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AMP for K7XX

iPC
By iPC
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I just purchased a pair of K7XX cans, which are generally thought of as very analytical. I want to warm them up with either a tube amp or a warm solid state amp. Any suggestions?

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7 minutes ago, iPC said:

I just purchased a pair of K7XX cans, which are generally thought of as very analytical. I want to warm them up with either a tube amp or a warm solid state amp. Any suggestions?

You want an amp and DAC that don't color your sound IMO.

 

I have a Mayflower O2/ODAC combo unit and it sounds fantastic.

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Just now, STRMfrmXMN said:

You want an amp and DAC that don't color your sound IMO.

 

I have a Mayflower O2/ODAC combo unit and it sounds fantastic.

Good amp and DAC, but I do want to change this sound a little. Just to warm it up a tiny bit. I have looked at the O2/ODAC, and its a great objective amp, but the K7XX's color is very dependent on the amp's color, so I want to give it a bit of warmth and take away the analytical, cold edge off it.

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Tubes are a very dark tunnel to go down, but if you want to go down that path I have herd the Vali 2 is a good amp to pair with the K7xx. Also, with tubes you do not want a Output Transformerless (OTL) amp such as The Dark Voice. The headphone impedance isn't high enough.  Instead look for a hybrid tube amp like the Vali 2. 

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5 minutes ago, Jdnoss1234 said:

Tubes are a very dark tunnel to go down, but if you want to go down that path I have herd the Vali 2 is a good amp to pair with the K7xx. Also, with tubes you do not want a Output Transformerless (OTL) amp such as The Dark Voice. The headphone impedance isn't high enough.  Instead look for a hybrid tube amp like the Vali 2. 

Doesn't have to be hybrid to be not OTL. I believe the Valhalla 2 is not OTL, and isn't hybrid. 

n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said:  "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters.  I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside."

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5 minutes ago, spwath said:

Doesn't have to be hybrid to be not OTL. I believe the Valhalla 2 is not OTL, and isn't hybrid. 

The Valhalla 2 is an OTL amp. It is a very good one although not very powerful with low impedance headphones.

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Just now, Jdnoss1234 said:

The Valhalla 2 is an OTL amp. It is a very good one although not very powerful with low impedance headphones.

Ah, OK. I have one myself, use it with my HD650s and TH-X00. I love it.

 

Schiit does say its good for lower impedances, quote from site

"Tubes Made Flexible

While most tube OTL amps are really only designed for 300 ohm Senns and 600 ohm Beyers, Valhalla 2 stretches to include headphones that you’d never expect to use with a tube amp. Go ahead. Use it with Grados. Run it with AKGs. Rely on it for many IEMs. You may even like it with high-efficiency planars like LCD-X, LCD-XC, Oppo PM-1 and HE-400. "
 
And power output is still good at lower impedance, less, but good enough for most
"Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 180mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 800mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 450mW RMS per channel"

n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said:  "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters.  I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside."

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Posted (edited)
5 minutes ago, spwath said:

snip

I wonder what the Valhalla 2 would do with the 8 ohms of the Shure SE846...

 

@op, if you wanted something warmer, why go for such analytical cans in the first place?

Edited by KaminKevCrew
word choice

Hey! New SIgnature! 

 

I'm supposedly a person on the Internet, but you'll never know if I'm human or not ;)

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Just now, KaminKevCrew said:

I wonder what the Valhalla 2 would do with the 8 ohms of the Shure SE846...

 

@op, if you wanted something warmer than neutral, why go for such neutral cans in the first place?

Power seems to about half with impedance. I'm sure there is an actual formula for OTL amps, but ill calc it...

180mw for 50ohm

90mw for 25 ohm

45mw for 13 ohm

23mw for 7 ohm

 

So probably 25-30mw into 8 ohms....

 

 

on topic, the best way to have warmer than neutral is to get warmer headphones.

n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said:  "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters.  I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside."

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5 minutes ago, KaminKevCrew said:

I wonder what the Valhalla 2 would do with the 8 ohms of the Shure SE846...

 

@op, if you wanted something warmer than neutral, why go for such neutral cans in the first place?

Probably with change the FR severally and possibly in a bad way due to an output impedance of 3.5 ohms. Generally you want a rule of 1/8 on output impedance to headphone impedance. 

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2 minutes ago, Jdnoss1234 said:

Probably with change the FR severally and possibly in a bad way due to an output impedance of 3.5 ohms. Generally you want a rule of 1/8 on output impedance to headphone impedance. 

That's not what I was asking. Mainly I was just asking about the output of the Valhalla 2 at 8 ohms, more as a joke than anything. I'm extremely well aware of the whole thing about output impedance.

Hey! New SIgnature! 

 

I'm supposedly a person on the Internet, but you'll never know if I'm human or not ;)

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12 hours ago, Jdnoss1234 said:

The Valhalla 2 is an OTL amp. It is a very good one although not very powerful with low impedance headphones.

 

Because you've totally tried one and not just read stuff on Reddit.

Audio Reference • Cutting the Crap • 7.1 Headphones? • Audio Interference Troubleshooting Guide
REVIEWS • HiFiMan HE-560 • Beyerdynamic T1 2. Generation • Schiit Bifrost 4490 • Schiit Valhalla 2
RECOMMENDATIONS • The Audio Board's Recommended Gear

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2 hours ago, SSL said:

 

Because you've totally tried one and not just read stuff on Reddit.

Someone is awful bitter and yes I have played with one. 

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Just now, Jdnoss1234 said:

Someone is awful bitter and yes I have played with one. 

 

But have you used a Valhalla 2 heh heh.

Audio Reference • Cutting the Crap • 7.1 Headphones? • Audio Interference Troubleshooting Guide
REVIEWS • HiFiMan HE-560 • Beyerdynamic T1 2. Generation • Schiit Bifrost 4490 • Schiit Valhalla 2
RECOMMENDATIONS • The Audio Board's Recommended Gear

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6 minutes ago, SSL said:

 

But have you used a Valhalla 2 heh heh.

Ive only herd hd600s, Ethers, grados, t50rps, and the k7xx

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  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
11 hours ago, iPC said:

What do you think of this? https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-alex-cavalli-cth-tube-hybrid-amp

I want the warmer sound to balance out the analytical headphones, but I still want clarity and resolution.

 it's a great amp. Great deal for the price. I recommend.

n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said:  "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters.  I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside."

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