Luca Chiomenti's "The Joke" as an earphones amp

Some days ago, I undusted one of my three (yes, three, but;-) all different vintage and impedances;-))) classic, nicely kept Beyer DT-48 earphones - i.e. an 8 ohm sampler (thanking my pal Arnaldo).


I took from its shelf the Alps RK-50/The Joke 1,75W integrated-amp and an El Cheapo Philips CD-104 cd player, stuffs I had handy, just to give a listen to earphones sound, again.


It was a loooong time, since my last listening using an earphones... the Beyer DT-48 is a workhorse, widely used worldwide by professionals in cinema and television industry, using Nagra or Stellavox open-reels... but it's also one of the most natural sounding earspeakers ever made.

The aluminium ear domes, carved from a solid bullion, and the feather-like ultra-thin diaphragm are very, very much reminding a driver like the Altecs' or JBL's I used for years...


Sound is undistorted and untiring also if the monitor-like character and the vice-like pressure of the head-band would say "No, thanks!"... maybe the tube amp smoothed and made overall sound more gentle and silky sounding.


I placed some well known music into the old, trusty, vintage CD 104 and connected the Beyer's to The Joke with an adapter (bare wire to female 6,3 mm plug).


The dynamic was of exceptional quality, thundering low-end and shimmering, untiring, undistorted highs... I began from an excessive volume setting and after some minutes I found very natural to lower and lower the gain, obtaining a good compromise between explosiveness and comfort.


What I noticed, after a full disk (Keith Jarrett's, of course...) was that the gap between the earphones listening vs. the Gotorama isn't that wide - i.e. something I noticed years ago: the best my speakers/amps/system and ancillaries the less difference from the room resonances behavior and overall sound.


I called it a proof...


Now, please forgive me for being over-triumphant, maybe... Gotorama wins on virtually every aspect, now...


I mean: if bringing something like I above described at home, for intimate listening while seated on the sofa near my wife-watching-the-TV;-) earphones is a true, cheap winner.


... for the emotion, the full blossoming and beauty of the musical experience... now the Gotorama truly is completed, nothing is comparable to my large system.


Nothing, period.


Call me monsieur de Lapalisse;-)