Winter project

[Oldlistener50]

I built my Seduction with C4S upgrade, and the sound is incredible.  I am using Grado SR-80's, and a Yamaha RX-V659 home theater receiver.

For my winter listening project, I am considering building a S.E.X. amp.  Will I see a noticeable improvement in sound quality over the Yamaha?

[kgoss]

I think you will be really pleased, provided your speakers are sensitive enough.  I had a Sony amp before building the S.E.X. and I will never go back.
The amp drives my Audio Nirvana speakers to levels way past comfortable listening and it is great with headphones too.

Ken

[Oldlistener50]

I would stick with the Grados.  Not into speakers, right at the moment.

[Laudanum]

Ahh, for headphones.   I dont have the SEX amp but I do have the Crack for use with my Beyers and other hi-Z phones.   It even sounds pretty good with my 64 ohm M-Audios.  I would say, go for it.  Reviews are great for SEX and heaphones.  Or, consider the Smack, switchable for hi or low z phones.   All the headphone amps are great and review very very well.   Just based on my experience with Crack, I think it's very fair to say that you will notice a very worthwhile improvement with SEX (or Smack).   The SEX offers the advantage of double duty, speakers and phones.   I think those familiar with both SEX and Smack will be able to help you make a decision if you are only interested in the amp for headphones.  If speakers are a consideration down the road, then SEX is the choice.  Just my 2 cents and Ill step aside and let those who actually own them assist you with details. 

[Jim R.]

Between s.e.x. and Smack, the choice is pretty easy -- the Smack is no longer in production. :-)

Actually, the s.e.x. kit is a great choice no matter what, and will assuredly sound better than an AV receiver -- assuming you like the characteristics of tubes vs SS.

-- Jim

[Grainger49]

I'm with Jim, if you liked the sound of the Seduction you are going to like the SEX!

[Laudanum]

Wow, really?   I didnt even realize Smack was discontinued.  That was short lived.   What was the reason ... anyone know?

[Doc B.]

I guess we created too many choices. The Crack and S.E.X. kit are very well established headphone products. In spite of the fact that we showed Smack a lot last year with very favorable response from listeners, the Smack was trailing pretty far behind in terms of the number sold. Part of the issue seemed to be that people were leaning toward headphones that demand a lot of power to sound their best like the Audeze. Thus they would lean towards the S.E.X. amp for its higher power output. The current version of the S.E.X. kit is such an improvement over the earlier one that the sonic differences between it and Smack are not as dramatic as they were when we originally developed the Smack kit.

That said I still think Smack was our best sounding headphone amp design and I use one myself. But the product line has grown quite a bit over the past few years and we have to trim the things don't sell over a certain number per month in order to make room for new products. We order things like chassis panels and transformers in matching quantities to create a production run. That inventory can take up a lot of space and when that inventory runs out it's time to make the decision whether we order more or make room on the shelves for other kits. We came to the end of the last Smack run and the decision was made to open up some space for kits that fill some holes in our line, like the upcoming 300B preamp.

If Smack comes back it will probably be in a little bit different incarnation, done in small runs with very premium components.

[Laudanum]

Thanks Doc.  I found the info before you posted (thanks Grainger).   Your post confirms the info I had gathered and what I surmised was the reason.  Makes sense.

[Doc B.]

I should add that while we decided to stop Smack when we used up the panel inventory we had, we have a lot of the special output transformers we had made that can be configured for 16/32/64/128 ohms in the Smack circuit left in stock. I can't afford to leave those sitting on the shelf so we will be offering something that uses them. It might be a more premium finished product, as I think we can take on just about any of the headphone amps out there in terms of sonics. At the moment I'm leaning toward a DHT headphone amp, possibly based off of our work on the new 300B preamp. I know you guys are not the ones to ask about this, but there is certainly a slightly different audience of audiophiles who want the sound but don't want to be hands on to achieve it.

[Lar]

Hi Doc
On that topic of the 300B pre amp, any more details on that? cann`t seem to find any info on it here on the site, thanks.

[Doc B.]

I hope to find the time to get a new forum category going for it today. Things are moving along nicely on the project. The vacations of everyone on the project just kind of stacked up over a three week period so it will be another week or so before we get back on task. We have recently worked out some details that we felt needed to be addressed in the regulation and attenuation parts of the design, and PJ drew up a new PC board for part of the circuit before leaving town - including a very cool circuit he has dubbed a "noise shunt". When PB gets back from his vacation we will forge ahead with a physical layout and and get a functional prototype built. In the meantime we are working to cost out the design out and come up with a price so we can take pre-orders. It will be somewhere between $1200 and $1500. The kit will be available with and without 300Bs. I'm hoping we can start taking orders in October, if not sooner.

This preamp is a very special one. I feel is a substantial step up in sonics from the very good sounding Foreplay III and a much better match to the resolution and dynamic qualities of the Paramount. I guess what I'm saying is I feel the combo is going to be some of the best sounding gear out there.

Before anyone squawks about price, bear in mind that what is maybe the nearest thing to this preamp - the Manley 300B preamp - is priced over $5000. I've been committed to two things with this company, making the best sounding gear we can make, and making the best sounding gear that can be made at budget prices. So before you complain that this is not the $400 you want to spend on a preamp kit, understand that we also have a $99 preamp kit that probably sounds as good as if not better than any $400 preamp you might be considering. And we have also made not one but two integrated amp kits way under $1000 in response to requests for a cost effective tube setup that delivers the goods in a very simple form. So in fact I think this preamp that is designed to be a perfect match to Paramount (though it will work with anything you can cook up) and it's bang for the buck for top of the line price fits into the product line just about perfectly.

For those who want really inexpensive separates - we are working on a concept for that. More later...

[coca]

Doc, I really like the idea that the paramount and the new 300B pre amp will be partners, If the preamp is as good as you say, then you will have a combination of amps that are in a new league. Once I finish all of my projects, I will be purchasing the paramounts, and looking forward to the 300B pre amp. I have to also slow up on the purchasing of Photo. equipment, so that I can finance more Audio stuff.

Bernie.

[Jim R.]

Doc,

Sounds like a lot to look forward to.  About those transformers -- if I wanted to build my s.e.x. 2.1 as a dedicated headphone amp, would those be available for such a project?

Thanks,

Jim

[Doc B.]

Yes the OT-3 will fit in a S.E.X. 2.1 in place if the OT-2. I will have to check on pricing.

But the question is, would it be an improvement over the OT-2? They are basically the same magnetic circuit, there are just some differences in the way the coils are connected to create the higher impedance taps. At 2 watts output power S.E.X. puts out so much more power than a headphone needs that the higher impedance taps aren't really that much of an advantage. By comparison the Smack circuit puts out 300mW, more than ample for headphones when those higher impedance taps are employed. 

One concern I had was that the higher taps might allow more noise through from the S.E.X. circuit. We have tried it and that doesn't seem to be an issue. But I'm still not completely sold on the idea that the S.E.X. amp needs that output transformer. My HD800s sound awfully good on the S.E.X. 32 ohm tap.