The Official Dallas Head-Fi meeting results thread
Aug 4, 2002 at 5:51 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 110

Nick Dangerous

Mr. Tuberrific
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(originally posted at 4:52am Sunday morning)

17 straight hours. I'm headed to bed.

Quick thoughts:

#1 - TwinHead and RKV get top honors in tube amp domain. RKV has the edge with bass, TwinHead has all-around tickle your spine wonderfulness. It's a tie. Gotta try 'em both. Tube rollers will want the TwinHead since it uses E88CC and 2A3 tubes. Pop a pair of meshplate 2A3's and vintage Amperexes in there and your sanity would be forever lost.

#2 - Headroom Max and Sudgen Headmaster take top honors in solid-state amps. I prefer the Max due to its crossfeed F/X and wonderful bass. It was a tough call. Sudgen needs more bass, dammit!

#3 - Bolder tweaked ART DI/O is awesome! Channel Islands Audio DAC comes in a reasonably close second. Despite this, it should be considered. The VDA-1 has great features like easy auto external sync lock and both coax and optical inputs. The blue LED looks cool, too.

#4 - Grado RS-1 is better than the metallic sounding SR-325. Hmmmm... wood housing vs. aluminum housing, go figure. Both rock with the Melos SHA-1 and Mapletree Ear+.

#5 - Sony R10 is the world's best dynamic headphone... but not by a mile. Maybe by a hundred yards or so. Zelkova wood be damned, the asking price is just too high. Should be $950, new, tops.

#6 - Oris. Scary good. Change of pants required. Mozart is alive and in my living room. Hi Wolfgang, how are you? Want a Coke?

Mozart likes Coca-cola.

Good night! Edwin really went the distance tonight. He was here for at least 14 hours!
 
Aug 4, 2002 at 6:29 PM Post #2 of 110
Do you have more info on the TwinHead?

How many gainstages does it have?

What is the purpose of each of its many tubes?

How is the headphone amp intergrated with the linestage, or is it two seperates in one box?

Did you use it as a linestage?
 
Aug 4, 2002 at 7:47 PM Post #4 of 110
Whoa! Information overload.
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Joe hasn't replied anywhere for a couple of weeks now.
 
Aug 4, 2002 at 11:56 PM Post #6 of 110
N.D.:

What were your findings on listening to the w100s through the Mapletree EAR+? I get the impression that, because you didn't mention it, the combination might not have impressed you.
 
Aug 5, 2002 at 2:40 AM Post #8 of 110
Quote:

Originally posted by Nick Dangerous
Mapletree Ear+ is the ideal inexpensive tube amp with Grados. It also sounds great with the W100, but so does the MG Head OTL so its a toss-up.


Great mercy, great balls of fire! Has Nick Dangerous used the words "great" and "W100" in the same sentence?!?
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What have you done with the real Nick Dangerous?!?!!
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Aug 5, 2002 at 2:56 AM Post #9 of 110
We simply need more information!!!

I really would like a thorough review of the twinhead if someone can give it up...with some small comparisons based on loose recollections of the EAR. Twinhead...I can get it cheaper than the RKV...if it is possible that this baby sounds great with Grados with no hiss (RS-1s and HP-2s) then I may have found my tube amp without going EAR.
 
Aug 5, 2002 at 3:21 AM Post #10 of 110
Quote:

We simply need more information!!!


Ya. Ditto.


Quote:

Mapletree Ear+ is the ideal inexpensive tube amp with Grados. It also sounds great with the W100, but so does the MG Head OTL so its a toss-up.


It is interesting how you say that the W100 works well with both the MG Head and the Ear+. I thought the W100 and MG Head were a bad combo due to the bass loss that occured.

Also, in regards to the Ear+/Ear, has the Ear+'s problems with being able to present vocals been resolved? I remember when you made the Ear as a DIY kit that you had posted that the Ear had issues with vocals . . . if so, are vocals good with the Ear+/W100?

Please, everyone, post your findings!! Nick Dangerous couldn't have been the only one who attended this Texan headphone shindig!
 
Aug 5, 2002 at 3:41 AM Post #11 of 110
Quote:

Originally posted by The Quality Guru




Please, everyone, post your findings!! Nick Dangerous couldn't have been the only one who attended this Texan headphone shindig!


I think they're having FUN! Judging from the pics of the last meet, they must be hitting those Lone Stars fast and furious-like.
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Aug 5, 2002 at 4:17 AM Post #13 of 110
Quote:

Originally posted by BenG
The question is....is it harder or easier to make comparisons when you're buzzed?


Alchol is the best audio tweak that money can buy
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