Topic: Yay...new tube amp!

[George]

I also posted this at head-fi, but wanted to share in the celebration:


Damn, is this thing sweet!

Eye candy:













Nice eh?  I contact Joe Sagan of Blueberry audio about a month ago to build one.  After nearly dropping out of commissioning him, i went forth with getting the amp built and i am truely digging it!  It sounds great with my SR-100's, warm yet very detailed.  Currently listening to Diana Krall's "The girl in the other room" sacd, red book layer.  I can't wait to try it out with my HD-580's!  Believe it or not, i think i'm gonna pack up my Baby O for a little while and give the SR-100's and HD-580's some more listening time.  It should be interesting to see how the Baby O's will sound like in a month when i set them back up.  I'm waiting for Joe to send me a spec sheet for all you hardware types, enjoy the pics and feel free to post q's and comments   

[Ray76]

I was wondering...what are the benefits of listening to music over headphones for an extended period of time??isnt a full blownsystem better??i dont know anything about this stuff...just curious.

[pfife]

I was wondering...what are the benefits of listening to music over headphones for an extended period of time??isnt a full blownsystem better??i dont know anything about this stuff...just curious.

You gotta hear music on a sweet pair of headphones...  I have a pair of 7506's, and they are low-end "nice" headphones, and they even sound super awesome to my ears.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

With head phones you get no interference from the room so the sound is naturally cleaner - there is no bass suckout or reflections due to a bad room design.  You can use lower powered amps.  Many of very highly regarded tube amp designs are very low wattage and you don't need much power to drive head phones.  I'm sure that there are more reasons, but those are the two I know.

[Ray76]

With head phones you get no interference from the room so the sound is naturally cleaner - there is no bass suckout or reflections due to a bad room design.  You can use lower powered amps.  Many of very highly regarded tube amp designs are very low wattage and you don't need much power to drive head phones.  I'm sure that there are more reasons, but those are the two I know.

Thanks Micheal.

[Ray76]

I was wondering...what are the benefits of listening to music over headphones for an extended period of time??isnt a full blownsystem better??i dont know anything about this stuff...just curious.

You gotta hear music on a sweet pair of headphones...  I have a pair of 7506's, and they are low-end "nice" headphones, and they even sound super awesome to my ears.

and thank you Pfife!

[pfife]

after I got these headphones, it made almost all systems that I heard sound like there were huge thick dampening blankets over the speakers.  The difference in clarity is really surprising....  It will also turn you into a complete audiophile, always trying to make a regular playback system sound like the headphones.

[Ray76]

after I got these headphones, it made almost all systems that I heard sound like there were huge thick dampening blankets over the speakers.  The difference in clarity is really surprising....  It will also turn you into a complete audiophile, always trying to make a regular playback system sound like the headphones.

given my penchant for buying sprees..id better not go that route. 

[George]

after I got these headphones, it made almost all systems that I heard sound like there were huge thick dampening blankets over the speakers.  The difference in clarity is really surprising....  It will also turn you into a complete audiophile, always trying to make a regular playback system sound like the headphones.

given my penchant for buying sprees..id better not go that route. 

LOL.  I'm just as bad as i plunked down $500 for a Iriver 140 mp3 player because it's 40GB and it has optical in/out and line in/out.  I mainly purchased it because my Rio Karma is acting up and the newest wave of mp3 players leave a lot to be desired. 

As for headphones, i'm into them because i still live at home, currently working full-time and going to school part-time, so investing in a killer speaker rig isn't practical. 

Once i move out and get my place, i definitely plan on investing in a nice speaker system, probably gonna go with the epos line or these:

http://www.livingvoice.co.uk/rev_obxr03.htm

 

Those OBX are killer!  I'd definitely like to own a big speaker rig one day, but headphones provide that intimacy that's normally missing from a speaker rig.  You hear all the little nuances in a recording that are normally masked or dispersed in a speaker rig. 

If you've never gotten into headphones, you should see if you can visit a local audio shop and audition some of them.  Headphone.com offers a 30 day return policy as well.   

Thanks for the comments everyone!  I look forward to spending more time with this amp tonight and my HD-580's.   

[George]

My eyes lust, and my ears scream in pain, but my eyes lust more than the pain,.....

cool new toy!
+ to ya

Thanks Moke!  I'm sitting here daydreaming about going home and listening to some cool tunes with this sucker.  It's a revelation what a well designed tube amp can do.  I tell ya, tubes+grado's is where its at.  +T backatcha buddy.   

[George]

Hell, when you buy a tube amp it should be customary to post some dark shots of the tubes glowing:

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

That really is a beautiful piece of gear.

[pfife]

Damn... those pics are making me reconsider selling my tube amp...  bastard!     I love looking at the little fireplaces...   

[BobW]

Pretty, glowing bottles !

+T for sexy sound.

[BobW]

Looking around the interweb for Blueberry Audio and finding nothing.
I suck at the interweb   

Any more information on sources and specs ?


[EDIT]
Nevermind got my answer from Joe.