Description: Cable upgrades for AKG and Sennheiser headphones.
Price: AKG Fatpipe: $322/10' set terminated with a ¼ plug, $285/5' set terminated with an 1/8" miniplug. Sennheiser upgrade: $222/10' set with ¼" plug, $185/4' with 1/8" miniplug.
US Distributor: HeadRoom Corporation, 2020 Gilkerson Drive, Bozeman, MT 59715. Tel: (800) 828-8184, (406) 587-9466. Fax: (406) 587-9484. Web: www.headphone.com.
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Sidebar: Specifications
You know me. I'm not perzackly an audio slut, but I am easy. When Audio Advisor's Wayne Schuurman called me to pitch the Vincent KHV-1pre tube-transistor headphone amplifier, he pretty much had me at "tube" and "headphone." But I wasn't familiar with Vincent Audio.
"That's why I called you," Schuurman said. "I know you were impressed by the Cayin HA-1A (footnote 1). Vincent is also manufactured in China, but it's designed in Germany. Vincent, in turn, is a branch of Thorens. You're going to be impressed with its build quality."
I was.
Paint your palette blue and…
During my auditioning of the Vincent KHV-1pre, I was never able to remotely tax it with either the AKG 701s or Sennheiser HD-650s. Even if I needed headbanging volume levels driving both pair of cans, I could barely get the Vincent's volume control a little past 9 o'clock. Maybe you have a pair of headphones that could stress the KHV-1pre's output capabilities, but I never came close. It had plenty of headroom.
Perhaps they'll listen now
The Cayin HA-1A, which sort of started this whole thing, was still on hand, so it seemed only natural to compare it to the Vincent. Both have…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Hybrid headphone amplifier with two line-level inputs, one ¼" headphone output and one pair of RCA preamplifier outputs. Tube complement: two 12AX7B. Frequency response: 20Hz–50kHz, ±0.5dB. Nominal output power: 400mW into 300 ohms, 1.75W into 32 ohms. THD: 0.1% max (1kHz, 100mW). Input impedance, 47k ohms. Input sensitivity: 600mV for maximum output. Signal/noise ratio: >90dB.
Dimensions: 10.4" (265mm) H by 6.2" (160mm) W by 8.2" (210mm) D. Weight: 8 lbs (3.6kg).
Finishes: Black, silver.
Serial Number Of Units Reviewed: 20050415079,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Ayre C-5xe universal player; Simaudio Moon Evolution SuperNova CD player.
Headphone Amplifier: Cayin HA-1A.
Power Amplifier: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300.
Headphones: AKG K701, Cardas AKG K701/Fat Pipe cable; Sennheiser HD-650, Sennheiser HD-650 Cardas Cable mod.
Loudspeakers: Definitive Technology Mythos STS.
Cables: Interconnect: Audience Conductor. Speaker: Audience Conductor.
Accessories: Furutech eTP-609 distribution box, APC APCS15 AC line conditioner; Furutech RDP panels, RealTraps Mini & Mondo Traps.—Wes…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Vincent Audio KHV-1pre using Audio Precision's top-model SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com) for most of the tests, with some use made of the magazine's original AP System One. Both the preamplifier and the headphone outputs preserved absolute polarity; ie, were non-inverting. The maximum gain assessed at the preamp output jacks was 17.1dB; this increased to 25.8dB at the headphone jacks. Both figures are higher than required for real-world listening, meaning that the volume control will be used mainly at the lower end of its range, as WP found.…
It isn't enough to say that engineer Denis N. Morecroft is one of contemporary audio's few visionaries: He's one of a very few mature designers whose passion for doing things a certain way hasn't abandoned him in the least, and whose well-argued convictions seem stronger than ever. Thus, as others cave in to commerce—the tube-amp designer who offers a solid-state product just to help his dealers fill a price niche, the source-component manufacturer who rails against digital audio one day and starts cranking out CD players the next—DNM Design remains the likeliest of all modern companies to…
To look inside the preamp or the power supply was to understand why some hobbyists custom-order the DNM 3D with optional clear acrylic casework: While other engineers have praised such concepts as short signal paths, star ground schemes, and consistent signal-path spacing, those ideals are executed with greater care, ingenuity, and comprehensiveness in the 3D Six than in any other product I've seen, in any field. I can't imagine that artificial hearts, prenatal monitoring devices, or even missile-guidance systems are made with greater skill or precision.
Installation and setup
My…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, full-function stereo preamplifier. Phono inputs: up to 2. Line inputs: up to 5. Tape loops: 1. Outputs: 1. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±1.0dB. Input impedance: 22k ohms, MM phono; 1k ohm, MC phono; 47k ohms, line. Output impedance: 75 ohms. Signal/noise: line stage, >75dB; MC phono stage, >60dB. Maximum output: ±19V. Distortion: <0.1%.
Dimensions: 10.65" (270mm) W by 5" (130mm) H by 7" (180mm) D. Weight: 3.5 lbs (1.6kg), less power supply.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 118070050.
Price: $13,495. Approximate…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn LP12 turntable with Linn Basik power supply; Thorens TD-124 Mk.II turntable; Naim Aro, EMT 997 tonearms; Miyabi Mono, EMT OFD 25 & OFD 65, Shindo SPU, Ortofon SPU Synergy A cartridges; Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 step-up transformer.
Digital Sources: Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player; Sony PlayStation 1 CD player.
Preamplifier: Shindo Masseto.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Cortese & Corton-Charlemagne, DNM PA3ȄS, Quad II, Fi 2A3 Stereo.
Loudspeakers: Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE, Quad ESL.
Cables: Interconnect: Audio Note AN-vx,…