Yeah I was thinking of something like the STAX T2 or something for electrostatics, but I’ll hold off on that atm and maybe build a Beta 22 to have a SS companion for my Tube Amp.
1 Like
The issue with output impedance is the damping factor (load/output impedance) which is basically a measure of how well an amplifier can “control” a transducer. For most low impedance planar’s you’d be at a damping factor of 1, and people generally recommend 4+ and some 8+.
Too little usually exhibit’s itself predominantly in a loss of control in the Bass frequencies.
Lots of tube amps will make planars loud, but it’s not the only issue to making them sound good on a tube.
2 Likes
Yeah that’s true, I didn’t hear anything wrong with my AEONs when testing them with the tube amp, but the bass was a bit lite even when using 6528s to lower the impedance to 16, but as you said 19/16 is ~1.2. Nothing wrong with the sound, but not as good when paired with the Beyerdynamic T1s or the humble HD600.
With a Planar like the HEDDphone though if we go on dampening factors, @ 42 ohms it’d be 42/16 which is ~2.6, so it should work better than the AEONs, but not as good as High Impedance Dynamic Headphones. That’s why I’d rather get something High Impedance and Dynamic, it’ll probably match better with the amp.
The ability to use Planars on my amp is more of a Commodity than a specialized function or something intended for that use. The amp is more centered around benefiting High Impedance Headphones, or Headphones with at least 80 Ohms, since at 16 Ohm Output it’d be at a factor of 5 (A Very Specific Case However Since it would require the use of 6528 Tubes Specifically).
I mean if there’s a Planar with an Impedance above 80 I’d imagine it’d work without any issues and may even play well with the amp.
1 Like
The hedd are a bit different being amt but still close enough to planar, just didn’t sound the best to my ears personally. I mean they worked and sounded ok, I just def preferred them on solid state. There are only a few tube amps that I really enjoy with planar
2 Likes
Yeah I’d Imagine Hybrids for example can work really well with Planars depending on how the circuit works, but a fully Tube Amp may not be the best, even with an Output Transformer reflecting the load at 4 Ohms (Idk if there are output transformers that go lower than that, maybe 2 Ohms)?
1 Like
I really like the viva 845 which is a set for my planars, but other sets haven’t impressed me as much
2 Likes
Not sure if anyone mentioned it, didnt read the lott. But sure the HD800 is 300ohm.
2 Likes
Yeah just realized that a bit ago, I was thinking about the HD660 since that was 150 Ohm and assumed the HD800 was too. Either way doesn’t matter too much since OTL style tube amps love High Impedance Headphones, and if the HD600 is any indication of what an OTL likes, then the HD800 should follow suit seeing how they have the same impedances.
1 Like
I really would only want to own a 800 or 800s if I had a nice tube amp tbh (I had an 800s but sold it because preference things but with the amps I have now, I actually might rebuy it who knows)
congrats on the 2000 bucks
4 Likes
Thanks, got them from a scratch ticket, first time I played one and got lucky af. Hopefully this doesn’t lead to a gambling addiction down the line.
Oh also I ended up buying the HD800. For 800 bucks it’s a pretty good opportunity to try them out at least, and hopefully they don’t break (They’re B-Stock but they should work fine and have a 45 day return period either way).
Also once I’m done with the final touches, I’ll essentially have a Tube Amp to pair them with. I mean not to get too much into sound until it’s done, but it does quite wonderful things to the HD600s, much more than a Darkvoice at least. Hopefully the Tube will benefit the HD800, especially since the design of the amp is meant to give off the Tube Sound.
Also by finishing touches it just means changing some resistors on some of the boards to better suit the Tube they’re working with (They were meant for slightly different tubes, the 12A_7 series, so there are very slight variations in how they function, as well as the voltage of the power supply being slightly higher than what those boards meant for, not by much, but makes a bit of a difference, already did this to the C4S boards), essentially raising or lowering voltages to see how the tube reacts and whether I like it or not. Using cheaper resistors first to get the values to how I want them, then ordering some High-Precision Vishay resistors to seal the deal.
Doing this by ear mostly, but making sure not to stray to far from the original working values just to make sure I don’t accidentally break something by going too far with the value changes.
6 Likes