Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Feb 6, 2015 16:34:23 GMT
I've been listening to the Kameleon all afternoon with my Senn HD650. All I can say is .... What an amp!!!!
The low bass is truly amazing. I have never heard my Senns go so low, so loud and convincingly. They are unbelieveable actually. It's a fantastic combination. They really hit down low with real sub bass but the top end is also cleaner. It's not more treble laden, but just clearer up top and feels more open.
This is the best amp for an hd650 for sure. The headphone just jumps to life and is extremely natural sounding. Interestingly, the T40 and 50 are kind of similar in sound but I think this is about the best you can get for the Senns.
All I can say is Jeremy, it's a no brainer.
Noise is just not there. It drives them with ease. The bass is absolutely awesome. Treble seems more distinct. The thickness has disappeared. It's very natural sounding. I'm going to be getting one.
For me, this is the best combo I've heard. I never felt that an hd650 could get much better, but this is like a top end headphone. No shrieking treble. Unbelieveable low bass with no thickening in the mid bass. It just sounds 'right'.
I think this is the combo of the last year. Seriously, this is a top notch sound.
It is absolutely awesome.
These need to be more widely available. Frans, it is absolutely top notch. Best yet.
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Post by musicman on Feb 6, 2015 16:53:54 GMT
solderdude, can the filter that you are using on the Kameleon be used somehow with the Ember? Will these be available in the US? So many questions so little time, Thanks Don
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Feb 6, 2015 17:35:37 GMT
For me, I think I'll use the Polaris and Ember for other headphones and reserve the Kameleon for the Senn hd650 because it is absolutely top notch.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 18:03:56 GMT
This sets the cat amongst my pigeons.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Feb 6, 2015 18:39:08 GMT
I know...... I'm sorry. I know that I sit here with this gear, and some will start to want to get it!!! I'm always aware of it.
For me, THE combo is hd650 and the Kameleon.
It's very refined. The hd650 becomes lighter footed. Bass is sublime. Treble is extended and smooth. The mid bass hump of old is gone.
The result is a headphone that sounds like something really high end in its subtlety and natural sound, with nothing being forced or boosted in order to impress.
I was listening to a Thomas Dolby album and the bass went seriously missing on one track. So bad, I though something was wrong. Next track it thundered in. So if bass is missing, the Senn no longer puts it there. When it's there, it's just amazing.
It's a no. 1 combo. I've been seriously in awe all afternoon.
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Post by jhelms on Feb 6, 2015 18:58:23 GMT
Heard loud and clear Ian - cannot wait to start into the filter stuff. Scratching off one project (no pun intended) at a time. Now that I have a heck of a good machine shop again, The linear is coming up - then straight to the filters  |
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Feb 6, 2015 19:07:13 GMT
Are you going to produce 'stand alone' units Jeremy? The hd650 filter is just sublime. The Senn sound is still there but it just goes down into a black hole. Absolutely no noise too. That particular filter is just making a great headphone superb. I'm absolutely sold on the Kameleon. I just need to stick with one headphone now though!! Perhaps I just need to move into your garage?  This mains driven Kameleon is a beauty. The lid slides back to change the filter and it's a powerful little beast. To me, the home unit makes real sense with decent headphones. It truly transforms the hd650 into another level. In fact, I wonder how long it will be before some manufacturers start to produce amps biased towards their headphones. ie; you buy the whole matching combo. It makes sense to me. A bit like the Stax and their energisers!! Flat is the way to go for sure, but that Sub bass is very important with flat headphones. Otherwise, they can resemble small monitors with no real bass but flat from the roll off up. Once that lower bass is there, the headphones are way more palatable for normal hi fi types that enjoy their music. |
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Post by musicman on Feb 6, 2015 22:14:49 GMT
IF Jeremy goes the stand alone route, I will be first in line to get one, can't wait Rabbit has had some serious gear reviewed and the way he spoke of the filter for the 650 it is right up there for me.
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Post by jhelms on Feb 6, 2015 22:26:19 GMT
What was initially planned was an in-line unit that will work with all of the amplifiers. A powered device / filter with rca in / out and a bypass mode. Filters would be quick change for various headphones. That is the general idea vs. a whole standalone amplifier.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Feb 6, 2015 22:32:27 GMT
Honestly, the hd650 is top notch from a Kameleon. I'm hooked and noticed straight away. No adjustment period was needed. I literally put them on and noticed the deeper bass immediately. Not louder, but deeper. They are extremely natural sounding via the filter. It makes you really hear what the HD650 can really do.
Give it a poor recording though and it'll show it. The Senn no longer has the fat, mellow sound that is described as so forgiving. It plays what's there.
I've been listening on and off for 9 hours now and been throwing all kinds of things at it. I found some rather serious flaws in the mixing of one of Thomas Dolby's albums that I'd not noticed before. Bass was seriously recessed and everything seemed to be in the middle, with no depth of sound. Someone made a boo boo there!
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Post by musicman on Feb 6, 2015 22:36:21 GMT
An In-line filter is what I was referring to. I miss spoke, not a stand-alone amp combo but a stand-alone inline filter. Old age sure messes with your brain!
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juke
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Post by juke on Feb 6, 2015 23:23:06 GMT
I wonder how different the mains powered one is to the battery one that I have. I still miss the HD650s I sold off cheap because the paint was cracking and you've unsettled me as usual Ian  I even have a bare filter board for the Kameleon... Syd |
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Post by musicman on Feb 7, 2015 1:35:08 GMT
juke if you where in the US I have two pair will be selling one off soon. I like the 650's the best of all the phones I have tried or owned, with the Ember they are terrific
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Feb 7, 2015 15:27:22 GMT
Syd, I'm sorry. I know I do this, but I can't help being enthusiastic over gear that is superb. I covered the cracked paint on mine by putting a Beyer strap on the headband. That way, you don't see it and it's more comfortable.
I think I'll be looking for a Kameleon myself now. I don't really know whether the mains driven one is much different to the portable one. The only reason I have a mains one is because I mentioned it to Frans who made this one for himself at home. Much what I was after; rather than a portable battery powered unit.
It has given me much greater respect for the Senn HD650 tbh. It goes into another league. The sound is much the same, but more lower bass welly and less mid bass hump. It transforms it into a different headphone in one respect, whole still retaining some of the Senn warmth. Open as heck as a result. Powerful and full bodied and basically very natural sounding. It is kind of similar to the HD600 with a better treble. Not so grainy if you like. More refined.
I think I'd be using it solely for the hd650. I've tried the DT990 filter today. It's a little more strident in the top than the Senn and the bass hump is down but the Senn is spot on for me. I put the Senn filter straight back!!
I like the Ember and Polaris a lot with the Senns but the Kameleon makes it take off. The old colourations recede and it sounds like a lovely toned high end headphone.
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Feb 7, 2015 15:43:32 GMT
I wonder how different the mains powered one is to the battery one that I have. I still miss the HD650s I sold off cheap because the paint was cracking and you've unsettled me as usual Ian I even have a bare filter board for the Kameleon... Syd There is NO difference between the battery powered version and the one from the mains. The batteries are 'simulated' by the power supply otherwise it wouldn't work correctly. The other (technical) difference is that the mains powered version has an opamp as input buffer under the board (isn't visible from the top) so it can be fed from line level and has a volume control. The power, and sound are 100% the same. Its the reason I built the Kameleon so you can drive 'difficult' headphones corrected and all from a portable. It'll drive orthos easily (well the HE-6 may not play very loud) |
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