[PedroH]

 

[Dubstep Girl]

wanted to bring this thread back up since i've been thinking about this amp for a while now.
 
i heard it at the chicago meet. it was ok with grado rs1i's, not better than my woo amps. the amp had tons of control and gain. it has stepped attenuator but its very smooth and never gets too loud too fast or anything. the amp get pretty hot with all its tubes.
 
anyways, with the HE-500, this was the absolute best i've ever heard the HE-500. it was just so perfect, romantic sweet warm lush sound, but fast transparent and detailed, the soundstage opened up and just hearing how good the HE-500 could perform on an amp like this, made me decide not to sell them after all. totally blew my WA6-SE out of the water, it was just insane. i honestly think i enjoyed this setup as much as the end-game stax setups there, it was just very musical and sounded amazing.
 
im curious as to how this would sound with Beyer T1, seems like the sound signature would be perfect for it....

 

[buson160man]

 I agree with dubstep girl I heard the he 500 allnic combo too. It was the best set up I heard at the chiunify 7 meet. I heard the stax on one of the cavalli amps and I thought the allnic he500 set up sounded better. This was the first time I heard the stax 009. While it is more dynamic sounding than what I remember from my old stax 2020 set up it was just not in the same league dynamic wise as the allnic / he500 combo.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

i felt the stax was still more detailed and perfect, but the HE-500 was insanely good, sounded much more expensive than it cost (i think i preferred this over the abyss setup there due to its great tone and musicality).

 

[Leicachamp]

How much are we looking at? Any specs?

 

[Dubstep Girl]

costs $5,500. its an OTL/OCL class A amp. up to 5W of power into headphones 30-50 ohms

http://www.audioheaven.com.au/hpa-5000

 

[Leicachamp]

I am from OZ but I never heard of the company selling the Allnic! No contact number or address!

 

[Dubstep Girl]

i think its some super high end, no1 knows about it but the super uber audiophile elite kinda secret company kinda thing........

 

[kensonic]

I am seriously considering the Allnic as a complement to my LF. Headphones to be driven are HD800, HE6, LCD2.2. Reports about SQ said it sounds very good with HD800 (better than with the ZD) and HD500 but not so good with the LCD3. Hmm, an alternative would be the Stratus for me which has great opportunities for tube-rolling and tweeking. Can somebody elaborate the advantages of an OTL/ OCL amp ? I would expect a neutral sound (but on the warm side of neutral) and not so coloured as a pure OTL or a tube amp. with transformers. It has 5Watt/40ohm and should drive the HE6 with ease. What are your thoughts / recommendations ( - yes, the price tag causes hiccup) ? Thanks !

 

[Dubstep Girl]

I thought it was quite smooth and lush sounding, didnt sound too colored, but had a nice tubey sound to it

 

[buson160man]

Quote:

I am seriously considering the Allnic as a complement to my LF. Headphones to be driven are HD800, HE6, LCD2.2. Reports about SQ said it sounds very good with HD800 (better than with the ZD) and HD500 but not so good with the LCD3. Hmm, an alternative would be the Stratus for me which has great opportunities for tube-rolling and tweeking. Can somebody elaborate the advantages of an OTL/ OCL amp ? I would expect a neutral sound (but on the warm side of neutral) and not so coloured as a pure OTL or a tube amp. with transformers. It has 5Watt/40ohm and should drive the HE6 with ease. What are your thoughts / recommendations ( - yes, the price tag causes hiccup) ? Thanks !

  Pure Otl amps do not always sound on the warmish side. I own the ray samuels raptor otl amp and warm is not something you would say as a description of its sound. But on the other hand I have akg 701 headphones which a lot of people think sound fairly analytical. But the best amp that I own for driving them is my raptor otl. The sound with my akgs is very listenable, with very good bass definition and good dynamics.
 I have audeze lcd2 as as well which I do admire for their musicality but when I want to hear what is really on a recording I find the akg 701s to be much more revealing as to how the recording really sounds. On soundstage the akgs just blow the audezes to smithereens.

 

[kensonic]

I thought it was quite smooth and lush sounding, didnt sound too colored, but had a nice tubey sound to it

O.K., how sounded the HPA5000 in comparison to the a) Stratus b) Woo c) LF ?

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

O.K., how sounded the HPA5000 in comparison to the a) Stratus b) Woo c) LF ?

 
 
no clue there. better than WA6-SE by a mile though on HE-500. absolutely no comparison, well i guess technicality-wise, they're pretty close, though the HE-500 had an insanely good synergy with the HPA 5000, either way, i thought the HE-500 sounded insanely good and didn't sound like a 700$ headphone at all, but rather, one that would play with the very best including stax/audeze

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

  Pure Otl amps do not always sound on the warmish side. I own the ray samuels raptor otl amp and warm is not something you would say as a description of its sound. But on the other hand I have akg 701 headphones which a lot of people think sound fairly analytical. But the best amp that I own for driving them is my raptor otl. The sound with my akgs is very listenable, with very good bass definition and good dynamics.
 I have audeze lcd2 as as well which I do admire for their musicality but when I want to hear what is really on a recording I find the akg 701s to be much more revealing as to how the recording really sounds. On soundstage the akgs just blow the audezes to smithereens.

 
i love the OTL sound after living with the WA2 for almost 2 years now. absolutely no grain anywhere and very musical.
 
i plan on buying as many otl amps as i can in the future, the ZDSE being the next on my list 

 

[kensonic]

" Pure Otl amps do not always sound on the warmish side. I own the ray samuels raptor otl amp and warm is not something you would say as a description of its sound. But on the other hand I have akg 701 headphones which a lot of people think sound fairly analytical. But the best amp that I own for driving them is my raptor otl. The sound with my akgs is very listenable, with very good bass definition and good dynamics. I have audeze lcd2 as as well which I do admire for their musicality but when I want to hear what is really on a recording I find the akg 701s to be much more revealing as to how the recording really sounds. On soundstage the akgs just blow the audezes to smithereens."  

 
i love the OTL sound after living with the WA2 for almost 2 years now. absolutely no grain anywhere and very musical.
 
i plan on buying as many otl amps as i can in the future, the ZDSE being the next on my list 

 
Thank you for your comments ! I also like OTL sound. I have a SinglePower MPX3 and with the HD800, highs are heavenly (I prefer classical music, voices are incredible natural) but lower mids and bass are too dark. Using the LF (which is a hybrid, obviously) there is more sparkle (which I like) but voices are a bit too grainy. When the LCD`s and HiFimen came to the market I was impressed what they can do especially with Jazz music. All these Jazz ladies sound wonderful with the LCD2.2 and bigbands sound just live with the HE6 (due to dynamic and slam). But string orchestra and opera are not their cup of tea (IMHO, using LF). In summary, I can live with the LF and the LCD2.2 very well. Ideally, I would like to have an amp. in addition to the LF which pairs better with the HD800 (no sibilance, natural mids/voices and precise bass) as well as with the HE6 (not too steril in highs and a lot of PRAT). I have sorted out Woo and EC for different reasons - but the Stratus could fit. And of course the HPA5000 is a serious alternative (more power ...). Unfortunately, there are only a few impressions available about the HPA5000 (some with the HD500, almost non with the HD800 - and non with the HE6). So, hard choice ...