 

[brospin]

Lmilhan, can you briefly report about all opamps you've tried with the Big Joe, indicating your impressions? Thank you.

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by brospin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lmilhan, can you briefly report about all opamps you've tried with the Big Joe, indicating your impressions? Thank you.

x2. any insights that you can share on the opamp front would be appreciated.

Larry, are you still corresponding with Firestone audio? any chance you could communicate this thread to them and let them know that a bunch of us might jump on it if they could make a couple of changes such as:
- put the pwr switch on the front panel
- put a headphone jack on the front panel (greatly simpliifying connecting any can, including the k1k with appropriate termination, to the amp
- installing the 'correct' opamp for this application as default, or at least being able to specify it when ordering.

 

[lmilhan]

Update with some TA-10.1 info:

I took a few pics for those interested.

Here are the exact resistors I used:

A label with the specs. of the resistors:

A picture of how to properly hook up the resistors. I came up with a 'jumper' solution, so I didn't have to do any mods directly to the TA-10.1. IMPORTANT: Pay close attention on how to hook the resistors up. 1 resistor is hooked up across the L- and L+ terminals, and 1 resistor is hooked up across the R- and R+ terminals.

So how did I know what value of resistor to use, and why? Because the specs. for the TA-10.1 are very similar to the Red Wine Audio Clari-T Tripath based amp. When using the K1000s with the Clari-T amp, these are the exact resistors Vinnie Rossi recommends using, hooked up just as they appear in my picture.

Some size comparisons:

With 1 US dollar:

With the Tomahawk:

Some pr@n for the 'do it yourselfers':

Note the pots (in the center of the crude yellow circle). These pots allow for bias adjustment. I haven't played around with bias adjustment yet, but you can read up more about how it works at 6 Moons.

I am going to spend some more time with the TA-10.1 and the K1000s. So far my early impressions are that the TA-10.1 sounds very impressive driving the K1000s (provided I use the resistors). It drives the K1000s with authority, and has plenty of headroom to spare on the volume knob. I normally listen with the volume at the 8 o'clock position (this is right around where the channel imbalance is overcome). I wouldn't dream of going much past the 9 o'clock position. I tried it at 12 o'clock once, and it hurt my ears after only a few seconds. So rest assured, it has the balls to drive the K1000s.

Please keep in mind that when I give my impressions of these amplifiers, I am listening at low to moderate volumes (I rarely crank the volume) in a realatively quiet room. Also, the 'Earspeakers' are adjusted such that they are just far enough from my ears that they aren't touching my ears. I don't like the Earspeakers tilted out too far, because the K1000s start to sound a bit too thin for my tastes. Yeah, you can get a huge soundstage by tilting the Earspeakers all the way out, but you lose a bit too much bass IMHO, especially for the genres of music I prefer most.

Anyway, both of these amps have thoroughly impressed me thus far. They truly are 'mini-marvels'.

Next, I want to use the TA-10.1 as a power amp, along with a tube pre-amp.

More to come.

 

[Zoide]

lmilhan:

Are you aware of what you're doing? You're a very very bad man. So far, the K-1000's crazy amping needs are what have kept it safely away from tempting us.

But no, you had to show us that the K-1000 can be affordably amped. So now we're screwed, because there are fewer excuses than ever for wanting to get one!

 

[Blackmore]

Thanks, very informative update

 

[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackmore /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks, very informative update

X 2

And BTW, I too only listen to K-1000s where they almost touch the ears. I think many people go wrong trying to get the biggest soundstage. That's up to them what they like, but the K-1000s have a much more balanced sound close to the ears regardless of the amp used. (off my soap box now)

Keep it coming...

 

[Blackmore]

Holy true, closer baby closer...

Quote:

Originally Posted by robm321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif X 2 And BTW, I too only listen to K-1000s where they almost touch the ears. I think many people go wrong trying to get the biggest soundstage. That's up to them what they like, but the K-1000s have a much more balanced sound close to the ears regardless of the amp used. (off my soap box now) Keep it coming...

 

[Sanddancer]

I've got a Trends TA-10 and am pretty happy with it. I've got 4.7 ohm resistors jumping the terminals on mine and I did notice an improvement with them.

Does anyone have any info on modding this amp? I'm happy enough with it that I'm not likely (at least in the near future) to be spending thousands on a RWA or Firstwatt or anything when this is doing the job as well as it is. But I can't let the wallet off that easily

I was thinking of ordering another one of these amps, getting a nice enclosure, putting it all in one fullsize case, build the power supply into it so that it's plugged in with a regular kettle lead rather than the adaptor thing that comes with it. Upgrade whatever internals will make a difference, maybe do something to lower the gain so that I can use more range on the volume knob (I'm the same, no more than 9 o clock at the moment), maybe sort out that channel imbalance (though it occurs lower than my regular listening volume so it's not really a problem). I'd also like a proper XLR connector so I don't need the K1000 pigtail. Maybe add some ye olde style meters on the front of the case for some audiophile bling.

I'd use my current TA-10 during the build and then stick it up on the classifieds.

I'm fairly handy with the practical side of DIY and a soldering iron, but have no idea about the theory. I couldn't go about modifying the workings of the amp without having some guide or instuctions to follow. I could manage the case, the power side of it, the output connector, maybe the meters myself.

 

[brospin]

I was seduced by Lmilhan's very fine reports about the Big Joe/K1000 combo and couldn't resist temptation. I second every word by Lmilhan: excellent results both used as an integrated amp and with an independent preamp. I still use the stock opamp (OPA2604) and am waiting to get some opamp samples to start rolling. But even in the stock configuration this amp is a true killer. In addition it is a true class AB solid state amp (as David Lin from Firestone Audio told me) so you avoid all the parallel resistor controversy of class D amps. Highly recommended!