[nolla]

Hello everybody!

A few weeks ago I finally decided to buy my first pair of "decent" headphones after a friend of mine had hyped the sound quality of his Sennheisers for a quite some time. Although music has always been very important to me, I've never really been a headphone person. That's why I decided to start from the bottom and bought myself a pair of the legendary GradoLabs SR-60...and haven't looked back since! It's amazing how I've been able to listen to my old CD's as if they were new again, and find sounds that I never even knew existed on the background. And all this without a headphone amplifier.

But I'm eager to know more and have been actively reading info and reviews on heaphone amps for a couple of weeks now. It has been an interesting time because before this I didn't even knew what a heaphone amp was or how it worked. Recently I had the opportunity to test the Corda Headamp-1 which a friend of mine bought a few years ago and it blew my mind! The cross feed filter sounded very nice indeed. I had already decided that my first headphone amp would be the Corda Arietta which I presume has had good reviews also on this forum...but then I happened to read Penchum's review on Little Dot Mk III and became confused. I also noticed that "everybody" here seem to have either LD or Darkvoice tubes either their primary or secondary amp.. Which way should I go with a budget of 200-250 euros? Solid state or tubes?

Ok. I've almost read the sticky tube FAQ. Tubes glow in the dark. They produce a "warmer" sound. They are more forgiving to the quality of the records than solid state amps. The whole tube system is WWII age. Tubes are hard to get and they break easy as a light bulb. Using a tube amp is complicated and the machine needs a few minutes to warm up before ech use. The tubes get hot! (I have wooden furniture

) That's practically all I know about tubes. But if we forget the funny glow and the "warmer" sound what's the principal difference between SS and tube amps?

Music has always been a very personal thing to me. It has mirrored my moods and helped through the tough spots in my life. I mainly listen to jazz, electronica and 80s/90s pop/rock but also metal and ambient now and then. After discovering the wonderful world of head fidelity I would still like to keep simple feeling to it. Just put the music on, listen and enjoy! I'm afraid that if I go tubes the analytical side of me takes over and everything becomes nothing but a big hassle..

 

[braillediver]

“Ok. I've almost read the sticky tube FAQ. Tubes glow in the dark. They produce a "warmer" sound. They are more forgiving to the quality of the records than solid state amps. The whole tube system is WWII age. Tubes are hard to get and they break easy as a light bulb. Using a tube amp is complicated and the machine needs a few minutes to warm up before ech use. The tubes get hot! (I have wooden furniture ) That's practically all I know about tubes.”

Where’d you read that? Knowing nothing would be better than having been misled.


Mitch

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nolla /img/forum/go_quote.gif They produce a "warmer" sound. They are more forgiving to the quality of the records than solid state amps.

But that is not the important point about tubes. Good tube amps (many aren't) simultaneously sound warmer yet have more microdynamic life and information, the kind that reminds you of the real thing more often.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nolla /img/forum/go_quote.gif Tubes are hard to get and they break easy as a light bulb.

Many tubes are easy to get from many places. Just don't try to buy ultra rare, impossibly hyped tube esoterica. Tubes also don't break as easy as lightbulb. Tube glass is much thicker, and I've dropped some without any breakage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nolla /img/forum/go_quote.gif Using a tube amp is complicated and the machine needs a few minutes to warm up before ech use. The tubes get hot! (I have wooden furniture )

SS amps IME needs to be on much longer before they sound near potential. Tube amps get there MUCH faster. Class A SS amps also get very hot, but for both, just don't touch the hot parts.

 

[nolla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braillediver /img/forum/go_quote.gif Where’d you read that? Knowing nothing would be better than having been misled. Mitch

After reading various sources that's the impression I've got. Different sites, reviews and opinions say different things.. I am a bit confused. Please do tell me more.

 

[tomb]

You're asking the age-old question. As a matter of fact, you might try searching a bit. I believe there are several threads with similar titles to this one. Most likely, all of your questions have been answered at one time or another.

BTW, tubes don't break like light bulbs. They're quite a bit more substantial. Also, heat rises and tubes are almost never in the bottom of a case. So, they're not going to burn your furniture. There are some amps with inadequate power supplies that will burn your furniture, but that's a different subject.

 

[Jaska]

You should pick up the Gilmore Lite LE + DPS that just went up for sale here

 

[Ricey20]

It all depends on personal preference really. I thought SS amps were what I wanted but after getting a tube amp I was converted. Tubes just sounded more musical to me and more like being there listening to the music instead of listening to a recording. Its really hard to say what you would like better, you would have to try it yourself to see. I'd say get any SS or tube amp on your list, if you feel its missing something sell it, or wait until you have money for another amp so you can compare them both.

 

[tfarney]

I, and millions like me, have carried tube amps around in the trunks of cars, beds of pickups, backs of vans, loading them in and out of bars, spilling beer on them, burning cigarett butts into them, etc, etc, woof.

These were guitar amps, not headphone amps, but they use the same kinds of tubes, sometimes the same tubes. I don't think I've ever broken one.

I've broken quite a few lightbulbs.

Do they have more detail than SS? I don't think so. I also think that they almost always have less definition and snap, punch, slam, whatever, particularly in the bass (I'm sure there are very expensive exceptions). But they do have a luxurious sound to them, a richness in the midrange and sweetness in the trebles that can be stunning.

Tim

 

[sunseeker888]

Tubes may be more physically breakable than their solid state counterparts, but try subjecting an opamp to a power surge and see which technology will take the beating and keep ticking....

In fact, tubes are still in use in certain military applications due to the fact that solid state active circuitry is very sensitive to static charge, surges, and heat.

LONG LIVE THE TRIODE!!! (lol)

 

[braillediver]

“I'm afraid that if I go tubes the analytical side of me takes over and everything becomes nothing but a big hassle..”

If you’re worried about getting carried away- that’s possible but it’s not the tube amps fault.


If you don’t mind I rephrased your question.
1- Bought myself a pair of the legendary GradoLabs SR-60
2- I mainly listen to jazz, electronica and 80s/90s pop/rock but also metal and ambient now and then.
3- Which way should I go with a budget of 200-250 euros? Solid state or tubes?

The Grados seem like a good start for the music you like. The Grados are Low impedance so that’s a concern when looking for an amplifier- usually transformer coupled or an OTL (output transformer less) like the Earmax Pro. At 250 sheckels or whatever your local currency the available tube amps will probably be limited.

Do you listen out and about (portable) or at home mainly? A nice portable has many uses on the desktop. Sort of get a portable to use at home- later if you decide to move up upgrade the amp to a nice home unit and then you’ll have a usable portable.

For the money your wanting to spend the bang for the buck would probably be in a Solid State amp. Or a Tube amp if you found one used and local.


Mitch

 

[dcstep]

I think that when well done, they're equal. Driving my stereo speakers I've got 300 watts of SS and driving my headphones I've got millawatts of tube power. Both my amps (Conrad Johnson CA200 for speakers and Woo Audio WA6 for HP) are neutral, transparent, punchy, accurate and wonderful sounding.

With a HP amp I actually think it's less expensive to make a truly high quality amp with tubes vs. SS, thanks to low power demands put on the tubes for HP use. (A low quality SS amp is very cheap to make, but high quality is much harder). With speakers I prefer SS because high power and high damping factor is needed to drive the speakers that I prefer. A tube amp with 300 watts into 4 ohms would be enormous, heavy and hot.

Either way you go, get the best quality that you can afford. HPs are less forgiving than speakers, due to the proximity to the ear, so every upgrade in the chain is more readily evident.

Dave

 

[joay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braillediver /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok. I've almost read the sticky tube FAQ. Tubes glow in the dark. They produce a "warmer" sound. They are more forgiving to the quality of the records than solid state amps. The whole tube system is WWII age. Tubes are hard to get and they break easy as a light bulb. Using a tube amp is complicated and the machine needs a few minutes to warm up before ech use. The tubes get hot! (I have wooden furniture ) That's practically all I know about tubes.

sillyness
Attachment 3363

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joay /img/forum/go_quote.gif sillyness Attachment 3363

He was quoting the OP.

 

[Seba]

You can get Little Dot MKIII for about the same money than you could get Corda Arietta. I think that Arietta is an entry-level amp and LD MKIII is couple of classes above.

I had a Headfive (almost the same as Arietta) and it was good when I didn't know what better amps sound. Headfive didn't have quite enough power to feed my K701's when I wanted to hear let's say classical. Heed Canamp was a little better but not quite what I liked. I think I've nailed it this time with my LD MKIV SE.

 

[mchang]

If you've read a lot here, and you are still wondering between SS and tubes, you're going to eventually try one of each. It's pretty much your destiny.

I was certain I was a SS guy -- didn't want the hassles of tubes. Then, while waiting for my GLite, I started reading about tube amps. Soon I was buying tubes when I had no tube amp. Then came the DV332. It was prety much my destiny.

I'm still figuring out if one or the other is better -- and whether to sell one or keep both. Currently thinking of keeping both.

Do it. The itch will not go away until you scratch it.