The comparison I did between the serene and freya was very brief and after a long day of listening so to be honest I’m not super confident in my impressions between those two 
. I probably should revisit that comparison at some point since I also would expect the serene to be a bigger step up. I’d like to try the Freya S at some point too since I mainly use the Freya + in solid state mode. I also have a Freya N that I should probably sell.
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It’s back on! Somewhat, although likely going to be done closer to the end of the year rather than now. Not going to be able to get everything in at once, so not as direct, but will still try to make proper comparisons and make sure to write a ton of notes and keep things fresh in my head. Will try and get all 5 things in a category done in one chunk if possible, but that’s likely going to cause it to more be 4 mini comparisons of 5 rather than a full overall comparison
It’s going to be within 4 price brackets, and I already have 2 of them filled. Currently considering trying another preamp in the ultra high end range/league like the koda and lamm, but that would be really situational lol. But I am looking for options in the cheaper range side of things, the under 3k ish range, so if you have any suggestions that fit that bill would be potentially interested in checking them out
Currently the brands that will be covered will be Koda, Lamm, Allnic, FMA, ARC, VTL, LTA, Backert, Atma-sphere, Coincident, Audible Illusions, Pass, AVA, and Quicksilver. Too many TLA. So looking for something under 3k that’s interesting and not from those brands (for variety sake).
I’m also honestly thinking I should only do this with speakers, perhaps one or 2 headphone chains, but I don’t really have many headphone chains left (only the mass kobo and studio T) and not really interested in buying more headphone amps when I mostly use speaker amps to power them these days. I will get a few more power amps in if possible as well since it’s not fair with the Lamm amps since they seemingly only like the matching preamp, but afm and ac power amps seem to respond well with most
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Holo Serene at $3100?
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Ug, was trying to avoid that but I guess it technically fits lol. You think it’s worth it to go KTE or standard? there’s only like a ~500 difference
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I think that if you don’t go KTE it will always have a * next to it in the shootout and we’ll never know the full answer lol
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Honestly, agree. Everything I’ve ever read about may v2 vs KTE says KTE isnt worth it if you have them side by side, but also, every time I see someone not like V2 I see comments going “you should get KTE”
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I just don’t want to give holo my money either way, but I guess KTE would be the smarter move lol
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Also easier to sell and probably smaller loss so less money lost to Holo
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True, although I prefer to sell to people I know, and that actually makes it harder to sell since I can’t say holo is very sought after by dealers and some of the people that I sell to lol
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Amir gets his reader to send him stuff. What are you doing wrong? lol
I’m excited about this, also agree that going with speakers would reveal more. I think though that you’d want to also have a set cable list as synergy will be important and the wrong cable may skew the result undeservingly so even if the pairing just isn’t right. So maybe you keep pairings within the appropriate cable price point? Just thinking out loud here.
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Just wanna say, i love that we started this system. It’s such a clear and concise way to show how things stack up in specific categories. It’s fantastic.
Awesome rundown overall as well. Appreciate the read!
Arye pre maybe? More like 4-5k used and not 3, but it’s a brand that’s interested me a fair bit recently. As for the ultra-high end stuff, no chance of getting a CHP L1 in? I seem to see a lot of people demoing them so may be possible to get one from a dealer.
Also, just for personal interest, I would be fairly interested in seeing how WA33/WA23 stack up compared to dedicated pres if you can borrow one easily enough.
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Is there a significant benefit in using active pre-amps in a headphone set up? Perhaps I’m being naive, it seems like it would be a waste of resources and time for a headphone chain.
Perhaps something from rogue audio, threshold, BAT, or maybe Manley. The list of products below $3k slims down quick.
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Does it? Or are we just wildly out of touch? 
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I’m not running it as a business or main job, not doing it for anything outside of my own fun, and trying to keep both some level of respect and privacy for myself and some separation between online and in person lol.
Otherwise yeah I’d likely mooch some demos off the community, get mfg to send me shit, and pump out articles as often as I can if I wanted to become an influencer like amir, but I’d rather not drop to those standards, and I’d prefer to keep what I do just for fun and nothing more than that.
I have a few cables I could use, although for sanity sake, I’ll likely limit it to 2-3 pairs or so, likely adjust them depending on the price range
That’s a good idea, I just don’t know if I can get one in house, but we can see lol. I’ll likely leave the higher end one for last, I’d also like to get an AC preamp back in for that too
Edit: yeah actually I know someone with a L1 + X1, let me hit him up, might have to trade him the koda for the time being though to hear it
I think I could do a “headphone amp as pre” section, although that likely would be something I’d add onto it next year. For contenders, I’d like also have the MZ3, HPA-1, BHA-1, and other stuff that are reasonably good pre’s for being headphone amps
It typically is a waste, but when you really really get up there it can become worthwhile. Otherwise yes I’d avoid it if possible.
Anything from manley pushes the budget too much (and when I mean under 3k, I mean closer to new), same with BAT. Rogue might make sense like a RP-5, will consider it
It really does, a good active preamp is expensive
Another side note, the amps I’ll be using are the AFM-50, Concero 25, Parasound JC1+, and something else which I have yet to decide (perhaps a lower power tube option), and reason I won’t use my ML3 is because those only sound good with the Lamm preamp, and this selection won’t give any of the preamps too much of a synergy advantage (as in like if I got let’s say an allnic power amp, I’d really likely find that to excel more than others on the allnic pre) so making sure none of the amps are ones that only sound good with a specific preamp is important
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Makes sense on new price comment as I wasn’t sure.
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I would love to see an ayre and/or a chord amp in there as well (etude is 3k used right now and highly interesting to me) if you can muster it.
On the chord side, any chance of the chord coral line preamp?
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Basically the price brackets will be more around 60-30k new, 30-10k, 10-5k, and 5k and under. Used pricing will depend on the component and such so it’s just easier to go by new pricing, also helps me figure out if I can even swing it if I have to buy new to test or if I can find a used or loaner.
I’ll pass on chord stuff because I’ve never been a fan when I’ve heard it personally, only really like (I use that word loosely) their dacs.
Ayre would be a good pick actually for either preamp or power amp, although I’d actually rather lean more toward the KX-R instead of their power amps because that would fit better, and I think power amp wise I’d be looking for something full tube lower power since I think that would be more fun to evaluate personally
That makes a nice high end eventual lineup. K15EX, LL1.1 Sig, Impera II Sig, L1 + X1, and KX-R Twenty lol. Assuming I can get ahold of the CH and AC, but the ayre shouldn’t be a problem. Yes I’d be breaking the rules with the AC preamp, but that’s honestly more something I want to get in more for myself to see if the koda or ac does better with the AC amps and if I should consider changing
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Forgive my ignorance, are you able to briefly explain or give an example when it becomes worthwhile? Genuinely trying to understand a scenario where this makes sense in a headphone set up other Han using it as an expensive source selector.
Some times you might want to use one:
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When your headphone amp has a crappy volume pot or volume control considering it’s price range and bypassing it for a higher quality volume control option yields a big enough difference to be worthwhile (see things like the Eddie current studio T, viva egoista 845, and so on)
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When you use speaker power amps for your headphones (see my setup for an example)
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When you’ve really gone so far that value isn’t that big of a deal and you’re interested in getting as much as possible out of your chain overall
Again though in most cases, a good preamp is expensive, and you’d be better off putting that money elsewhere in the headphone chain. But if you reach the top or close to the top and end up in some of the above situations it can be reasonable. But that’s why I’d mainly be focusing on speaker performance since that’s really what most people buying preamps would be using them for, and it’s just frankly easier to both hear and justify the cost lol in a speaker chain, that’s mainly more what they’re made for
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