Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

i listened to the D5000 this weekend for the first time from a very good source and amp and was very disappointed. they sounded horribly thin and small in terms of the sound stage. they sounded cheap! right next to them was another closed headphone, the DX1000. the difference was night and day, as in the latter was good and former bad. i was very impressed by the DX1000 - an overall warm, fluid sound, with a very good sound stage. there seemed to be a slight coloration to the mid range, but that was my only complaint. did not want to take them off - unlike the D5000 which i could not wait to get rid of.

  • Replies 324
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted

I'm guessing he was using his Apache and Meridian.

I really liked the D5000 with my Millett. I was listening to Agalloch's The Mantle, which has acoustic guitar, strings, electric guitar, clean vocals, raspy vocals, drums and effects and I was pleasantly surprised by its ability to get the textures right. There was no congestion in the mids and treble, and I was able to hear each acoustic guitar string through the wall-of-sound distorted electric guitar. There wasn't a lot of bass extension, but at no point was I thinking it was distracting from the experience. The only thing I will say about the bass is that it might have lost some its coherancy a bit with faster and more complex stuff, but for slower stuff, it did will with textures and atmosphere.

Guest sacd lover
Posted

i get it. everyone here thinks ray's amps are crap. and i guess by the above comment meridians suck as well.

The Meridian doesnt suck but you can get as good or better sound at a lower price.

Posted

Tool Audio M3, there is a bit of a wait though :P

Start at balanced mini3, go through balanced millett max, continue through balanced m3, then on to 4 and 6 channel beta22s. I think there are a number of variants of gilmores amps that can be had balanced for under $2500 as well.

Posted

Start at balanced mini3, go through balanced millett max, continue through balanced m3, then on to 4 and 6 channel beta22s. I think there are a number of variants of gilmores amps that can be had balanced for under $2500 as well.

more about this balanced mini3...i must hear one

double superscripts messes with the way the post looks, so i got rid of it

Posted

don't forget about the balanced Single Powers (balanced PPX3 or MPX3 Slam should be under $2500), and i bet the standard Moon audio Luna is better. and the Headroom has a couple balanced amps for under $2500 that i would much rather have.

Chances are the eddie current balanced offerings are better. Odds are good a couple of transformers and some jacks in a cardboard box would be better.

Posted

are we talking about high end transformers, or the shitty ones like Bumble Bee? or even, jeez, Go-Bots?

We're comparing to the apache right? Does it matter? :)

Posted

at the recent meet and in terms of dynamic rigs, i preferred my apache over everything i heard that day - other than the B52. after that my next favorite setup was probably a heavily modded RKV with HD650 (SE equinox). the balanced mini3 sounded good as well but not nearly in the same league as the RSA ones. i also have heard various balanced SP amps and the HR desktop balanced. i prefer the sound of the Apache/B52 to them as well. have not heard the GSX or a Beta22.

Guest sacd lover
Posted

what's a better balanced amp for or under $2,500?

I have not heard the Apache yet. But, I have asked a few friends that own the Apache their opinion, Afrikane comes first to mind. His exact wording was the Apache was bland and insipid and he sold .... or is in the process of selling his Apache. The other opinion was similar and mentioned lack of dynamics and resolution.

I have a Square wave XL and I really like this amp. I still prefer single ended tubes but I can listen to this amp and really enjoy the presentation. Overall, the amp is excellent and very musical for SS. The Square Wave is no more than $2k even with a bigger case and dual stepped attenuators. As much as I like tubes, I am not a big fan of balanced tube amps because of all the tube matching required.

The Beta 22 looks very tempting and if I didnt have the SW XL I would have bought one of Thrice's balanced 22's. $1695 for a Beta 22 vs $3000 for the Apache .... ouch!!! :-[

Posted
i listened to the D5000 this weekend for the first time from a very good source and amp and was very disappointed. they sounded horribly thin and small in terms of the sound stage. they sounded cheap! right next to them was another closed headphone, the DX1000. the difference was night and day, as in the latter was good and former bad. i was very impressed by the DX1000 - an overall warm, fluid sound, with a very good sound stage. there seemed to be a slight coloration to the mid range, but that was my only complaint. did not want to take them off - unlike the D5000 which i could not wait to get rid of.
64 ohms nominal vs. 25 ohms nominal. Ray's amps don't like low impedance headphones...or rather, low impedance phones don't like Ray's amps...or rather, people don't like Ray's amps when trying to drive low impedance headphones.

I bet the difference would be a lot less audible even on an entry level goliath-killer like Headroom's balanced thingy.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.