Post by sidvicious on Apr 30, 2017 14:44:36 GMT -5
I own a Vincent KHV-111 MK headphone amplifier that I have that I have owned since 2012, it's 4 years old. I had it connected to my emo equipment in the basement of my old home and because I really didn't like the sound of it, I used it for 2 years, off and on and I boxed it up and forgot about it. I eventually bought a Sim Audio 230 HAD, which I absolutely love. Well I was set to trade this in last Saturday 04-29-2017, with two other items, but me and the dealer couldn't come to a reasonable offer. I went and bought a new tube for it, a Tungsol 12AX7 (Russian, which replaced a generic Chinese 12AX7-no name. I have left this headphone amp on since yesterday, but I have played music through it and wow!!! The tube made all of the difference. This was something that I had planned on doing for years, but life got in the way and I just forgot about it.
The headphone amp now sounds,almost as good as the Sim Audio, (not quite) with the goodness of tubes, it's a hybrid design. Depending on the headphones, it sounds very good and warm. The headphones that I find myself using the most are my Meze 99 Classics and the Sennheiser HD558. There is plenty of bass with both of these headphones and the Hifiman HE-400I are not bad, just not as much bass as the other ones two, but the Hifiman are super clear in the mids and treble. The Nighthawk are lighter in the bass department, but are not bad. I'm using the Cambridge CD-350 for now as a source, which was also on the trading block along with the Marantz NA-7004 streamer. I'm keeping everything as a bedroom headphone set up at this moment. This tube has breathed new life into something that I had planned on just getting rid of.
Each set of my eight set of headphones has a different sound signature (source depended/CD) that is unique to the headphones, which I love and should be. Want more bass, use the Meze, Sennheiser HD558, RS-170 or Audio Technica Ath 50. Want mid range galore, use the Hifiman HE-400I and Grado SR-325. Want a more neutral sound, use the Audioquest Nighthawks or Beyer Dynamic DT-880-(250ohm version). This Vincent has a nice size torridal powersupply and works with headphones from 32-600 ohms, and puts out 5 watts of power output, which is more than enough for any headphones in that ohm range. Now I have a tube and a solid state headphone amp. Now it's time to get back to listening, but my question is have any of you almost traded or thrown away an item that after you gave it a second chance that you realize how much of a mistake you almost made?
The headphone amp now sounds,almost as good as the Sim Audio, (not quite) with the goodness of tubes, it's a hybrid design. Depending on the headphones, it sounds very good and warm. The headphones that I find myself using the most are my Meze 99 Classics and the Sennheiser HD558. There is plenty of bass with both of these headphones and the Hifiman HE-400I are not bad, just not as much bass as the other ones two, but the Hifiman are super clear in the mids and treble. The Nighthawk are lighter in the bass department, but are not bad. I'm using the Cambridge CD-350 for now as a source, which was also on the trading block along with the Marantz NA-7004 streamer. I'm keeping everything as a bedroom headphone set up at this moment. This tube has breathed new life into something that I had planned on just getting rid of.
Each set of my eight set of headphones has a different sound signature (source depended/CD) that is unique to the headphones, which I love and should be. Want more bass, use the Meze, Sennheiser HD558, RS-170 or Audio Technica Ath 50. Want mid range galore, use the Hifiman HE-400I and Grado SR-325. Want a more neutral sound, use the Audioquest Nighthawks or Beyer Dynamic DT-880-(250ohm version). This Vincent has a nice size torridal powersupply and works with headphones from 32-600 ohms, and puts out 5 watts of power output, which is more than enough for any headphones in that ohm range. Now I have a tube and a solid state headphone amp. Now it's time to get back to listening, but my question is have any of you almost traded or thrown away an item that after you gave it a second chance that you realize how much of a mistake you almost made?
