[DarkAngel]

Anyone having issues with low level background noise with LD MkV this product worked great for me:
Hum X

Very simple and safe, goes between plug and outlet and maintains ground.
Many places sell it if you want to search for lowest price, marketed mainly to music industry.

 

[sinisterm]

Anyone with Beresford TC-7510 MK5/6 and MKV? Just was wondering how big upgrade it would be compared to Beresford's amp. It got so good reviews when it got out, so it would be interesting to read some real comments about their difference.

E: No need to answer to this, after some quick testing, after a long time I've listened straight through Beresford, I can tell that it kinda lacks on all aspects when comparing to MKIII. Especially with this my MK6/3 with treble/bass modifications, the bass is just too overwhelming.

 

[SockMan!]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saintalfonzo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had the same problem with my mkV, and fixed it with a ground loop isolator. You can get one for a few bucks from radio shack and save yourself from getting rid of a great amp.

I also appeared to have a ground loop hum. Instead of a ground loop isolator (which I was afraid would degrade sound quality), I picked up the HumX. It eliminated the hum for me; though I'll admit I was skeptical at first of it's advertised claims. It might work for you, though your mileage may vary.

On a side note, the only real annoyance I found my MKV was that the top would vibrate and make an fairly quiet but audible hum; probably because of transformer vibration. A layer of DynaMat Extreme along the inside fixes that!

 

[Kake]

Received a MKIV SE yesterday,, but since the postal Service has ****ed it up ,, So I must send it back for repairs. I'm thinking about changing the MKIV Se to an MKV...
Anny one have had the opportunity to test them both and have some input?

(as a source i use my pc --> Zero --> LD MK XX --> AKGK701 / DT770 / HD525 etc..)

 

[worldman]

I got myself a pair of solid silver Litz braided interconnects to use between my Stello DP200 DAC and MK V. I have always been skeptical about how cables can change SQ, but the change I noticed is surprisingly much more than subtle and now I have become a believer. Tighter and deeper bass, huge soundstage, even more detail and accuracy, all delivered with further power and authority. It really enhances MK V's capabilities.

What I want to say here though is not how good my interconnect is but rather how truly revealing the MK V is which enables you to really tell the difference not only between recording sources but also interconnect cables.

The MK V has been performing better and better through continued usage, but now with new interconnects it is going to SQ levels which I have never expected before. What a surprising headphone amp this MK V is turning out to be. And the synergy with Ultrasone Proline 750 is very very very good. You can tell I am extremely impressed, and I really am.

 

[anadin]

I am waiting by the front door for Parcelforce to deliver my LD MkV today

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by worldman /img/forum/go_quote.gif What I want to say here though is not how good my interconnect is but rather how truly revealing the MK V is which enables you to really tell the difference not only between recording sources but also interconnect cables.

I've found the same - it gave me the chance to play around with a few cables I have to test how different components and cables sound.

I've gone one step further, and built myself a bigger, 14AWG power cable using "hospital grade" plugs. That made a noticeable improvement over the quite thin thing that came with my MKV when I am listening through my K701's.

 

[Grey Massacre]

Hello guys,

Background
I am going to post my opinion regarding this amp! I used a M^3 for quite a while with my Darth's and Moon-Audio Black Dragon 325i. That unit has the bass adjustment and crossfeed options. Excellent amp for the price paid (200$ used), that amp was on the darker side, it did not really sound SS, pretty warm especially with the 637BP/627BP op-amps combination. My main cans being Darth's, I felt something was lacking, I wanted something brighter to feed those cans. So I have sold the M^3.

In the meaning time I decided to stay amp less and I used my M-Audio Audiophile USB with upgraded PSU as headphone amp. While I liked the clarity and the "speed" the bass was lacking. So one day I plugged my Darth's right the the Audiophile then *BAM*. The damn thing killed my headphones. I was beyond pissed, I unplugged the card and got rid of it.

Now Larry at Headphile is taking care of my headphones and they are soon to be here, good thing in the meaning while I am using my V3XD. So I pulled the trigger on a new source and headphone amp. I have gotten a Squeezebox v3 and this MKV. I am having a custom PSU being made for the Squeezebox, a regulated one, steps type.

The amp has burned for a good 120+ hours. I am using Headphile BlackGold interconnects and a nice power cable in half 99.9% pure silver and half 99.9% oxygen free copper (not thin plated silver over copper) to Marinco plugs. The Squeezebox is set to not resample.

Review
I would like to outline the amp has a slight hum without any volume turned on when in function. This is noticeable on my Grado's and barely audible with my Darth's. At first that really bothered me but it is not the case anymore since the amp is driving all my cans so well.

I would like to say I liked my Grado's but they never had the magic of the Darth's for me, I usually listen them about 20% of the time. They get much more head time now, I thought amplification with Grado's was useless, I was wrong. They are fuller with this amp, they sound so good damn good, really punchy and the mids are oh so sweet. I have made wood adapters for them and like the liberator it allows the Grado's to have soundstage and it is wide!

I also listened my Koss Porta Pro just for the heck of it. WOW! While they do not sound first class (hence the fact they are sub 30$ headphones), they have really nice bass definition when amped, they are clearer as well!

With my V3XD Darth's (highly modded 770's cans by Headphile) it is a perfect match! The bass is tremendous, tight, razor sharp. The presentation remains really clear. The soundstage is huge and instrument separation is excellent and this is incredible when listening live recordings! I have been owning Darth's for about a year and I got my jaw dropping when listening some electronic music with this amp, I felt the bass was so much stronger and defined over my M^3 powered with a Elpac. I guess it has to do with the power supplies in this amp. The music is very lively, pure pleasure.

Charles

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Nice Review GM

You've got me thinking about a SS amp for those times when I want to "rock" so to speak. The MK III is no slouch but I'm sure the MK V would be killer in this regard as you has well noted. Pench loves his with HD650's (which is what I have) so it's quite tempting

Enjoy the tunes !!

Peete.

 

[Penchum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grey Massacre /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hello guys, Background I am going to post my opinion regarding this amp! I used a M^3 for quite a while with my Darth's and Moon-Audio Black Dragon 325i. That unit has the bass adjustment and crossfeed options. Excellent amp for the price paid (200$ used), that amp was on the darker side, it did not really sound SS, pretty warm especially with the 637BP/627BP op-amps combination. My main cans being Darth's, I felt something was lacking, I wanted something brighter to feed those cans. So I have sold the M^3. In the meaning time I decided to stay amp less and I used my M-Audio Audiophile USB with upgraded PSU as headphone amp. While I liked the clarity and the "speed" the bass was lacking. So one day I plugged my Darth's right the the Audiophile then *BAM*. The damn thing killed my headphones. I was beyond pissed, I unplugged the card and got rid of it. Now Larry at Headphile is taking care of my headphones and they are soon to be here, good thing in the meaning while I am using my V3XD. So I pulled the trigger on a new source and headphone amp. I have gotten a Squeezebox v3 and this MKV. I am having a custom PSU being made for the Squeezebox, a regulated one, steps type. The amp has burned for a good 120+ hours. I am using Headphile BlackGold interconnects and a nice power cable in half 99.9% pure silver and half 99.9% oxygen free copper (not thin plated silver over copper) to Marinco plugs. The Squeezebox is set to not resample. Review I would like to outline the amp has a slight hum without any volume turned on when in function. This is noticeable on my Grado's and barely audible with my Darth's. At first that really bothered me but it is not the case anymore since the amp is driving all my cans so well. I would like to say I liked my Grado's but they never had the magic of the Darth's for me, I usually listen them about 20% of the time. They get much more head time now, I thought amplification with Grado's was useless, I was wrong. They are fuller with this amp, they sound so good damn good, really punchy and the mids are oh so sweet. I have made wood adapters for them and like the liberator it allows the Grado's to have soundstage and it is wide! I also listened my Koss Porta Pro just for the heck of it. WOW! While they do not sound first class (hence the fact they are sub 30$ headphones), they have really nice bass definition when amped, they are clearer as well! With my V3XD Darth's (highly modded 770's cans by Headphile) it is a perfect match! The bass is tremendous, tight, razor sharp. The presentation remains really clear. The soundstage is huge and instrument separation is excellent and this is incredible when listening live recordings! I have been owning Darth's for about a year and I got my jaw dropping when listening some electronic music with this amp, I felt the bass was so much stronger and defined over my M^3 powered with a Elpac. I guess it has to do with the power supplies in this amp. The music is very lively, pure pleasure. Charles

Thanks for the mini-review GM!

Very well done! I'm very impressed with your positive results on the different headphones. I have always suspected this, and so far, it has proven to be true.

The slight hum, is a small ground loop noise. Pretty easy to fix too.

The MKV is so much more of an amp, than it is given credit for. I think the low price worries some folks. All I can say to that is "Get one" and see for yourself!

I've also been impressed with different sources driving the MKV. Even my old analog sources sound fantastic with this amp!

Thanks again!

 

[worldman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penchum /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the mini-review GM! The slight hum, is a small ground loop noise. Pretty easy to fix too.

Penchum, please enlighten us with your explanation on this "easy fix".

Once this is resolved, the MK V will truly become THE competition annihilating SS headamp.

 

[Grey Massacre]

Quote:

Originally Posted by worldman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Penchum, please enlighten us with your explanation on this "easy fix". Once this is resolved, the MK V will truly become THE competition annihilating SS headamp.

I'd like to hear that easy fix as well! I really really really enjoy this amp.

I have a Ferrite core power cord and it does not fix the ground loop. It is barely noticeable but still a bit annoying to me, especially when driving low impedance/sensitive headphones such as Grado's. I heard from a few the Hum X device fix the problem. I think the Radio Shack filtered RCA interconnects are not a viable solution as it would degrade sound quality.

EDIT: A impedance adapter would work most probably?

Charles

 

[Hardflip]

I had a bit of crackle in my K701's when hooked up to the MKV and when I played a game on my computer (ie pulled more power) it became a loud buzz/hiss on the right channel only. After tearing my hair out for a few days, I moved my computer off the strip with my audio stuff to another outlet and no more buzz at all.

My computer has 3.0ghz quad core, 3870x2 so it pulls a lot of power, but the MKV seems very sensitive to other appliances. I would give it a look.

 

[Penchum]

No problem guys, here is what I know so far.

The hunting down and elimination of ground loop hum, is supposed to be a multi-part exploration, before you spend any money on it. Try these few simple steps and see if it helps.

Beginning and lowest cost:
Gang ALL of your components that make up your system, together on one power strip first. If this doesn't eliminate the hum, check for near bye unnoticed sources. (For me, this was my notebooks built-in wireless card, talking to the wireless router in the next room! While the noise from their transmissions wasn't hum, there was hum introduced due to ground loop along with the transmission noise. Once I turned off my wireless card, all the noise became inaudible).

While the hum/noise is in your ears, try disconnecting components one at a time, starting at the beginning of the signal chain. Like: Sources, DACs, pre-amps, etc.. to find which unit is causing the hum. If you find it, try the simple ferrite core snap-ons first (like these: Ferrite Core Snap Ons ), one on the "hum causer" and one on the amp. Usually, you will have killed the hum and be back to enjoying music. These are reported to NOT effect sound quality. This first part, will take care of the majority of ground loop hum problems.

Medium cost:
However, sometimes it will still be there (stubborn) because it is being accentuated by lower impedance phones. For those lower impedance phones, try a set of impedance adapters next. This usually gets rid of the hum all together. (Sorry, I can't find my link to them, check in the headphones forum) These are reported to NOT effect sound quality.

End and highest cost:
If you are using higher impedance phones and the hum is still there, you may have a stubborn problem, which would require a unit like the one in this link: Ebtech Hum X | Sweetwater.com. While it costs (On sale for $59.99), it is reported to stop this problem cold, so that might be worth the extra coin and less hassle.

It is reported to NOT effect the sound quality.

No two situations are going to be identical. The house wiring where you are may be way different to other areas. This can be better or worse. Just run through the steps looking for the cause. If finding it is "too much", then order one of those units in the link and say goodbye to hum altogether.

I hope this helps some!

 

[ciphercomplete]

Does anyone know how well this thing drives AKGs like the k-501/701? My MK III usually reaches a good volume around the 12 o'clock position. It is well past intolerable at 3 o'clock. Is the MK V about the same?