[number1sixerfan]

I've been using the Chord Etude with the Susvara and Abyss and it's pretty nice. It adds some heft and I do feel both the cans extend lower a little more easily through the amp. I got mostly the same impressions from the Pass XA25, but I might consider keeping this one a bit longer because, unlike the Pass, it runs cool and I can pick it up with one hand and not need a hand cart. It's a stunningly beautiful amp and very eye catching, especially when turned on.

Question I have for you all is do you unplug and plug headphones to the speaker tap adapter while the amp is on? I always try to be safe and turn off the amp, but is it enough just to mute the source? It's hard to A/B headphones when I have to wait 30 seconds in between! The Etude does it's thing to power off safely and tests the fans at power on, so there's a little delay because of that. I also generally just don't like turning things off and on and would rather keep them powered on.

Really a gorgeous unit. Thinking I should add it to the list given the Dave and other Chord products I've loved. One question, how would you describe it's presentation? Forward, laid back? Neutral or warmer? (considering chord I would assume the former). I've heard the Pass is a bit laid back and with the headphones I'd be using, I'm trying to avoid that, but thinking about something that would work well for the SR1a, TC and Susvara all at once.

Congrats on a killer setup!

 

[ra990]

Really a gorgeous unit. Thinking I should add it to the list given the Dave and other Chord products I've loved. One question, how would you describe it's presentation? Forward, laid back? Neutral or warmer? (considering chord I would assume the former). I've heard the Pass is a bit laid back and with the headphones I'd be using, I'm trying to avoid that, but thinking about something that would work well for the SR1a, TC and Susvara all at once.

Congrats on a killer setup!

I would describe it as clean and fast. I don't think it's laid back and kees up with the TT2 easily. I could have sworn I detected a hint of warmth when I first tried it, but don't notice that anymore.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I would describe it as clean and fast. I don't think it's laid back and kees up with the TT2 easily. I could have sworn I detected a hint of warmth when I first tried it, but don't notice that anymore.

That's really helpful, thank you!!

 

[yates7592]

Has anybody here got any experience or seen any reviews of the ampsandsound Black Box adapter:
https://ampsandsound.com/products/black-box-headphone-adapter

Wonder how it compares to the Hifiman adapter.

Would I need one of these boxes to run HD800 off a 300B tube amp?

 

[A Jedi]

Has anybody here got any experience or seen any reviews of the ampsandsound Black Box adapter:
https://ampsandsound.com/products/black-box-headphone-adapter

Wonder how it compares to the Hifiman adapter.

Would I need one of these boxes to run HD800 off a 300B tube amp?

All those boxes are the same thing: speaker terminals, XLR 4 pin, case, 4 resistors. Spending $300 is....I'll hold my tongue. I built my own for $30 worth of materials.

Take a look here for a description of how it works: https://robrobinette.com/RobinetteBox.htm

If you just want to get to the meat and potatoes: https://robrobinette.com/HeadphoneResistorNetworkCalculator.htm

 

[Spawn300Z]

I have the hifiman HE-Adapter that I’m willing to sell if anyone wants one. Just PM me.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Has anybody here got any experience or seen any reviews of the ampsandsound Black Box adapter:
https://ampsandsound.com/products/black-box-headphone-adapter

Wonder how it compares to the Hifiman adapter.

Would I need one of these boxes to run HD800 off a 300B tube amp?

I also wondered about the ampsandsound adapter.
Especially how much it degrades sound quality compared to going to speaker taps directly. The Hifiman Adapter is said to have a quite noteable negative effect.

Since you need a resistor for tube amps anyways, it could be a great choice here.

Anyways I inquired at ampsandsound how much impedance it has towards the amp and headphones and if it has any attenuation.

 

[driftingbunnies]

I've had the ampsandsound adapter and there's nothing in the path. It's just wires going from the taps to the headphone sockets. If you want, you can ask him to include some resistors but mine did not have any. The main benefit to buying it is to have a sturdy object that you can plug and unplug your headphones into hundreds of thousands of times. There's really no magic to the box so it's more of a convenience and a piece of mind component.

 

[donato]

I've had the ampsandsound adapter and there's nothing in the path. It's just wires going from the taps to the headphone sockets. If you want, you can ask him to include some resistors but mine did not have any. The main benefit to buying it is to have a sturdy object that you can plug and unplug your headphones into hundreds of thousands of times. There's really no magic to the box so it's more of a convenience and a piece of mind component.

There must have been a resistor in parallel at least though. That resistor wouldn't be in the signal path, but would be important when using with OTC tube amps

EDIT: @driftingbunnies showed me a picture of the inside of the ampandsound adapter and it clearly does not have any resistors in it. There are only wires that connect from the binding posts to the headphone jacks. This is certainly not an issue for use with most SS amps, but for those using it with OTC tube amps, caveat emptor based on the previous information posted in this thread going back all the way to the earliest posts.

 

[A Jedi]

Has anyone tried a Pass X150.5?

 

[donato]

Has anyone tried a Pass X150.5?

That's the speaker amp I started with. Worked great, but can be noisy with more sensitive headphones. Of course, you don't need a speaker amp for sensitive headphones. It worked great with the Susvara and LCD-4. I later "upgraded" to an XA25 - less power, but I liked the way it sounded. I have several posts about this in this thread.

 

[drc73rp]

I also use the X150.5 with an LDR attenuator and also now with the XP10. As you can imagine lots of power and also lots of space on my desktop. As mentioned by donato, noisy with sensitive headphones, but the speaker amp option has always been for hard to drive headphones mostly planars. With the Abyss, you hear the Pass sound clearly - detailed, smooth, some warmth, and of course with great dynamics, speaker-like stage and fantastic bass. I'm starting to feel it's just a bit overkill for headphones and inconvenient (it's separates after all). I'm now looking for that headphone amp with similar power but more compact and hopefully more transparency having less layers in between.

 

[A Jedi]

Thanks. My thought process is that I'm likely to pick up an X150.5 (for my 2ch rig for the winter months) so probably no point in getting a GSX-mini as well. I have a resistor network so too much power isn't an issue. I guess I'm mainly curious about the noise floor. The most likely cans used with this amp would be HD600 and Diana V2.

 

[smodtactical]

Running my HD800S and ZMF atticus off my Pass x350.8, with he9 as preamp. Sound fantastic. A big increase in SQ over he9 alone... sound stage, layering, texture, detail, clarity. Its fantastic.

 

[Sajid Amit]

Running my HD800S and ZMF atticus off my Pass x350.8, with he9 as preamp. Sound fantastic. A big increase in SQ over he9 alone... sound stage, layering, texture, detail, clarity. Its fantastic.

Speaker amps, especially these TOTL ones, are such fantastic investments for the SQ, lol. Esp if you drive speakers as well!