[DaNuS]

Hello,

I am trying to set up a headphone setup around a pair of 595s. I plan to use a stock Squeezebox as the source and was looking for an inexpensive but solid tube amp in the 300-400 dollar range. Any ideas for a good pairing? Thanks!

 

[jamesb]

i'm getting a darkvioce 366i for my 595s , should be here tomorrow or friday. whether its going to be a good match for them remains to be seen. most people using the darkvoice seem to be using it with high impedance phones. i think the biggest problem is going to be the bass - the 595 is already quite reserved in the bass department. (part of the reason i'm not to worried is that i plan on upgrading to the hd600 quite soon)

other options that i thought about:
little dot 2+ (though i think they are releasing an improved version soon - or at least one that eliminates the problems people have been having) edit: just noticed this thread: http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=206791
Xiang Sheng 708B

i have not heard any of them though, so i cant tell you how well they match with 595s
chinese amps seem to offer the best value, but with downside of high shipping costs if something goes wrong.

 

[DaNuS]

Cool,

Please let me know what your impressions are on the Darkvoice as I was thinking of pairing it with the 650s down the road

 

[sacd lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesb /img/forum/go_quote.gif i'm getting a darkvioce 366i for my 595s , should be here tomorrow or friday. whether its going to be a good match for them remains to be seen. most people using the darkvoice seem to be using it with high impedance phones. i think the biggest problem is going to be the bass - the 595 is already quite reserved in the bass department. (part of the reason i'm not to worried is that i plan on upgrading to the hd600 quite soon) other options that i thought about: little dot 2+ (though i think they are releasing an improved version soon - or at least one that eliminates the problems people have been having) edit: just noticed this thread: http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=206791 Xiang Sheng 708B i have not heard any of them though, so i cant tell you how well they match with 595s chinese amps seem to offer the best value, but with downside of high shipping costs if something goes wrong.

The 595 has great bass with my Singlepower SLAM amps.

In fact, any of my Singlepower amps with the more powerful output tubes sound very dynamic and powerful with the 595. But, my 595's are the older 120 ohm models. I need to get a pair of 50 ohm 595's and try them out .... huh?

 

[jamesb]

I have got my Darkvoice now. For me its a massive improvement - i'm really loving the tube sound.
i can't say if its better than the other option above, but i will say that if you get one you will be very pleased with it and won't regret it.
there are no 'problems' using this amp with the 595s (bass roll off due to an impedance missmatch ect)
the improvements are quite hard for me to identify since its better in pretty much every way

the biggest improvement is with the mids - the 595 was nice for vocals before, with the darkvoice its very very smooth and liquid sounding.
for me the darkvoice gives a bit more bass - bass goes deeper and its a bit fuller. personally i wouldnt want much more bass, if any but i can see how it might be a bit bass shy for some - it also depends what music you listen to: with bass heavy recordings there is more than enough bass for anyone imho - its with less bass heavy music that bass heads might have a problem. this is part of the 595s sound signature and amping can only change it so much.
trebel seems to have a sparkle and magic it didn't have before.

edit: i just want to add that the build quality is really excelent and that i'm only using the stock tubes at the moment - it's supposed to be even better with some higher quality tubes.

hope that helps a bit.
i'm confident you will enjoy the darkvioce if you get one.

 

[DaNuS]

Thanks for the update! Looks like I might have to check this out too

 

[jbloudg20]

I say take a look into the Hearoom Millett Hybrid.