postjack Posted March 10, 2007 Report Posted March 10, 2007 I really enjoyed reading it, thanks! Do you mind if I ask how much it set you back and where you purchased it from? I've recently taken an interest in this amp since I've been enjoying the RS-1 so much.
deepak Posted March 10, 2007 Author Report Posted March 10, 2007 I grabbed it off Audiogon first day it was posted with around 100 views. Let's just say I paid way less than I should have given the condition, tubes and two faceplates
postjack Posted March 10, 2007 Report Posted March 10, 2007 I grabbed it off Audiogon first day it was posted with around 100 views. Let's just say I paid way less than I should have given the condition, tubes and two faceplates Fair enough. Congrats.
Iron_Dreamer Posted March 11, 2007 Report Posted March 11, 2007 I know the listing you're talking about, congrats!
recstar24 Posted March 11, 2007 Report Posted March 11, 2007 Congrats on a fine purchase! Don't want to upset the boat, but I personally did not find my particular experience with the HP-2's and Melos SHA-1 all that great. When I heard it, it lacked dynamics, punch, and simply had a bland sound to it, nothing exciting or what I felt met the hype and expectations created on headfi about the supposed synergy. It might have been a source issue, and the cable was the standard cable, not the ultrawide bandwidth, which I feel is sonically inferior and sounds more dull and rolled off than the ultrawide bandwidth. I would love to give another go with a melos and my hp's though
deepak Posted March 11, 2007 Author Report Posted March 11, 2007 Congrats on a fine purchase! Don't want to upset the boat, but I personally did not find my particular experience with the HP-2's and Melos SHA-1 all that great. When I heard it, it lacked dynamics, punch, and simply had a bland sound to it, nothing exciting or what I felt met the hype and expectations created on headfi about the supposed synergy. It might have been a source issue, and the cable was the standard cable, not the ultrawide bandwidth, which I feel is sonically inferior and sounds more dull and rolled off than the ultrawide bandwidth. I would love to give another go with a melos and my hp's though The G08 is a great source I doubt that's what was lacking. I have a set of current production JJ tubes as well, and I wouldn't rate that headphone/amp/tube combo as anything other than average. The Teslas really wake the amp up. On this setup I'm definitely not hearing any lack of dynamics. I haven't heard a more dynamic setup in my home (maybe ever, but meets are too noisy to evaluate that).
recstar24 Posted March 11, 2007 Report Posted March 11, 2007 The G08 is a great source I doubt that's what was lacking. I have a set of current production JJ tubes as well, and I wouldn't rate that headphone/amp/tube combo as anything other than average. The Teslas really wake the amp up. On this setup I'm definitely not hearing any lack of dynamics. I haven't heard a more dynamic setup in my home (maybe ever, but meets are too noisy to evaluate that). When I heard it, it was not my source, a philips sacd or something, which I think definitely played a part in it. I had no idea what tubes he was using, and again I think the biggest culprit was the standard cable on the HP's, I really feel that cable is the reason why the HP's have the connotation of being dull and rolled off, as the 3 different ultrawide bandwidth versions I have owned all slam in dynamics and extension whereas the standard was simply so boring and dull. That is why I am again curious to hear the melos with this new insight, and am definitely glad you have found your current setup to be on par with your expectations
hirsch Posted March 12, 2007 Report Posted March 12, 2007 When I heard it, it was not my source, a philips sacd or something, which I think definitely played a part in it. I had no idea what tubes he was using, and again I think the biggest culprit was the standard cable on the HP's, I really feel that cable is the reason why the HP's have the connotation of being dull and rolled off, as the 3 different ultrawide bandwidth versions I have owned all slam in dynamics and extension whereas the standard was simply so boring and dull. That is why I am again curious to hear the melos with this new insight, and am definitely glad you have found your current setup to be on par with your expectations The cable actually has less to do with it than the actual model of the HP-1000. The HP-1 rolls off the highs badly due to the polarity switches. There's clearly some resistance there, as the HP-1 (two in my rig) are less efficient than the HP-2. Once you get to the HP-2, the cable makes a difference, with the high-bandwidth cable opening the high end a bit and adds a bit of punch (matters more with HP-2, since HP-1 high end is already compromised). An interesting tube for the Melos is the Telefunken PCC88. 7 volt version of the ECC88 (6DJ8), but works perfectly well at 6v. Very nice sounding tube that used to sell for a fraction of Telefunken 6DJ8 pricing, although I fear that it has been "discovered".
recstar24 Posted March 12, 2007 Report Posted March 12, 2007 The cable actually has less to do with it than the actual model of the HP-1000. The HP-1 rolls off the highs badly due to the polarity switches. There's clearly some resistance there, as the HP-1 (two in my rig) are less efficient than the HP-2. Once you get to the HP-2, the cable makes a difference, with the high-bandwidth cable opening the high end a bit and adds a bit of punch (matters more with HP-2, since HP-1 high end is already compromised). An interesting tube for the Melos is the Telefunken PCC88. 7 volt version of the ECC88 (6DJ8), but works perfectly well at 6v. Very nice sounding tube that used to sell for a fraction of Telefunken 6DJ8 pricing, although I fear that it has been "discovered". I concur, and should have mentioned that my above topic was in reference to the various sets of HP-2's that I have owned. In total, I have owned 3 and listened to extensively in a non-meet environment 5 HP-2's, 3 with the ultrawide and 2 with the standard, and with that experience have been able to base my opinon upon. Unfortunately, I have never heard a HP-1 so I cannot make a statement in regards to the effect of the polarity switch on the sound
deepak Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Posted March 27, 2007 The cable actually has less to do with it than the actual model of the HP-1000. The HP-1 rolls off the highs badly due to the polarity switches. There's clearly some resistance there, as the HP-1 (two in my rig) are less efficient than the HP-2. Once you get to the HP-2, the cable makes a difference, with the high-bandwidth cable opening the high end a bit and adds a bit of punch (matters more with HP-2, since HP-1 high end is already compromised). An interesting tube for the Melos is the Telefunken PCC88. 7 volt version of the ECC88 (6DJ8), but works perfectly well at 6v. Very nice sounding tube that used to sell for a fraction of Telefunken 6DJ8 pricing, although I fear that it has been "discovered". I have a pair of the Telefunken PCC88 on the way now
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