[mahkook]

So I have a question that I am sure many people out there have various opinions on and have probably talked the issue to death.....

I currently have a ASL MG Head OTL, HD600's with Cardas replacement cable, and using a raytheon center tube. I am selling all my other gear and have gone strictly headphone. I love what I have discovered in my music since making the change and am considering making the big plunge into even better gear. After considering an RKV that was recently for sale, I started looking into better amps the the MG....AND, as technology keeps changing and improving, I thought it better to as the question anew rather than read all the old posts and reviews. Here is my question:

I want to get the best I can for under $1000. I don't care about SS or Tube as I like both. What is the *BEST* amp I can get in that range???? (resale prices and all current Mods included) All opinions welcome... just state your opinion and I can do the research into that amp.

Thanks much!

Mahkook

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

Well, generally I like tubes with the HD-600s, so I would probably vote for the RKV, or one of Headrooms new tube amps.

 

[kentamcolin]

If I had $1K to spend on a dedicated headphone amp for the HD600, I would search for a Wheatfield HA-2. They are no longer in production, but one is bound to come up for sale sooner or later, and I'd listen to the ASL until I found one.

 

[Gopher]

headrooms new tube amps???

 

[screwdriver]

emmeliene HR2

SUPRA by Mikhail

a little more buys you the grace 901

tough choice man .

 

[radrd]

I'm leaning towards the Emmeline or the Corda Prehead for my next upgrade. You might want to look into those. There are a lot of choices though...

 

[Gallaine]

Whether or not an amp is the best under $1000 is rather subjective IMO. But, I was in a similar situations just a few weeks ago. In fact, our equipment was nearly identical: MG Head OTL w/ Raytheon 5751 and Brimar 7189A tubes, Sennheiser HD580s, and the Cardas Replacement cable.

After doing alot of research on this site here was my short list:

Gilmore V2SE
Emmeline HR-2
Audio Valve RKV mk. II
Stax 4040 Signature System II

I hemmed and hawed for awhile trying to decide which one I should get. Finally, I settled on the Stax 4040 because I had never heard electrostatic headphones before. And I didn't pay much more than your limit including shipping from Japan.

I'm not suggesting that you go out and buy a Stax. I only wanted to point out what a fellow MG Head enthusiast considered and finally decided on. There does seem to be some consensus that if you like the MG Head sound you'll love the Audio Valve RKV.

It is too early to tell yet whether or not I prefer the Stax over a tuberolled MG Head in every way. The Stax certainly has more detail (after burn-in anyway) and the soundstage is more 3-dimensional. I thought the MG Head reproduced vocals very nicely after tuberolling. The Stax IMO is better, particularly with male voices. Even though the Stax 006t is a tubed amplifier I don't feel that it is overly warm or lush. I never thought of the MG Head as warm or lush but with the Stax as a reference point it certainly seems so now (though I am relying on memory as the unit was sold before I received the Stax). One of the things I find lacking in the Stax is drive or energy; and quite honestly I felt the MG Head was also lacking in this respect. This could be due to lack of synergy with the rest of my components (including interconnects) or just a characteristic of the unit itself; I plan on doing some cable rolling to see if they are the bottleneck. These are just my initial impressions so take them with a grain of salt.

 

[MagusG]

My vote for the Gilmore V2-SE, as I am getting a V2 with a DACT very soon.

 

[tom hankins]

-Singlepower Supra
-emmeline HR2
The Supra will give you the sound of the tubes you use. I think Mikhail has them on special for 900.00. Spend around 100.00 on some VT-231 tubes, Alot of head-fiers swear buy this combo. Mikhail has my HD600's now and is using the VT-231 tubes and some others with them and says they sound awesome together.
I think the Ray Samuels amp is set up to roll op-amps so you can fine tune that amp to your ears also.
I'm just going on what I've read hear, but I don't think the RKV changes to much with tube rolling. You might want to ask around. The Supra on the other hand gives you the sound of the tubes your useing.

 

[markl]

Ray Samuels Emmeline HR-2, especially if you listen to rock/pop, it's a seriously rhythmic machine. Check the reviews here for all the details. Good luck.

 

[tone]

Hey Mahkook,

I'm in pretty much the same situation as you except that i'm looking for a tube amp only.

I've heard that singlepower makes several levels of tube amps like the supra and another lower priced one in the $500 range. singlepower's web site is still not up so unfortunately i cannot post a link for you. I've been thinking about getting one of the singlepower amps myself because of all of the excellent reviews that i have seen so far.

Good luck!

 

[tom hankins]

You can contact Mikhail at sales@singlepower.com or through his profile on this site. You can PM him. He worked with me, and is very helpful and fast in letting you no anything you want about his amps.

 

[mahkook]

okay..... this was a very dangerous question to have asked... if my wife sees what I am doing, she will get very jealous of me lusting over these amps.

now to sort the opinions and some new info and then to try and make a choice. (worse is going to be to try and find some of these suggestions if I decide on buying it!)

This is going to be a long evening.......


thanks everyone!
Mahkook

 

[Nightfall]

Originally posted by tom hankins
-Singlepower Supra
-emmeline HR2
The Supra will give you the sound of the tubes you use. I think Mikhail has them on special for 900.00. Spend around 100.00 on some VT-231 tubes, Alot of head-fiers swear buy this combo. Mikhail has my HD600's now and is using the VT-231 tubes and some others with them and says they sound awesome together.
I think the Ray Samuels amp is set up to roll op-amps so you can fine tune that amp to your ears also.


I second what he said!


JC

 

[bootman]

Quote:

Originally posted by Gopher headrooms new tube amps???

Read about them here.

A prototype made it to the Bay Area meet.

Until we hear the high end Headroom tube amps,
(same designer as the HA-2. Peter Millet)
The killer tube amp now are those by Mikhail.
(Supra, MXP3, CXP3)

For SS, I still like the Headroom offerings but the Max is over your $1000 limit so a MOH might be just the ticket.
(at least you can try it for free and judge for yourself.

)