Mini Meet Impressions

[osocan 0]

Mapletree Audio Design produces 2 headphone amps – the Ear+ HD and HD2. While there was quite a bit of speculation over at head-fi as how the 2 amps compare, there was probably only a couple who had actually heard them side-by-side. So warsurfer suggested that we meet to a-b the 2 amps. This is a rare opportunity for us to meet up and we are not going to be fully satisfied with listening to just 2 amps. We approached our lady gadgeteer yotiao for permission to try out some of her stuff as well and she has kindly agreed.

 

The following is an impression of some of the equipment we tried on that evening of 30 Nov. It is not a review.

 

The equipment list:

 

1. Yamamoto HA-02

2. MAD Ear+ HD

3. MAD Ear+ HD2

4. PS Audio GCHA

5. Rudistor RPX-33

6. CEC TL51X

7. 2 x RS-1 (low / high serial number)

8. MS-Pro

9. PS-1

10. W5000

11. HD600 with Equinox cable

12. Ultrasone Edition 9

13. AKG K701

 

Although the meet-up was intended to compare the 2 MAD amps, they were soon neglected given such an array of top notch equipment. The HD and HD2 do sound very similar. What was said about the bass of the HD is also true. It has more bass than its brethren HD2. The HD even made the W5000 sound bassy. It’s probably due to the tubes used. Is the HD superior to the HD2? Warsurfer found the DT880 too boomy and unlistenable with the HD and preferred the HD2 instead for this phone.

 

When compared to the Yamamoto, Rudistor and GCHA the 2 MAD amps sounded like entry level stuff. They are good on their own however the other 3 amps are clearly at least one notch higher in terms SQ. Next to the 3 more expensive amps the MAD amps sounded grainy and have a “white†background. The Yamamoto, Rudistor and GCHA are clearly more refined, smoother and have a black background. Although the trio sounds very different from each other, they share the same silkiness (when paired with the right headphones) that reflect their owner’s preference.

 

Onto the headphones. The PS-1 and Edition 9 are very bassy headphones. The PS-1 possesses the typical Grado house sound with a pronounced bass that both warsurfer and I found to be boomy. It definitely needs a suitable amp to such as the GCHA to control its bass. The Edition 9 on the hand has a tuneful and articulate bass. It is never one-note, and together with its slightly sparkly highs made for a very easy listening presentation. I would grab one if not for its price.

 

The W5000 enjoys a warm amp and out of the 5 amps that we listened that evening, I prefer it best with the Yamamoto while yotiao found the pairing of GCHA + W5000 very liquid. Chinese vocals and strings sound just perfect with the W5000.

 

The RS-1 is supremely silky when paired with the GCHA. The highs are tame and the music fluent and liquid. In comparison, the MS-Pro sounded very stuffed in. The effect is not even subtle. This really surprised the 3 of us. Both the RS-1 and the MS-Pro share a similar sound but there was no sparkle in the vocal on the MS-Pro. Perhaps it is due to its “cold storage†for several months and need to be broken in again.

 

The K701 pairs very well with the Yamamoto giving a very airy and expansive sound. Separation is also very good. However, it is also the most clinical of the lot just doesn’t have that “WOW†factor. On the other hand, its class competitor the HD600 is very balanced and involving. Not as wide or as expansive perhaps but definitely more engaging than the K701.

 

Of all the headphones that we listened to that evening, all 3 of us love the RS-1 and the W5000. Opinions were divided about the Edition 9 and PS-1 which is actually a reflection of our individual preference for bass.

 

That’s about sum up that evening outing. I would like to thank yotiao and warsurfer for making the mini meet possible and allowing me to listen to their wonderful amps and headphones. I hope this little write-up will whet your appetite and rouse your anticipation for the coming Meet.

 

 

Edit: Pictures removed

Edited December 7, 2007 by osocan

[minivan 0]

thanks for the write up, i agree with your evaluation of the k701/w5000/yamamoto combo

[yotiao 0]

osocan, thanks for the write-up! FYI, you were listening to the bel canto dac3 which has the silky smooth sound, and not the TL51XR.

 

Although the meet-up was intended to compare the 2 MAD amps, they were soon neglected given such an array of top notch equipment.

Thank you for your kind words it's not "top notch" but decent...

 

Did warsurfer ends up buying W5000 & RS-1?

[osocan 0]

So that's the bel canto at work It's almost analogue sounding. The W5000 + Yamamoto + bel canto was syrupy.

 

Warsurfer has been sitting on that RS-1 decision for quite a while already. And now we have poisoned him with the W5000 as well ...

[slwiser 0]

Thanks for your impressions. I especially appreciate your comparison of the Yamamoto with the other amps in your line-up. I also have the UE9 and you are correct that personal preferences play a large part in how one appreciates these headphones.

Edited December 9, 2007 by slwiser

[slwiser 0]

Can anyone make any more definitive comparisons about those three amps that were silky smooth but different? How different? Thanks

[yotiao 0]

Give me a couple of days when I got more time. Maybe osocan or warsurfer can give a detailed yet unbiased comparisons...

 

The meet only happened for less than 3 hours, I don't know at the end which amp the guys like most, but my sixth sense told me that they liked the yammy?

 

However, I am listening to RS1 + GCHA now, it's very spacious (wonderfully ambient), good depth and imaging, the details of string twang and air around them sound realism to me. But the "soundstage" still sound like coming from headphones. Because I'd heard the singlepower MPX3 SLAM long ago, the W -I - D - E soundstage (it sounded like out-of-the-head, coming outside of headphones) always stays in my mind that I know this is one "goal" I want to achieve in the headphone systems (maybe it's my source, LOL). Hopefully the upcoming zana deux can rectify this.

[slwiser 0]

yotiao

 

I know your focus was on the two MADs but any impressions of the others are appreciated. Take you time and if you don't want to get into it, that is fine as well. Thanks

[osocan 0]

IIRC...

 

The Yammy is very smooth you can call it creamy. It's like sinking into a very plush and warm huge pillow. The RPX-33, comparatively is cold but with better resolution and punch. Probably a classic SS vs tube example. The GCHA is warmer than the RPX-33 but not as warm as the Yammy. The RPX-33 also seemed brighter than the GCHA.

[slwiser 0]

IIRC...

 

The Yammy is very smooth you can call it creamy. It's like sinking into a very plush and warm huge pillow. The RPX-33, comparatively is cold but with better resolution and punch. Probably a classic SS vs tube example. The GCHA is warmer than the RPX-33 but not as warm as the Yammy. The RPX-33 also seemed brighter than the GCHA.

 

I guess that is why the Yammy is so good with my UE9s. The UE9s are in my estimation very detailed; therefore good synergy. Thanks for you impressions. But yet, when I compared the Yammy with my solid state AT-HA5000 it was the detail of the Yammy that impressed me.

Edited December 9, 2007 by slwiser

[yotiao 0]

Hmm, these were what I wrote in a correspondence, was trying to summarize the characters of the amps and some observations...for your reading pleasure :

 

I have owned yammy, RPX-33 and GCHA for more than 2, 6 and 10 months respectively, as I bought them new and had experienced the burn-in effect on each amp. To my ears, the signature of yammy and GCHA changes rapidly after two months of continuous use.

 

They will sound better and better after continuous use, and change of wires does improve a lot on them, especially the GCHA, which is a transparent amp, cables matching (power cords and interconnects) is important, I could tweak the GCHA to sound even slower than the yammy like analog to suit female vocals, or tweak to sound very dynamic and fast to play complex music like rock, pop, blues, classicals. To me, GCHA is a keeper for me to audition any new cables I acquired, and it's very smooth and liquid as a solid state amp. I like to use RS-1 and MS-Pro with GCHA, as it presents a creamy, warm and melting listening experience for me. With recent acquisition of oritek X-1, UE9s with GCHA I heard slightly more micro details in the recordings.

 

The yammy is sensitive to the interconnects use, and in fact my virtual dynamics david 2.0 RCA has the best synergy with yammy over my kimber select. However, the david 2.0 is nearly the price of yammy... If you listen to a lot of jazz and vocals, I would strongly recommend yammy to you. Yammy is particularly friendly to jazz and vocals, it's spectacular. It demonstrates great rhythm and pace and tone in the mid range. I have been enjoying it with almost all my headphones, including the high impedance cans like HD600, DT990. The previous assumption that it's suitable for low impedance headphones is no longer true. However, as I said yammy needs a lot of burn-in time, with HD600, the sound changed from very sweet (before 40 hours), to slightly veiled and warm (100-400 hours), and now it's transparent and more open, like opening the windows for the first time after a long winter (over 500 hours, i.e. lately).

With UE9s, before 130 hours usage of yammy, the bass compartment sounded like it was blocked and not open, after 130 - 400 hours, UE9s sounded good but with a slight emphasis of midbass hump. And now more than 500 hours, the UE9s sounds very natural and transparent (but not as transparent as RPX-33, so it depends on your musical tastes and preference), very musical and romantic.

 

Of RPX-33, it's the most transparent and detailed amp out of the three. And I won't call it a neutral amp because it has a rich full tones in its own. The sound also doesn't changed much from swapping of power cords, I reckon it's due to a better power supply in RPX-33. With HD600, I heard the best HD600 like I never heard it before. However, to my ears and tastes, GCHA has more "euphonicity" over RPX-33, more tube-like sound than the colder RPX-33.

[slwiser 0]

I must really thank all of you for these more detailed impressions.

 

Enjoy the music..

[sonq 0]

Mind if I ask how much does the Yamamoto cost? Have you compared it to the tubed Cayin HA-01?

[slwiser 0]

The Yamamoto HA-02 is price at 975$ US dollars in the US.

[warsurferX 0]

Wow. I cannot believe that I actually missed this thread!

 

yotiao, thanks again for having us over. It was definitely an 'ear-opening' experience.

 

Thanks also to osocan for presenting such a detailed impression. I must agree that the w5000 sounded really smooth and somewhat upfront as well, though not like the RS-1 I was deciding hard as to which to get and finally decided on the RS-1 since I've got the K701 to fall back on.... perhaps one day I'll succumb. Hehe

 

Somewhat off topic, but I'd like to share my experience with 3 sources (Naim CD5i, CD5x and the CA840c) + MAD HD amp + RS-1/K701.

 

Naim CD5i - very punchy and solid. Great separation and details.

 

Naim CD5x - even more punchy, so much so that I couldn't stand listening to rock through the RS-1. Better separation, details and spatial imaging. However, when I changed over to the K701 I was quite blown away and the K701 actually rocked! If I hadnt bought the RS-1, I'd be quite satisfied sticking to just the K701

 

Alas, the CD5x is used for my speaker set-up and I decided to give the CA840c a go. Pretty good player (not sure if the upsampling really works though) It's substantially more neutral sounding than the Naim and less crisp sounding. That also means that I'll be less distracted while working

Edited January 7, 2008 by warsurferX