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发表于 2007-3-13 16:28:56
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原帖由 RickyLung 于 2007-3-13 15:57 发表
请说说国外评测 谢谢
Construction
Some people say that it doesn’t look like a $1300 amplifier, and if you only look at the pictures, I kind of agree, but it’s nicer in person. It feels damned solid to the touch. The metal is thick and heavy. The orange bit around the edges is made of some sort of plastic, which got a nice feel to it. It is easily removed if you want to rack mount the A1, or mod the plastic thing.
The ALPS-potentiometer feels as good as it should, even if it’s attached to a slightly dinky knob.
Switching the amp on or off, or between the two inputs, is almost noiseless. No horrible clicks or other noise.
But the LEDs are quite bright, and might be a little annoying if the room is fairly dark and you got the amp close and in your field of vision.
I really can’t fault the build quality of this thing, and couldn’t care less if someone thinks it looks boring. It’s simple, serious and down to earth. A very well engineered amplifier, on the outside anyway.
Specifications (from the manual):
- Input impedance……………………………50 kΩ
- Maximum amplification…………………18 dB
- Frequency response………………………..1 Hz – 100 kHz (-1 dB)
- T.H.D……………………………………………….0.001% at 170 mW / 250 Ω
- Channel separation………………………...>89 dB
- Output power………………………………… 100 mW / 600 Ω, 170 mW / 250 Ω, 150 mW / 30 Ω
- Unweighted signal-to-noise ratio……>100 dB
- Output impedances: ……………………….100 Ω headphone output, Line Out (depending on the connected device)
- Power consumption………………………..<15 W via internal, controlled power pack
- Audio connections…………………………..Headphone socket, 1 Line output, 2 Audio inputs (gold-plated RCA sockets)
- Dimensions……………………………………. 250 x 225 x 50 mm
- Weight…………………………………………….approx 2.3 kg
How does it compare to the Mapletree Ear++ tube amplifier?
I’ve had my DIY Ear++ for about 3 years now, and still love it. It emphasizes the midrange very slightly and got wonderfully smooth highs, which suits most Beyerdynamic headphones extremely well. I used a very nice GE 5 star triple mica black plate 5751 tube for the test.
The highs: I must say, the A1 is surprisingly smooth for a solid state amp. There are slightly more details than from the Ear++, and no harshness. Things are a little clearer and airier. The voices of Mark Knopfler, James Taylor and Van Morrison on the “Sailing to Philadelphia” album are exquisitely rendered with loads of details and texture.
There’s more energy in the A1s highs, which could spell trouble with bad recordings, bright headphones, subpar sources or crappy MP3s. I didn’t run into any problems, though.
The A1 is better here, but not by a huge margin.
The midrange: Again, the A1 is smooth, and there are a little more details. It’s also slightly more air in between the instruments/sounds in the lower midrange. The A1 got more energy and speed here too.
The Ear++ manages to give the midrange a slight boost that feels very appropriate, but the A1 creates a more substantial body for voices.
There’s also a very nice feeling of warmth from the Ear++, which is hard to explain, but the A1 is surprisingly close, and got more details.
It’s a close race here, but I’m a sucker for the tube midrange of the Ear++, especially for female voices. Many people will prefer the A1, though. It’s all a matter of preference, and sometimes I prefer the added details and energy from the A1, which surprised me a bit here.
The bass: I was expecting the solid state A1 to beat the MADs tubes here, and I was right. It’s just faster, harder and more energetic. It’s fairly easy to hear this on Ani DeFrancos albums, which are barely compressed at all, there’s some very nice dynamics here. The A1 really conveys the frantic guitar picking extremely fast and clear. On other albums, it can be impossible to hear any differences, though.
I don’t think it’s the ultra-deep bass that’s the main difference; it’s somewhere in the mid-bass region. The Ear++ goes really low, really well, but can’t match the A1’s incredible pace and control everywhere.
The difference in hardness is fairly easy to hear with a Rage Against the Machine album. The A1 is just more relentless (as I think RAtM intended).
Conclusion A1 vs. MAD Ear++:
It’s fairly easy to pick out differences between these amps. The Beyer A1 is faster, harder, more spacious and more detailed. Maybe not very surprising when comparing a high-end solid state amp and a midrange tube amp, but what’s surprising is that the A1 achieves this without becoming harsh or grainy. At least in my system, but I’m not sure how it would’ve performed in a (much) brighter setup.
The Ear++ still got that indefinable sweetness in the midrange which suits some music so good, like female jazz (like Patricia Barber and Diana Krall).
Even though I love my little MAD tube amp, I must say that the A1 is better in just about every aspect.
Something slightly odd (but nice) about the A1
This is something I discovered when I switched from the 250 ohm DT770 to the 40 ohm A-T W1000. The W1000 is more efficient, and will sound way louder compared to the DT770-250 if you don’t lower the volume. But not so with the A1. It seems to keep the volume at the same level, no matter which headphone you use. Even the 16 Ω / 104 dB SPL Beyer DTX50 had about the same volume.
The technical explanation is that the headphone output is around 100 ohms, and “is designed in a way to keep the behavior and volume nearly the same when changing to a different headphone impedance to prevent ear damage to the listeners...”
Well, no matter how it is done, it’s a neat feature.
Final conclusion
The Beyerdynamic A1 is, without a doubt, a very good headphone amplifier. I was surprised about how easy it was to hear differences between the A1 and the MAD Ear++, even if the latter is a tube amp.
There is just more of everything, with the exception of some midrange sweetness that I guess only a tube amp got. Most solid state amps I’ve tried, can sometimes be a little harsh and glary in the highs, but the A1 does not exhibit such traits. Actually, it’s impressively smooth and well-mannered.
The most obvious strength of the A1 is its incredible control over rhythm (not only drums). Everything is so quick, tight, hard and present, but still smooth. Most impressive.
It will not give your DT880 bass like a DT770, though.
So, the A1 is a bloody good headphone amplifier, but I guess the big question is this: Is it worth $1300?
It’s tricky to answer this one well. I haven’t got much experience with high-end amps; the most expensive one I’ve tried before this, was the Corda HA-2 MkII (about $750). The Corda was a very nice amplifier, but I didn’t find it to be any better than my MAD Ear++.
The A1 is better than anything I’ve ever tried, but I don’t think it’s worth it if you don’t have matching equipment.
If you got an old Soundblaster and a Sennheiser HD515, the A1 is a waste of money. But if you got a really nice CD-player or DAC and a headphone equal to or better than a DT770, the A1 will be something you must audition (too bad that’s probably going to be difficult).
I must say, it would’ve been interesting to test the A1 with some really high-end headphones, like the W5000, RS1, Edition 9, R10 etc. Just to find out what’s it good for. I think it would do quite nicely.
If you find most solid state amps too harsh, and tube amps to slow, the A1 might be for you.
But if you find tube amps on the verge of being too fast and scary, the A1 is not for you. |
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发表于 2007-3-13 15:53:12
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发表于 2007-3-13 15:57:09
