Ampsandsound Kenzie Encore-impressions

The weirdest part is that they also offer a 600ohm oi hp out. Wtf?

 

One would assume the markings on the amp outputs is trying to tell you what impedance headphones to plug in to them. HD650, HD800, Atticus, Eikon, Aurter, and I'm sure more are intended for the jack marked "300 ohm"...

 

I thought the same thing, but if you read above, you'll see that I was politely disabused of that notion. Lol.

 

@ampsandsound Any chance you can clarify what the headphone output impedance labels actually mean?

For anyone who doesn't know what we're referring to, one headphone jack is labelled 300 Ohm. Is that the recommend headphone impedance, or the actual output impedance of the amp?

Common headphone wisdom (in other words, an oft-regurgitated rule of thumb) says that you want amplifier output impedance to be 1/8th the impedance of the headphones' transducers or less.

That is to say, Sennheiser HD650s at 300 Ohms shouldn't be paired with an amp above 37.5 Ohms output impedance. The Fostex TH-X00 at 25 Ohms should be paired with an amp of 3.125 Ohms output impedance or less.

Generally speaking, most of us believe that lower output impedance = better because it does less to change the frequency response of our headphones. 1 Ohm or even 0.1 Ohm being ideal territory.

 

I already did and I spoke to him to clarify. That is why I said in a previous post that I confirmed that it is 300ohms output. It is the actual impedance of the headphone output. Justin told me it is measured 300ohms on the money

• This is also why I used the 8ohm speaker taps the most with the Mogwai for most headphones
• The Kenzie actually sounded really good from the 600ohm output jack. In conversing with Justin, the output impedance is exactly as it reads in his applications. On the Mogwai the 32 ohm output was much less controlled than the 8ohm output but it was less open. On the Kenzie the higher output impedance didn't lose much control but gained openness in the midrange on select headphones which is where I heard it sound special. In fact, having been in conversation with other owners of the Kenzie, the 600ohm output doesn't sound bad at all on certain headphones.
• There is probably either more or less to it than the rules of thumbs out there and I simply look at it as a convenience feature. I just wish that the 32ohm output was lower at like 16 or 8 for those that want to use the speaker posts for actual speakers.

As an aside I hope that @Luckbad gets to meet up with Justin as asked to listen to it next to some other amplifiers. I would love to read the results.

 

I know the whole 1/8 ratio is only a "rule of thumb," and do not want to place too much emphasis thereon, but it seems to me this whole discussion aptly displays the fact that that guideline is based on an incomplete understanding of impedance matching vis-a-vis headphones. Although, as I mentioned earlier, this is mostly an academic concern for me given the price of the Kenzie, I sure wish I had "the rest of the story," as it were.

 

Yes.

I meant base.

 

Thanks.

(It was actually quite a good setup, it could genuinely have meant either- which is really unusual. People like to use weird sensory descriptions to try to describe subjective impressions sometimes.)

 

Hey Guys. We can do 8/32and 600 if asked. As its also a really good 2ch amp the 8ohm needs to stay.
Except for the Beyer guys the 300ohm is a better choice for most high impedance headphones. The 300ohm has been a really good paring with ZMF and Sennheiser.
My goal was to give more impedance options and give the Mogwai a bit more body, tube rectifying was the obvious choice.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Listening to the Mogwai Special Edition and it sounds really good so far. I am running my tracks that I use to test Micro dynamics and it is doing excellent there. I mean top notch with decent clarity and excellent resolution. Less thick than I remember and a little more open sounding. It takes up more desk space but not much more. Good to have the jacks up there though. It already beat the Milo at almost everything. So I am A/Bing it with the Aficionado using the HD800. Not disappointing.

 

Man if this thing isn't becoming my favorite amp quickly. I feel really blessed to have this amp and the Aficionado. My stable has never sounded this good. This thing is making the stock HD800 wallop. Not helping the treble as much but I think my inbound rectifier may help that out a bit. It is not NOS'd out yet but sounds excellent. Pretty sure I would like it more than the Kenzie. It is not as clean or black but its prob more resolving and detailed with a better sense of texture. And yes I like it more than the Taboo MKIV. The bass is a lot better as is the timbre.

 

How much does the Mogwai Special Edition run? I don't see it listed on their site yet...

 

I have previously inquired with Justin and his response, "The Mogwai special edition is $2400 before upgrades. Cap upgrades are $100 and input transformers are $400. "

 

When I ordered my base Kenzie I told Justin I had no plans to use any headphone other than the 300 ohm HD800S so he ordered a transformer with 32/300 taps. I was surprised to see he even changed the top plate outputs to read 32 ohms and 300 ohms nice touch. And to my ears sound is better from the 300 Ohm output.

 

Question: @ampsandsound is there enough room to add a second pair of inputs and selector on the Mogwai SE? Not looking for line out just ability to switch between two sources as on the Encore.

 

I can answer for him on this one... The Mogwai SE I'm listening to right now has two inputs. One with transformers, the other without. I prefer the input with trafos.

 

Thanks! I have really been enjoying my Kenzie for a few months now. If you and @gbeast keep posting such positive reviews about the Mogwai SE I may wind up buying a second amp from Justin. I need two selectable inputs which I don't have on the base Kenzie.

After rolling a handful of input tubes my favorite is a 1963 Telefunken ECC801S using an adaptor from eBay. Runner up is the WWII RCA grey glass black round plates 12SL7GT. The Telefunken has more air and detail and impressive soundstage and imaging.

 

@Luckbad and @gbeast are terrible, horrible people who are bad.

I thought I'd be set for a while with a Mjo2 but nope, thanks to you the monkey's awake. A large, loud monkey shouting in my ear about how nice the Mj2 is and how much more I would enjoy pure tubes.

I've sent of an email asking if it's possible to have a 4-pin XLR instead - paranoia won't let me spend srsbusiness money on 1/4". I know, but "irrational fear" is in the definition. I'm almost hoping for a negative reply so the ape goes back to sleep ...

Anyway, @gbeast for Auteur, Kenzie/Encore or Mogwai SE? So far my preferences seem to track yours nearly perfectly, I would value your input.

 

I thought I had replied in email form... mind must be slipping.
We are not willing to do the 4pin XLR for a non fully balanced amp. Goes against the grain for us. We never want to represent anything we aren't. The XLR could be seen as a sue do balanced.
I respect real efforts in which that is fully implemented too much to pretend for convince sake.
That said, 1/4" rocks :0).

 

If only needing selectable inputs. The Schiit Sys may help without reinventing the wheel. Additionally the Kenzie Encore will do this. The Encore is a quieter and more versatile kenzie. Also available in 32/300