[andrzejpw]

JOY! The fabled amp comes to life!

Hmmm, decisions.

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by andrzejpw JOY! The fabled amp comes to life! Hmmm, decisions.

My rating on this one would be an excellent introductory amp for Sennheisers. This is subject to change if tube rolling brings out better detail and focus, to be determined in upcoming weeks.

Useful for me, since the amp I use most, the ZOTL, doesn't bring out the best in the HD-600, IMO (but when the boat from Norway arrives with my Electrocompaniet, the Melos will come free, and that's another matter!) Since my original posting, I've revisited the X-Can/HD-600 combo, and that's holding up very well as a viable alternative. Another alternative is the Grado RA-1. It doesn't have tubes, but is another very good performer that provides a lot of "balance" and doesn't lose detail the way the HAP-03 does. IMO, the RA-1, in its own way, keeps pace with my "big dogs", the ZOTL and Melos. The X-Can has locked in as my computer monitor amp, and is in no jeopardy of losing its job to the HAP-03, as the lack of fine detail makes this amp useless for sound editing. The HAP-03 hasn't proven to me that it can run with the rest of the pack yet/ However, it's new, and I'm comparing it to amps I've had for longer times and that have found their places in my systems. At it's price point, $350, there's some very strong and proven competition, including the RA-1 and MG Head (wish I'd heard that at some point).

I've just edited this post to remove a recommendation I had posted previously. It was premature. There's a lot that this little amp does right, and it does provide a very musical (don't you just love it when that word crops up?) listening experience with Sennheisers.

 

[andrzejpw]

hmmm, interesting. . .

gah! Too bad you don't have an MG head to compare! Thats the decision for me and my senn hd580s.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah, you can blame me...and Hirsch beat me to it! Yay! At least we finally have someone who has one!

HOWEVER -- you can find peace. I have been quite happy with my HD600/RKV/Clou blue/MSB Tech w/upsampling/cables of choice/transport of choice combo. For a very long time. I was initially interested in a tube amp for work because the RKV is too big and too expensive for work. Actually, I wasn't interested until I saw how cute the little guy was. I need to see one in person.

(Emails Radii to see what's up with his...)

As Hirsch and I disgust in private email, in a few weeks, we'll be able to have another DC area meet with an entirely new set of equipment. It's despicable...

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dusty Chalk Actually, I wasn't interested until I saw how cute the little guy was. I need to see one in person.

Easily done. Just let me know when.

Quote:

As Hirsch and I disgust in private email, in a few weeks, we'll be able to have another DC area meet with an entirely new set of equipment. It's despicable...

Despicable, nah. Just a display of blatant consumerism..and our attempt to singlehandedly stimulate the world economy. So far we're succeeding...selflessly sacrificing our own wallets to help stimulate world economic growth.

Getting back to the HAP-03, some of what it does is becoming a bit clearer to me. This is the first tube amp I've owned that actually acts and sounds like a tube amp. The weaknesses are in the attack. It just doesn't have the speed to really push highly dynamic shifts, and you lose a bit of the attack on keyboards and percussion. Imaging is soft. While the ZOTL places instruments with almost clinical precision, the HAP-03 places them, but the outlines are blurry. Localization is good, definition is not. Not good for complex groups of instruments.

Still, what the HAP-03 does as well as anything else I've heard is to present a correct sonic image of the instrument. Sax sounds like sax. Drums sound like drums. Bass is good, although you hear it as bass, as opposed to the ZOTL that can let you listen to the fingerwork of the bass player. Highs don't go up into forever, which may be part of the reason images are blurred. Despite all this, the sound is balanced, completely non-fatiguing, and a lot of fun to listen to. It is getting better as it burns in, and will change when more tubes arrive. This won't "kill" existing amps, but it may well carve a niche of its own. It provides a nice listening experience, particularly on jazz type recordings. A nice complement to the sounds of my other amps, which all go in very different sonic directions.

 

[kelly]

The Dallas group is having difficulty keeping up with the DC groups' buying frenzy.

Hirsch, when you feel more confident about your findings, please do post recommendations. A frequently asked headphone question on headfi is, "What is a good cheap amp for the Sennheiser HD600?" (I think it's ironic that so many people choose such an expensive headphone to match to cheap amps, but none the less it's what they want to do). It would be nice if there was a legitimate option here and it'd also be nice if there was something that used tubes that could actually be crammed in a bag and taken with you to work or wherever.

 

[andrzejpw]

Dusty Chalk: What happened to your hap-03 order?

 

[dcg]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly The Dallas group is having difficulty keeping up with the DC groups' buying frenzy.

DC group's buying frenzy??? Don't you mean "Hirsch's buying frenzy?"

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by andrzejpw Dusty Chalk: What happened to your hap-03 order?

Nothing happened to it. As per the original schedule, mine will take longer. There's a 45 day turnaround (starting around March 22), and then after that, there's the shipping time (I chose -- and paid for -- the upgraded shipping [I believe that means "via air" as opposed to "via water"], so it should not take that much longer, but I honestly do not expect it until the end of May). Technically, I got mine from a different company (Radii vs. Moretto), and obviously, they work differently (it looks like Moretto builds them first, then sells them, but Radii sells them first, then builds them). It also looks different ("champagne" vs. black -- not sure which is better, I am typically a black person, except when it comes to audio equipment).

I am dying to hear if they will sound different.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by dcg DC group's buying frenzy??? Don't you mean "Hirsch's buying frenzy?"

Hirsch definitely has me beat, but I have not been idle...details forthcoming...

(BTW, DC == District of Columbia, not Dusty Chalk.)

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dusty Chalk Hirsch definitely has me beat, but I have not been idle...details forthcoming...

Hehehe. Dusty's frenzy is likely to make me look positively idle...

ERROR CORRECTION:

I finally figured out the two tubes with no markings. While Moretto was no help, the Radii site had the info. So, the tubes are a 12AU7 input tube, and a pair of 6DJ8's as output tubes. I should have been suspicious when the output tubes were as wide as they are...those suckers are Sovteks.

Anyway, I DO have one or two 6DJ8's about, but decided to go a different route. I'm using JAN Sylvania 6BQ7A's for the output tube. These are sometimes considered a substitute for 6922's, but the scuttlebutt on audioasylum is that they won't work well for audio. The scuttlebutt is wrong, at least in a driver tube. This tube adds depth to the bass, and increases dynamics. The HD-600's are starting to move some serious air. Percussive effects are...well...percussive. The attack is much faster than it was.

As I try different tubes, I'm upgrading my opinion of the HAP-03 in a hurry...and I haven't even gotten to the "good" tubes yet...

 

[dcg]

Ehh, come to think of it I've bought a Grado RA-1, Sony R50 pdmp, some outlaw audio calbes, 2 pairs of Axiom M22ti's, an Axiom VP150 center channel, Senn 497s, and several NOS tubes in the past, ahem, week basically.

/shudder/

I think I have a problem....

 

[daycart1]

Ok, comrades, I have both Moretto and asl mg head otl on the way. Nick D's tuberoll pack will be here at some point and I've got some nos e88cc's, so I'll post my comparison report in a couple of weeks!

Meanwhile, we are all anxiously awaiting the results of Hirsch's expert investigations.

 

[darkclouds]

daycart1, it looks like you got the moretto anywya. you might as well throw the zotl into the mix.

 

[daycart1]

Right, Darkclouds, but my only cans at this point are the hd 600, so until I get a chance to listen, I'm a bit in awe of Hirsch's carefully considered conclusion that the Zotl doesn't synergize as well with the senns.
Which of your headphones were most impressive with the Zotl? And didn't you think the AKG1000s were good with it even though it seems clear it can't bring out their best?