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Ash View Drop Down
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Points: 4334 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Mar 2019 at 8:04am
In the past, I used a Majestic DAC into Solo Ultra-Linear to drive the AKG K1000. This headphone is 120 Ohm, 76dB/mW. With the drivers placed open about halfway or slightly closer to the ears than that, I do recall having enough gain on DAC pot and headamp pot to achieve high volume. (my Majestic line-out is variable level, not fixed level, though). I have also used HD540II from the Solo, which is 300 Ohm impedance and has a sensitivity around 94dB/mW if I calculated it correctly.

I tried a 600 Ohm HD540 Ref I headphone from the Bitzie once and it could go really loud so the Solo could definitely drive it just as loud. Other people here have also tried planar magnetic headphones with the Solo.


Edited by Ash - 06 Mar 2019 at 8:12am
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Graham Slee View Drop Down
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Points: 16298 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Mar 2019 at 9:30am
Originally posted by Lucabeer Lucabeer wrote:

Another curiosity arises... I am a controls engineer, so I like to understand things related to gain, phase margin, etc

Since I tend to listen at rather loud volumes, and since I have some LPs which are not cut particularly loud, I tend to have the volume knob often in the 3 o'clock position even with low impedance phones.

If in future I found myself switching to headphones with a larger impedance (but similar sensitivity), would the Z-match system automatically adapt the gain and allow me to listen at the same volume or would I find myself always at 5 o'clock and maybe wishing for more power?




The LPs must be very quiet?

My background was in loud music (loud but clear). My last ever dealings in such was 2003 when on commissioning a lecture theatre system, the venue's caretaker and I were enjoying some Who played at concert levels, when several young office workers from elsewhere in the rather large office building begged me to turn it down or off (I of course obliged).

I know what loud is, and that level of loudness is achieved with a Solo ULDE driving 300 ohm Sennheisers (any) and at around the 3 o'clock volume position.

However, I have a brother-in-law who says it's too quiet. John C (a bass guitarist also used to loud music) couldn't believe that, and I was lost for words, and still am.

That is about all I can say on the subject.
That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps
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Lucabeer View Drop Down
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Points: 710 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lucabeer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Mar 2019 at 10:08am
Perfectly clear, Graham!

I guess it's very much a matter of taste. Yes, the LPs I was speaking about are very quiet indeed (each side running at 30 minutes... So some compromises had to be made).

And I agree that it might be a matter of personal preference: my wife finds the Solo (the one before the upgrade) already too loud at much lower knob positions than I usually listen at. Let's say that if I listen at 2 o'clock, she won't go on the same record beyond 10 or 11. I might be tempted to say my ears are shot, if I hadn't recently made a test which shows I can still easily hear up to 18 KHz at my age of 44! 😂


Edited by Lucabeer - 06 Mar 2019 at 10:23am
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Lucabeer View Drop Down
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Points: 710 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lucabeer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Mar 2019 at 4:15pm
After almost 30 hours of settling, I am listening to the Solo UL with some very very heavy metal (Ill Nino).

My impression is of complete ease of listening. Even such a heavy, congested and "dirty" kind of music does not give ear fatigue. Bass is plentiful: the difference between the UL and the 2009 SRG is that even when the mix gets really bassy, you can feel the vocals clearly and not swamped in bassy mud. And anyway I am a bit surprised by one thing: I was expecting a completely neutral signature, almost clinical. It's not: it's warm, and I feel that there's a certain "euphonic" quality to the decay of notes. Not a reverb, but it seems like they have more "presence". The same euphonic quality that differentiates vinyl from digital. Overall, anyway the UL seems "natural". Detailed but not shrill.

Is it a mandatory upgrade from the traditional Solo? Maybe not, it's just a 5-10% improvement in bass, airiness and instrument separation. The Solo SRG was 95%, this is 100%. Being a perfectionist, the small investment was anyway very worth it to me. So far, I really like what I hear!

PS: with this "loud" album on CD, I dare not go beyond 12 o'clock position on the volume knob


Edited by Lucabeer - 06 Mar 2019 at 4:20pm
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Fatmangolf View Drop Down
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Points: 8989 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Mar 2019 at 6:43pm
It's great to read of the pleasure the new amp has brought you. Happy listening!
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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Ash View Drop Down
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Points: 4334 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Mar 2019 at 7:56pm
3 o'clock position on the Solo ULDE into 300 Ohm Sennheisers?? That would probably be uncomfortably loud but it depends on the preamp level going into it too. For headphones like HD600, the upper bass would thump my head in at 3 o'clock. The HD250 with shallow sealed pads would be a bass monster. HD540II would lose its sound balance and the treble would stick out of the mix and be quite fatiguing. HD800 is even more sensitive and would leave me with ringing ears at 3 o'clock if I listened for too long.

Although my ears hurt when I'm in the street and an ambulance passes with blaring siren.
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Lucabeer View Drop Down
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Points: 710 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lucabeer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Mar 2019 at 8:34pm
Listening to The White Stripes "Icky Thump" on vinyl now (2 LP all-analogue cut by Steve Hoffman)... "Impacftul" is an understatement. 4 o'clock position, and yes, the bass thumps in my head (I feel air being sucked on each drum beat), but that's how I like it.

(cartridge Ortofon 2M Black, into Reflex M preamp, into Solo UL via CuSat 50 cables, into Denon AH-D7000)

You know what makes the Solo ULDE seem "a tad bit less loud that I would like it to be"? That it does NOT distort. As a consequence, you can crank it up, and still find it tolerable to the ears. Of course, it would still be dangerous on the long term, but the lack of distortion or unpleasantness makes it seem enjoyable and it invites to turn it up. Dangerous! LOL


Edited by Lucabeer - 06 Mar 2019 at 9:00pm
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