Black Widow [Update] - Second round official, 100 amps total, single chassis

Black widow shipping soon. Gungnir Multibit fund started.

 

Picking mine up tomorrow. Finally!!!

 

Marv must be working overtime on these; he's been totally MIA on the forums.

 

He got back from vacation. He's getting up to speed.

 

After a string of mishaps, finally...

 

How is Gungnir Multibit / BW / HD650 working out for you?

 

My BW arrived yesterday. I'm pretty sure they could have packed a dozen eggs in there and none of them would have cracked. It's working great with everything I've tried it with so far (HD650, TH-X00, modded T50RP, HP50). Lots more listening to do. Gungnir Multibit scheduled to arrive next week.

 

(See two posts down as I've figured it out). I'm glad it wasn't a computer or (gasp!) an amp issue.

Of course, the Jensen Transformer box is an option, but I need to give my wallet a break after this last purchase. I'll have to play volume hoops until I make that happen.

For what I've noticed on the BW: it handles fast passages like a champ, and busy passages are done pretty well. Definitely clearer and cleaner than the Carbon, which sounds a bit "lusher" than the BW. That said, the BW had more warm up time, and the LC didn't. Never to say the Carbon is bad, but with double the price of the Carbon, the BW is expected to have a better handle of things.

I'd like other ears to compare the two on my system. Depending on a couple of other "friends" schedule, we'll have that happen. Maybe a couple of others as well. Space is limited at my place.

 

Gungnir Multibit's XLR outs should have +/- 4 Volts or so. RCA outs should be +/- 2 Volts. My BW2 is more powerful than my Carbon. 4th dot on BW2 gives equal output as about 12 o'clock on my Carbon (randomly generated stereo pink noise. "True" RMS AC Voltage of about 80 millivolts at the ends of my headphone cable.).

BW2 runs cooler than my Gungnir Multibit. At least the case is not as warm. I don't know about the temps on the heat sinks for the TO-220 packages on the circuit board. I received the BW2 on Thursday, but could not turn it on until Friday night (one of the mishaps was the bolt and nut fell off one of the TO-220's during shipping. I asked permission to pop the top to put the bolt back on. Self-locking nuts...didn't lock). BW2 has been on continually since then.

I have not reached any conclusions in my comparisons between the BW2 and Liquid Carbon. Unplugging and replugging the headphone into the amps makes comparisons hard because all of the differences are small. I matched both amps to roughly 152 mV, which is over twice the voltage of my usually listening volume (~60 mV with the same pink noise). Mid-range/vocal range seems identical. Male and Female voices appear to be identical (Test Tracks 1 & 2). Maybe there is something in the upper frequency range. BW2 seems brighter/less rolled off but the difference is slight.

The biggest difference is at the bottom end of the frequency range. The difference is still small relative to just switching headphones. BW2 just seems to be cleaner and fuller with dense/lush music (Test Tracks 3, 4, 5, 6). Some more minor differences crop up with faster material (Test Tracks 7,8,9). Again with the BW2 seeming to keep up better, maintaining sound quality...maybe.

Partial List of Test Tracks, all are FLACs from CDs ripped by me using EAC. Years are the mastering/release year

1. Dire Straits "Sultan of Swing" "Brother in Arms" 1985
2. Suzanne Vega "Luka" "Solitude Standing" 1987
3. Suzanne Vega "Caramel" "Nine Objects of Desire" 1996
4. Enya "China Rose" "Memory of Trees" 1995
5. E. Power Biggs "Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565: 2. Fugue" "Great Organ Favorites, Johann Sebastian Bach" 1988
6. Michael Murray "Tocatta and Fugue in D minor BWV 565" "Bach Organ Works" 1983
7. Metallica "... and Justice for All" "...and Justice for All" 1988
   
8. Xandira "Europhoria" "Neverworld's End" 2012
9. Ministry "Just One Fix (12" Edit)" "Just One Fix Single" 1983

 

Figured it out.

I had both RCA outputs going to different amps, and when I took out one of them, and had the other go straight to the BW, the distortion issues went away. I've been used to sending two signals from the Gungnir Multibit, but I've used the balanced one to the Liquid Carbon. So for now I will use a switch box I've had for a while to go between the two amps. Not very elegant, but it will do for now. I will revisit the Jensen Transformer option when I have cash in hand to get one.

Back to listening.

 

I'm at roughly 30hrs of listening time with the BW, and I'm not sure if it's my brain or the unit getting settled. I initially noticed some of my darker recording/tracks sounding a little bit shouty in the vocal range. However I'm noticing this less and less the more I listen. Anyone else hearing this as listening time increases?

Also, I have a question for @Marvey. Will the BW self destruct like the Liquid Carbon if I plug a headphone into the 4pin XLR and another into 1/4" TRS at the same time?

 

I'd think that the terrible power of the Black Widow is such that it'd collapse in on itself, rending a hole in the fabric of space-time in the process. Hasn't that been known to happen?

 

I've played music on both outputs with my kids. No black holes or rifts in space time continuum.

 

"What the hell, Ulthus? I bought this amp with the expectation that it'd literally bring reality crashing down around my ears. Not cool, man."

 

That's what tubes are for, guys. You can always upgrade to a higher model, of course.

 

Did the board approve this vacation?

 

I'm working from home today but I can't crank the BW too high or I won't hear the doorbell when the Gungnir Multibit gets delivered. Life is so unfair sometimes.

 

Strong first world problems.

Can't wait for the impressions!

 

For your pain, sir, I shed manly tears! Well, maybe not that manly...