"Price DEFINITELY a factor" amp for AKG K1000
Feb 11, 2007 at 9:50 AM Post #16 of 89
This is one of the most interesting threads of the last months.
I'm learning a lot and ordered a TA-10 to take the plunch.
 
Feb 11, 2007 at 2:27 PM Post #17 of 89
while not new a used vintage Fisher kx100 or hhScott 222 intergrated amp is a great budget propisition. Items to be aware of would include when was the amp last serviced and what was the quality of the tech. Also while most come fully tubed and can sound great with new russianor chineese tubes they really shine with nos tubes that can cost more than the 200-300 you will spend on the amp.
 
Feb 11, 2007 at 3:56 PM Post #19 of 89
Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
while not new a used vintage Fisher kx100 or hhScott 222 intergrated amp is a great budget propisition. Items to be aware of would include when was the amp last serviced and what was the quality of the tech. Also while most come fully tubed and can sound great with new russianor chineese tubes they really shine with nos tubes that can cost more than the 200-300 you will spend on the amp.


Yup!!

The vintage tube amps should be checked over and usually need at least basic safety upgrades done to them, if not some caps. Other Fisher models would be any from either the X100, X101 series', 400 or 500 series receivers. A Harman Kardon or Bogen tube amp in good shape should be excellent as well. I also use an old but upgraded Grundig power amp salvaged from an early 1960's console. Pretty amazing!
 
Feb 11, 2007 at 5:05 PM Post #21 of 89
Quote:

Originally Posted by J-Pak /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I was trying to buy a Norh SE9 before I got my Aleph 30. The manufacturer never replied to my emails so I wasn't able to order
frown.gif



I seem to recall that e-mail communication was a bit spotty. That said, I had a very good experience other than that (FWIW).
 
Feb 11, 2007 at 7:13 PM Post #22 of 89
Does the Big Joe have enough power for the K1000? It is said to provide 8V rms maximum output and according to my experience and others' comments, the K1000 is known to need around 12 to 15V rms (or around 30W rms per channel into 8 Ohm).
Another product you could consider, though higher in price, is the Flying Mole DAD M-100 Pro class D monoblocks. I have recently ordered a pair and am waiting to get them.

Quote:

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

Big Joe v1.3 has landed!

I want to spend some time with this lil guy and let him setlle in sufficiently before making any in-depth comments, but my very early impressions are that Big Joe is going to be a formidable contender.

More to come.


 
Feb 11, 2007 at 7:43 PM Post #24 of 89
Big Joe has more power than the t-amps and the t-amps drive the K1000 to crazy levels without clipping so the BJ should do fine. People are also using the Dared MP5 with good results and that is also low powered.

I'm using mine with a Hafler 220 and old NAD pre and it sounds really nice, still a tad sharp in places but much fuller than the SI t-amp. I'm really looking forward to hearing more on the Big Joe as it looks like a really good match at the low end, even moreso than the t-amps though the trends does seem very nicely put together. I'll probably end up with both as I'll need two amps, one for the AKG and one for the Stax.

Looking forward to more on this...
 
Feb 11, 2007 at 7:53 PM Post #25 of 89
I've been piecing together one of these:

http://www.pmillett.com/ecc99_srpp_headphone_amp.htm

I have all the parts now, and I think they were about $300-$320. Output transformers were the most expensive and had to be shipped from England. But the rest wasn't hard to find and was reasonable.

The reason I picked this project is because Pete Millett designed it specifically for the K-1000. Hopefully, I can get it up and working in the next week or two. I'd like to take it along to the National Meet.
 
Feb 11, 2007 at 8:09 PM Post #26 of 89
Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I've been piecing together one of these:

http://www.pmillett.com/ecc99_srpp_headphone_amp.htm

I have all the parts now, and I think they were about $300-$320. Output transformers were the most expensive and had to be shipped from England. But the rest wasn't hard to find and was reasonable.

The reason I picked this project is because Pete Millett designed it specifically for the K-1000. Hopefully, I can get it up and working in the next week or two. I'd like to take it along to the National Meet.


Cool, I was looking at that project a couple of weeks ago but I'm not much of a DIY type but it'll be interesting to see how well it works with the k1000. Good luck on it.
 
Feb 11, 2007 at 8:17 PM Post #27 of 89
Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I've been piecing together one of these:

http://www.pmillett.com/ecc99_srpp_headphone_amp.htm

I have all the parts now, and I think they were about $300-$320. Output transformers were the most expensive and had to be shipped from England. But the rest wasn't hard to find and was reasonable.

The reason I picked this project is because Pete Millett designed it specifically for the K-1000. Hopefully, I can get it up and working in the next week or two. I'd like to take it along to the National Meet.


Looks like an interesting amp to drive both K1000 and K340.
 
Feb 11, 2007 at 9:50 PM Post #29 of 89
Quote:

Originally Posted by brospin /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Does the Big Joe have enough power for the K1000? It is said to provide 8V rms maximum output and according to my experience and others' comments, the K1000 is known to need around 12 to 15V rms (or around 30W rms per channel into 8 Ohm).


I looked at your calculations, and I have to be honest here, it is way beyond my comprehension. I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to understanding the guts and inner workings of electronic audio devices, and I am also not much of a DIY kind of guy.

As such, I am a 'let's try it and find out how it sounds' kind of guy. So far my early impressions are that Big Joe is very capable of driving the K1000s, and it actually sounds very pleasing, which surprised me because I wasn't expecting it. I have the gain setting on high, and the volume knob at 9 o'clock, and that's about as high as I am willing to go for extended listening sessions. I also figured it was worth mentioning how I prefer the earspeakers to be adjusted on my K1000s. I have them adjusted out just far enough to not touch my ears.

I am sure your calculations may be correct on paper, but in practice, I have discovered that Big Joe has more than enough 'oomph' to drive the K1000s for my tastes.

Again, I am going to reserve in depth critical judgements until Big Joe has logged a decent number of hours, and I have spent a good amount of time with him. But my early impression is that Big Joe does indeed have the balls to drive the K1000s, and I am quite pleased with what I am hearing thus far.

Another cool feature of Big Joe is that the opamps are socketed, so they are user swappable! I haven't opened Big Joe yet to see what the default opamps are, but it is pretty cool that the option for opamp rolling is available. But that is a 'whole 'nother can of worms' to be addressed at a later date.

If I were to nit pick anything at this point it would be:

The amber power LED is way too bright.

The power switch is in a horrible location. Where the power switch is located is probably one of the worst design decisions I have seen in years. Perhaps Firestone audio will re-locate the power switch in the next iteration of Joe.

But they are very minor nit picks.

It will be interesting to see how Joe does when he goes up against the TA-10.1!

More to come.
 
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