Michael Jones Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Reader comments on the Rega Ear review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 I have read the review and thought it was generally informative but... prospective purchasers would really like to know how it compares to other brands available in NZ. Particularly the X-Cans V2. Which is twice the price. I personally don't think the X-Cans are worth the money, only because I have a bias against the ECC88 tubes used. They lack transparency. I have listened to the Ear through a pair of Senn. 570s. I thought it was good but not mind blowing. Certainly good value for money though. Also, the Pots on both units are of low quality. If I bought an Ear I would try to replace the pot with something like an ALPs Blue. The X-Cans pot is near imposible to replace due to it's size and lack of space in the unit. Just my 2 cents worth. -S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Jones Posted January 10, 2003 Author Share Posted January 10, 2003 Sean, thanks for your comments. At the time of the review the distribution of the Musical Fidelity range was changing, and it was uncertain whether the X-Cans would be available at all in NZ (they are now, of course). The only other headphone amp that I'm aware of, available in NZ, is a much cheaper QED unit. I wrote about the QED many years back in one of my print magazines, which was what alerted me to the benefits of a headphone amp over a headphone socket on a CD player or amplifier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesB Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 I concur with Seans comments about the low quality of the pot used in the Rega Ear unit. I got a couple of these units to use with my Sennheiser HD600 headphones. The Sennheisers are so sensitive that when used with my Musical Fidelity A3 cd player I was only using the first 1/5 or so of the volume range. I found the channel balance unmatched at the lower end of this range. In the first unit it was possible to hear one ear before the other when turning up the pot slowly then, for a little while, the other ear got louder. I took this back to the dealer who could hear this too and gave me another unit to try. This second unit was much better however when I set the volume to the lowest possible setting that I might practically use and played 315hz test tone I measured 50% difference in the channel balances - this % difference converged (quite quickly) to about 10% difference at higher volumes. I ended up taking this unit back too. Ok, YMMV. An important point to note is that other headphones may be a better match for the Ear and utilise the complete volume range, like I said the pot is much better matched at higher volume settings - it's just the first 5% (or so) of the range that is really bad. I'd suggest taking a listen to one of these units before commiting to buy. In the end I brought a David Berning MicroZOTL triode amplifier to use with my headphones. This unit is fantastic!! The sound quality with the HD600s is far better than the Rega, it utilises far more of the pots volume range (the pot is a noble BTW), and it can power speakers too (if _really_ efficient i.e. horns). I had to buy this unit from the States and when GST and shipping are factored into the equation we're talking about $2000 worth - definately not comparible with the price of the Ear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonno1553552668 Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 Naim produce a headphone amp available in NZ.I used one for quite a time, but replaced it witha Sugden Headmaster Class A Headphone Amp.Both these units were far superior to the X Cans incuding the V2.I am currently using a Stax Lambda Signature plus T1 valve driver.Superb. Have just purchased from Audio Adviser a DB Dynamics DB9 Headphone Amp which they had on sale at a special price for one day only over the new year. Havn`t got a clue what it sounds like as I have bought it on spec and havn`t heard it. It uses an ALPS volume control and is evidently fitted with decent components plus it comes with a separate power supply instead of a wall wart.and can be tweaked if necessary. Fingers crossed that it is not a complete disaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamsta Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 John! Nice to see you out and about. Best of the New Year to you. Must catch up some time (like we've been saying for the last 2 years or so;)). Spot ya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grummer Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 I have found an interesting comments from a US website about those X-cans, I have a HD590 and I plan to get a headphone amp sometime this year, Probably the X-cans with the tube changes. "The X-Cans V2 are excellent with my Sennheiser HD600s and Linn Mimik, BUT PLEASE do yourself a favour and replace the stock valves with JJ Electronic E88CCs - they're inexpensive (£18 for 2) and the improvement in sound quality is remarkable. They also cure the problem with leaking noise on the right channel!" I just bouht this last week and was very dissapointed with the sound , it distorted at anything more than 8o"clock. So I thought i would change the Valves or tubes as their known. I phoned many places for advice and was really impressed by Watford Valves.com. This guy new his stuff and tested every valve he sold! He recomended Harma Diamonds. And WOW what a difference and they are not even run in yet! Amazing with Sennhiesser HD600"s. These two were from eaoustic wbesites. Any comments? or similar tubes or whereabouts to source these in New Zealand would be great. Cheers, Grumm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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