Audio Valve VERTO High End Headphone Amplifier.

New and Unopened. Received direct from the manufacturers.
 
AudioValve Verto Stax Electrostatic Step up Transformer for Planar Magnetic, Dynamic and Electrostatic impedance matching. 
When the correct range of impedance is matched with Planar Magnetic or Dynamic headphones the sound quality is very noticeably increased.
The Audio Valve VERTO will match the impedance range of any headphone and increase performance while allowing you to drive Electostatic Headphones in your existing system equal to a dedicated high-performance electrostatic amplifier.  
 
Helmut Brecker of AudioValue has designed a unique high-performance passive device. The VERTO will allow you to use your existing components and setup one system that will be capable of driving your dynamic, planar magnetic and electrostatic headphones to a very high standard.
 
Introduction
   
The headphone market booming. There are exciting new high end models available. But one thing remains unchanged – STAX headphones are still one of the most appealing offers in the high end market. STAX is a strong brand with a long history. And we are convinced they have a secure future. Many audiophiles regard the SR-007 and SR-009 as the best headphones in the world. 
 
So what about the amplifier offerings for STAX headphones? In case of a dynamic or planar headphone you have the choice, new headphone amps are announced every month. For STAX the market is different. You can choose the simple way and just order a STAX headphone amplifier. If you don`t like their sound, you tend to prefer something individual or look for one headphone amplifier driving your collection of STAX and also dynamic models the amount of options is very limited. Based on web research you will find a very few and also very expensive high end especially in the US market – often without distributors for other regions.
But who is offering a heaven`s gate model which is affordable and which can be used also for dynamic models ? This gap is now filled by our new electrostatic STAX box called VERTO – design and produced by AudioValve.   
Description
 
The passive box can be used together with AudioValve RKV II and RKV III tube based headphone amplifiers. There was a simple idea behind the VERTO. Why not use the transformer in step up mode to produce the high voltage for the STAX electrostatic headphones? The RKV models use one transformer per channel (impedancer) to drive low impedance headphones (< 100 Ohm). In the RKV III the transformers are mounted inside the case, for the RKV II the impedancer can be bought as a separate box. RKV II and III are regarded to belong to the best sounding headphone amps regardless of price, see many reviews all over the world.
  
How to setup the AudioValue VERTO to achieve true high-performance from your Dynamic, Planar Magnetic and Stax headphones from one system.

Helmut Becker of AudioValue has designed a unique passive device called the VERTO. The VERTO will allow you to use your existing components and setup one system that will be capable of driving your dynamic, planar magnetic and electrostatic headphones to peak performance. 
 
The VERTO is a passive device (no power supply required) powered by the signal from the power amplifier. This allows the VERTO to be transparent as it will yield the true sonic signature of the power amplifier and other components you use in the system.
This is a huge advantage over dedicated amplifiers for your Planar Magnetic or Stax headphones as they can be very costly and many are overpriced yielding less than optimal performance. 
 
But with the VERTO you have no limit as you may use it with your favorite high-performance power amplifier(s) and other components to achieve superb results driving any type of headphone. 
 
Below is my recommended system setup with the VERTO. In this configuration there are no sonic compromises in terms of which headphones you use with the system as Dynamic, Planar Magnetic and Electrostatic headphone all perform superbly.
 
First off, to achieve the absolutely top performance from the VERTO and the rest of the components in your system it is extremely important to use vibration control and properly designed system cables for all the components in the system. These two very important and over-looked “components” will for lack of a better term “double or “triple the capabilities of the collective components very notably improving the overall system performance. 

See the following information on the www.mapleshaderecords.com website:http://mapleshadestore.com/feedback.php


The large front Mode Knob on the VERTO allows you to change the impedance depending on the design of the headphones (Dynamic, Planar Magnetic or Electrostatic):
 
8R (8 ohm resistance) is for Dynamic Headphones.
 
32R (32 ohm resistance) is for Planar Magnetic Headphones.
 
ESH (Electrostatic Headphones) is for the Stax or similar headphones.
With rigorous testing I have determined that the VERTO drives the Stax and the higher impedance HiFiMan HE5/6/1000 and Audeze headphones extremely well when both types of headphones are set to the ESH setting. With the HiFiMan and Audeze headphones, it is somewhat splitting hairs as they still sound great on the 32R setting (the intended planar magnetic headphone setting) but I eventually heard slightly better dynamics with them on the ESH setting. Try both as you may find both to be equal or the 32R setting better suited for the planar magnetic headphones you use in your particular system.

 Another important aspect of the VERTO I have learned while testing is the lower impedance Audeze headphone and all the Dynamic headphones did perform better than when connected to the VERTO when instead using a high quality headphone amplifier (which can produce 1 watt or more of output) connected to the pre-amp outputs of the high quality integrated tube or SS power amplifier – the same amplifier in which the speaker outputs are connected to the speaker inputs on the front panel of the VERTO.
 
So here is my recommended setup based on extensive testing of all the combinations available from the front panel of the VERTO:   
 
- Choose and use any source(s) you prefer: CD, Vinyl, Streamer, Reel to Real etc.

- Connect your source(s) to one high- performance integrated tube or solid state power amplifier. - Use the speaker outputs of the integrated power amp you have chosen and connect your speaker cables to the speaker inputs on the front panel of the VERTO.
 

- Your system is now setup so you can connect your high impedance Planar Magnetic and the Stax headphones to the front panel of the VERTO. The volume will be controlled by the integrated power amplifier.

- Use your headphone amp to drive all your Dynamic and low impedance Planar Magnetic Headphones by doing the following. If your integrated amplifier you have chosen for use with the VERTO has a tape output, connect your headphone amplifier with interconnects to the tape outputs and use the volume control of the headphone amp. to make volume adjustments. If your integrated amplifier does not have a tape output, connect your headphone amplifier with interconnects to the preamp. outputs of the integrated power amplifier. If you are using the preamp outputs, set the volume control on the integrated amp. at a low setting and control the volume by the headphone amplifier volume knob.
 

- Now connect your headphone amplifier with interconnects to the preamp. outputs of the integrated power amplifier you have chosen for use with the VERTO. Use your headphone amp to drive all your Dynamic and low impedance Planar Magnetic Headphones.The volume can be controlled by the headphone amplifier and/or the integrated power amplifier.

You can try any headphone amp. you prefer (other than one that produces an output of 1 watt or higher) and test the results as the performance of this headphone amp. in your system might prove to be excellent as well.

recommendation from our US dealer and reseller for AudioValve headphone products: call James from:   [email protected]