R.I.P., need suggestions

[CalvinQ]

The preamp that I was using to drive my Senn 590's just went up in smoke!

Well it was about 20 years old

Paid a fair amount when I bought it new but then I did get a lot of good use from it over the years. Featured dual phone outputs, more importantly made my Senn 590's sound absolutely delightful! A resistor blew and I can't tell what the value is, markings are totally burnt off. The PCB doesn't have the values printed and the company is no longer in business!

Tried to do w/o for last few days but just not the same. I need a new head amp and I need it fast. What I'm looking for is recommendations on a decent model that will get the job done but doesn't require a 2nd mortgage!

My budget is ~ $300 USD or $500 local currency (converted to CDN$

)

Want to be this guy again -->

 

[Eli's Adventure]

Hello Calvin,

Sorry about your loss...

I don't want to be a forum nazi here, but shouldn't you have posted this in the Amps & Source Components forum?

You could ask a moderator to move it. I am sure they will do it hassle free!

Goodluck Cal

 

[dcg]

There are a lot of choices around the $300 ( and slightly above) range. Creek OBH-11SE, Meier Corda, Grado HA-1, Mg Head, X-Cans....

A search for the above should provide a great deal of info on the benefits/drawbacks of each. I'm not familiar with the 590s, so I'll let someone else offer advice on which of the above would be a good match. Good luck with the search!

 

[joelongwood]

Sorry to hear about your pre-amp...............that's a real bummer. Amps in that general price range are the Creek OBH-11 at around $200, the Corda HA-1 from Meier-Audio at a bit over $300, and the Headroom Little at $259. All have received generally good reviews from the people here. The Headroom amp has the advantage of a 30 day trial period. Hope this helps.

 

[Audio-Me]

Used MG Head DT if you can find one. Otherwise Creek OBH-11SE is a very solid performer (no pun).

 

[Hirsch]

If memory serves me well, there was a Grado RA-1 in the Gear for Sale forum. Certainly worth considering at the price point.

 

[jaghouse]

Slee Solo, because I want to read some more reviews on this thing.

 

[KR...]

The Grado RA-1 should be a great match.

 

[TimSchirmer]

I second the Grado RA-1. If you had the 580's or 600's id send you toward the MG Head, but since you have such "energetic" headphones, I would use solid state.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Why not try some resistors of different resistances on your old preamp first? You're not gonna be able to use it anymore anyway so you stand to lose nothing from experimenting...

Try high resistances first. (right?)

 

[CalvinQ]

Joe - thanks for the suggestion. Tried and it went from totally dead to working but distorted output. Maybe the resulting surge compromised other components. Looks like I need a replacement.

The MG Head looks attractive at $329. How does a tube unit like this stack up against the Corda HA-1? Is crossfeed a big deal? Any downsides with a tube unit? My short list:

MG Head $329
Corda Headamp-1 $325
Creek OBH-11SE $349

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Try lower resistances until the thing either works properly or blows up

 

[NickG]

Quote:

Originally posted by CalvinQ Joe - thanks for the suggestion. Tried and it went from totally dead to working but distorted output. Maybe the resulting surge compromised other components. Looks like I need a replacement. The MG Head looks attractive at $329. How does a tube unit like this stack up against the Corda HA-1? Is crossfeed a big deal? Any downsides with a tube unit? My short list: MG Head $329 Corda Headamp-1 $325 Creek OBH-11SE $349

Calvin, I was in the same dilema as you and ended up ordering the Corda Headamp. My resoning was that it got almost univeral good reviews on the forums and it had the both the 120 ohm and 0 ohm jacks thus making it more versital for differnt cans. The reviews also compared it favorably with SS amps costing far more the the Corda. A bit more of a risk than ordering from Headroom with their return policy, but a risk worth taking for me. I ordered a week ago so I do not have it yet, just thouht I would share my thinking on the matter.

Regards, Nick

 

[CalvinQ]

Nick,

Kinda leaning in the direction of the Corda. But on the other hand the MG is a made locally in Canada! Why I was looking for some feedback from people with practical knowledge of the characteristics of tubes versus solid state. Really boils down to the sound - I have no feel for one versus the other. I'm sure either would sound great but still have to choose!