[sbulack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by electropop /img/forum/go_quote.gif I take your answer that it's not too sensitive, that you get a good feeling of it and have room for error... I've gone accidentally to 10 (Crikey!) with AD2000's and have almost damaged my hearing permanently.. I've read the whole thread by the way, just needed to hear it exclusively. It's 'warmness' sounds exactly what i'm looking for... Sounds too good to be true. Am i getting ahead of myself?

BTW, over time, I've developed a very conservative use of the volume pot to safeguard my precious hearing. When switching between phones, or even albums (which may be produced at very different levels) I turn the pot down to a safe level and then SLOWLY turn it up with the sound playing. This is especially true if I'm using my most sensitive listening instruments. Over the five years that I've been fairly earnestly into audio, this has become a built-in, unconscious habit.

To respond to the last question posed above:
You MAY be getting ahead of yourself if you are leaning on my hearing of the Caliente as heavily as your post implies IF you have not first qualified for yourself that the way I hear things matches the way you hear things. This is something that each of us must do for ourselves when reading the posts of others. It's important, I think, to find posts by the other Head-Fier about gear that provides a common base of experience for comparison. If the other Head-Fier posts a hearing of gear that matches, say, my own hearing of the same gear, then I have some confidence basing a purchase decision on a post by that other poster. If the other poster has not posted about any gear that I have heard, then I really don't know if I'm going to hear things the same way that they do, and I would not use posts from them as a basis for a substantial purchase decision. Sometimes, I even buy inexpensive items to qualify a poster who has posted about more expensive gear in which I'm interested, to see how well matched we are in how we hear things.

When I post on Head-Fi, even when I am answering a question directed to me, I'm not asking any other Head-Fier to take how I hear things as how they will neccessarily hear them. I offer them only as carefully made observations described as well as I can describe them. It is up to the one taking them to first quality the poster as someone whose posts they CAN take - especially when hard-earned funds are involved in a non-trivial purchase decision. So, ARE you getting ahead of yourself? I think that only you can say for yourself whether or not that may be happening.

 

[electropop]

I do this every time when changing phones too! A good old habit

. The one time happened when i was concentrated on something else, and simultaneously a thought passed about wanting for more volume. I turned it up too carelessly. Seriously, no room for error or fine-adjustment. :/

Thank you for your concern, but to me this goes without saying.

Just fishing for those rational pros and cons. Not insinuating yours are a product of some serious placebo effect or new-toy syndrome

Indeed very opposite. In my experience, if something still excites you after long periods of time, you know it's a keeper, a good all-rounder and probably better than your reference..

But, Many hold this amp in high regard, not just you. Of course I'd like to go on and listen to several amps, but it's just not possible here in Finland. Pretty much all dealers have not more than one or two models of headphone amps for sale. Yeeeaaaahhh ummm say from Creek or Project ... Nooot my cuppa tea

As far as other people's reference for this amp goes, i've had the pleasure of trying some of them out. So there is some sense of objectivity here, i believe.
I'm not assuming you all have golden ears, but many have experience yes.

Overall this sounds like a good amp and would do justice to my setup. The practical things i were concerned about were straighten out by you, for which i am sincerely thankful, which I believe are factors easily perceived by (almost) all of us.

Will think this through and not make any hasty decisions. But I could always sell it here if it's not what i'm looking for.. Hmmm..

Any last words of wisdom?

I don't want to trouble you, so don't bother answering that question..

Good, thorough, communicative, and helpful answers! I feel like someone's paying attention to me! Hooray!

Receive my thanks sbulack!

-K

 

[sbulack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by electropop /img/forum/go_quote.gif ..... Any last words of wisdom? ..... Receive my thanks sbulack! -K

You're very welcome, K! I have the informative posts of many Head-Fiers to thank for the help that I've received in my own search for the sound that satisfies, and I'm more than glad to attempt to pass that kind of help along. My only last words of wisdom are ones that I'm sure you already know, so I won't repeat them here.

 

[electropop]

What.. don't listen to disco?

 

[sbulack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chouman /img/forum/go_quote.gif sbulack, i see you have the HD600 with cardas. have you tried this combination with the kicas? would love to hear your thoughts and impressions.

It's been too long since this request, so I thought I'd give an update. I contacted chouman via PM and asked him for a set of tracks that he'd like me to use for my thoughts and impressions - just because I felt like it. He responded with 15 tracks (none of which are in my music collection, BTW) and what to listen for in each. I've listened to 12 of the 15 and have listening notes with my observations, thoughts and impressions - which I don't have time to post at this point.

So, thinking that this, for the time being, is better than nothing:

Chouman, I listened to 12 of the first 13 tracks on the list you PM'd me (I don't have access to You Got Me by The Roots and Jill Scott, only to You Got Me by The Roots w/ Eryka Badhu - if that's OK, let me know. What I can say, briefly (very sorry, but time does not allow me more than this for now) is that for your taste in music and the Caliente, the HD600 w/ Cardas cable is optimal - better, in fact, than the HD650, my favorite phones with the Caliente, given MY musical preferences. All the things that you asked me to listen for, I honestly heard (although, when I get the time, you'll see that I describe it a little differently than you do) - the qualities and the quality that you seemed to be looking for, I honestly heard and very much enjoyed. Quick example: Rain by Bishop Allen on The Broken String had me dancin' in my chair with the HD600/Cardas and the Caliente. When the track started, I thought it sounded a little hokey, then not many measures later, I was movin' to it, and before I knew it, I was dancin' in my chair to it. For the other tracks, it's just gonna take me more words and time to describe what I heard, but what I have to express is no less positive than the one that I could do as a quick example. I thought that was particularly impressive for the Van Cliburn and Miles Davis tracks, because they are both fairly early recordings and don't capture as full a spectrum or as large an effective dynamic range as the more recent recordings. Yet, what they do capture is presented well by the HD600/Cardas and Caliente. One more quick one: Angelina by Tommy Emmanuel on Endless Road - it was effortless to hear the difference in fast vs slower leading edge and timbral differences between notes plucked by pick and fingers. And the resonance from the acoustic guitar body was effortless to hear and even feel as a slower yet timbrally full background to the main musical events unfolding on the strings. The guitar sounded very credibly physically present.

So, take this as what it is, a first installment.
I owe you more, and we Fremen pay our debts.

 

[Hatmann]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbulack /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1) 2) No doubt that the Caliente delivers on the warm - but it's not a warmth that steps on the rest of the acoustic spectrum. It's sufficiently tight and transparent that it supplies its satisfying effect without detracting from the other effects in the music going on at the same time. What has struck me about the Caliente is that it is probably the best all-arounder amp that I have ever owned, AND it sounds exceptionally good with the phones for which I mainly bought it: the HD650. [/url]

sbulack,
Any thoughts on why a warm-sounding amp mates so well with the warm-sounding 650s?

Thanks,
- hatmann

 

[sbulack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatmann /img/forum/go_quote.gif sbulack, Any thoughts on why a warm-sounding amp mates so well with the warm-sounding 650s? Thanks, - hatmann

My thoughts on why are already (in seminal form) in the quote of my post above: the warm parts of the spectrum are delivered with such control and transparency that they do not obscure or overpower sonic events in other regions of the acoustic spectrum. I'll add to this that low frequency (long wavelength) sounds image as spatially distributed. Higher frequency (shorter wavelength) sounds image as spatially tightly localized. The Caliente is very good at sonic imaging, so that it (physically correctly) displays voices in the warm part of the spectrum as more spatially spread out than voices in the cooler parts of the spectrum, which are more tightly localized and focused. This is noticed intuitively as: it's easy to hear the more localized, focused sounds in other portions of the acoustic spectrum (sort of) "through" the more spread out, transparent sounds in the warmer region of the acoustic spectrum. Bass voices are not "blurred", because bass voices also contain higher frequency components (generally of considerably lower magnitudes) which are imaged as tightly and focused as their wavelength permits. This is why radar and imaging sonar use high-frequency, short wavelength portions of the spectrum - the short wavelength conveys spatially more localized information.

When I notice "too much warmth" is when I want to turn the volume up to hear a voice better, but I can't because then the voices in the warmer part of the acoustic spectrum would be too strong - either unpleasantly loud or having more prominence than my ear prefers.

This is a rarely the case with the Caliente and HD650. Given the difference in the spatial distribution of the voices, the warmer voices do not intrude on the hearing/enjoyment of the cooler voices. It is pretty rare that an album would be produced with such a bass imbalance, given the excellent spatial imaging of the Caliente and HD650, that the bass voice would noticeably obscure or overpower the cooler voices in the music. This flows from the control of the Caliente in the bass-to-midbass region, the transparency of the sound of the Caliente in general, and the (physically correct) spatial localization/focus (and the consequent voice separation) that the Caliente gives to voices depending on their wavelength. Why is it more of a problem with other amp/phone combinations? They don't perform as well in these areas. That both the Caliente and the HD650 have spatial presentation of sound as a shared strength goes a long way toward making them such a good combination for listening to music.

Another reason why, specifically, the Caliente and HD650 mate so well is dynamics. Both the Caliente and the HD650 are able to: 1) on the low end of the dynamic range, present fully-formed sonic events on even the subtlest sounds - this is related to the low floor of both. 2) on the high end of the dynamic range, have enough dynamic headroom to present very strong voices without distortion or compressing them into a "merged average". This dynamic-range strength that both the Caliente and HD650 share is another factor which goes a long way toward how well they partner in presenting music to the listener. The wider dynamic range, and headroom, available in this combination helps a lot to perceive any strong attribute of a musical voice as being "abundant" or "rich" rather than as being "too much".

 

[electropop]

Very interesting impressions.. Though i still don't enjoy my HD650s

I enjoy reading your verbally proficient mini-reviews. This skill helps us readers to grip onto different aspects with certainty. It also seems you have a well developed hifi-ear

You have a definitive position as a trustworthy spokesman, or more correctly, are a strong candidate until i receive my caliente

Of course we hear differently, and I'll be sure to post my impressions here too. And I will try the hd650s with it too.. Who knows, maybe I'll start enjoying them again..

-K

 

[sbulack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by electropop /img/forum/go_quote.gif ..... You have a definitive position as a trustworthy spokesman, or more correctly, are a strong candidate until i receive my caliente ..... And I will try the hd650s with it too.. Who knows, maybe I'll start enjoying them again.. -K

It may be a another case of a set of beautiful words overturned up by a gang of ugly facts, eh? Well, once you hear for yourself, then you'll know, both about the Caliente and about how my descriptions of what I hear match what you hear.

About whether or not you will start enjoying the HD650's again: As I posted to Chouman, with tracks coming from his musical preferences, I prefer the HD600/Cardas to the HD650/ALO 18AWG Jena Cryo. With tracks coming from my musical preferences, the HD650/ALO are my favorites and are they SWEET! As far as what you'll enjoy or prefer: you'll be the first to know.

To my ear, I got a very good initial snapshot of what the Caliente was going to sound like for the first 15-30 minutes straight out of the box. I REALLY enjoyed what I heard. Then the sound started varying a lot and swinging between sounds that I LOVED and sounds that I didn't like very much for a good 200 - 300 hours of use. Somewhere in the 300 - 400 hours region, the sound stabilized (fortunately, into one that I LOVED and that was very much like the one that I initially enjoyed) and continued to improve diminishingly for another few hundred hours of use. Since then, I haven't really noticed further changes in its sound. Although I HAVE noticed some really nice improvements in the sound of the entire audio path with changes made to other components (upstream and downstream from the Caliente) which give the Caliente more to work with. BTW, I'm STILL using the PSU that Purity Audio shipped with the Caliente.

For me, what I heard in the first 15 - 30 minutes (and LOVED) gave me a very good idea of the sound of the Caliente over the long haul.

I very much hope that the Caliente works out for you as well as it has worked out for me.

 

[electropop]

"It may be a another case of a set of beautiful words overturned up by a gang of ugly facts, eh?"

Hope not

but we will see, hehee.

I read someone's impressions that "better" PSU's don't make that much difference, and some even sounded worse, so i'm not worried about that.

Thanks for the thumbs up!

Regarding the senns, i actually preferred well burned-in hd600's to my hd650's, which also have about 200 hrs behind them..
I'm not so sure about the burn-in of SS-amps, but boy has it been a real rollercoaster with my LD I+! Just crazy i say. First it's very muffled but dynamic, dirty and not very smooth. Then it lost it's bass but refined significantly. Now it's pretty good in every regard and works good with my 325i's and adequately with ad2000's. This was actually the tubes working (stock 6J1). Another set is a pair of WE408A's, which after burn in i like slightly less. Very large sounding and tonally accurate, but just too bright and seriously lacks bass, and warmth across the whole spectrum, which i enjoy

Looking forward to some sessions with the Caliente. Good to know, that whether it sounds good or bad, I'll be able to draw a conclusion of it will sound over the long haul. It's more or less like this with SS's anyway..

Thanks again!

 

[HeadLover]

Hi
I have the HD650, What do you say? should I give this amp a try ?
And what version of it ?

 

[sbulack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadLover /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi I have the HD650, What do you say? should I give this amp a try ? And what version of it ?

Hi HeadLover
There are plenty of descriptions in this thread of how this amp performs with a variety of phones (including the HD650) which should be helpful to you in deciding whether or not to give this amp a try. Skylab gives his impressions of both versions of the amp, the more neutral K.I.C.A.S. and the warmer Caliente, to help you in making that decision as well. For the questions you bring, this is a good thread to read and gather information to arrive at your own answers to them. There is another thread started by tbonner1 with his review of the Caliente and discussion that you should check out as well.

 

[HeadLover]

It is a shame that there isn't a 220V of this amp

 

[bardoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadLover /img/forum/go_quote.gif It is a shame that there isn't a 220V of this amp

Yes, I know. But since it's using a wall wart PSU I guess you easily could pick up a 220V psu with the same output specs at a local shop. Will add some to total costs, but should work fine.

 

[HeadLover]

I have talked with the maker of the unit
Not 220V
and I don't want to start with replacing things and so on
I wonder, why not making 220V ?
when will it be ?
And will there be even a better version of the amp soon? maybe with even stronger output ??