Your humility and ability to respect other people opinions are astonishing.
The HD-AMP1 is at the heart of my office system and I am supremely happy with it. It's dead quiet, sounds superb, drives my headphones or speakers, and has lots of inputs, plus subwoofer output and beefy binding posts. I mostly listen via via Jriver media center via USB connection and SONOS Connect via Toslink.
I bought it on sale at this same price 1-2 years ago.
Currently it's driving Quad Z-1 speakers and a sub. Prior to the Quads it was driving my LS-50's with sub. It pairs excellent with both.
I have some minor criticisms about its design.... first is that the knob for selecting input doesn't have strong enough detents (it's easy to overshoot your desired input)... second is that the headphone output gain could be higher (there are three levels of gain provided, but even on the highest setting it still seems conservative to me, but my HifiMan HE560's are notorious for being demanding).
Just bought this and I love it
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The HD-AMP1 is at the heart of my office system and I am supremely happy with it. It's dead quiet, sounds superb, drives my headphones or speakers, and has lots of inputs, plus subwoofer output and beefy binding posts. I mostly listen via via Jriver media center via USB connection and SONOS Connect via Toslink.
I bought it on sale at this same price 1-2 years ago.
Currently it's driving Quad Z-1 speakers and a sub. Prior to the Quads it was driving my LS-50's with sub. It pairs excellent with both.
I have some minor criticisms about its design.... first is that the knob for selecting input doesn't have strong enough detents (it's easy to overshoot your desired input)... second is that the headphone output gain could be higher (there are three levels of gain provided, but even on the highest setting it still seems conservative to me, but my HifiMan HE560's are notorious for being demanding).
This is a little too rich for my blood. If you're getting into high-end audio, then there are other less costly alternatives.
That said, I do see the Marantz here on Slickdeals periodically, so it must be a very good amp, I would assume.
That said x2, I don't really see a lot of Chi-fi listed here.
And that is why I am not broke. Thank you SD!
Can you recommend the other alternative names? I am driving KEF Q150s using SMSL SA300 right now but expecting little more if I use a better amp.
Can you recommend the other alternative names? I am driving KEF Q150s using SMSL SA300 right now but expecting little more if I use a better amp.
Also using the Sa300 as my primary music driver with some JBL 530's.
The combination sounds great. But I would rather use my cheap modified tube amp, or try out a tube pre amp for my sony cores and elac B5's.
Other amps I've tried, but were not as clear: SMSL AD18, Topping MX3 Pro, and some grace digitals.
The HD-AMP1 is at the heart of my office system and I am supremely happy with it. It's dead quiet, sounds superb, drives my headphones or speakers, and has lots of inputs, plus subwoofer output and beefy binding posts. I mostly listen via via Jriver media center via USB connection and SONOS Connect via Toslink.
I bought it on sale at this same price 1-2 years ago.
Currently it's driving Quad Z-1 speakers and a sub. Prior to the Quads it was driving my LS-50's with sub. It pairs excellent with both.
I have some minor criticisms about its design.... first is that the knob for selecting input doesn't have strong enough detents (it's easy to overshoot your desired input)... second is that the headphone output gain could be higher (there are three levels of gain provided, but even on the highest setting it still seems conservative to me).
did the z1 sound better than the ls50? what about quad s1 or s2?
did the z1 sound better than the ls50? what about quad s1 or s2?
The Z1 is a slightly more laidback presentation than the LS50. But it has no less detail. It's just more subtle about revealing it. The Z1 also has a little more bass warmth, which I like.
The bummer about the ribbon tweeter is that the highs drop-off off axis. For my listening from one chair (at my desk), it's not a problem and I'm very happy. But if you like to move around as you listen, they probably aren't for you.
Sorry, I haven't heard any other Quad S or Z series.
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I bought it on sale at this same price 1-2 years ago.
Currently it's driving Quad Z-1 speakers and a sub. Prior to the Quads it was driving my LS-50's with sub. It pairs excellent with both.
I have some minor criticisms about its design.... first is that the knob for selecting input doesn't have strong enough detents (it's easy to overshoot your desired input)... second is that the headphone output gain could be higher (there are three levels of gain provided, but even on the highest setting it still seems conservative to me, but my HifiMan HE560's are notorious for being demanding).
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If you're an self proclaimed audiophile and still can't score 100% on NPR's audio quality test, you don't need this
I bought it on sale at this same price 1-2 years ago.
Currently it's driving Quad Z-1 speakers and a sub. Prior to the Quads it was driving my LS-50's with sub. It pairs excellent with both.
I have some minor criticisms about its design.... first is that the knob for selecting input doesn't have strong enough detents (it's easy to overshoot your desired input)... second is that the headphone output gain could be higher (there are three levels of gain provided, but even on the highest setting it still seems conservative to me, but my HifiMan HE560's are notorious for being demanding).
That said, I do see the Marantz here on Slickdeals periodically, so it must be a very good amp, I would assume.
That said x2, I don't really see a lot of Chi-fi listed here.
And that is why I am not broke. Thank you SD!
Can you recommend the other alternative names? I am driving KEF Q150s using SMSL SA300 right now but expecting little more if I use a better amp.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
The combination sounds great. But I would rather use my cheap modified tube amp, or try out a tube pre amp for my sony cores and elac B5's.
Other amps I've tried, but were not as clear: SMSL AD18, Topping MX3 Pro, and some grace digitals.
I bought it on sale at this same price 1-2 years ago.
Currently it's driving Quad Z-1 speakers and a sub. Prior to the Quads it was driving my LS-50's with sub. It pairs excellent with both.
I have some minor criticisms about its design.... first is that the knob for selecting input doesn't have strong enough detents (it's easy to overshoot your desired input)... second is that the headphone output gain could be higher (there are three levels of gain provided, but even on the highest setting it still seems conservative to me).
The bummer about the ribbon tweeter is that the highs drop-off off axis. For my listening from one chair (at my desk), it's not a problem and I'm very happy. But if you like to move around as you listen, they probably aren't for you.
Sorry, I haven't heard any other Quad S or Z series.