![]() Here comes the crescendo… “Hello from the other Si-iiiiiiiiIIIDEE!” Yep, I again get the jitters, my heart rate climbs, and I feel rejuvenated. I plugged my cans into my modded Crack to touch base yet again with the sound and experience I’ve had countless times. Of course, it’s all about how it sounds to you.” And with that, I started my listening tests. But he ended with “What I hear doesn’t matter. It was really funny after he listened, he said regrettingly that now he may have ruined this all for me by not saying what I would have liked to hear. For context, he said his preferred sound is “anything that doesn’t fatigue me.” So, while I don’t aim for listener’s fatigue, we do have different tastes. He explained how the highs were less prominent with the HD6XX and how I might just think they’re dull compared to my AKGs haha. I was surprised by that but didn’t get a chance to listen to the Senns myself. Despite the AKG K240 Sextetts being from the late 70s, he remarked how the midrange presence is there but how it is scooped out a bit vs his Sennheiser HD6XX. ” Haha, my heart sank a bit but then I confided in myself that perhaps I just like how the treble sort of nears the threshold of being controlled, giving the impression of the singer putting in so much passion that it’s hard to contain. I waited in suspense to hear what he had to say, and his first words were… “There’s distortion in the treble. He plugged my K240 back and forth between all the amps and listened critically. I played Hello by Adele (vinyl) and he volume-matched each of the amps. Nothing else will change in the audio chain besides the amp.įirst, I wanted Dan to listen to my setup and see if he experiences the traits I loved about it. So, specifically, I will now see if any of these Bottlehead amps will either add to, subtract from, or leave unchanged any of my preferred sound characteristics I mentioned (as well as more general impressions). I’m just looking for the specific qualities that make this hobby worthwhile for me, and I hope it’ll help you out or at least be interesting to read. In the end, my impressions will be a little unusual as I won’t base them off bass, mid, treble, imaging, and soundstage as reviews normally do. So, for what I like, my setup is the best I’ve matched together so far. ![]() When I “upgraded” to the Tung-Sol RP 6SN7GT, yes, the overall sound was purely refined, but the clear bite of the RCA grey-glass was now dulled and, again, this failed to rile me up. When I “upgraded” to Beyer DT 1990 headphones, the mids were scooped out and there was no longer the presence and bite to rile me up. For example, when I “upgraded” my DragonFly to the newer DragonFly Red, I noticed resolution was increased but the spaciousness closed in on me and I no longer felt transported. And every single piece in this chain is crucial to take me there. This combination transports me to the venues and studios of my favorite musicians, while also riling me up and making me jittery when they deliver their art with aplomb. I prioritize spaciousness, midrange presence, body to vocals, and a lifelike bite to crescendos while also not being harsh. It took me a lot of time to find my synergistically ideal sound. My personal setup for the last 4 years is: PC -> AudioQuest DragonFly 1.0 -> DIY Canare RCA IC -> fully-modded Bottlehead Crack + Speedball w/ RCA 6AS7G & 6F8G -> AKG K240 Sextett MP Dan didn’t have a stock Crack on hand, but I’m very familiar with how it compares to my modded-out Crack since I’ve had 3 Cracks since 2010 (stock is basically warmer, mushier, and less dynamic…but overall quite pleasant). Then I compared my modded-out Crack vs the Crackatwoa (with both using my RCA tubes). ![]() Before I arrived though, he had carried up all the amps and set them up on one folding table (thanks so much again, Dan, for taking the time and effort to do that), and used a custom RCA splitter box so that all I had to do was plug my headphones into the amp I wanted to listen through.įor the test, I compared my modded-out Crack (with my prized RCA tubes) against each of the other stock amps (with stock tubes)-S.E.X., Crackatwoa, and Mainline. Then Dan took me upstairs to the listening room. ![]() I brought them Jones sodas, iced teas, and a variety of donut bites as any decent guest would. They both have a very radiant and friendly disposition that made me feel at ease and welcome. Upon arriving, I was warmly greeted by Eileen as we waited for Dan. To start the new year, I visited the new Bottleheadquarters (an hour drive) for a listening test(!)-to compare their four headphone amps, and to see what changes each would make to my setup.
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