> Music Max LT1
Info:
Welcome to Audiophilechina
I was asked by the exporter/distributor of this product, Audiophilechina, to review it. When it arrived, I was quite shocked about how much it looked like a RSA Tomahawk. I have to admit this initially dampened my enthusiasm for reviewing it. However, since RSA goes through great lengths (wisely, IMHO) to hide the key components of its amps, and since the resemblance is strong, but not exact, I forged on. One thing this amp does NOT have in common with the RSA TH is the price – the LT1 is $99.
Build Quality: A: Nice metal case (see comments above). Very well build and reasonably attractive. SMALL, but solid. There is some noise and hiss at higher rotations of the volume control, but the amp has a LOT of gain, and so this was not really an issue.
Treble: B+: a little grainy and veiled compared to the better amps here, and lacks absolute air and extension – but reasonably transparent. But it is definitely soft on top – something to be aware of in system matching. Wasn’t a good combination with my AT ESW9 in that regard, but was better with my Senn PXC350’s.
Midrange: A-: generally smooth sound not too forward, and clean enough, pleasant presentation, without the last word in transparency or openness. A little lush, which is a nice place to be, though. Vocals and string tone were natural sounding, and well served.
Bass: A: Very good definition and depth; nice and punchy and full. Very impressive for an amp in this price range. Double kick drum like from Sirenia’s “The Mind Maelstrom” was very impactful.
Neutrality: A-: not extended, slightly rolled off treble, is the main issue here, but with the right headphones, like say Ultrasones, if could be bliss.
Soundstaging: B+ Nothing really spectacular here, but nothing really shameful, either. A bit better with depth than width. The main issue is that there was no “out of the head” image placement at all.
Transparency: B+: The amp sounds nice, but just does not provide the “open window on the music” that better amps do. It takes only a few seconds of listening to the iQube to realize how big the difference is in this regard. Then again, the iQube is 5-6x the price!
If you have only $99 to spend and want a decent portable amp, the LT1 is very easy to recommend. I was more impressed with it than I was the same-priced NuForce Icon. While I wouldn’t really call it a giant-killer, it certainly punches above its weight class. However, if you can spend just $60 more, the Meier Audio Headsix is a much better amp. But in the lower price classes, money buys a lot more improvement than it does at the higher end! For the asking price, the Music-Max LT1 gets an enthusiastic recommendation.
Conclusions (6/9/09)
NOTE: All new reviews have to be added to the end of the thread due to the length of this post - only the rankings will now change.
OK, so now it’s now 48 amps! Here is my view on how the amps stacked up. Note that the sum of the "Grades" I give does not always tell the whole story in how I rank them, since the whole is sometimes greater or lesser than the sum of the parts, and I am often forced to split hairs here, since the list has gotten so long. Also please note that even if these amps include a DAC, that DAC performance was NOT a factor in these rankings AT ALL. Also, for clarification, this ranking is based on sound quality ONLY, and does not take things like size or battery life into account.
1. Triad Audio Lisa III @ $600.00; Power supply is $350 additional
2. Qables iQube @ $605.00
2. RSA Mustang P-51 (review
here) @ $375.00
2. Larocco Audio Pocket Reference II mk 2 (availability unknown - PLEASE read entire review)
3. Headamp Pico @ $349.00
3. Meier Audio 2MOVE (and the older MOVE) (3MOVE @ $270.00)
4. RSA SR71 @ $395.00
4. RSA The Predator @ $475.00
5. RSA The Hornet “M” @ $370.00
6. Xenos 1HA-EPC (discontinued)
7. RSA Tomahawk @ $295.00
7. Meier Audio XXS / Headsix @ $166.00/187.00
8. TTVJ Portable Millet Hybrid @ $459.00
8. Decware Zenhead @ $295.00
8. iBasso D3 Python $219.00 (review
here)
9. Xin Reference @ $279.99
9. Meier Audio Porta Corda III (discontinued)
9. Xin SuperMicro IV (current version auditioned 1/22/08) @ $199.99
10. ALO Double Mini3 (review
here) @ $235.00
10. Headamp AE-2 @ $349.00
10. Graham Slee Voyager @ $233.00 + S&H from UK
11. iBasso D2 Boa $165.00 (review
here)
11. Go-Vibe 7
11. Mini3 (Price depends on build) built @ $125.00
12. Leckerton Audio UHA-3 @ $189.00
13. Portaphile V2^2 @ $275.00
14. mSeed Spirit (discontinued)
14. Mini-Box E @ $229.00
15. Storm 3 (NOT B3) (review
here)
15. Storm Little-2 (review
here)
15. Storm B4
16. iBasso P-1 (discontinued)
17. Visely HEA- 1 @ $135.00
18. Microshar uAmp107 @ $135.00
18. Practical Devices XM4 @ $135.00
18. C&C XO @ $209.00
19 Music Max LT1 $99
19. iBasso T2 (T4@ $109.00)
20. NuForce $99 (review
here)
20. Go-Vibe 6 (discontinued)
21. Xtra X-1 Pro @ $104.00
22. Xenos 0HA-REP (discontinued)
22. iBasso T1 (discontinued)
23. Xtra X-1 (discontinued)
24. C&C Box V2
25. Storm B3
25. Little Dot Micro+ (discontinued)
As always, this is JUST MY OPINION, but I hope it has been helpful.
