-=Germania=-
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2005
- Posts
- 3,008
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- 12
This was an ultra mini meet in the real sense.
The weather in Chicago was pretty bad with lots of snow and it was a bit impomtu as well.
At the meet was: Keithgdrb (Keith), Boom_Shaka_Laka (Steve), and Myself (Stacy)
That is to say that there was still plenty of gear to listen to!
I spent most of my time listening to the MP3X Slam and I have to say that there is something distinctly relaxing about it. The sound is forward and sweet. Most of the time, the MP3X Slam was being fed with an iPod which was changed a bit later on.
We did discover something that was a bit startling.
First of all we were feeding the MP3X Slam and my VERY modded Millett ($250 in parts costs plus tubes) with the same chain as it has two outputs: Marantz CD5001 -> Optical -> Zhaolu 2.5 with DIY output stage using 4.7uf Audiophiler 3% film caps. Both amps were being fed with Iron Lung Jellyfish power cords and both amps were using stepped potentiometers.
Steve matched the volume and used my Modified Sony CD1000 as the headphones.
Without doing super extensive listening (just a bit of going back and forth), it is just too close to call. IMO the Millett had more treble detail and soundstage while the MP3X had more bass and musicality. The MP3x was the more tubey sounding of the two. Believe me, this is NITPICKING even by audiophile standards. Overall I felt that the detail level between the two was the same.
Now, I feel that the Millett can't get much better. Lets be realistic here, it is a low voltage tube-mosfet hybrid using tiny plate tubes (looks like a 12ax7 in a 6au6 size). This amp is a 3 channel design (active ground) with a customized higher current PSU, different parts, different values and additional parts than the BOM or the typically recommended build. I still have some more adjusting on the cathode to do with regards to gain (right now I am using 470uf panasonic caps with a 10K cathode resistor, but the resistor will be changed out for something larger to give some more breathing room on the potentiometer with my CD1000. This combo gives you roughly the same amount of gain as the BOM 2k resistor with no cathode bypass capacitor). To those who heard this amp in November - it is a much changed and different amp than what you heard and the CD1000 sound different as well (more bass, more resolution).
The Sony F1 was an interesting can and shared a similar soundstage to that of my CD1000. The problem was a lack of resolution, and complete lack of bass without enough texture. Still, I think it is something worth reccomending to someone who listens to a lot of classical music.
The ASL (Antique Sound Labs) was a good sounding amp and for how small it is, very good indeed. Steve was saying that he used his for road trips and hotels. It is a silky texture with nice decay. Very pleasant to listen to, especially with jazz.
The Stax(Keith) were running out of my Yamaha CA-600 and using one of my iPod Docks as the source. I had the same setup and sold it recently, so I knew how it would sound and it did sound that way. Keith almost walked away with the Yamaha though!
I cannot reccomend the TOTL Yamaha Natural Sound Stereo Amps from the late seventies enough. If you think that the amp section sounds good, just wait till you try the preamp outs on this thing. IMO the best pre-amp out there under $700. Seriously, you NEED to hear the preamp outs on these. Unfortunately, the power amp section while good in its own right cannot touch the preamp. The Phonostage onboard is also decent and has 3 settings (MM/MC/unknown 30k Ceramic?) for whatever cartridge you have. I just recorded some very vintage vinyl and if you want to hear a small sample PM me.
Keith, it is always good to see you and I am impressed by how far you have come in such a short time.
Steve, it was great to meet you and the hours of talking never seemed to end - hope the Dog was Good!
Cheers and Happy Listening!
The weather in Chicago was pretty bad with lots of snow and it was a bit impomtu as well.
At the meet was: Keithgdrb (Keith), Boom_Shaka_Laka (Steve), and Myself (Stacy)
That is to say that there was still plenty of gear to listen to!
I spent most of my time listening to the MP3X Slam and I have to say that there is something distinctly relaxing about it. The sound is forward and sweet. Most of the time, the MP3X Slam was being fed with an iPod which was changed a bit later on.
We did discover something that was a bit startling.
First of all we were feeding the MP3X Slam and my VERY modded Millett ($250 in parts costs plus tubes) with the same chain as it has two outputs: Marantz CD5001 -> Optical -> Zhaolu 2.5 with DIY output stage using 4.7uf Audiophiler 3% film caps. Both amps were being fed with Iron Lung Jellyfish power cords and both amps were using stepped potentiometers.
Steve matched the volume and used my Modified Sony CD1000 as the headphones.
Without doing super extensive listening (just a bit of going back and forth), it is just too close to call. IMO the Millett had more treble detail and soundstage while the MP3X had more bass and musicality. The MP3x was the more tubey sounding of the two. Believe me, this is NITPICKING even by audiophile standards. Overall I felt that the detail level between the two was the same.
Now, I feel that the Millett can't get much better. Lets be realistic here, it is a low voltage tube-mosfet hybrid using tiny plate tubes (looks like a 12ax7 in a 6au6 size). This amp is a 3 channel design (active ground) with a customized higher current PSU, different parts, different values and additional parts than the BOM or the typically recommended build. I still have some more adjusting on the cathode to do with regards to gain (right now I am using 470uf panasonic caps with a 10K cathode resistor, but the resistor will be changed out for something larger to give some more breathing room on the potentiometer with my CD1000. This combo gives you roughly the same amount of gain as the BOM 2k resistor with no cathode bypass capacitor). To those who heard this amp in November - it is a much changed and different amp than what you heard and the CD1000 sound different as well (more bass, more resolution).
The Sony F1 was an interesting can and shared a similar soundstage to that of my CD1000. The problem was a lack of resolution, and complete lack of bass without enough texture. Still, I think it is something worth reccomending to someone who listens to a lot of classical music.
The ASL (Antique Sound Labs) was a good sounding amp and for how small it is, very good indeed. Steve was saying that he used his for road trips and hotels. It is a silky texture with nice decay. Very pleasant to listen to, especially with jazz.
The Stax(Keith) were running out of my Yamaha CA-600 and using one of my iPod Docks as the source. I had the same setup and sold it recently, so I knew how it would sound and it did sound that way. Keith almost walked away with the Yamaha though!
I cannot reccomend the TOTL Yamaha Natural Sound Stereo Amps from the late seventies enough. If you think that the amp section sounds good, just wait till you try the preamp outs on this thing. IMO the best pre-amp out there under $700. Seriously, you NEED to hear the preamp outs on these. Unfortunately, the power amp section while good in its own right cannot touch the preamp. The Phonostage onboard is also decent and has 3 settings (MM/MC/unknown 30k Ceramic?) for whatever cartridge you have. I just recorded some very vintage vinyl and if you want to hear a small sample PM me.
Keith, it is always good to see you and I am impressed by how far you have come in such a short time.
Steve, it was great to meet you and the hours of talking never seemed to end - hope the Dog was Good!
Cheers and Happy Listening!
