PFKMan23 Posted July 6, 2008 Report Posted July 6, 2008 All I have to say is, $5000 headphone amp with upside down XLR headphone jacks. Yes they're (most likely) board mounted, which is why, but for a statement amp, with all of Ray's supposed skill, that's just stupid.
guzziguy Posted July 6, 2008 Report Posted July 6, 2008 Here are some pics of the mini-meet... Important stuff first...food and beer! Where's the Spam? I was also impressed with the AKG K340's which were modified by Headphile. When using the "HiZ" setting on the 307A, they were quite detailed and with a good, mostly even tonal balance. As far as the B-52 is concerned, my initial impressions are still holding, that it is warmer with less treble sparkle and slightly ill-defined bass as compared to the 307A. Could it be the tubes I am usuing with it? Sure could be. I have some others in the stockpile so I will see if anything changes. How did the two amps sound when driving the K340s? Does the above description for the B-52 apply?
4N6 Posted July 6, 2008 Report Posted July 6, 2008 All I have to say is, $5000 headphone amp with upside down XLR headphone jacks. Yes they're (most likely) board mounted, which is why, but for a statement amp, with all of Ray's supposed skill, that's just stupid. Personally, the orientation of the XLR jacks is immaterial. Once they are connected, who cares what direction they are? The important thing is the sound, and the B-52 does sound great. Different than the 307A? Definitely. "Worse" sounding? Depends on personal preference at this level. If a person likes the sound a little bit warmer and richer, then I could easily see them prefering the B-52 to the 307A.
4N6 Posted July 6, 2008 Report Posted July 6, 2008 Where's the Spam? This was an informal meet. The Spam does not come out unless we are using the fine china and drinking expensive red wines!!
jp11801 Posted July 6, 2008 Report Posted July 6, 2008 Looks like it was a fun and enlightening time, nice to see you both enjoying the 307a. Keep the impressions going if you would please.
boomana Posted July 6, 2008 Report Posted July 6, 2008 Nice pics. Look forward to reading what you both thought about things.
recstar24 Posted July 7, 2008 Report Posted July 7, 2008 Random - 4N6 are you originally from Wisconsin? I see the packers avatar and go packers in your signature. If so, then please....get out... (bears fan woot)
riceboy Posted July 7, 2008 Report Posted July 7, 2008 Hey guys. Sorry I've been M.I.A. I've been out the whole morning and afternoon out with the family and I just got back. I'll be posting my impression either tonight or for sure tomorrow with some pics as well
4N6 Posted July 7, 2008 Report Posted July 7, 2008 Random - 4N6 are you originally from Wisconsin? I see the packers avatar and go packers in your signature. If so, then please....get out... (bears fan woot) OMG! A BEARS fan?!? Just two words for you...Rex Grossman!!! Enough said about the future of your season! And no, I am not from Wisconsin or any surrounding state. I just have good taste in football teams! Seriously, I have been to Lambeau Field twice to see the Bears vs the Pack. Always good games and the rivalry is as good as there is in sports. Great fun.
4N6 Posted July 7, 2008 Report Posted July 7, 2008 How is that primaluna cdp? I compared the PL8 to the 840C a few months back and found the 840C to have better clarity and delineation of detail. Overall, I liked it a little bit more and it is ~$750 less expensive. However, I just got the PL8 upgarded with a new op-amp board and have yet to compare the two again. I would direct you to the review of the PL8 in Stereophile but that review is next to worthless for many reasons. I hear that Wes Philips is going to do a Follow Up review is a short while and hopefully a better review of the CDP will be forthcoming.
recstar24 Posted July 7, 2008 Report Posted July 7, 2008 OMG! A BEARS fan?!? Just two words for you...Rex Grossman!!! Enough said about the future of your season! And no, I am not from Wisconsin or any surrounding state. I just have good taste in football teams! Seriously, I have been to Lambeau Field twice to see the Bears vs the Pack. Always good games and the rivalry is as good as there is in sports. Great fun. Ummm...As if Aaron Rodgers is any better...and you forgot, we still have Kyle Orton. hahahaha. Very cool, it is a great rivarly and despite the bias it's a great football town. Sounds like the meet was a blast! Congrats on the 307A.
guzziguy Posted July 7, 2008 Report Posted July 7, 2008 Hey guys. Sorry I've been M.I.A. I've been out the whole morning and afternoon out with the family and I just got back. I'll be posting my impression either tonight or for sure tomorrow with some pics as well Excuses, excuses!
Dusty Chalk Posted July 7, 2008 Report Posted July 7, 2008 Re: XLR connections -- they're facing the right way if you're bending over the thing trying to plug them in.
4N6 Posted July 7, 2008 Report Posted July 7, 2008 More B-52/307A comparisons... I have been A/B'ing the two amps using the 840C CDP. The differences with every CD I have used have been consistent, and for the most part, pretty easy to identify. The tonality of the two, as mentioned previously, is different. The 307A tends to the brighter side, with a seemingly lighter touch with instruments and vocals. This is in no way a thinness, as there is plenty of body and three-dimensionality to the sound. It just seems that the 307A "lets go of the notes" slightly quicker than the B-52, which has a warmer and fuller character. The warmth is addictive and makes some of the more "digital" sounding CD's a little easier on the ears. The B-52 definitely is an amp that you can listen to all day, with very little listening fatigue. The brighter character of the 307A had me at times reaching for the volume control, especially with poorly recorded CD's. Not ruthlessly revealing, but certainly an amp that will tell you everything that is going on. Which brings us to the other main difference, the reproduction of musical detail. The warmth of the B-52 seems to mask out spatial details, which then leads to a flattened picture of the musical landscape. I did consider that the overall brighter nature of the 307A could be adding an illusion of more detail. But with that thought in mind, the perceived detail retrieval and reproduction via the 307A was real, and all instruments and vocals had a more unique position in the soundstage along with more surrounding air and body. Hall reverb, whether natural or artificial, was better reproduced by the 307A, further adding to the larger soundstage. Enough for tonight. I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was pretty terrific with my first listen to the "King of Headphones." Hopefully I can find myself a pair of these at some point. Have a great week!
909 Posted July 7, 2008 Report Posted July 7, 2008 i haven't heard the 307A, but i seriously doubt that amp has any hint of brightness, harshness or even thinness, but more likely you are hearing your source unfiltered for probably the first time.
kevin gilmore Posted July 7, 2008 Report Posted July 7, 2008 The differences you are hearing between the 2 amps is almost directly the difference between the designs. 1) B52 is a SRPP OTL design with smaller value output caps than necessary to drive low impedance loads. 2) TTVH is a Single ended pure class A transformer coupled output. You can find a number of amplifiers built the same as above, and each would sound far more like similar amps of the same design than the alternative design. The distortion signatures are very different between the 2.
riceboy Posted July 8, 2008 Report Posted July 8, 2008 Let me first start off by saying thank you to 4n6 for having me over to listen to some sweet gears. Also, thanks for the great beer to partake in. Now on to the impressions Here is what I listened to first: Audio Research CD7 - 307A- (can) SA5000 Balanced with Silver Dragon: When I listened to Eric Clapton unplugged with the song "Hey Hey" playing I noticed Clapton's voice more laid back and natural sounding. The guitar had a some body when he hit the strings. With the song "Tears from Heaven" I noticed the that Clapton's voice was very natural sounding and the guitar did reverberate throughout the song. I was surprised by the separation of the vocals and guitar during the tracks. I listened to some other tracks as well, but overall I noticed that it had good separation of the vocals and instruments. Everything had it's own space and there was good tone and substance in the music. The tubes did warm up the highs as well. R10s: When I listened to Clapton Unplugged with "Lonely Stranger" it was fantastic. Everything had it's own space with greater clarity than the SA5000s. The sound was a lot more natural and had a more real tonality to the vocals and instruments. The SA5000 felt like they lacked some body and airy goodness that the R10s had. Not to say the SA5000s aren't good, but it really is hard to compare the two different sounding cans. This is what I heard with other tracks as well. When listening to Diana Krall Live "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" the tone is beautiful, detailed, exquisite, and full of life. You could feel the energy from the bass player strumming on the strings. Then Diana comes in and you could hear every vocal expression articulated beautifully with the piano sounding all too real. I did notice that the 307A made the R10s a lot more detailed than I ever heard them. But I feel that the Dragon from SinglePower had a little more warmer/darker sound that I personally like, but the 307A is seriously just a wonderful amp. SR225 Woodied: Okay I really wasn't expecting much from this can but the 307A really made this can shine. I know that 4n6 didn't have a chance to listen to them with the 307A, but there will be another time for sure . When I listened to Diana Krall live again with "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" there was a very wonderful low end that was controlled and tight. I couldn't really believe it. The bass player sounded so dynamic and the strums on the strings was very tight and controlled. Diana's voice was very clear and clean. This is by far the best I've ever heard the SR225 or any Grado I heard with another amp by a long mile. With the amount of Grados I own/owned stemming from the SR60, SR80, SR225 twice, SR325i, MS2, MS1,HF-1s three times, RS1s twice, GS1000 twice, and HP2s twice, I thoroughly enjoyed these woodied SR225s. Even the cymbals sounded clear and natural without the edgy high end. Let's just say that this amp really, really brought out something beautiful in these SR225s. Diana's voice in "Look of Love" had a uncharacteristic misty dimension and charm to it that I never heard a woodied Grado ever produce. The amp just draws you in and makes you want to listen to more. Then I had to put on Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" and again his voice was warm, inviting, and very intimate. The tone of his guitar was just killer. Then I moved on to Sam Phillips "Fan Dance". It didn't disappoint there as her vocals were so picturesque, real, and so silky smooth. The Grado as you all know has a small sound stage, but this amp really, really does a marvelous job in separating the vocals, tones and instruments so very nicely. The natural sounding reverberations of some the guitars just made me grin inside . K340 Headphiled: Overall everything had it's own special space with the mids and highs sounding fantastic. The only thing is that it lacks the low end, but it really does make it up with realistic and warm mids and highs. It did sound wonderful with most of the tracks I threw at it. Cambridge 840C - B52 R10s: When listening to Diana Krall "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" the piano and bass player had a more darker and laid back tone to everything. I felt that the 307Abrought everything more to the front, well the B52 had a relaxed sound. I didn't have a lot of time with this amp, but I would say that I would prefer the 307A because it had greater detail and a more upfront presentation with excellent energy. PrimaLuna - Cary SLI - 80 JVC-DX1000 I listened to Sam Phillips "Fan Dance" and this can and amp is a perfect match. I mean the mids are beautifully detailed, not thin, with nice, tight low end bass. I never heard the DX1000 sound so good. I then put on Sam Phillips "Wasting my Time" and you could just feel the reverberations, warmth, and ethereal balance of the violin strings. The low end from the violin alone is pretty amazing. The synergy between this can and amp is a truly a wonderful pair. I would be very happy to listen to this duo and understand why 4n6 uses this rig at work. Fantastic. SR225s woodied/GS1000: With both cans and playing Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" I noticed that the body that the 307A presented with the SR225 wasn't there. The vocals were a lot more laid back and I felt the Grado didn't have quite the synergy as with the 307A. In conclusion the 307A surpassed my most humble expectations as it is a wonderful sounding amp. For me it really made any can that I threw at it that much better with it's strong suits in giving the cans a lot more detail, separation and sense of realism, with a more energetic presentation. Also I really enjoyed 4n6s "man cave" with his gorgeous tube powerblocks and exquisite sounding speakers. I could spend all day and night in there Some of the cans The Dragon with R10s Beta22 with the 840C 307A front view 307A from the side 4n6 man cave I love these speakers 4n6 with the R10s Me enjoying the R10s and the 307A goodness
guzziguy Posted July 8, 2008 Report Posted July 8, 2008 I see that 4n6 has a prayer rug before the altar of equipment just like Reks.
laxx Posted July 8, 2008 Report Posted July 8, 2008 But it's replaced with the Cary SL-P05 in that spot isn't it? =]
n_maher Posted July 8, 2008 Author Report Posted July 8, 2008 i wouldn't pray to a B-52 You might if you were hoping it wouldn't burn your house down. oh snap!
PFKMan23 Posted July 8, 2008 Report Posted July 8, 2008 You might if you were hoping it wouldn't burn your house down. oh snap!
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