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DarkStarRWB
21
Sep 2, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Fantastic amplifier, especially at $175.
After 100 hours of burn in and another 150-200 usage hours, I can confidently say that this is a great amplifier. I tested using Tidal HiFi and Master tracks, fed through USB to a Grace SDAC Balanced. Impressions done with Denon D2000 and Sennheiser HD6xx. Benchmark amp is the THX AAA 789. ***THE SOUND OF THIS AMP 100% CHANGES AFTER TUBE BURN IN. DO NOT THINK THE OUT OF THE BOX SOUND IS THE ACTUAL SOUND OF THE AMP*** Treble/highs - Ever so slightly rolled off, yet still definitely "detailed." Very pleasant and not fatiguing, but don't expect this amp to drastically change the sound of any headphones you already have. Smooooooth. You will lose a small amount of detail retrieval, but it may not be noticeable depending on how treble-forward and detailed your cans are. Mids - Vocals are very nice. The midrange is overall a bit recessed relative to neutral, but not what I would call "recessed." There's a smoothing effect on vocals that's pretty characteristic of tubes, and they feel nicely staged and pushed a bit further out. You will lose out on detail here, but it's not significant or a problem. I'll get more into the soundstage and imaging later. Very good midrange performance. Bass - Definitely increased in amount, not so much quality. The bass response isn't bad, but can begin to feel bloated and invading into the lower mids depending on the headphones you have. I don't notice an increase in sub-bass. I would actually say that the 789 has noticeably better sub-bass performance with the D2000's. This frequency range for bass response is a great pairing for the HD6xx. Soundstage/imaging - I think the soundstage and the mids are where the CTH really shines. The imaging is pretty good... I'd call it immersive. It's not incredibly accurate so I wouldn't recommend this amp specifically for competitive gaming, but it's good enough for recreational gaming and certainly for music. Soundstage and presentation are a totally different story though: I keep finding myself coming back to this amp because of the way the music is presented. It's so smooth and pleasant (I know I keep using those words, but there's no better way to describe it) and never gets fatiguing. The 3d tube effect is strong for a hybrid... I can close my eyes and feel a good mix fill the space and surround me. The HD6xx can benefit from this, but also I love the intimacy of the HD6xx and sometimes prefer a tighter soundstage for them. If you have headphones with decent soundstage already, then this amp will certainly bring a satisfying 3d sound to your music. The D2000's pair extremely well with this amp for soundstage. Overall - A great amp. I highly recommend this amp for $175, and it still gets my recommendation at $250 (it's just no longer a no-brainer). If you're unsure if you want to commit to a fully solid state sound or a fully tube sound and only have room in the budget for one amp, this is a safe choice. It doesn't change your music super drastically, but it does add a bit of butter over the top so it's more forgiving on flawed headphones and mixes than something as clinical as the 789. TL;DR: SAFE PURCHASE. BUY THIS AMP IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A HYBRID TUBE AMP OR CAN ONLY GET ONE AMP AND DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT FULL TUBE OR FULL SOLID STATE.
Recommends this product? Yes
Hyde
1119
Sep 19, 2020
DarkStarRWBlol so rare to see someone writes an review using D2000 since it's an old and discontinued headphone. HOWEVER which is perfect because I'm still using D2000 as my daily driver LOL. I'm currently using Dragonfly Red as my dac/amp combo. Would you recommend running my Dragonfly Red as a dac and hook up to this unit as the amp unit? Also I don't know if I'm reading this wrong but........ I was a bit confused while reading your review, seems like treble roll off a bit, mids a bit recessed, bass is a bit bloated, while imaging and soundstage is great. But considering the trade off would you still recommend this for D2000? I always thought D2000 is slightly on the neutral / metallic side so was hoping to get an amp to warm it up a touch. Wondering if this is the answer......... lol.
DarkStarRWB
21
Sep 28, 2020
HydeI don't have any experience or knowledge regarding the Dragonfly but if the general consensus online is that they work well enough as a DAC, then yeah I don't see why you couldn't pair it with this amp. I don't think the DAC makes a big difference in the sound relative to other things in your audio chain (source files, amp, headphones). Over the past few weeks I've left the D2000's plugged into the CTH because I love the way it takes a bit of the harshness out of the trebles and highs that always bugged me about the D2000 as well as elevating the bass quantity for certain genres of music. If you are looking for the "perfect" headphone out of this combo, I don't think I would recommend it. You aren't getting a very detailed or accurate sound, but it is definitely a great sound. I have a couple amps and a few headphones so I'm not too worried about finding "perfect" headphones anymore, but instead a variety of different, great sounding combos. If you aren't concerned with accuracy or neutrality and just want something that sounds good, then I DO recommend this.
Hyde
1119
Sep 28, 2020
DarkStarRWBYeah I'm not someone that care that much about linear response or neutrality. In fact I find neutral sounds boring to me. At the end of the day as long it sounds good then it sounds good. So this does sound like it could potentially on my future purchase list. Thank you for your answer and explanation! :)
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