[Currawong]

The higher-end Senns are supposed to work well with tube amps as they can provider bigger voltage swings. It's hard to give a definitive answer though, as I haven't used any tube amps to compare with. That being said, I'm not at all disappointed with my HD600s and the C2C.

As an addendum, my Edition 9s arrived yesterday and I'm hearing good things too, though the ED9s drive well out of my Corda Move.

 

[dario]

Would be interesting know if the c2-c would be a good choice over tube also for high impedence can, mainly for tube's "problems"..

I must say also that on audio gd web site, there are'nt detailed spec of the amp...

 

[Golden Monkey]

Well, I don't know about the c2-c compared to a tube amp for Senns, BUT I did have an MKV for my HD650s prior to getting my Woo 3+, and I'd definitively say that the Woo is a massive improvement for the high impedance cans. The MKV sounded damn good, BUT once I tried the Woo it was goodbye MKV. A good solid state amp should be able to drive the 650's well, but they scale amazingly well once tubed. The Senns are so voltage-hungry, but well fed, you'll realize that the whole "Senns are veiled, too dark, and slow" thing is a total myth.

 

[Currawong]

I switched to the HD600s, and that "dark" sound isn't there as it was in the HD650s. I get the feeling though that there's more to be had out of both when plugged into the C2C. From what I've read though, there's no limit to which either will scale when it comes to amps.

 

[K3cT]

Cross-posting my question from http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/hea...5/#post5164449

How does the C2C handle D2000's mids? Right now, I'm listening to them via a Zero with Audio-GD's Moon HDAM unit and 2x LT1364. Eventhough the sound is much fuller now with the Moon taming D2000 in the high regions and bass extending deeper and more controlled, I personally feel that the mids could be improved. Sibilance is also still a minor issue. Both Graham Slee Novo and Little Dot I+ are also my considerations as well for the moment.

Right now, I'm not so sure anymore whether to perform the markl mod on them or not since I'm quite happy with the sound already.

 

[Seba]

Let's wake up this thread...

I got my old Sony SA5000's for a loan from my friend yesterday. For the first time I like these very much and they perform beautifully from C2C. Highs are not harsh anymore and bass has gained nice weight to it. Everything just sounds very clear, now I understand the potential these phones have.

So my impressions:

Denon's - very highly recommended
SA5000's - very highly recommended
Grado's - not so good sound compared to a tube amp

 

[Zorlac]

I have a Keces DA-131.1 DAC powered by the Firestone Audio Cute Beyond and Supplier headphone amp/psu combo.

I noticed Keces has an non-discrete HA-171 headphone amp now for around the same price as this Audio-gd discrete C-2C headphone amp.

Anyone have opinions on which would be a bigger bang for the buck? I like the concept of a discrete amp and the Audio-gd looks like it has a lot more components in the case.

My headphones are the Denon AH-D2000.

Also, a lot of the Audio-gd DACs look to be just as overly built as the amps. Do you guys think these DACs may be a potential future upgrade to the Keces for me?

Awesome review by the way!

 

[Currawong]

Until someone reviews them side-by-side, we wont know.

Someone on head-fi bought a 3SE and wrote up a review somewhere.

There's also a Ref 3 DAC in the pipeline, which should be very interesting.

 

[mbd2884]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorlac /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a Keces DA-131.1 DAC powered by the Firestone Audio Cute Beyond and Supplier headphone amp/psu combo. I noticed Keces has an non-discrete HA-171 headphone amp now for around the same price as this Audio-gd discrete C-2C headphone amp. Anyone have opinions on which would be a bigger bang for the buck? I like the concept of a discrete amp and the Audio-gd looks like it has a lot more components in the case. My headphones are the Denon AH-D2000. Also, a lot of the Audio-gd DACs look to be just as overly built as the amps. Do you guys think these DACs may be a potential future upgrade to the Keces for me? Awesome review by the way!

Also please note, the C2C is completely different from anything offered by KECES. It implement very different technology to adapt to the new Reference Series DACs coming from Audio-gd. To know more, just go to Audio-gd website and its explained in great detail. Its a dual mono, current transmission technology amplifier, which address the issue of distortion, feedback and power consumption very differently from anything from KECES. Also accepts balanced XLR input, another massive difference. Also please note, no the C2C is not in the same price range, well beyond it, its a not a $335 unit, that's due to a massive promotional price decrease. Emphasize promotional price.

Also the DAC is completely on a whole another level over your KECES. You can't even compare. The new reference series at minimum use two PCM1704UK, Four PCM1704UK and 8 PCM1704UK, Ref 3, 2 and 1. It also uses a DSP, which addresses the issue of jitter completely differently from anything KECES offers. Entirely different technology. And again its current transmission technology.

They are just different beasts. The Referance 3 to my understanding will start at $700.

 

[Zorlac]

Thanks for the info!

Anyone know if the Audio-gd DACs will play 2 channel sources bit-perfectly?

(i.e. will it play 2 channel 16bit, 44.1kHz CD audio untouched?)

 

[chris_ah1]

Did they fix the boosted bass and trebles as well as putting in reliable/proper neutriks?

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorlac /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the info! Anyone know if the Audio-gd DACs will play 2 channel sources bit-perfectly? (i.e. will it play 2 channel 16bit, 44.1kHz CD audio untouched?)

By the time the signal reaches the DAC, you're beyond that issue, because DAC is where the digital signal is converted to analogue. What you're asking is, do the DACs upsample. You'd have to ask Kingwa about that. The merits or demerits of upsampling are a whole other issue.

A more relevant question is, why is this important?

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris_ah1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did they fix the boosted bass and trebles as well as putting in reliable/proper neutriks?

After some review of this, I was wrong. There's no boosted treble. It was an issue with my Denons, which are known to have slight treble issues after modification. The boosted bass, however, is present and deliberate. This makes it, IMO, a nice combination with my HD-600s, but less so with ED9s and Denons, which already have significant bass. After some discussion with Kingwa about it and revisions brought about mainly due to the Compass, this is what has changed in the new version of the C2C:

It now uses a Nutrik locking headphone jack, which is a huge improvement over the Chinese one.
It uses a new, manufactured case, which is much better than the hand-made one, with matching knobs and switches.

About the bass: Kingwa said he could change the output circuit to make it more neutral. I've ordered one with these changes in the new case. I'll report back how it goes.

With something like 500 hours on it, despite its faults, and with a serious DAC and cables, I'm liking it very much with my HD-600s.

 

[K3cT]

Hmm... it would be nice to have an epic 3-way battle between this, Shanling PH100 and the KICAS Caliente.

 

[Zorlac]

I guess I am just a purist...I dont want anything messing with the source if at all possible. My Keces 131.1 does not upsample, so I would want to know if the Audio-GD DACs upsample. Do you know if Kingwa hangs out here at Head-fi?

Im really interested in buying the C2C amp and maybe one of the DACs (depending on how much I can spend) in the future.

 

[paara]

Is the c2c a class A amplifier?, doesnt say on their home page