[dallan]

Thanks for the review.  My only issue is.....muddy??  For the warmth it sounds very detailed to me.  Listening i got complacent and thought maybe the detail wasn't great at one point but at that point comparing it to others was surprised at how detailed it was even with the warmth.  Not quite at the level of the Zana, i donno but that is over twice the cost.

 

[Zombie_X]

Well it can sound muddy with some headphones, like my SE215K's.

 

[dallan]

Gotcha, the es10 are the only pair i have that don't match and it is overdone on the bass with those, otherwise all are good of course with any amp some will not pair well, so understood.  

 

[Gwarmi]

 Add the Edition 8 into that mix - plug a borrowed, loaned or owned Edition 8 into a V200 - hear what happens
 and report back. It is a total mess.
 
 In general and I am stereotyping here - if the headphone is overly warm then the V200 is not going to be
 ideal - the RS1i is warmish for a Grado and it rarely sees the home rig.

 

[Rico613]

Quote:

Well it can sound muddy with some headphones, like my SE215K's.

 
When I first listened to my v200 it sounded muddy.  But when I checked the volume with a sound level meter I found I was listening to it at almost 10db lower volume than with my previous amp.  I thought is was at a higher volume because I was hearing greather detail from a superior amp.  When I turned the volume to my normal listening level (75db) the sound became crystal clear.  Maybe not what you guys are hearing but you might want to check it out.

 

[project86]

I also have to disagree with the "muddy" comment. I simply do not hear that at all with the V200, or for that matter, the Lake People G103 and G109. I suppose one could say these are not bright amps, and they don't focus on sparkly tipped up highs. But they certainly are not overly warm to my ears, nor muddy, nor constricted at all on the top end.

I'm listening to the Ultrasone Signature Pro right now with V200 (and V800) and it sounds superb. Very well extended, smooth top end but still incredibly lifelike. I wouldn't want it any other way.

 

[Gwarmi]

 Small update again for the power cord aficianados - Nordost Heimdall New Revision #2
 
 Good news and bad news - it sounds overall like there is an improvement in micro detail and a blacker
 background.
 
 Bad news? V200 as Zombie remarked is no huge sound stage amp in the first place and the Heimdall
 if anything constricts it a little further. It is plugged into a UPS and unfortuntely too short to reach the
 wall to see if that makes any difference -

 

[brat]

'Huge soundstage amp" ?
Has anyone heard huge soundstage at acoustic concerts? The huge soundstage is more audiophile desire and music reproduction phenomenon than characteristic of the real sound. Live acoustic music sounds "muddy", "slow", with rolled-off treble, no intrument separation and no dynamics compared to some "audiophile" stuff.

 

[Zombie_X]

I've been to a few live concerts and nothing has a huge soundstage. I heard 'A Day To Remember' a few years back at Warp Tour and it was a muddy mess. Not too coherent.
 
That's kind of why I like the T1 though. It feels and sounds like a concert in ways (more intimate soundstage, smooth highs, more pronounced bass). I like that signature more than have a super clear and airy sound, like the HD800.
 
Quote:

'Huge soundstage amp" ?
Has anyone heard huge soundstage at acoustic concerts? The huge soundstage is more audiophile desire and music reproduction phenomenon than characteristic of the real sound. Live acoustic music sounds "muddy", "slow", with rolled-off treble, no intrument separation and no dynamics compared to some "audiophile" stuff.

 

[WNBC]

How does the soundstage of the V200 come across with your AKG601?  
As someone who hasn't tried all of the flagship headphones/amps I don't necessarily know what I am missing in terms of soundstage.  
With that said, I have no issues with the soundstage of the V200.
Maybe it can get better and that is fine, looking forward to it.  The Lyr had a slighter wider soundstage but it wasn't night and day vs the V200.  
With the HE-500 and Decware Zbox tube buffer in place the soundstage of the V200 has been quite sufficient and enjoyable.
 
 
Quote:

 Small update again for the power cord aficianados - Nordost Heimdall New Revision #2
 
 Good news and bad news - it sounds overall like there is an improvement in micro detail and a blacker
 background.
 
 Bad news? V200 as Zombie remarked is no huge sound stage amp in the first place and the Heimdall
 if anything constricts it a little further. It is plugged into a UPS and unfortuntely too short to reach the
 wall to see if that makes any difference -

 

[rawrster]

The K601 has a good sound stage fwir. However not all totl have good sound stages. Closed headphones and Grados come to mind as not great sound stage but then there are large sound stages such as the HD800.
 
I also disagree with the V200 amp being muddy. I haven't found the amp muddy with any headphone I have tried with and hopefully that never happens.

 

[WNBC]

Agree.  There can be a lack of synergy between some headphones and amps but thus far with the LCD-2, T50RP, RE-262, and HE-500 headphones I would not use the word muddy.  
However, maybe the V200 doesn't pair well with all headphones but that is likely a minority of cases rather than majority.
Muddy is the kiss of death for any amp and the V200 has been a joy from the very start.  
I would love to splurge on the HD800 but likely not going to so if you guys have an inexpensive headphone that performs magically with the V200 let me know.  I feel that I am ignoring a lot of the dynamic headphones in favor of orthos.
The German Maestro line of headphones has me intrigued.
 
Quote:

I also have to disagree with the "muddy" comment. I simply do not hear that at all with the V200, or for that matter, the Lake People G103 and G109. I suppose one could say these are not bright amps, and they don't focus on sparkly tipped up highs. But they certainly are not overly warm to my ears, nor muddy, nor constricted at all on the top end.
I'm listening to the Ultrasone Signature Pro right now with V200 (and V800) and it sounds superb. Very well extended, smooth top end but still incredibly lifelike. I wouldn't want it any other way.

 

[brat]

Quote:

I've been to a few live concerts and nothing has a huge soundstage. I heard 'A Day To Remember' a few years back at Warp Tour and it was a muddy mess. Not too coherent.
 
That's kind of why I like the T1 though. It feels and sounds like a concert in ways (more intimate soundstage, smooth highs, more pronounced bass). I like that signature more than have a super clear and airy sound, like the HD800.
 

Yes. Listening to acoustic ensembles at concerts can not give you the intrument separation, air, sparkling treble and bass tightness/definition of HD800. They are better than life

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

How does the soundstage of the V200 come across with your AKG601?  
As someone who hasn't tried all of the flagship headphones/amps I don't necessarily know what I am missing in terms of soundstage.  
With that said, I have no issues with the soundstage of the V200.
Maybe it can get better and that is fine, looking forward to it.  The Lyr had a slighter wider soundstage but it wasn't night and day vs the V200.  
With the HE-500 and Decware Zbox tube buffer in place the soundstage of the V200 has been quite sufficient and enjoyable.
 
 

 
 Very well - in fact, even though I'd played around with a few sub par amps up until that point - the V200 is what stopped me from selling the K601
 lucky! As I really think it's a total diamond in the rough from AKG - very accessible for the price and yet rather adaptable for many genres -
 quite fun too for a higher tier AKG - more so than the Q701 and K701 in my opinion, even if overall refinement is secondary to those two.

 

[dallan]

I have been using an older amp that i had in line for something else for a couple of days and replugged in the v200.  It is like your audio memory forgets.....it is just such a scale up from most, just wonderful.