Hello guys!
Tom,
That's unlikely. As nobody in Brazil seems to know anything or care about headphone amps, dealers don't even carry them. The Ear I got was the only headphone amp I've found for sale in the last 12 months. At last year's HIFI Audio Fair I saw what I think was a ZOTL or something. More expensive. Looked like a pink shoebox. It was also the only unit the dealer had. I'll ask them though. Now lemme ask you, does your Rega Ear also have a very high volume gain? Mine will drive the HD 580s crazy loud with the volume knob barely over 9 o'clock. Low impedance Philips cans almost killed my ears at 7 o'clock. There should be a warning in the manuals or something, or better, on the Ear's box! Another question: Is there a BIIIG difference between the Planet and the Jupiter through the Rega Ear? Well, I couldn't afford a Jupiter and a Planet represents a potentially dangerous financial sacrifice already. I'll audition the Planet this coming morning.
Louis,
The problem cannot be the cans. They are well burnt in and the fatigue is the same on both channels. Two defective drivers would represent microscopically small odds of occurring in the same device. I either have a defective Rega Ear, a defective Sony source, or the Sony is a bad match for the Ear. It could also be the Acoustic Research OFC cables but I seriously doubt this. I also wonder if there could be an electrical power related problem here in my hometown, like maybe I would need a powerline harmonics filter or something. I'm no expert so I have no idea. It would be interesting if someone had a Rega Ear in your area that you could test with your Sony and your Senns to verify either the presence or lack of fatigue. Geeez, I'm under the impression the Rega Ear can drive the HD 580s beyond max and then some. the Ear could probably blow the 580s drivers with the volume knob at 12 o'clock. I think it could even blow them AKG K 1000s! The Rega Ear is as madly loud as you could possibly imagine! With the Philips cans going over 7 o'clock is dangerous, and I did it as I didn't expect the Ear's volume to be like this. My ears hurt like hell for over a week! Is your Meta that loud too? Is this normal?
Cheers,
Alex