[QUOTE=Rico67;3828897]Why some headphoneamps have caps in the signal path (Cmoy , grado RA1etc..) and others like RSA haven't ?
One of the reasons Ray's portable amps need 500 hours of burn-in, is to "form" the capacitors. (Ask a EE for more detailed explanation). Sonically, a "well-formed" capacitor extends and sharpens bass response, while, at the same time, extending and sweetening high frequency response. Some listeners notice a dramatic psycho-acoustic difference after burn-in.
Ray builds state-of-the-art amps, and is one of the nicest, most reputable people you'll ever meet. Encourage you to search this forum and/or check out his website to learn more about his design philosophy.
Ray's Hornet portable amp certainly does have a capacitor in the signal path. Check out the quote below:
Sam Tellig (Stereophile) wrote about the Hornet in September 2006 (Vol.29 No.9):
"The Hornet is a marvel of miniaturization—there's good stuff inside: tantalum and film capacitors, 0.1% Vishay resistors, a milspec OFC printed-circuit board. A 15,000µF filter capacitor buffers the Hornet's op-amp chip with a secret circuit about which Ray Samuels keeps mum. (It's astonishing that Ray can get sound this good from an op-amp—a mere integrated circuit.)"
I've got an RSA Tomahawk. Built like a tank. Elegant design. But most importantly, it synergizes really well with my 3G Nano & headphones (SE530 / SR325i). You've just gotta hear it yourself, and decide if that's a sound signature you enjoy.
Wouldn't even consider listening to my iPod without connecting it to Ray's Tomahawk, via an Audio Line Out (ALO) Cryo Dock Cable. Add your favorite low impedance headphones, and "Off you go".
But then again, since all of this audiophile stuff is such a subjective experience, YMMV. Listen to what your own head tells you.
(N.B.: I also use SRS Labs iWOW, an audio enhancer plug-in for iTunes / iPod on a Mac. iWOW makes a DRAMATIC difference in an iPod or iTunes signal train. SRS Labs is a spin-out of Hughes Aircraft. They implement serious "rocket science" when it comes to audio signal processing. Check them out yourself. You can get a free 14 day demo of iWOW on their website, then if you like it, buy it for $19.95. They also have a version for PC's - I think it's called SRS Sandbox. What they did to all those 1's & 0's before they hit the DAC is very impressive. iWOW is quite appropriately named, IMHO. With such a phenomenal product, I'm surprised at their [lack of] marketing campaign. Oh yeah, they come from a military / aerospace business culture. If you like the iWOW result, pass the word along to your friends. That's what I'm doing.)
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