[RiddleyWalker]

It'll look like the LCD X but less dark and more sub-bass emphasized. So take that low rise to the subbass in the LCD X and move it so it's slightly above the subbass than have the rest of the headphone even put into the highs that dip ever-so-slightly. Basically, it's like a LCD X with more subbass and just enough treble to be not anywhere near darkness, but not enough to make Tyll dislike it (like he does the he560 for that reason.)

Thanks!  I actually just ordered a used HE-500.  I wanted an LCD-X but I'm not sure if I'm ready to jump into >$1k headphone territory.  I know Grizzly said he really likes the LCD-X.

 

[RiddleyWalker]

So, I'll post a more detailed comparison once I have more time, but I just gotta say, it's funny how similar the Blackwood sounds to a fuzzor-modded HE-500! 
 
EDIT:  Not as similar as I originally thought... Will elaborate on these impressions in the near future.

 

[PacoTaco]

So, I'll post a more detailed comparison once I have more time, but I just gotta say, it's funny how similar the Blackwood sounds to a fuzzor-modded HE-500! 

I personally thought it sounded like the LCD X. That becomes more apparent with the NFB 28. It just has more subbass and slightly less soubdstange.

 

[edvardd]

What amps under 500 $ are suitable for the ZMF Vibro/Blackwood? I'm considering ordering on of them very soon.
 
I'm looking at both portable and desktop. I live in Europe so shipping+customs likely adds another 30 $ to the price if I order from the US. 
 
Some say OTL tube amps don't do well with planars. How does it play with the ZMF's? I have the possibility of buying a used Little Dot MK IV SE for about 250 $. It's specifications are: 
 

1. 500 mW @ 300/600 ohm
2. 300 mW @ 120 ohm
3. 100 mW @ 32 ohm

Further I'm considering the Cayin C5 as a portable alternative, and might buy a desktop amp too. For the moment I'll be using the DX90 line out as source.
 
Soundwise I'm into forward, slightly thick lower/mid midrange, wide soundstage and good subbass. I'm most likely buying the Blackwoods though, even tho i know Vibro has a more forward midrange. I'm hoping to be able to tailor the sound with the amp. And if I want a more neutral signature, the blackwoods seem to provide that.

 

[PacoTaco]

What amps under 500 $ are suitable for the ZMF Vibro/Blackwood? I'm considering ordering on of them very soon.

I'm looking at both portable and desktop. I live in Europe so shipping+customs likely adds another 30 $ to the price if I order from the US. 

Some say OTL tube amps don't do well with planars. How does it play with the ZMF's? I have the possibility of buying a used Little Dot MK IV SE for about 250 $. It's specifications are: 

1. 500 mW @ 300/600 ohm
   
2. 300 mW @ 120 ohm
   
3. 100 mW @ 32 ohm
   

Further I'm considering the Cayin C5 as a portable alternative, and might buy a desktop amp too. For the moment I'll be using the DX90 line out as source.


 


Soundwise I'm into forward, slightly thick lower/mid midrange, wide soundstage and good subbass. I'm most likely buying the Blackwoods though, even tho i know Vibro has a more forward midrange. I'm hoping to be able to tailor the sound with the amp. And if I want a more neutral signature, the blackwoods seem to provide that.

OTL amps are terrible for planars because planars want/require a lot of current. The output resistance on an OTL is usually pretty high and you don't want to exceed an eighth of a headphones impedance (planars are more forgiving of this rule, but it still somewhat effects it.) The Cayin is an iffy one, as the Blackwoods are a bit harder to drive a than other t50 mods.

If you want a tube sound, go for the Lyr2. If you want a solid state, Audio-GD amps go well with the Blackwoods. Portable wise, you're really looking at the iDSD micro or the Ceentrance m8 (both of which are expensive.) the Cayin did well with Mad Dogs, but it struggled with the Alpha Primes, which is about the same ballpark in power needs as the Blackwoods.

 

[Tiemen]

  What amps under 500 $ are suitable for the ZMF Vibro/Blackwood? I'm considering ordering on of them very soon.
 
I'm looking at both portable and desktop. I live in Europe so shipping+customs likely adds another 30 $ to the price if I order from the US. 
 
Some say OTL tube amps don't do well with planars. How does it play with the ZMF's? I have the possibility of buying a used Little Dot MK IV SE for about 250 $. It's specifications are: 
 

1. 500 mW @ 300/600 ohm
2. 300 mW @ 120 ohm
3. 100 mW @ 32 ohm

Further I'm considering the Cayin C5 as a portable alternative, and might buy a desktop amp too. For the moment I'll be using the DX90 line out as source.
 
Soundwise I'm into forward, slightly thick lower/mid midrange, wide soundstage and good subbass. I'm most likely buying the Blackwoods though, even tho i know Vibro has a more forward midrange. I'm hoping to be able to tailor the sound with the amp. And if I want a more neutral signature, the blackwoods seem to provide that.

 
I like the Rock'n Glass amp a lot with my ZMF: http://www.ebay.nl/itm/Rockn-Glass-Class-A-headphone-amplifier-Tube-MOSFET-hybrid-zero-feedback-/251531042229

 

[RiddleyWalker]

  What amps under 500 $ are suitable for the ZMF Vibro/Blackwood? I'm considering ordering on of them very soon.
 
I'm looking at both portable and desktop. I live in Europe so shipping+customs likely adds another 30 $ to the price if I order from the US. 
 
Some say OTL tube amps don't do well with planars. How does it play with the ZMF's? I have the possibility of buying a used Little Dot MK IV SE for about 250 $. It's specifications are: 
 

1. 500 mW @ 300/600 ohm
2. 300 mW @ 120 ohm
3. 100 mW @ 32 ohm

Further I'm considering the Cayin C5 as a portable alternative, and might buy a desktop amp too. For the moment I'll be using the DX90 line out as source.
 
Soundwise I'm into forward, slightly thick lower/mid midrange, wide soundstage and good subbass. I'm most likely buying the Blackwoods though, even tho i know Vibro has a more forward midrange. I'm hoping to be able to tailor the sound with the amp. And if I want a more neutral signature, the blackwoods seem to provide that.

 
As mentioned above, don't go with OTL - go with a solid state or hybrid that can put out > 1W @ 50-ish Ohm.  I haven't tried many amps, but I think the Project Polaris is a very good option for $250 (or $215 if you build it yourself).  Puts out 2.4W at 64 Ohm

 
I use it on my Blackwoods and HE-500 with great results.  Gives a mostly neutral presentation with a slight warmth due to JFET input stage which infuses a small amount of tube-like harmonics.  Bass has a nice slam.  Really gives these planar headphones a good dynamic energy.  If interested check it out here:
 
http://garage1217.com/garage1217_diy_tube_headphone_amplifiers_015.htm
 
If you want to go the (hybrid) tube amp route, you can check out their Project Ember.  I haven't tried it, but I imagine it's fantastic as well.

 

[Claritas]

OTL amps are terrible for planars because planars want/require a lot of current.

This is one of those things that makes sense on paper but you have to try it for yourself with many different OTL amps.

 

[edvardd]

Thanks guys for the input about this. I'm still considering the Cayin C5. I've seen the Polaris and Ember before and the Rock n glass amp all look interesting. They seem to have good bang for buck. The Lyr 2 seems great but it's borderline too expensive to me. I'd rather buy the Blackwoods and a cheaper amp than going vibros with an expensive amp, as I believe the headphones are the most important in the end. So my total budget for headphones+amp is about 1000 $
 
The confusing thing is that I hear people driving some planers, like HE400 with the Little Dot MK IV SE with success. Further info is: "Little Dot MK IV is truly our best effort yet. Regardless of whether your headphones are 32 ohms or 600 ohms, the Little Dot MK IV can drive them easily with effortless dynamics (45Vp-p!
The Little Dot MK IV also adds in user-tweaking options such as two gain switches to delivery maximum compatibility with all your headphones, regardless of impedance or sensitivity. "
 
Despite these statements, you guys still say that the amp is a bad idea for the Vibros/Blackwoods?

 

[PacoTaco]

  Thanks guys for the input about this. I'm still considering the Cayin C5. I've seen the Polaris and Ember before and the Rock n glass amp all look interesting. They seem to have good bang for buck. The Lyr 2 seems great but it's borderline too expensive to me. I'd rather buy the Blackwoods and a cheaper amp than going vibros with an expensive amp, as I believe the headphones are the most important in the end. So my total budget for headphones+amp is about 1000 $
 
The confusing thing is that I hear people driving some planers, like HE400 with the Little Dot MK IV SE with success. Further info is: "Little Dot MK IV is truly our best effort yet. Regardless of whether your headphones are 32 ohms or 600 ohms, the Little Dot MK IV can drive them easily with effortless dynamics (45Vp-p!
The Little Dot MK IV also adds in user-tweaking options such as two gain switches to delivery maximum compatibility with all your headphones, regardless of impedance or sensitivity. "
 
Despite these statements, you guys still say that the amp is a bad idea for the Vibros/Blackwoods?

 
The HE400 can be fairly easy to drive. I don't really hear much benefit (headroom wise) from going past the Asgard 2 on those headphones. The Blackwood is a lot harder to drive, and a ~100mw @ 32ohms is not going to do it any justice. The Asgard 3 is suppose to come out soon (which will be very good for it) but you may want to look at Audio GD stuff. Specifically, this: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1532/NFB15.32EN_Specs.htm . It has it's own DAC though, and doesn't except analog input. Another choice is the Gustard H10 if you can find it at a good price (it's at 400$ right now...but it does drop to 300 some times.)

 

[bixby]

  Thanks guys for the input about this. I'm still considering the Cayin C5. I've seen the Polaris and Ember before and the Rock n glass amp all look interesting. They seem to have good bang for buck. The Lyr 2 seems great but it's borderline too expensive to me. I'd rather buy the Blackwoods and a cheaper amp than going vibros with an expensive amp, as I believe the headphones are the most important in the end. So my total budget for headphones+amp is about 1000 $
 
The confusing thing is that I hear people driving some planers, like HE400 with the Little Dot MK IV SE with success. Further info is: "Little Dot MK IV is truly our best effort yet. Regardless of whether your headphones are 32 ohms or 600 ohms, the Little Dot MK IV can drive them easily with effortless dynamics (45Vp-p!
The Little Dot MK IV also adds in user-tweaking options such as two gain switches to delivery maximum compatibility with all your headphones, regardless of impedance or sensitivity. "
 
Despite these statements, you guys still say that the amp is a bad idea for the Vibros/Blackwoods?

IMHO, I think the source has the most impact on sound quality.  Then the can, then the amp.  I had a short experience with the Little Dot before I quickly got rid of it for the La Figaro 336 classic.  But neither of them were really musically satisfying and as transparent as a great solid state amp.  Currently using Lake People G109s to very good effect with my Mad Dogs.  You may be able to find one used under $500 if you keep a look out.  
 
I would also echo RiddleyWalkers comments about SS amps in general but have not had the pleasure of hearing the Project gear.

 

[jarnopp]

I just received the Project Solstice tube hybrid, which is about 1w at 50 ohms and it sounds very nice so far, with about 10 hours burn in on it. I replaced the 12AU7 it came with with a NOS Amperex 6DJ8 and it is really smooth and open. I would not hesitate to go Solstice or Ember depending on your needs. This is with my Vibros which are about 4 months old.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  IMHO, I think the source has the most impact on sound quality.  Then the can, then the amp.  I had a short experience with the Little Dot before I quickly got rid of it for the La Figaro 336 classic.  But neither of them were really musically satisfying and as transparent as a great solid state amp.  Currently using Lake People G109s to very good effect with my Mad Dogs.  You may be able to find one used under $500 if you keep a look out.  
 
I would also echo RiddleyWalkers comments about SS amps in general but have not had the pleasure of hearing the Project gear.

Just noticing in your signature that you have a Dangerous Mind's DAC. I almost picked one up, but I couldn't get down with it not looking like consumer audio gear. I hear the DAC sounds amazing.

 

[RiddleyWalker]

 
Just noticing in your signature that you have a Dangerous Mind's DAC. I almost picked one up, but I couldn't get down with it not looking like consumer audio gear. I hear the DAC sounds amazing.

 
Does Dangerous Minds DAC have sufficient bass response?

 

[Sonic Defender]

 
 
Does Dangerous Minds DAC have sufficient bass response?

That was a bad movie! How's the soundtrack?