[deniall83]

Recently got myself a pair of Alessandro MS Pro's and since I no longer own an amp or DAC I have decided to get both for my computer rig. I have searched and read a ton of threads on amps suited to Grado's and the general concensus seems to be that hybrid tube amps suit them very well. The problem is, most of the suggestions seem to be just out of my budget. So, if you had $1000 to spend on both an amp and DAC (can be combined or seperate) for Grado's what would you get?

 

[Jojomite]

hmm, how bout the dacmini? its a dac and amp all in one box. has grain free, neutral sound and the extension is very good both ways.

 

[deniall83]

Looked at that and was considering it. However, I have read that tube amps are a lot more suited to Grado's so I was looking at maybe getting a MAD Ear+ HD and a dedicated DAC.

 

[Jojomite]

lol, thats weird actually, a friend told me that tube amps generally don't work as well for grado cause of the low impedance...

 

[lovleylady]

I use Musical Fidelity M1 HPA(approx. ~US$1000) for my grado. It has build in DAC aswell, via USB.
 
Very low output impedance, less than 1 ohm. And has lots of power so if you get a harder-to-drive pair in the future it will suffice.
 
Good luck.

 

[deniall83]

Quote:

I use Musical Fidelity M1 HPA(approx. ~US$1000) for my grado. It has build in DAC aswell, via USB.
 
Very low output impedance, less than 1 ohm. And has lots of power so if you get a harder-to-drive pair in the future it will suffice.
 
Good luck.

Thanks. I had a look and I can get it for about $800 AUD. The thing is though, there's nothing on this site about it. I searched and found stuff all. Can you link me to an owners thread or impressions?

 

[lovleylady]

I know, it's pretty unknown. Think it's kind of wierd actually.
 
Think this is the only review I ever found.
 
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/amplifiers/musical-fidelity-m1-hpa-720752/review
 
You should really see if you could have a listen to it before you buy though. I did, and I loved it, still do.
 
Here's a picture of the inside:
http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/5511/dsc7658copy.jpg
 
Don't recommend this to anyone who really belives in "the more you put in a box the better"
 
The DAC is 16 bit I think. Some might think that's not enough. I think it's but if you don't, look elsewere.

 

[dyl1dyl]

Schiit asgard and minimalist dacchiit asgard and minimalist dac

 

[deniall83]

Quote:

Schiit asgard and minimalist dacchiit asgard and minimalist dac

Asgard looks good. No idea what else you're referring to. Any experience with the Asgard and Grado's?

 

[dyl1dyl]

Asgard looks good. No idea what else you're referring to. Any experience with the Asgard and Grado's?

I'm referring to their upcoming dac, after the bifrost. The asgard is great with grados

 

[Twinster]

The MAD Ear+ is a very good choice for the Grado/Alessandro headphone and a lot of other brand like Sennheiser HD-6xx. It's a transformer coupled so it has no problem driving low impedance phone. I also own the Dacmini with the 1 Ohm output option and pair very well with the MAD but sound very good by himself.
Quote:

Looked at that and was considering it. However, I have read that tube amps are a lot more suited to Grado's so I was looking at maybe getting a MAD Ear+ HD and a dedicated DAC.

 
 

 

[tme110]

lol, thats weird actually, a friend told me that tube amps generally don't work as well for grado cause of the low impedance...

That's a blanket statement that is not true at all. Generally you would need a tube amp with an output tranformer (though that's not 100% the case either). Besides the MAD and grado are probable the most famous pairing here at head-fi.

I'd look into the MAD and though overkill power-wise I also very much like my grados with the nfb-10

 

[barleyguy]

Quote:

That's a blanket statement that is not true at all. Generally you would need a tube amp with an output tranformer (though that's not 100% the case either). Besides the MAD and grado are probable the most famous pairing here at head-fi.
I'd look into the MAD and though overkill power-wise I also very much like my grados with the nfb-10

Agreed.  I love my tube hybrid with Grados (Cavalli CTH in my case, though that's DIY so you'd have to build it or find a builder).
 
Also, unless someone is actually a design engineer who understands entire circuits, blanket statements made about "this is bad because of X design criteria" should be taken with a grain of salt.
 
Reminds me of a funny quote from RMAF last year.  Two actual electronic engineer PHDs were having a conversation about audio magazines and one said "Yeah, it's great to read critiques of my circuit topology from a guy who can't line up 2 AA batteries".
 
Oh, as far as DACs and amps, some of my absolute favorite DACs under $500 are the ones by iBasso.  The D12 is a great DAC that just happens to also have a good amp attached.  (Well, I haven't heard the D12, but have the D10 which is its predecessor and love it.)