[sclamb]

I was deciding between the Azur and the Arcam and decided on the latter. I got the CD73T which is quite a bit more expensive than the equivalent Cambridge player. The Azur players do get good reviews so I guess the 340C would be a good player at that price level, but as with all things, the more you pay the more you get, and I do recommend the Arcam.

As for amps, having used the Solo I am now thoroughly enjoying the Meier Corda HA-2. Goes great with the HD650s, although mine do have the Zu Mobius cable which opened up the 650s quite a bit. I understand that the stock 650s also sound good with the HA-2.

Simon

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Natsuiro,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Natsuiro I didn't like the rega ear + HD-650 combo. I didn't think the rega ear had enough power to drive them, and it didn't sound that great to me.

That's odd. The Rega Ear powers my HD 580s with plenty of juice. I would assume it should likewise power the HD 650s as both cans have similar power requirements. I'm extremely happy with this amp. What source were you using with the Ear+650 combo? What else did you power the HD 650s with? Is the laid back signature Senn sound to your liking?

Cheers!

 

[Natsuiro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Altorfer Natsuiro, That's odd. The Rega Ear powers my HD 580s with plenty of juice. I would assume it should likewise power the HD 650s as both cans have similar power requirements. I'm extremely happy with this amp. What source were you using with the Ear+650 combo? What else did you power the HD 650s with? Is the laid back signature Senn sound to your liking? Cheers!

The source I was using was that Musical Fidelity cp.. i'm not sure the model. I'm not sure what was wrong with the combo, but it just didn't seem to be enough or to do justice to the 650s. But then again, to be fair, the only other amps I've heard with the 650s are the musical fidelity xcans v3, my ppa, the benchmark Dac1's built in amp, and a dynahi, all of which are priced above the rega ear.

 

[Zealot261]

In my experience, the Rega Ear does a decent job driving the HD580s. As far as the sound is concerned, there are a few mods that can tweak it a bit. The best is removing the stock opamp and replacing it with something sonically closer to your liking. The other, is upgrading the caps. Both made a pretty big difference IMHO.

Im not quite sure how well they would power the HD650 as I have never had the opportunity to listen to them. But its a fairly good amp for the price esp. with the mods.

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Zealot,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zealot261 In my experience, the Rega Ear does a decent job driving the HD580s. As far as the sound is concerned, there are a few mods that can tweak it a bit. The best is removing the stock opamp and replacing it with something sonically closer to your liking. The other, is upgrading the caps. Both made a pretty big difference IMHO. Im not quite sure how well they would power the HD650 as I have never had the opportunity to listen to them. But its a fairly good amp for the price esp. with the mods.

Cool. Did you mod yours yourself? What opamp/caps did you use? Mine's unmodded and I sure enjoy it like there's no tomorrow. This amp is sweeeet. It was voiced by Rega engineers with the Senns so synergy is superb. Well, of course I use mine with a Rega player so, again, synergy.

Cheers!

 

[PATB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Natsuiro I didn't like the rega ear + HD-650 combo. I didn't think the rega ear had enough power to drive them, and it didn't sound that great to me.

I just finished listening to my Rega Planet=>Rega Couple IC=>Rega Ear=>HD650. In my opinion, the Ear easily drives the HD650. I really love this setup. My only "complaint" is that because of the high gain, the useable volume pot travel is quite limited, even with the HD650. It just gets too loud.

 

[Zealot261]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Altorfer Zealot, Cool. Did you mod yours yourself? What opamp/caps did you use? Mine's unmodded and I sure enjoy it like there's no tomorrow. This amp is sweeeet. It was voiced by Rega engineers with the Senns so synergy is superb. Well, of course I use mine with a Rega player so, again, synergy. Cheers!

I did do the mods myself being as they are not that difficult. I made sure to socket the opamp, and I think I have an AD843 or AD8065, I cant really remember. The AD8620 was just to bright for my tastes. As far as the caps go, I used Nichion Muses. I have some higher quality ones that are a little too big to fit inside. I also wouldnt mind toying with some of the resistor values and seeing if I cant lower the gain abit. However this will probably require a little more work, some math, and some data sheet specs.
When I find the time I will make a new case and put the better caps in.