Motosu

I was getting “moderate” loudness through the headphone jack with the volume turned all the way up on the preamp, so not sure another 8db would have satisfied me anyhow. (Just trying to comfort myself that the headphone amp wasn’t completely unnecessary, it doesn’t make a huge difference.) The rabbit hole is deep and twisty. The TFM-35 brought me significantly more power, the headphone gear brought me a whole different listening experience, Tidal opens the door to exploring music that I don’t know yet. But I know there is more out there……..

Hi all, I’ve been lurking for a few weeks since I acquired a TFM-35 power amp and C-16 preamp. VERY happy with them. I’m an old lady rebuilding a vinyl collection, and these components were acquired to replace the Hafler pieces that I started with last year (a DH-110 preamp and DH-220 amp). As much as I liked these Hafler, I was having trouble recovering from bad feelings of having been ripped off when I got them by the dealer who preyed on my inexperience. I was so mad at myself. Plus the preamp has some faulty inputs. So they will be on standby. Anyway, I have been delighted by the clean sound. I’m using a Thorens TD165 turntable with a new Goldring cart, and running thru a pair of Dynaudio 72 speakers (4 ohm). My room is awkward because it’s an open floor plan with a vaulted ceiling, but I’m pretty happy. I mostly listen to 50s and 60s jazz, 70s and select 80s rock. I am also mad at myself for putting all my original albums in a yard sale when I moved 10 years ago, so I really have to rebuild. But the hunt is pretty fun. I have compiled a lot of digital music as well (I’ve been using a Sony HAP s1 as a DAC and storage mechanism for a few years) and this also has a role when lifting the tone arm gets tiresome. My first challenge was a spouse who complains about the volume…. So explored a headphone option, and learned that modern headphones are built for young people sitting at their desk computers. I found the first experience with new HiFiMan Arya Stealth headphones using the Carver C-16 headphone jack truly amazing (detail, separation for example), but not enough volume headroom even though I’d expected by calculations that enough power was there to drive them. They are 32 ohm headphones with 92db sensitivity. It turns out that the published sources of Carver specs do not show specific details about the headphone jack power output- it’s really less than half of the stated mW that are usually shown. So I got a headphone amp and after trial and error have success using the Tape Out port. Buying a 20’ headphone cord required a shocking (!) investment, but my favorite chair is now wired. I borrowed the Cambridge Audio DACMAgic Plus that was idle in my basement setup (I have a Brew Room down there!) and got a subscription to Tidal. I’m well launched on a new adventure. So my Thank You is about this web site forum and all the rich conversation here. I made my first post last night about a problem with my amp, and already have replies. My learning curve is steep, but it’s a pleasure. Susan