[desik]

Anyone could compare Milo with a $1000+ tube amp?

 

[Hansotek]

  Anyone could compare Milo with a $1000+ tube amp?

 
That's a pretty broad category... but it was good enough that I kept it and sold my $3,000 tube amp. Milo is super tight, controlled and articulate, and if you are mostly using planars, it's pretty tough to beat for less than $3k. Of course, there are some amps that are so different they are almost impossible to compare... and by that I mean OTLs, but those won't drive planars or low impedance dynamics. Milo isn't bloomy or romantic like that. I would say the more appropriate emotional association would be fun and excitement. The Milo is very fast, dynamic and impactful, and it really brings planars to life in a way very few other amps do... particularly the HE-6 and the Abyss, which are both extremely difficult to drive.

 

[desik]

   
That's a pretty broad category... but it was good enough that I kept it and sold my $3,000 tube amp. Milo is super tight, controlled and articulate, and if you are mostly using planars, it's pretty tough to beat for less than $3k. Of course, there are some amps that are so different they are almost impossible to compare... and by that I mean OTLs, but those won't drive planars or low impedance dynamics. Milo isn't bloomy or romantic like that. I would say the more appropriate emotional association would be fun and excitement. The Milo is very fast, dynamic and impactful, and it really brings planars to life in a way very few other amps do... particularly the HE-6 and the Abyss, which are both extremely difficult to drive.

To be more specific: I'm interested how it would compare to tube amps for high impedance headphones. Someone said early in this thread that HD800 sounds better from Milo than from anything else. Curious what was that else. For planars I have no doubt Milo is no brainer.

 

[Hansotek]

 
To be more specific: I'm interested how it would compare to tube amps for high impedance headphones. Someone said early in this thread that HD800 sounds better from Milo than from anything else. Curious what was that else. For planars I have no doubt Milo is no brainer.

 
I don't know, but the HD800 does sound very, very good on it. I can think of plenty of tube amps that are better with the HD800 though: DecWare CSP3, Cavalli Liquid Crimson, Glass and Tungsten, DNA Stratus and Apex Teton to name a few. But if you have a bunch of planars and an HD800 and want to drive all of them, the Milo is a great choice... especially with a warm DAC and cable... I rock the HD800 with it quite frequently.

 

[ufospls2]

 
To be more specific: I'm interested how it would compare to tube amps for high impedance headphones. Someone said early in this thread that HD800 sounds better from Milo than from anything else. Curious what was that else. For planars I have no doubt Milo is no brainer.

You might be meaning me. I didn't say it sounds better the HD800 sounds better on the Milo than anything else, I did say that it was the best I have ever heard it. I'm sure there are other amps that might be better with the HD800/S, but as far as SS amps go, I really enjoy the Milo/Headtrip. 
 
My original posts are below. Hope they help. 
 
"Now, my HD800S doesn’t need the same amount of power as my other headphones, but its a bit of a picky bugger when it comes to amps. Not as picky as its older brother the regular HD800, but picky nonetheless. You can drive an HD800/S off your motherboard if you like, and it will sound great! But connect that same headphone to the right amp, and it really does take it to another level. The slight warmth of the Milo really does work well with the HD800S, and I’m sure it would with the regular HD800, as I used to own them and know them well. There is more bass, not mushy bass, just fast precise kick you in the face bass, compared to listening to the HD800S out of the Chord Mojo. It warms up the mids a little bit, and cools down the treble a tiny tiny bit. You have to be a bit more careful with the volume knob of the Milo when using the HD800S, but apart from that, this is a pretty damn good pairing.
 
I used the HD800S all last night with the Milo (I used to own the regular HD800 as well) and it is the best I have ever heard them. I can only imagine the Sennheiser 650's would fair similarly. I have only heard the Elear for a short while. It is a more sensitive headphone, so I guess it doesn't *need* the power of the Milo, but it sure might benefit from the musicality, and more importantly the soundstage. I found the Elears soundstage a bit small (I like a big soundstage) so the Milo might open them up a bit. All of this is pure conjecture on my part, I could be completely wrong."

 

[ProfFalkin]

You are not wrong. My stock HD650s sound better on the Milo than any other amp I've tried. I still don't use it much, the Eikon is King of all in my house.

 

[Hansotek]

You are not wrong. My stock HD650s sound better on the Milo than any other amp I've tried. I still don't use it much, the Eikon is King of all in my house.

 
My HD600s sound amazing on it as well, especially with the Cardas Fat Pipe cable.

 

[desik]

  You might be meaning me. I didn't say it sounds better the HD800 sounds better on the Milo than anything else, I did say that it was the best I have ever heard it.

That's that I thought as well. Hansotek was very helpful to position Milo w.r.t. some tube amps.

 

[sludgeogre]

You are not wrong. My stock HD650s sound better on the Milo than any other amp I've tried. I still don't use it much, the Eikon is King of all in my house.

Any impressions yet on the Eikon as driven by the Jot vs the Milo yet? Wondering if there's a big jump in performance with that much power behind them from the Milo.

 

[ProfFalkin]

Any impressions yet on the Eikon as driven by the Jot vs the Milo yet? Wondering if there's a big jump in performance with that much power behind them from the Milo.

Jot seems to have a wee bit more bass impact, but everything is cleaner and more resolving on the Milo. Tonal balance is better. Everything seems right.

In short, Milo is a lot like the Jotunheim, if the Jotunheim were on the NZT-48 drug from the movie Limitless.

I'm not comparing the two beyond that. The Jot already got moved to my work setup, to replace my ifi iCan se that I used to use there.

Anyone want to buy my Ifi? Hehehe

 

[Hansotek]

Jot seems to have a wee bit more bass impact, but everything is cleaner and more resolving on the Milo. Tonal balance is better. Everything seems right.

In short, Milo is a lot like the Jotunheim, if the Jotunheim were on the NZT-48 drug from the movie Limitless.

I'm not comparing the two beyond that. The Jot already got moved to my work setup, to replace my ifi iCan se that I used to use there.

Anyone want to buy my Ifi? Hehehe

 
Haha, that's awesome!

 

[Audio-Phile]

Just checking in to see if anyone had any further experience with the Milo and the LCD4s. Sounds like a strange choice to make, but I'm sort of torn between one of these and the ALO Studio Six (I know, I know) - both get some of the most overwhelmingly wonderful reviews I've ever seen of any amp. I've been told that the Studio Six should drive the LCD4s fine despite the deceiving specs, the Milo obviously will. Trying to gather info from both camps. I'm really looking for something that will accentuate the strengths of this headphone, which, really, is everything. I do rather love bass, but I rather like it to be tight and controlled. I love detailed treble, but I cannot stand piercing, bright treble. I'm extremely sensitive to harshness of any kind. Also, stage and separation is nice to have.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Hansotek]

Just checking in to see if anyone had any further experience with the Milo and the LCD4s. Sounds like a strange choice to make, but I'm sort of torn between one of these and the ALO Studio Six (I know, I know) - both get some of the most overwhelmingly wonderful reviews I've ever seen of any amp. I've been told that the Studio Six should drive the LCD4s fine despite the deceiving specs, the Milo obviously will. Trying to gather info from both camps. I'm really looking for something that will accentuate the strengths of this headphone, which, really, is everything. I do rather love bass, but I rather like it to be tight and controlled. I love detailed treble, but I cannot stand piercing, bright treble. I'm extremely sensitive to harshness of any kind. Also, stage and separation is nice to have.

Thanks in advance.

Well, it sounds like you're looking in the right place. I'm pretty sure Milo has the tightest bass I have heard. It controls the HE-6 and the Abyss with no effort at all. And paired with the Abyss, it can summon more impact than anything else I have heard, aside from the higher-end Wells amps. I'm pretty sure it would be absolutely stunning with the LCD-4, as well.

Also treble on "problem" headphones like HD800 and HE-6 is under extremely firm control - there aren't many "reference neutral" amps that can do that, in my experience. Most of them will drift at least somewhat warm. Milo is able to do it simply via its firm control over the headphone.

IMO, there is no other amp that can do what it does with planars for anywhere near the price. That being said, I've never compared it against the ALO Studio 6, nor have I heard the LCD-4 with the Studio 6, so I really can't offer any commentary as to how they perform relative to one another.

 

[Audio-Phile]

Well, it sounds like you're looking in the right place. I'm pretty sure Milo has the tightest bass I have heard. It controls the HE-6 and the Abyss with no effort at all. And paired with the Abyss, it can summon more impact than anything else I have heard, aside from the higher-end Wells amps. I'm pretty sure it would be absolutely stunning with the LCD-4, as well.

Also treble on "problem" headphones like HD800 and HE-6 is under extremely firm control - there aren't many "reference neutral" amps that can do that, in my experience. Most of them will drift at least somewhat warm. Milo is able to do it simply via its firm control over the headphone.

IMO, there is no other amp that can do what it does with planars for anywhere near the price. That being said, I've never compared it against the ALO Studio 6, nor have I heard the LCD-4 with the Studio 6, so I really can't offer any commentary as to how they perform relative to one another.

Thanks a lot for your input. Based off what I've read, price, & simple math, the Milo seems to be the way to go. As far as I can tell, for the money, you can't really do much better. I have to make a decision on something soon, driving these out of a Mojo is getting rather old

 

[johnzz4]

Just checking in to see if anyone had any further experience with the Milo and the LCD4s. Sounds like a strange choice to make, but I'm sort of torn between one of these and the ALO Studio Six (I know, I know) - both get some of the most overwhelmingly wonderful reviews I've ever seen of any amp. I've been told that the Studio Six should drive the LCD4s fine despite the deceiving specs, the Milo obviously will. Trying to gather info from both camps. I'm really looking for something that will accentuate the strengths of this headphone, which, really, is everything. I do rather love bass, but I rather like it to be tight and controlled. I love detailed treble, but I cannot stand piercing, bright treble. I'm extremely sensitive to harshness of any kind. Also, stage and separation is nice to have.

Thanks in advance.

I'm running the LCD-4 with the Yggy and the Milo.  At first I was concerned that it was a bit bass light and excessive on the treble.  My issue was power quality causing hash in the upper treble.  After getting the PS Audio P3 and finally getting some clean power, I can say the Milo is beautifully balanced and manhandles the 4s as others have mentioned.  I'm coming from the Audio-gd Master 9 which was good, but not as refined as the Milo.  I've often wondered myself about the 4s with a tube amp, however I'm finally satisfied (for a while anyway).  Take the extra money you would have spent on the Studio Six and get a P3 (on sale for $1500 on music direct right now) if you don't already have clean power.