Another ***gsferrari*** Review

Another one of those ‘gsferrari’ reviews is here…Well…its not entirely mine because I’ve used some information from websites and other reviews that I have read on my journey towards audiophilism

It is a well known fact that Sager owners love games and movies and music. Why…we even have a PinkFloyd in our group which says a lot about the diversity of the populace that frequent the forums. Whats fantastic about the forums is that discussions are not centered on computers or laptops alone. We have a healthy mix of almost everything from hilarious jokes, ridiculous websites, bizarre news, religion, dead pixels to some rather disturbing images of our members…

Today I am going to add a review to the reviews section that is totally disconnected from any of the reviews we have seen in the past. I will be reviewing some of my new audio equipment with the aim of educating the members about the potential to further sweeten their personal lifestyle.

So without any further ado lets get to the Real McCoy…

Index :-

1] Personal Audio and what it can do for you
2] Music?? What Music??!!
3] Some Audio Terminology to get you started
4] Are you an Audiophile??
5] A listing of some GREAT equipment out there
6] How to choose your equipment
7] The $500.00 way to better sound



Personal Audio

Ever felt the need to be completely disconnected from this world and all its worries, trials and tribulations? Ever felt the desire to just “Plug” into something and escape from everything…To transform from Mr. Anderson to Neo ?

I don’t know if we can arrange for you to fly around at hypersonic speeds, turn back time, bring the dead back to life and stop bullets in their tracks…But what I can arrange over the next few minutes that you spend reading this article is to change the way you relax. Bu following some of the suggestions here you can lie down and finally dream with a smile on your face…

Im talking about THE SOUND!!!

And NO This has nothing to do with Ross and his Keyboard in that whatsit serial “Friends”

Sounds have the ability to change your moods and emotions. Some sounds can wake you (and the neighbours) up with a merciless clash of the electric guitar and rock drums….Other sounds like the sounds of nature and life can bring you down from your excited state.

Most of us have speakers of some kind or another. We have headphones and CD Players and the wealthier few may have an iPod stashed away somewhere. The more discerning members may have Vinyl collections from the decades past while others may have thousands of CD’s in dehumidified and dust free storage. But if you are like me you probably have a few dozen CD’s strewn around the bedroom and a WHOLE lotta mp3’s downloaded illegally from the internet just for FUN

No matter which category you fall into, its how you raise the level of your personal entertainment system that makes the difference between a wry smile, a grin and a truly headbanging experience

I will go out on a limb here to say that I form a direct link between personal audio and headphones. There are those who say that a good pair of speakers is better than ‘cans’ anyday and they are probably right. But while a half decent set of speakers, Source, Amp and accessories will set you back a couple thousand dollars, A personal Headphone based entertainment system can be realized for a few hundred dollars and be just as, if not more effective!!!

Besides…how can your music be ‘personal’ if you’re playing it out of speakers for the world to hear??


Why buy headphones??

1.First and foremost, we all don't keep the same hours. I'm not talking about you and me. I'm talking about the person sleeping in the next room at this very moment. And no, this isn't some sick fantasy about a neighbor-it's her, the person sharing my rent, food, and life! Although I rise (and am expected to rise) when my unofficial spousal unit does, late-night hours reading and browsing the 'net, as well as writing stuff such as this usually mean I'm awake much later than she is (or most other people are). My neighbors don't care if I play my stereo after 10, but SHE certainly does. Without my 'phones, I'd be screwed. I'd never get to listen to half the discs I have. Well, "up yours," I say! With 'phones you've got your own hours and can at least reclaim and live out a valuable part of your life.
2.Apartments, or other such small dwellings, usually equal a cramped life. My listening room also serves duty as a living room, TV room, computer room, beer room, hanging-out room, etc. I can certainly see the purpose of a 15-room mansion since single-room multi-tasking just isn't all that practical. So when someone else calls room dibs and is watching the tube, reading, drinking, sleeping, or whatever, music is usually out for the Douger...until...now yer gettin' the picture.
3.Movies sound better through your headphones than through crappy TV speakers. You guys with home theaters can ignore this, but for others like me-well, this discovery happened quite by accident when Doug's Other pulled the usual "call it quits early" again. It looked as though I just wasn't going to be able to watch Leaving Las Vegas with any appreciable volume. But I plugged the Grados into my VCR's headphone jack and presto, wayyyy better full-stereo sound than the Sony box can crank out on its own.
4.Long-distance traveling becomes a breeze. Endless hours jiggling in a car or airplane seat and being forced to listen to someone else's choice of tunes becomes a thing of the past. Just stock up on batteries and get ahold of Headroom so you can get yourself a full-fledged, full-function traveling pack to haul your portable music center around the world with the least frustration possible.
5.Sometimes you just need your own space. Nothing can piss off avid audiophiles more than someone talking to them while they're trying to enjoy some music. Headphones give you an excuse to ignore such people. They don't know whether you can hear them or not, and they can't tell. If you can hear, who cares? Just pretend you don't and smile whenever they talk. After a bit, they'll get the subtlety of your hints and you'll have all the time you need.
6.A headphone system doesn't cost that much. I did it for less than $250 bucks. It could even be a lot cheaper, or certainly a lot more. I say start cheap but keep expansion in mind. I can't think of better reasonably priced 'phones than the Grado SR- 60s. Other people dig some of the low-price Shack models. Your expansion will come through your player-if you need one. Heck, if you have a headphone jack on some of the gear, you're off to the races (although the portability factor is gone). But remember, in time you may want to add an external headphone amp like those from Headroom. If you don't know why you would want one, just give one a listen to and you'll understand. Almost all Headroom models absolutely kill a portable player's headphone output, or even the jack on your CD player or preamp. And if you're lucky to have a digital output, you can add an Audio Alchemy DAC-MAN or something similar to improve your player's sound significantly. Ahhh, separates for headphone listening....
7.And finally, headphones can sound darn good. That's right, sometimes music is better served through headphones. And you need something on hand just in case music like that comes along.


Music?? What Music??!!

No matter what you listen to – Rock, Pop, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Blues, Folk, Country, New Age, Classical, Lounge, Metal, Punk…phew!! What a list…and im sure I haven’t even covered half of em

Well…No matter what you listen to, there is something about the ‘Sound’ which turns you on. Either that or you’re like me to watch music videos only to see Britney Speare and Madonna making out…*sigh* Every man’s dream…

Ok enough!!

So what can you do to make your music better? Why do you want to make it better in the first place? Don’t you feel happy enough with those $6.00 earphones that give you chronic tinnitus but still make you feel great after a couple of hours of music?? Do you really want to put yourself in a situation where you have such awesome equipment that your bathroom voice doesn’t stand a chance and risks going unused?

Why should I try to get you to spend money…even more than you already have…to have a better musical experience??

Its because this is something I decided to do. I decided to give myself something for all the hard work I put into my schoolwork and my job. I decided to reward myself with some relaxing privacy. Its not about the music…its about closing all doors to yourself and holding all keys.

By the end of this article I am hoping that some of you will get the message, follow some of my suggestions and end up having a great time. Those of you who do so will not see music fall into any of those categories that I listed above…you will find that one style blends seamlessly into the other…you will wonder why you never felt this way before about your music…you will give me a hundred bucks as payment for enticing you with all this drivel



Before we move any further we have to develop an understanding of what sound is. We have to understand the various terms associated with audio and we have to know what the Bass know and Treble knobs are for. We have to know what is available in the personal audio market today and what is worth looking at as a potential investment.
Basics :-

1] Volume : The sound level. Measured in db (Decibel)
2] SQ : Sound Quality (You can appreciate the detail in the music)
3] SPL : Sound Pressure Level (you can FEEL the music)
4] Cans : Slang for Headphones
5] Amps : Amplifiers
6] Bass : Low Frequencies in the music. Give the music a “fuller” feel
7] Treble : Mids and Highs. Give the music its “Detail”
8] Sources : Where do you get your audio signals from? PC, CD Player, PCDP
(Portable CD Player), HDD mp3 Player (iPod, Jukeboxes), Turntables
(Vinyl), Tape Decks etc.
9] Break In : Procedure carried out with new headphones, amps, cables to improve the
tonal quality and response
10] ¼ Jack : Large connecting plug
1/8 jack : Small (regular) connecting plug
11] RCA : Two Pin input/output (Left Right) in most high quality equipment
12] mini : Normal single pin (headphone socket; Line out) input/output

We will get to more as we move through the article…



Are you an Audiophile??

If you think you are and if you own a Sony Portable CD Player and street style earphones/headphones then think again!!! An Audiophile is happy to play the same song repeatedly each time tweaking his equipment to get everything to sound right. The same audiophile then moves on to the next song and at some point of time, like maybe the next day, comes back to the same song and does the whole thing again.

An audiophile takes approximately a tenth of the time to empty his wallet as it took him to fill it up in the first place. He will have one of every amplifier that is there in the market and he will have a dozen headphones…these are the kind of people who don’t realize that they have only one head and two ears…

We can all jump on the bus towards audiophilism…its where we decide to jump off that makes us smart or absurdly dumb. To know where to jump off takes reading, listening and knowing…knowledge is the key…

Basic system that we should have in mind :-

The personal audio system that we are going to set up in this article is not a CD Player with the free headphone that came with it. We are talking about quality…stuff that will last for years of pleasurable listening…
Fortunately for us, unlike computers, the ears stay the same and we don’t need to upgrade our equipment every 20 minutes to stay ahead of the field. Once we hit a sweet spot we just ride the wave till we feel the need to drop off…no pressure and no loss no matter what you do.

We have to put together a list of potential sources, amps, cans and accessories that will meet our requirements.

Sources :-

Based on recommendations from experts I have comiled a list of good sources. A Source should have a high quality Line-Out that does not degrade the audio signal. It should not perform any signal processing on its own in the line out circuit but it can do whatever it likes in the headphone socket circuit. The signals should be strong, noise free and as close to ‘reference’ as possible. Reference is a term used to describe the closeness of the output signal to what is actually recorded on the medium (CD, Tape whatever…)

Some of the sources you may want to look at depending on your needs and budget are :-

iRiver SlimX – Portable CD Player (imp350/400/550)
Apple iPod - Hard drive based portable mp3 player (10,20,40GB)
Creative Labs Zen and ZenNX
Archos Jukebox FM


The iPod is a GREAT source!!!

Typically any decent, $100-$200 CD Player WITH A LINE OUT should do the job of a source pretty well. If the source is bad then everything else just collapses as a result. Most people get a better result changing their source before changing their Cans and Amps. If your source is noisy then even the best amp will just amplify whatever comes to it a.k.a noise









Headphone Amplifiers :-

Now why would anyone want a headphone amplifier!! Arent these just headphones?? Why are we treating them like full blown speakers??

That’s because some of the Headphones we are going to suggest can potentially sound better than a $10,000 home speaker rig when properly sourced and amped!!! Headphones like the Sennheiser HD580/600/650 and the Grado RS-1/RS-2 etc. have to be heard to be believed!!! Imagine spending $1000 on a pair of speakers and then hooking them up to a boom box. What a waste! Well, that’s exactly what’s happening when you buy a good pair of headphones and plug them into your average headphone jack. Designers of audio equipment know that the headphone jack is rarely used, so they don’t bother to put a good amplifier behind it—what you get is usually just a cheap op-amp. It’s even worse with portable audio players—such equipment is designed with power conservation in mind, so the headphone jack is designed to put out as little power as possible. Unfortunately, conserving power is the last thing you want to do when designing a good power amp. Driving a decent pair of headphones with a portable player almost always results in a gutless mush of music. Hitting the "bass boost" switch only emphasizes the murk. The fact is that headphones are miniature speakers and require a miniature power amplifier to drive them with fidelity. Headphones provide a complex electro-mechanical load; they may be small, but they still need a power amp with excellent stability and low output impedance (a good damping factor) to bring out their potential. Hook your headphones up to a amplifier and you’ll hear nuance and detail you’ve never heard before. The bass will be tooth-rattlingly low and tight, not bloated and mushy, and the dynamics will be delivered: eye-blinking impact and a snappy bounce.

Bottom line: every dollar spent on a headphone system is like $5-$8 spent on a home speaker/amp combo. A good portable headphone setup will let you take your quality home audio with you wherever you go. A good headphone system at home will deliver outstanding performance at normal listening levels without bothering family or neighbors.


Here is a comprehensive list of all the “good” headphone amplifiers out there. Before you buy one it is recommended that you try your best to arrange an audition. An audition is the chance to listen to the amp with your favorite headphone before you buy one. Some manufacturers allow you to try out the amp for a week or two before you make up your mind.

AKG Hearo 999 - analog and digital inputs, 10 Head Related Transfer Functions $429.00
Antique Sound Lab - HB1 - All class A, SET/hybbrid headphone amplifier $249.00
Antique Sound Lab - LH-01 - Preamplifier with headphone output. Tube regulated, remote control $499.00
Antique Sound Lab - MG HEAD DT/OTL MKII $359.00
Antique Sound Lab - MG Head DT/OTL32 $595.00
Antique Sound Lab - SR-HEAD - Headphone amplifier with variable DSP $199.00
Antique Sound Lab - Twin Head - preamp w/headphone output $1,895.00
Apheared's CMoy variant #42 - portable amp (PPA inspired using opamps and open loop buffers)
Audio Valve Impedanzer - optimized to drive headphones with an impedance above 100 Ohm $200.00
Audio Valve RKV MkII - tube amp, good for driving AKG K1000 $980.00
Berning MicroZOTL - output transformerless tube amplifier - 100 to 240 VAC mains or 12-volt DC source (2.1 amps) $750.00
Cary CAD-300SE Signature monoblock/pr - 15 Watts per channel, Single Ended Triode, Pure Class A, Mono Blocks $4,750.00
Cary CAD-300SE/LX20 monoblock/pr - 20 Watts per channel, Single Ended Triode, Pure Class A, Mono Blocks $5,995.00
Cary SLI-80 - Triode, 80 Watts per channel in Class A/B ultra-linear mode and 40 watts in triode mode $4,795.00
Creek OBH-11SE $350.00
Creek OBH-21SE $399.95
E.A.R.-Yoshino EAR V-20 - Tube with Output Transformer $4,600.00
E.A.R.-Yoshino HP4 - Tube with Output Transformer $3,595.00
EarMax - Output Transformer Less (OTL), Class A Triode design $575.00
EarMax Pro - Output Transformer Less (OTL), Class A Triode design $750.00
Gilmore Dynamic Headphone Amp V2 (kit $399) $549.00
Gilmore Dynamic Headphone Amp V2-SE $849.00
Gilmore Lite Dynamic Headphone Amp (kit $199) $249.00
Gilmore Reference Headphone Amplifier (balanced or single ended version) NEW
Grace Design Model 901 - balanced/unbalanced - 24-bit DAC $1,395.00
Grado RA-1 - 2/9 volt batteries $350.00
Grado RA-2 HG
HeadRoom Base Station One $299.00
HeadRoom BlockHead - headphones with balanced cables $3,333.00
HeadRoom BlockHead (Stepped Attenuators) - - headphones with balanced cables $3,888.00
HeadRoom Cosmic - portable - 4 D cells $729.00
HeadRoom Cosmic Reference - "ultimate" portable - 4 D cells $829.00
Headroom Little More Power Premium $679.00
Headroom Little Premium $479.00
HeadRoom Max (Loop Out or Dual Input) - ultimate non-balanced headphone amp $1,599.00
HeadRoom Maxed Out Home Reference (Loop Out or Dual Input) $1,199.00
HeadRoom More Power Supply $249.00
HeadRoom Static $259.00
HeadRoom Total AirHead $99.00
Headsave - Elpac 24 volt regulated power supply $35.00
Headsave Elite Classic - power supply and/or 9v battery $225.00
Headsave Elite SL - needs outboard DC power supply $153.00
Headsave MiniMe - needs outboard DC power supply $99.00
Headsave Mint - 1 9v battery $75.00
HeadSave Primare PPA headphone amplifier $399.00
Headsave Tempo - power supply and/or 9v battery $129.00
JMT Audio Home Headphone Amplifier (prices starting at) $200.00
JMT Audio Mint Headphone Amplifier - ultra small amp designed using the META42 circuit $90.00
JMT Audio Portable Headphone Amplifier - 9v battery, excellent w/Etymotic ER-4S canalphones (prices starting at) $130.00
JMT Audio PPA headphone amplifier - parts/price dependent
JMT Audio Transportable Headphone Amplifier (prices starting at) $150.00
LaRocco Audio PPA headphone amplifier - parts/price dependent
Meier-Audio Corda HA-1 $305.00
Meier-Audio Corda HA-1 MKII $410.00
Meier-Audio Corda HA-2 $615.00
Meier-Audio Corda Prehead-1 $900.00
Meier-Audio Porta Corda - portable headphone amp - 9v battery $195.00
Melos SHA Maestro Reference (Carlo mod) - preamp/headphone amp - OTL headphone output stage
META42 Headphone Amplifier - portable (PPA inspired using opamps and open loop buffers) DIY "maxed mods" $250.00
META42 Headphone Amplifier - portable (PPA inspired using opamps and open loop buffers) DIY "middle mods" $150.00
Moth Xana - 102lbs of class-A1 tube circuitry directly coupled to headphones via monstrous paper and oil capacitors $6,980.00
Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 - tube $295.00
Musical Fidelity X-Can V3 - tube $395.00
Perreaux SXH-1 - compact headphone amplifier $349.95
Ray Samuels Emmeline HR-2 $875.00
Ray Samuels Emmeline XP7 - A Portable Amp From Ray Samuels $495.00
Ray Samuels Emmeline XP7 w/power supply $695.00
Sennheiser DSP Pro $199.00
SinglePower Audio SDS SET Headphone Amplifier (single-ended OTL configuration) - parts/price dependent
SinglePower Audio Supra SET Headphone Amplifier (single-ended OTL configuration) - parts/price dependent $1000+
SinglePower CPX-3 SET Headphone Amplifier (single-ended OTL configuration) - parts/price dependent $350.00
SinglePower MPX-3 SET Headphone Amplifier (single-ended OTL configuration) - parts/price dependent $600.00
SinglePower PPX-3 SET Headphone Amplifier (single-ended OTL configuration) - parts/price dependent $395.00
SonicAdventure Reality HP-100A
Sostenuto-1 Hi-Fi portable DAC $450.00
Stax SRM-006 - tube $1,600.00
Stax SRM-007 - tube $2,700.00
Stax SRM-212 Solid State Headphone Amplifier $445.00
Stax SRM-3 SS DC Class A amp $1,250.00
Stax SRM-313 - solid state $800.00
Stax SRM-717 - solid state $2,675.00
Stax SRS-2020 Basic System II $750.00
Stax SRS-3030 Classic System II $1,250.00
Stax SRS-4040 Signature System II $2,000.00
Sugden Headmaster Headphone Amplifier £599.00
Wheatfield Audio HA-2 Premium - Output Transformerless Tube $899.00
Wheatfield Audio HA-2 Standard - Output Transformerless Tube $849.00
Wheatfield HA-1 $529.00
World Audio Design HD83 - SE design w/power pentode wired in triode configuration £167.00
Xin Super Micro - super tiny amp/portable, 1 AAA battery (digital volume control) $149.99
Xin Super Mini - super tiny amp/portable, 3 AAA batteries (digital volume control) $119.99


Headphones :-

This is the fun part…where we decide which car to get. The choice of AMP is actually governed by which headphone you have so it is important to choose a suitable headphone first. Choosing a headphone is a process that should take you close to one week including reading reviews, looking for members on the www.headfi.org forums nearby your place where you can check out their headphones, arranging auditions, finding the best prices and finally choosing and ordering your own pair.

Some of the good headphones have been listed below with the current prices as of November 15th 2003


AKG K 270 S - open - "a real letdown" $249.00
AKG K1000 - open - needs POWER (Grace Design Model 901 suggested) $549.00
Alessandro Music Series One - open-air $99.00
Alessandro Music Series Pro - open-air $699.00
Alessandro Music Series Two - open-air $299.00
Audio Technica ATH-A1000 (Japan)
Audio Technica ATH-D40fs - Bass-enhanced, full-size, closed-back dynamic $87.00
Audio Technica ATH-M30 - Full-size, closed-back dynamic $58.23
Audio Technica ATH-M40fs - Extended-response, full-size, closed-back dynamic $88.00
Audio Technica ATH-W1000 (Japan)
Audio Technica ATH-W2002 (Japan)
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro - sealed $179.95
Beyerdynamic DT 880 - open "challenges HD 600" $259.00
Beyerdynamic DT 931 - open $179.00
Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro - open $199.95
Etymotic Research ER-4P - earphones (for portable use) $244.95
Etymotic Research ER-4S - earphones (for fixed system use) $244.95
Grado Prestige Series SR-225 - open - "best rock headphones" $174.99
Grado Prestige Series SR-325 - open $264.99
Grado Reference Series RS1 - open - for rock music, detailed $589.00
Grado Reference Series RS2 - open $429.95
Grado SR-80 - open "audiophile entry on the cheap" $76.99
Remote Audio TAHN7506 - isolation headphones $285.00
Sennheiser HD 580 - open $155.99
Sennheiser HD 600 - open $248.99
Sennheiser HD 650 - open - my favorite for all music, comfy, needs a bit of power $449.95
Sennheiser MX500 - earbuds $11.64
Sony MDR-CD3000 - Audiophile Stereo Headphones with Bio-Cellulose Diaphragm $371.24
Sony MDR-R10 - 50mm, Nd, Bio Cellulose, Floating Ear Cups, 6N-OFC/S, Gold Plated Plug $3,799.99
Stax Lambda Nova Classic (discontinued) $899.00
Stax Lambda Nova Signature (discontinued) $1,135.00
Stax SR-001 MK2 System $399.00
Stax SR-003 - S-001 Mk II Headphones With 5 pin connector: for standard Stax Amplifiers $315.00
Stax SR-007 - Omega Mk II Reference Electrostatic Headphones $3,550.00
Stax SR-202 Basic Electrostatic Headphones $495.00
Stax SR-303 Classic Earspeaker $650.00
Stax SR-404 Signature Electrostatic Headphones $800.00


Choosing the equipment that is right for you :-

Every man’s ear is his own…
Unfortunately this is true I cannot choose a headphone for you because I cant tell what it would sound like to your ears!!! I cannot choose an amp for you because I cannot choose a headphone for you and the choice of amp depends a lot on the choice of headphones!!!

To make things easier I will proceed to describe the two basic zones that exist in todays personal audio. I will be dividing the zone based on a physical parameter of the equipment called “Impedence”

The headphones you find in the aircraft, with portable music players etc. and the budget headphones, earphones all fall under the low impedence category. The impedence is of the order of 10 – 200 ohms. They are made with cheap materials, have weak magnets, low tension and high current coils. These headphones don’t require amplifiers to be used and can be driven with any source. They sound cheap and unsatisfying though there are some good ones like the Koss, Grado SR60/SR80, Sennheiser HD 212 PRO, HD280 PRO etc. that fall into this category. Such headphones are made to be used with the portable music equipment without any amplification and other hardware. They are usually of the SEALED variety (the back is not open to the atmosphere)

The higher quality headphones are made of better materials, strong magnets, high tension and low current coils. They have HIGH impedence (of the order of 200 – 600 ohms) and it takes a powerful source or a source coupled with an amplifier to drive them. They are not designed to be used with portables without an amplifier. They provide a full sound and just sound great when coupled with a good source and amp. The Senn HD580/600/650, Grado RS-1, AKG501, 1000 etc. fall under this category…
These headphones are usually of the open type. The advantage of an open headphone is that it eliminates standing waves and distortions as a result of these waves…

Headphones from different manufacturers have different characteristics. The Grado headphones are supposedly BRIGHT (good highs) and forward (active sound). The Sennheisers are laid back and warm (Mellow with good mids and bass). Some are suitable for Classical music and others for Rock and Hip-Hop.

Reading user reviews and matching your music tastes with what they have is the best way to choose a headphone for yourself and not be disappointed. If you choose a low impedence headphone you can even save yourself the trouble of ordering an amplifier to go with it

My current set-up

MG HEAD OTL MK-1 vs CREEK OBH-11SE
HEADPHONE AMPLIFIERS


Disclaimer

This report reflects my opinions based on tests/observations carried out under normal operating conditions. Each reader will have a different “ear” and these observations need not translate into guidelines by which they make decisions on purchasing/selling equipment. There are numerous threads based on the war between Solid State and Tube amplifiers and I am hoping that such wars be limited to existing lines of battle. Please do not bring war into this thread. I hope you enjoy reading this report just as much as I enjoyed the process of creating it.




“Fortune favours the brave” they used to say…

I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment because of what transpired over the past 6 years and the past 6 weeks to make this report possible.

Introduction :-

I have always been interested in audio in general from a very early age but living in India shielded me from all the developments and possibilities of the rest of the world. Personal audio was limited to a pair of un-mentionable headphones and the much loved and hated Sony banana-yellow cassette player…
Although I enjoyed quality sound, it was only from the exposure I received from my relatives in Germany that I realized that there was a whole world filled with goodies waiting to be sampled. My cousin from germany lent me her Sennheiser HD-580 headphones back in 1996 for a couple of days and I was completely taken in. I listened to all my vinyl tracks through a Philips turntable and Sansui tube amplifier. When the time came to return the headphones I was in tears because those few days had exposed me to the world of hi-fi audio and I was not ready to part with it so soon. But sadly I had to let go and slipped back into the aural darkness for the years in between. Now as a student in USA with a credit card, job and a wallet,which is in various stages of cardiac arrest, I was overwhelmed with the choice before me. Next you will read about my journey over the past 6 weeks in finding my way through the quagmire.

Oh! And of course…I am terribly sorry about my wallet

The Beginning :-


They say I have a ear for detail. I can discern frequencies that others cant hear. I notice immediately if someone in the band goes off tune or off beat or misses a cue. Perhaps being a musician myself I am tuned to this sort of listening where I spend more time looking for mistakes than I do having a good time…

It is when I am semiconscious and truly relaxed that music becomes pleasurable to me and therefore I spend most of the night lying down by the poolside or on the laZboy with my favorite tunes playing through my headphones and pcdp.
I started off with a pair of Sony MDR-V300 headphones which are amazing cans for their price tag. They are low impedence phones so I had no problem powering them through the headphone socket of my Sony D-EJ1000 CD Player which is a work of art by itself. I should have stayed happy and even more important I shouldn’t have looked at some old family pictures…

For right there in one of the pictures was me, 15 years young and innocent with a pair of Sennheiser HD-580’s on my dimunitive head. A lot has changed since then, ive become less dimunitive but the innocence remains…YEAH RIGHT!!

Well…after that I just had to have my own pair and soon, after deliberating between the 580 and 600, I decided to go with the known and the cheap and just ordered the HD580 for myself…in a few days I would have the same headphones that I had heard almost 8 years earlier…it was a worrying thought…why hadn’t anything changed much in headphone technology since then? The Sennheiser HD-580 was almost a cult classic by now!!



Wallet emptied and credit card in hand I started looking for a decent amplifier and then I ran into trouble. I didn’t know what type of sound I preferred and was running around in circles trying to find my groove!

#include Wmcmanus

After some rather meaningless posting on the HeadFi forums and hiding my wallet from all the temptations that came my way I happened to post in the “South Florida Headphone Faithful” thread on the forums :-

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...=south+florida

After a couple of posts there I saw a post by Wayne McManus where he listed out all his equipment and I was amazed by his collection. I pmmed him immediately asking him if he had any old stuff that he wanted to get rid of and here are some of the pm’s we exchanged :-

gsferrari wrote on 11-14-2003 08:45 PM:
You sure have some amazing equipment....

Im a graduate student at the University Of South Florida in Tampa...clean tables and teach school kids physics and math for a living...
Just got my new Senn HD-580 and it sounds terrible without a nice amp...
Do you have any old amps that you wanna get rid of ? Please consider me if you do...i could use some help here

Best regards,
Guru
Wayne replied :

Guru,

Thanks (I guess) about the amazing equipment. I see what you mean, and it is a little - well, more than a little - over the top, but fun to share with like-minded people who appreciate good music. It's nothing to be impressed about since I'm just a guy who buys headphones and headphone amps (but could not build one to save my life). It was nice to meet Mikhail in NYC (the designer and builder of the Single Power amps). Cool guy and smart as hell as far as I'm concerned. I'm hoping to find a way of getting the SDS (the monster truck of headphone amps) packed properly so that it can make the trip with me. Keep your fingers crossed because the music is produces with the R-10's and a good source is nothing short of magical.

I'll be sure to bring the HD600's with the Cardas cable so you can do some A/B's with your 580's. The HD650's sounded great in NY even though they were not yet broken in.

As far as amp selling, because I live in Cayman, it's a hassle to sell things in terms of shipping, but I wouldn't be opposed to selling either the ASL MG Head OTL or the Creek OBH-11 SE, both of which work well wth the Senns, depending on your tube vs. solid state preferences. I'm sure you've read the HD600 / MG Head threads at head-fi. This combo is legendary (I also have several extra tubes for the MG Head that I could throw in). Both of these amps are more of less jsut sitting around and gatering dust these days. At one point, I thought I'd hang on to them so that I could do a lot of testing of "how much better is X to Y" - that sort of thing, but once the SDS arrived, even the Sugden Headmaster and Berning micro ZOTL started to gather dust. A real shame, because they are such excellent amps and I should find new (and better) homes for them one day. I'm not at all sure about prices, but we can talk about that relative to what is the current 'market'. I think I paid $245 (used) for the MG Head and about $280 (new) for the Creek (with the upgraded power supply too) and haven't used either one of them very much. I'd be willing to take a bit of a hit to help someone like yourself get started, but nothing too dramatic! IMO, with the Senns, the MG Head will likely be a better match, but everyone has different listening preferences.

More later,

Wayne


And after a few more discussions :

Guru,

Sure, if you want to spend some time auditioning them, I can send them to you in the meantime. In the meantime, if you would send your address, I can start packing them up. It's a bit expensive to ship things from here but I'll let you know what it looks like before I send them. There are other choices in this general price range, so you should do some reading in the amps forum to see if you can get any clues as to what might be the 'flavor of the month' (as we like to call it). What I'm getting at is that I would not want you to commit to making a decision between 2 amps that I happen to have lying around - maybe you should give them an audition and then listen to more amps at the meet that might be in your general price range - and then decide.


Wayne



After this I sent Wayne my address and within a week I had two beautiful amplifiers sitting on my table begging to be heard.

THANK YOU WAYNE !!!

So I assembled all my equipment together and though I don’t have a great source I am still very excited about ABing the two amplifiers...

EQUIPMENT

1.Sony D-EJ 1000 Portable CD Player with Line Out (Primary Source)
2.Apple 20GB iPod (Secondary Source)
3.Sennheiser HD-580 Headphones – stock cables
4.MG Heat OTL MK-1 Headphone Amplifier with an assortment of tubes
5.Creek OBH-11 SE with OBH-2 Power Supply





MUSIC USED
1.Buddha Bar I through V
2.Bee Gees – One Night Only select songs
3.Crosby Stills and Nash – Shadowy Captain
4.Gipsy Kings – Mosaique
5.Cheb Mami – Meli Meli
6.Oasis – (What’s the story) Morning Glory ?
7.Kenny G – Breathless
8.Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells
9.Sting - Brand New Day
10.Cat Stevens – The Very Best
11. U2 – The Best of U2
12.Steve Harley – Make Me Smile
13.Weather Report – Telarc Recording Studios
14.Eric Claptop – Unplugged



INTERESTING BITS

I am a HUGE believer in “Break-In” because, as an engineer, I know a little bit about materials sciences. When you shape materials they stiffen to resist the change in shape and orientation of molecules. This is even more true in the case of polymers and the suspension of the drivers in speakers and cans are polymer based. They need to be extended and flexed to regain their suppleness. Stiffness can arise due to properties of the material or due to storage for a long time. Whatever be the reason, I broke in my Senns for over 100 hours using a set of wav and mp3’s that I collected from the net. I also used a signal generator to supply signals from 10 – 20000 hz with controllable gain and output levels. I am very pleased with the results. The harshness in mids and highs is gone and the bass has a lot more extension to it. Tight bass doesn’t make a “brrrr” sound at the end of the note…it’s a satisfying “Thud”. Break in is in the ears of the listener

ON TO THE REVIEW



First up : Taking Delivery Of The Amps

When I opened my door on the 21st Friday afternoon (approximately 4 days after Wayne mailed the package containing the amps) I saw a sticker which told me that I had missed the delivery and the next delivery would be on Monday!!! I was devastated!!
I ran out and saw the USPS van moving towards the exit gate. I don’t consider myself a runner but on this occasion I could have won a medal at the Olympics had there been a “Run before you lose your amps” event. In any case I begged the postman to give me my package. He made me run back for ID and by the time I got the package into my room I was quite famished.
I am VERY precise in whatever I do and sometimes annoy those waiting by trying to be absolutely perfect about everything. I took a while opening the box because I didn’t want to damage anything inside. The first thing I saw on top was the Creek OBH-11 SE and this was an absolute shocker to me. THE AMP WAS SO SMALL!!! It was so cute and well built that I was completely taken with it. And then they shot it right out of the window with the power supply…I thought this brick was the MG Head amp and it turned out to be the power supply for the Creek amp!! I was rather disappointed because whats the point in having an amp that small and power supply that HUGE…see for yourselves…


The next item in the package was a beautiful RCA-RCA Interconnect by Homegrown Audio. And then a very delicate package full of various tubes for the MG Head. And finally the gorgeous MG Head OTL MK-1 amplifier.


I tweaked a muscle trying to lift it out with one hand. This is a BEAST and needs to be handled with care. Finally with all the goodies out and on the table I set everything up on my Walmart table (Im a poor guy…) and checked if they would turn on. I prudently removed some of the packing debris from around the tubes…no point having everything catch fire
I had my source, both amps and cans all ready for auditioning and first I decided to let each amp run for a couple of hours each. I ended up continuing the break in of my headphones for another 24 hours (12 with each amp) because I had classes to attend and work at the university cafeteria.

Whew!! I have been listening to both amps for the last one week and here are my impressions…

CREEK OBH-11 SE Headphone Amplifier :-



The amplifier is very nicely built with excellent grippy rubber feet on the bottom. This is an amp which will not look out of place on an executives desk if you can hide the ghastly psu out of sight!



The headphone plugged in with a satisfying thwack. Volume control feels very smooth and linear. On the rear you have two sets of RCA’s – one for i/p and the other for o/p.

The rear also has a power switch which did not feel as solid as the rest of the amp. It was a rather tacky plastic depressable affair which really should have been a more solid switch with a lower profile. The green lettering on the front looks ok but it could have been chrome with a blue LED of less brighness.

Otherwise the amp is very well built. I am not going to write about the interiors because this is not my amplifier and although Wayne is a very kind gentleman, im not sure if opening up his amps will be tolerated

Sound – First impressions

I formed these impressions after only a few hours of listening. I included it to show the readers that what you think of an amp after the first few minutes doesn’t always accurately reflect the true nature of the amplifier. This holds good for anything in life…first impressions are not very reliable.
The amplifier is DEAD silent. No hiss at ANY volume and with any connection variation. Very impressive. I guess that’s why it has such a HUGE power supply. The silence was deep and rather eerie.
When I played Metallica and a couple of dance tunes through the creek I was rather disappointed with the BASS rendering. There was little or no bass worthy of mention. The treble was excellent. Mids and highs were incredibly detailed and I could make out every little sound in the upper frequencies without any veil. In the Eric Clapton Unplugged CD track #1 – “Signe” around the 53rd second I could hear the drummer moving his pedal around and confirmed this a few days later from the video where the drummer bends down exactly at the 53rd second. I was stunned because I couldn’t hear this sound before or perhaps I heard it and didn’t think twice about it! This amp+cans combo will expose all these sounds in your recordings. But again…the Bass was very disappointing to say the least and I didnt enjoy the music at first.

Lasting Impressions

I have formed these impressions of the amplifier after a week of listening to it alternatively with the MG Head. I am actually very pleased with the little performer and though it still struggles for pure Bass and lower mids the Creek takes the icing in the mids and highs department. The mids and highs were extremely detailed as I mentioned before. Bass strength depends on the recording and the source as I found out after connecting the iPod to the amp. I don’t like the loose boomy bassy sound of the iPod but after connecting it to the Creek the bass seemed tamed a little and was definitely tighter. The previously “bassless” Creek came out with flying colors on this one and the Bass had decent levels of extension when required and tightness when required. I must add however that it still didn’t meet my requirements and ultimately I just felt that although this was a great amp, it was just not the amp for me. Many of the readers will love this “subdued bass” because it allows you to listen to the music for longer without fatigue and ear ache. The incredible sonic detail of this amp is a BIG plus.

MG Head OTL MK-1

The MG Head makes you want to turn around and look again and again and again……and again

It is beautifully built in the old fashioned way. I think its fitting that this amp is built by “Antique Sound Labs” because it looks very 60’s. The amp is VERy heavy because of the transformers and if you don’t have any low impedence cans lying around then I think there is a version out there without the unnecessary burden. Unnecessary because most readers with High impedence cans will prefer the OTL mode of this amp. The MG Head has both the OTL and T modes which can be chosen by switching the headphone between the two sockets.

There is also a toggle switch for Feedback which is sort of enigmatic because we’re not able to decide which way is ON. Ultimately the toggle switch alters the sound significantly in the T mode while the change is more subtle in the OTL mode. The amplifier is all black with a anodized front plate which is home to the power switch, volume control, feedback toggle, T and OTL sockets. The volume control is not as fine as I would have liked and had a grainy feel and changing the volume also produced a slight scratchy sound as long as the wheel was in motion. With a setting chosen however the amp was very silent. At higher volumes with certain connection settings however there was a mild hum in the headphones but nothing annoying and certainly not noticeable with the music turned on. This could also be due to the tube that was installed…lets see what transpires with some tuberolling

The amp stands on 4 feet which are not as impressive as the ones on the Creek. But this amp is so heavy that its not going to be sliding around your desk unlike the creek so I guess it really doesn’t matter. There is a grill to protect the tubes when you are done with tuberolling but IMHO the amp looks much better without the grill…better to keep it on in case your dog or kid get curious. The rear of the amp is very simple with two input options – one for RCA and one for mini plug which is great news for us PCDP and iPod users who don’t have a mini-RCA converter that’s a quality affair.




Sound – First Impressions

Very impressed. The bass rendition was amazing and it felt like having a subwoofer in the room…well not quite but close And this is not muddy lifeless bass. The Bass was very detailed with smooth transitions without clipping especially in music from Buddha Bar where you have the Bass changing between 20 – 40 and 80 Hz repeatedly. Above the bass the mids and highs were also impressive. In the T mode the headphones that are naturally laid back were suddenly brought forward a long way. The depth was lost though and this sort of sound is perfect for Rock and Hip-Hop presentation. I preferred the T mode with feedback toggle in the UP position which by markings on the face plate indicate that feedback is ON. The T mode without feedback is too dull and boring but might be suitable for other kinds of music which I haven’t explored yet. OTL and T with FB took up most of my time. All in all this amp was a killer. Two amps in one and so many possible variations with the toggled feedback, OTL and T modes and an impressive variety of tubes to pick and choose from.

Lasting Impressions

This amp has me drooling all over the place. I have already purchased GE 5751 Signal tubes and JJ’s Power tubes to replace the standard Sovteks. I am using the article by Nick Dangerous (of Head-Fi) as a guide towards tuberolling and the results are stunning. Just changing between different 12AX7 tubes gave so many different sounds and I was able to tell which ones I liked and which ones I didn’t. I am in the prossess of matching certain tubes with certain types of music according to my tastes and all that and more is coming up.




Temporary Conclusion

You cant go wrong with either amplifier. They are both fantastic and it’s a matter of choosing between an amp with good overall sound and great Bass and another amp with superb sonic detail and average bass. Its not that simple however. One is a tube amp and the other is solid state and comparing them is sacrilege because both are from completely different philosophies. But these are the only two amps that fall into my price range and command respect at the same time. Both are PERFECT for the Sennheiser HD-580 and I am sure that if you get the Sennheiser HD580/600/650 headphones and one of these amps then all you need is to upgrade your source because these amps will do their job admirably.

I am going to continue this review with detailed accounts of how each amp performs with my HD-580 headphones for specific songs. It will be very very detailed to the extent where I will be pointing out the time in the track when a sound can be heard through the set-up which cannot be heard in any other set up...its called resolution of the set-up...

If anyone has any questiona or need suggestions please email or pm me and I will be glad to help out. Alternatively you can find a similar review by me here :-

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=52192

and that forums is a great place to find information...a little confusing and overwhelming because of the number of opinions and suggestions you will get for a question but its great all the same.

Besf of luck in your journey towards audiophilism

yuppers...need help with hosting

temporarily fixed

Terribly sorry for this late reply.

The HD-590 is a good choice. Break it in for maybe 200 - 80 hours (depending on tunes and volume) and it will sound much better. The HD-590 doesnt really need an amp but its better to a small amp anyway.

My suggestions :-

1] Budget : Build a DIY CMOY amp
2] Intermediate : META 42 or PIMETA amp
3] Decent : go to www.headsave.com or www.jmtaudio.com and order the transportable - it is better than many expensive amps that I have auditioned.
4] High End : Get a PPA from www.jmtaudio.com but I couldnt find any REAL difference between the transportable and the PPA with my HD-580's and source.

Often its the source that makes a bigger difference than the amp - a better source with SACD capability makes a more emphatic difference than a better amp. Cables (Headphone cables and interconnects) also make an enormous difference - I was a sceptic but now after auditioning different cables - I believe!!!

There are plenty of choices for HD-590 cables but most people seem to prefer the Stefan Audio Equinox - make it as short as you can accomodate 5 feet is a good length.

Other options : Cardas, Zu Mobious, Jan meier etc.



Oops...this is another bump from WAAAAY out there