Headphone Heights Welcome to Headphone Heights, the place for all your ear bud discussion

---

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Headphone Heights ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ]

---

Kenzie Headphone amp, Reference level SET

Posted by joessportster (A) on June 25, 2014 at 17:38:44

I am currently auditioning this very animal using my HiFiMan He500, I am thinking REFERENCE level amplification............

This is the builder Justin Webers variant on the Darling circuit using the 1626 tube at 3/4 WPC it is driving my phones easily as good as my 3 wpc EL84 tube amp. Justin special ordered iron from Transcendar wound to support 32 and 600 ohm with seperate headphone taps for each. The amp supports almost any headphone on the market with superb drive ability

The amp is the most revealing I have heard, all the nuance in vocals shines through with ease, I have always associated SET with romantic / warm / syrup................Not the case here with ZERO feedback this thing is as crisp and neutral as one would typically associate with High End solid state.................but with absolutely no hint of grain or edge. And DEAD QUIET to boot, Music just emanates from a solid black background ( it's almost eerie, yet welcome)

Bass is tight, deep, and controlled. tones show rumble at 20 hz on my cans, while I can hear tones as high as 15khz

Bela Fleck, Flight of the Cosmic Hippo, bass is surprisingly gutteral at 3/4 WPC This thing is amazing

Sometimes God Smiles, track 20. Prism is a drum solo by Bill Bruford, I have used this as a reference for impact and many amps just cannot pull it off, I often find myself reaching for the volume knob in order to reach the desired level............Not so with this amp It recreates the effect with ease

Beck Sea Change, A very well recorded album about breaking up, The amp portrays the emotion with startling realism...........One of Becks best albums just got better

Vocals reveal different pitches in what I considered well known, Steve Earl, Bruce Springsteen, Ray LaMontangue, Ryan Adams, Allison Kraus, Adele just to name a few

The amp seems to excell at any quality recording I throw its way, It also seems brutally honest in its presentation of the source (crap in = Crap out, no warming the edges here)

Strings reveal the pluck, the body and the decay, Cymbals reveal strike and decay and just shimmer with no static, or sizzle, Piano is very realistic. I cannot recall ever hearing acoustic guitar so realistic (short of being there)

Build quality is second to none, very robust and solid construction with stunning wood work,

If you are looking for a reference level amp you owe it to yourself to call Justin who can fill in all the details of the build, His number is listed on the web site, when you call you get the builder and he is one of the nicest people you will come across.

Edits: 06/25/14

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Parts Connexion

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---