I am trying to make one of the best k1000 system because I mostly listen at night so speaker is not an viable option. i would love to hear what people say about the best they have heard.
I have the K-1000s and have owned and used the following amps:
Travagans Red
Winsome Labs Mouse
Redwine Audio Teac L700P
SAC K-1000
I found the Red to be underpowered for full bass and impact.
The Winsome Labs Mouse (a Tripath amp) did a very creditable job, providing decent bass performance. A very good, well-engineered, reasonably-priced performer.
SAC K-1000 is a German-built Class A amp specifically designed for the K-1000. It has plenty of drive, good bass and very little to complain about, except that I find that the highs of some instruments can be a bit edgy.
The amp runs very warm, and when it is switched off, only the phone jacks are turned off, the rest of the amp stays powered on. They are quite compact and some models can also drive a 1/4" terminated conventional headphone. Very scarce, as they have been out of production for several years.
The Redwine Audio Teac L700P (also a Tripath amp) was the predecessor to the RWA Signature 30 and 30.2 amps. These amps are generally considered by many to be one of the best performing K-1000 amps available, albeit rather pricey. The Teac has many of the features that were later incorporated into the Signature line.
These amps are SLA battery powered, so are dead-silent with no input. I really like the sound of the Teac better than any of my other amps, SAC included. I am using a passive preamp with the Teac, as it has no volume control.
If you are fortunate enough to locate one, they can be had for less than $500.00.
I have the K-1000s and have owned and used the following amps:
Travagans Red
Winsome Labs Mouse
Redwine Audio Teac L700P
SAC K-1000
I found the Red to be underpowered for full bass and impact.
The Winsome Labs Mouse (a Tripath amp) did a very creditable job, providing decent bass performance. A very good, well-engineered, reasonably-priced performer.
SAC K-1000 is a German-built Class A amp specifically designed for the K-1000. It has plenty of drive, good bass and very little to complain about, except that I find that the highs of some instruments can be a bit edgy.
The amp runs very warm, and when it is switched off, only the phone jacks are turned off, the rest of the amp stays powered on. They are quite compact and some models can also drive a 1/4" terminated conventional headphone. Very scarce, as they have been out of production for several years.
The Redwine Audio Teac L700P (also a Tripath amp) was the predecessor to the RWA Signature 30 and 30.2 amps, which are considered by many to be one of the best performing K-1000 amps available, albeit rather pricey. The Teac has many of the features that were later incorporated into the Signature line.
These amps are SLA battery powered, so are dead-silent with no input. I really like the sound of the Teac better than any of my other amps, SAC included. Bass response is excellent, and highs are never strident or edgy. I am using a preamp with the Teac, as it has no volume control.
If you are fortunate enough to locate one, they can be had for less than $500.00.
My preamp is a Promethius TVC passive amp, which I can highly recommend with the K-1000. Source is usually my iRiver H120/140 DAPs.
The best I ever heard was foo_me's rig. I don't remember the source right now, but he was using a Zanden amp. The second best rig I ever heard was a combination of my source (Exemplar modded Denon 2900) with a Zana Deux as a preamp to a First Watt F1. The third best, and very close to #2 was the Exemplar Denon > SinglePower Extreme Platinum w/PSU > FirstWatt F1. Glorious.
I usd to run my K-1000 off a Conrad-Johnson MV-52 power amp. It's got about 45W and runs EL34s in push-pull. A sweet, warm amp with good sound that translated well to the K-1000. You can find them used from $700-$1,000, and they make a nice speaker amp, too. I enjoy it with the ProAc Response 2.5 clones and the Quad ESL-63s. They come up for sale every so often, but usually get picked up fast. There aren't too many decent tube amps at this price.
However, I've run the K-1000 off the Moth Si2A3 since I got it last year. The Si2A3's speaker taps put about 3W into the K-1000 with a SET topology and DC on the filaments. It gives a magical sound to the mids - just perfect for the acoustic jazz, classical and roots music I love these with.
However, it's tough to find a used Moth. They only come up once every 12-18 months and go fast. I'd recommend tracking down another 2A3 amp - I think I like the 2A3 better than the 300B for headphones. There's something very right about its sound.
I haven't heard one yet, but you might want to see if anyone has impressions of the K-1000 on Eddie Current's new ZDT. It has 8W on its speaker taps, which should be ideal for the K-1000.
I have the K1000, and really enjoy this system: MacBook Pro -> Isabellina -> Signature 30.2 -> K1000
Interconnects are some DIY ones I made ~15 years ago (Supra DAC cable & PPSL RCA plugs), so nothing fancy.
With my β22 as a very strong #2, using the same transport, DAC and interconnects.
I have listened to my K1000s primarily out of all of the Pass Labs amps (Aleph 3 and 30) and for real world amps I think they are the best way to go.
However, on the rare occasions that I moved my Halcro DM-58s into place so that I could hook up the K1000s to them everything else I had heard them on failed in comparison. Huge dynamics and the biggest soundstage I ever got from the K1000s.
System was Naim CD555/555PS > Halcro DM-10 > Halcro DM-58 Monoblocks
I have a pair of AKG K1000s on the way and plan to try them with my vintage Marantz 4140 integrated amp and Woo Audio 300B mono blocks. If I like what I hear then I will probably buy a dedicated amp for them -- perhaps a Cary CAD 300 SEI. I also know someone who is using them with a Cayin A-100T KT88 integrated tube amp and swears by it -- but I have not heard it myself.
From what I have seen there seems to be a lot if interesting choices for amping the K1000s.
I have owned my K1000s for a couple of years and have tried several amps.
Each amp was an improvement over the preceding one.
T-AMP
T-amp Modified:caps, battery supply, wiring etc.
T-Amp kit from Italy- I forget the name.
Hypex UCD Class D amp: 90 watts per channel.
Tektron Integrated tube amp (Italy again)
The T-Amps sounded good, detailed, but a little too bright for me. They are a huge bang for the buck.
The Hypex sounded really good but I wanted some tube goodness to bring out the midrange a bit.
The Tektron sounds really, really great. The rep sold me a pair of Sophia Electric Princess 206 tubes with it. It also will run 2A3's, 45's, and 300B's by adjusting the heater voltage. I would have thought that there would be huge compromises to do this but in reality the proof is in the sound which is excellent to my ears. The 45's sounded great but ran out of steam too soon. The 206's are supposed to combine the best qualities of 45's and 300B's. They are authoritative but due to the 5V heaters there is a tad of humm during very quiet passages. The 2A3s are wonderful. For me they have it all. I am using VT231's in the front end and a 70 year old globe shaped "80" rectifier.
My front end is a Bel Canto USB to SPDIF convertor coupled to an MHDT Havana DAC. This is the best sound I have pulled from phones so far...
Nice goal newneringa!
Think a good k1000 system will provide a reference level of sound that can match anything that exists out there~
I had a similar goal and came up with a Emm Labs DCC2/CDSD SE + Zanden 300b amp with Ori X-2 ICs...which is what Boomana heard.
I have since replaced the source with Spectral SDR 2000/SDR 3000 dac and transport.
Think with the k1000s you have multiple choices...may not exist a single best as there are so many quality speaker amps out there and it may be impossible to know...
BTW, Craig from Eddie Current mentioned that the Balancing Act sounded awesome when someone used the k1000s on it and compared favorably to my system which he has heard. Plan to see how it compares when I get mine delivered hopefully by the end of the month.
Originally Posted by jsaliga /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did the Tenor 75 WI sell for something like $20,000 per pair?
Whatever floats yer boat.
--Jerome
yes, it is. but a used pair will only cost around 8k, IMO nothing will beat these monoblocks in 20k range, for 8k a pair, it's not a steal but a murder!
Originally Posted by foo_me /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice goal newneringa!
Think a good k1000 system will provide a reference level of sound that can match anything that exists out there~
I had a similar goal and came up with a Emm Labs DCC2/CDSD SE + Zanden 300b amp with Ori X-2 ICs...which is what Boomana heard.
I have since replaced the source with Spectral SDR 2000/SDR 3000 dac and transport.
Think with the k1000s you have multiple choices...may not exist a single best as there are so many quality speaker amps out there and it may be impossible to know...
BTW, Craig from Eddie Current mentioned that the Balancing Act sounded awesome when someone used the k1000s on it and compared favorably to my system which he has heard. Plan to see how it compares when I get mine delivered hopefully by the end of the month.
hi, foo_me,
i have been reading a lot about your zanden/k1000 system , people have been saying it was the best k1k setup they have ever heard,I have never heard zanden but there is no doubt zanden is one of the best 300b amp ever made.
you indeed have a very nice system
unfortunately, I love the convience of PC music server thus USB DAC is the only option for me, I just order crimson silver from Gordon and have my cosecant V3 posted for sale on audiogon. Gordon's DAC is nice but it does not sound like the ultimate choice for k1000, but i order it anyway. like i said, I do not have many choice. if i can live with CD, I would have bought Esoteric XA-1, I have heard people said Esoteric XA-1 have bass and ultimate SLAM in properly setup system.
anyway, let us know how EC balancing act sound with k1000 when you have time!
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