Hi-Fi Audio Ultra-Fi DIY Headphile Blog - Stereo-Untypical

Head-Fi.Org — The world’s largest headphone forum (by far) is on life support. Head-fi.org is a tremendous resource by any measure, with a community of some 50,000 members. It’s a busy site and runs the vBulletin software platform. The site went down for planned maintenance sometime late 11/9 or early on 11/10, and then something in their RAID array failed.

For those of us who frequent the forum, this is getting to be agonizing. Sincere best wishes to all the admins and technical guys who make HF work, I hope they sort out the issues as soon as humanly possible. Sometimes technology just sucks!

If you have any updates from Jude, please let me know.

Tags: Headphone amps, Headphones, Industry News by admin
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Not many headphones have generated as much splash as the AKG K701’s introduced in mid-2006. They are AKG’s current top-of-the-line offering and retail for $449 — but they’re commonly available now (brand new) for $229 - $269 from many online retailers. Intriguing!

Reviews: Stereophile, SoundStage. Also look at Headphonereviews.com and Head-Fi.Org for many user reviews.

The general consensus is that these ‘phones are indeed reference-quality monitors, leaning to the analytical side, and somewhat bass-shy. Adequate amplification is also a major caveat, the K701’s need top-quality source and amplification to give their best. For those not in a position to spring for a SinglePower amp or similar esoterica, the Heed CanAmp is considered an excellent mid-priced choice.

Tags: Headphones by admin
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Audio-Technica ATH-W1000 Headphones

I’ve had my new-to-me W1000’s for 5 days now, and I’m very impressed with them. The build quality is very nice, and the comfort is outstanding. These are full-size ‘closed circumaural’ headphones, and they are BIG. The fit is not snug though, and there’s no pressure on the skull or ears. They’re quite light at 350 grams. These are my first really high-end ‘phones, so my references are limited.

The sound is outstanding. Excellent detail, very lucid, musical, warm midrange, lovely highs. Bass is good, though it may come accross as a bit recessed compared to others - these are not basshead gear…at all. Bass depth is ok, not especially great. What I like is that the mid-bass is articulate, and carries the musical line well. These headphones seem especially well suited to reproducing small-combo jazz, and folk music — two of my favourite genres. Vocals are also sublime.

When I say ‘excellent detail’, I mean it. Good recordings just became staggeringly good. On Bruce Cockburn’s wonderful Speechless instrumental CD, there’s now palpable ‘air’ around the notes; I can hear his fingers moving along the fretboard, and follow his fingerpicking techniques. In chamber music, the musicians’ breathing is now a part of the sonic landscape. This is a very front row perspective.

I will experiment with various modes of amplification, and different sources. I’ll definitely have more to say about the W’s, suffice to say I think they’re keepers!

Tags: Headphones by admin
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This is the Darkvoice 336i, an amp that has been making a major impact in headphone audio circles. It is made in China and features a single 6N5 driver tube in front of a 6N8 rectifier. These tubes are replaceable with the 6AS7 and 6080 types - very popular Western tubes of the past. The amp therefore has enormous appeal for tube rollers. Oh, and the best part? This amp sells for an astonishing $240 on eBay. In the hotly contested budget tube amp segment, the Darkvoice appears to have the edge on competitors like the Little Dot 2++ and Feel HP100.

The Darkvoice puts out 1 watt of power, and can drive loads from 32 to 600 Ohms, making it ideal for a broad spectrum of headphones. And indeed it has been praised for its’ flexibility as an all-rounder. The 336i also has two older brothers — the all-new 332 ($400) and the top-of-the-line 337 ($600).

Tags: Headphone amps, Headphones by admin
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I haven’t been bitten hard by many retail hi-fi products in the last 7-8 years, but this amp slams me. See Srajan Ebaen’s excellent 6moons.com review for more details. This is a beautifully designed single-stage tube preamp intended as a dedicated headphone amp of the highest quality; it can also drive loudspeakers directly, although the output into an 8-Ohm load is only about 1/4 watt per channel. The amp is voiced and impedance matched for the wonderful ‘W’ series Audio-Technica headphones, also from Japan.

Congratulations to Shigeki-san on a lovely accomplishment. The amp retails in North America for $975, complete with the NOS Western Electric 408A tubes.

And if my wife is reading this, please put in a good word with Santa for me?

Tags: Headphone amps, Headphones by admin
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