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Ok, here's my attempt at a review of my recently-upgraded "Cubicle Audio System", featuring the ASL MG Head OTL tube headphone amp, especially designed to fill my head with great sounding music while I slave away at my PC at work!
Before I get into the details of my new gear, let me recap what I was using before. Nothing too impressive, a Sony CFD-S33 boom box and a pair of cheap folding Sony headphones, the kind you'd use with a portable. Although this setup worked great, I decided it was time to upgrade, since I listen to most of my music at work, it was a shame to have great sounding audio at home but not at work.
When I decided to upgrade, I made a list of criteria:
1. Better sound than what I had before. Considering what I had before, I figured this wouldn't be very difficult!
2. Better isolation from outside distractions. Where I work the cubicles are open and it can get noisy/distracting at times.
3. Whatever gear I get has to play CDs, as well as AM/FM radio.
My original plan was to just replace the headphones, perhaps add a headphone amp, and connect it to the headphone jack of my boom box. The first order of business was to find a suitable set of "cans." I turned to Headroom to find out what was out there and what would work best for me. Originally I was thinking of the Sennheiser HD600 or 580 cans, but after doing some reading on Headroom's site, I decided that I would rather have sealed, instead of open, headphones. Sealed cans do a better job of keeping outside noise out and the music in. Last but not least, since I was thinking of diving into the world of tubes as part of this upgrade I wanted high impedance cans that would work well with the Antique Sound Labs MG Head DT or OTL headphone amp. I ultimately settled on Beyerdynamic DT 831 cans. And as luck would have it, I found a 3 month old MG Head OTL w/additional tubes for sale, which I promptly snagged (thanks Merc!). After securing the amp I placed the order for the DT 831 headphones.
Due to differences in shipping times, I received the cans from Headroom several days before the amp. When the cans arrived I plugged them into my boom box and fired up a CD. YEEEEUCH!! Although I never noticed this with the old 'phones, the new ones definitely brought out the limitations of the boom box. It sounded horrid. It had a nasty hiss (the S/N ratio couldn't have been more than 50-60 dB) and "where's the bass?" The music was thin and distorted sounding. Ok, the boom box had to go.
Since I had a few days to wait for the amp to arrive, and needed a better source than the boom box, I tried them in several sources I had handy, including my laptop computer and the two optical drives in my work computer. All of them sounded far better than the boom box, but the bass was still lacking. I got the best sound from the CD-RW drive, though that doesn't say much. I didn't want to rely on the computer as a source either, so I made a trip to Best Buy at lunch, to see what I could find in portable CD players (no, I don't have room in my cubicle for full sized components!) I decided on the Sony D-FJ401 CD Walkman, since it had AM/FM, an AC adapter, and a line level output. The CD Walkman by itself drove the Beyer cans about as well as the CD-RW drive in my computer. The bass was still lacking though, so I figured any further improvement would have to wait for the MG Head.
A few days later, the amp arrives, along with some tubes. Oh goody! I unpack it and insert the two JJ EL84 tubes and the GE JG-5751 (these were Merc's tubes of choice), attach the cover, and plug everything in. After verifying that the tubes glowed and giving it some time to warm up, I tossed in a CD and WOW! Now this is just what the doctor ordered! I finally got the bass I was lacking without an amp, and the clarity, everything sounded fantastic! I tried both the OTL (output transformerless) and the transformer outputs, with and without feedback, and got distinctly different results with each combination. The transformer output with feedback accentuates the upper mids/highs at the expense of bass extension. The OTL output provided the most balanced sound and the best bass, so I'm using that output.
I also tried out the stock tubes, a Ei 5751 and two Sovtek EL84 tubes. I didn't spend much time with these tubes installed but I felt the sound wasn't as good as with the JJ and GE tubes. I may spend some more time with the stock tubes to hear how they sound after a good break-in. Merc also provided a GE JAN 5751 (gray plate) and a RCA 5751 (black plate). I tried the GE and it sounded more bassy and the highs were more rolled off than the GE JG-5751. I haven't tried the RCA yet.
So, how does it sound? To make a long story short, I've never heard my CDs sound as good as I do through this rig. I have a nice system at home, but even so I hear subtle details in the music I always missed before. The bass is strong and accurate; the mids are to DIE for, and the highs are detailed and accurate without being harsh or bright. I can see why the tube fans are so passionate. They just do something to the music that just sounds so... sweet! I can't put a finger on it. I have to say that the tube amp adds an "analog" quality to my CDs; it takes that rough edge off without losing any of the music. I get an emotional impact hearing old familiar songs on this rig that I haven't experienced in years, possibly since my cassette days. It seems to me that the analog tube/vinyl zealots are on to something!
I can hardly imagine how it'll sound connected to a decent quality transport. I'll have to check that out sometime and report back.
Last but not least, the tube amp and cans have elicited some "what the heck is that thing?" from my co-workers! Nonetheless, it sounds fantastic, and doesn't take up any more desk space than my boom box did.
So, you're wondering, "should I get a headphone amp?" In my experience, YES! Like a good amp for your home system, a headphone amp will make the most of your headphone's capabilities, especially if you have high performance cans like my DT 831s, or the popular Sennheiser HD600s. And if you want to explore the world of tube audio, the MG Head OTL is an inexpensive way. Put some upgraded tubes in it and you'll be in audio heaven!
To recap, here's the gear list:
Source: Sony D-FJ401 AM/FM/TV/Weather/CD Walkman, with line-level output
Amplifier: Antique Sound Labs MG Head OTL tube headphone amplifier, with one GE JG-5751 and two JJ EL84 tubes
Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 831
KJP (enjoying great tube audio at work!)
Official Computer Geek and Techno-Wiz Guru of HTGuide - Visit Tower of Power
My HT Site
Before I get into the details of my new gear, let me recap what I was using before. Nothing too impressive, a Sony CFD-S33 boom box and a pair of cheap folding Sony headphones, the kind you'd use with a portable. Although this setup worked great, I decided it was time to upgrade, since I listen to most of my music at work, it was a shame to have great sounding audio at home but not at work.
When I decided to upgrade, I made a list of criteria:
1. Better sound than what I had before. Considering what I had before, I figured this wouldn't be very difficult!
2. Better isolation from outside distractions. Where I work the cubicles are open and it can get noisy/distracting at times.
3. Whatever gear I get has to play CDs, as well as AM/FM radio.
My original plan was to just replace the headphones, perhaps add a headphone amp, and connect it to the headphone jack of my boom box. The first order of business was to find a suitable set of "cans." I turned to Headroom to find out what was out there and what would work best for me. Originally I was thinking of the Sennheiser HD600 or 580 cans, but after doing some reading on Headroom's site, I decided that I would rather have sealed, instead of open, headphones. Sealed cans do a better job of keeping outside noise out and the music in. Last but not least, since I was thinking of diving into the world of tubes as part of this upgrade I wanted high impedance cans that would work well with the Antique Sound Labs MG Head DT or OTL headphone amp. I ultimately settled on Beyerdynamic DT 831 cans. And as luck would have it, I found a 3 month old MG Head OTL w/additional tubes for sale, which I promptly snagged (thanks Merc!). After securing the amp I placed the order for the DT 831 headphones.
Due to differences in shipping times, I received the cans from Headroom several days before the amp. When the cans arrived I plugged them into my boom box and fired up a CD. YEEEEUCH!! Although I never noticed this with the old 'phones, the new ones definitely brought out the limitations of the boom box. It sounded horrid. It had a nasty hiss (the S/N ratio couldn't have been more than 50-60 dB) and "where's the bass?" The music was thin and distorted sounding. Ok, the boom box had to go.
Since I had a few days to wait for the amp to arrive, and needed a better source than the boom box, I tried them in several sources I had handy, including my laptop computer and the two optical drives in my work computer. All of them sounded far better than the boom box, but the bass was still lacking. I got the best sound from the CD-RW drive, though that doesn't say much. I didn't want to rely on the computer as a source either, so I made a trip to Best Buy at lunch, to see what I could find in portable CD players (no, I don't have room in my cubicle for full sized components!) I decided on the Sony D-FJ401 CD Walkman, since it had AM/FM, an AC adapter, and a line level output. The CD Walkman by itself drove the Beyer cans about as well as the CD-RW drive in my computer. The bass was still lacking though, so I figured any further improvement would have to wait for the MG Head.
A few days later, the amp arrives, along with some tubes. Oh goody! I unpack it and insert the two JJ EL84 tubes and the GE JG-5751 (these were Merc's tubes of choice), attach the cover, and plug everything in. After verifying that the tubes glowed and giving it some time to warm up, I tossed in a CD and WOW! Now this is just what the doctor ordered! I finally got the bass I was lacking without an amp, and the clarity, everything sounded fantastic! I tried both the OTL (output transformerless) and the transformer outputs, with and without feedback, and got distinctly different results with each combination. The transformer output with feedback accentuates the upper mids/highs at the expense of bass extension. The OTL output provided the most balanced sound and the best bass, so I'm using that output.
I also tried out the stock tubes, a Ei 5751 and two Sovtek EL84 tubes. I didn't spend much time with these tubes installed but I felt the sound wasn't as good as with the JJ and GE tubes. I may spend some more time with the stock tubes to hear how they sound after a good break-in. Merc also provided a GE JAN 5751 (gray plate) and a RCA 5751 (black plate). I tried the GE and it sounded more bassy and the highs were more rolled off than the GE JG-5751. I haven't tried the RCA yet.
So, how does it sound? To make a long story short, I've never heard my CDs sound as good as I do through this rig. I have a nice system at home, but even so I hear subtle details in the music I always missed before. The bass is strong and accurate; the mids are to DIE for, and the highs are detailed and accurate without being harsh or bright. I can see why the tube fans are so passionate. They just do something to the music that just sounds so... sweet! I can't put a finger on it. I have to say that the tube amp adds an "analog" quality to my CDs; it takes that rough edge off without losing any of the music. I get an emotional impact hearing old familiar songs on this rig that I haven't experienced in years, possibly since my cassette days. It seems to me that the analog tube/vinyl zealots are on to something!
I can hardly imagine how it'll sound connected to a decent quality transport. I'll have to check that out sometime and report back.Last but not least, the tube amp and cans have elicited some "what the heck is that thing?" from my co-workers! Nonetheless, it sounds fantastic, and doesn't take up any more desk space than my boom box did.
So, you're wondering, "should I get a headphone amp?" In my experience, YES! Like a good amp for your home system, a headphone amp will make the most of your headphone's capabilities, especially if you have high performance cans like my DT 831s, or the popular Sennheiser HD600s. And if you want to explore the world of tube audio, the MG Head OTL is an inexpensive way. Put some upgraded tubes in it and you'll be in audio heaven!
To recap, here's the gear list:
Source: Sony D-FJ401 AM/FM/TV/Weather/CD Walkman, with line-level output
Amplifier: Antique Sound Labs MG Head OTL tube headphone amplifier, with one GE JG-5751 and two JJ EL84 tubes
Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 831
KJP (enjoying great tube audio at work!)
Official Computer Geek and Techno-Wiz Guru of HTGuide - Visit Tower of Power
My HT Site
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