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Showing 1 of 195 conversations about:
Hypahh
0
Jan 16, 2016
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How would this work with the Akg k7xx? Currently running mine through an asus xonar dgx. Listen to every kind of music if that helps haha.
ZALHERA
843
Jan 17, 2016
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HypahhI had the DGX. Noise was terrible, and going to an O2/ODAC combo was an upgrade. That being said I am quite sure any half decent amp will be an improvement over the DGX.
Groch
73
Jan 17, 2016
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ZALHERAI have one of these and love it, it sounds great, warm, smooth, detailed musical. Far better than you would expect for the price. This is a very good price.
The fact that it has both large and small input and headphone jacks is very convenient.
I agree with dalethorn above (he reviews the amp in detail elsewhere) that the aluminum chassis gets hot, but its not the tube. This is a Hybrid amp using class A power transistors inside the case that get very hot. The tube in this model is used as the pre-amp, and it gets only warm. This will not negatively effect tube longevity. Tubes can get VERY hot without problems.
My only complaints are that:
1. The volume knob has far too much gain, so that you can only use about the first 1/3 of its rotation. On sensitive efficient earphones, you will want to lower the input source volume so that you can listen at a reasonable level. It sounds great with all the headphones I have tried. Even better if you put in a higher quality tube.
2. The red front LED is very bright. There is an easy mod that fixes it (open the case and carefully bend the LED inward...add electrical tap to cover the hole....this voids your warranty probably but is easy to reverse). See my photo of modded unit with led provided cheery red tube glow.
Otherwise I am very pleased.
The fact that it has both large and small input and headphone jacks is very convenient.
I agree with dalethorn above (he reviews the amp in detail elsewhere) that the aluminum chassis gets hot, but its not the tube. This is a Hybrid amp using class A power transistors inside the case that get very hot. The tube in this model is used as the pre-amp, and it gets only warm. This will not negatively effect tube longevity. Tubes can get VERY hot without problems.
My only complaints are that:
1. The volume knob has far too much gain, so that you can only use about the first 1/3 of its rotation. On sensitive efficient earphones, you will want to lower the input source volume so that you can listen at a reasonable level. It sounds great with all the headphones I have tried. Even better if you put in a higher quality tube.
2. The red front LED is very bright. There is an easy mod that fixes it (open the case and carefully bend the LED inward...add electrical tap to cover the hole....this voids your warranty probably but is easy to reverse). See my photo of modded unit with led provided cheery red tube glow.
Otherwise I am very pleased.
Demogorgo
77
Jan 18, 2016
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GrochI put masking tape over the LED. Dimmer and still visible. If you're crafty, you can make it look good.
AdrianJBlackwell
26
Jan 20, 2016
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GrochI did the same thing with my led, however, if you did bend it, I don't think there's anyway to tell it's been messed with unless you really bend it out of shape.
Another con I would add is the fact that even when I had the volume set to minimum, turning on the amp would cause a loud pop in my earphones. With my AKG K553 PRO, it was irritating, with my Shure SE535's, it was unbearable. Besides the ear pain, I was worried that it was going to do damage to the headphones in the long term. Plugging them in after the amp was turned on essentially had the same result, like an electric guitar being plugged into an amp. Ended up buying a Schiit stack which has none of these issues.
Also, there is a discernible hum if you turn up the volume too high, especially with IEM's. However, at those volumes, it was too loud to listen to comfortably.
By the way, like everyone else, I upgraded the tube; to a Tung-Sol 12AU7. Standard tube was pretty poor.
Another con I would add is the fact that even when I had the volume set to minimum, turning on the amp would cause a loud pop in my earphones. With my AKG K553 PRO, it was irritating, with my Shure SE535's, it was unbearable. Besides the ear pain, I was worried that it was going to do damage to the headphones in the long term. Plugging them in after the amp was turned on essentially had the same result, like an electric guitar being plugged into an amp. Ended up buying a Schiit stack which has none of these issues.
Also, there is a discernible hum if you turn up the volume too high, especially with IEM's. However, at those volumes, it was too loud to listen to comfortably.
By the way, like everyone else, I upgraded the tube; to a Tung-Sol 12AU7. Standard tube was pretty poor.
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