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| Portable Headphone Amps Discussion of portable headphone amps. |
01-29-2009, 02:08 AM
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Junior Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Novato, CA
Posts: 8
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AURAL SEX!!!!
Hello all!
 I have joined the masses of "won't settle for crap ever again" Head-Fi-ers, and after much research on these boards and a conversation with RSA, I jumped in head first with a Predator, HD650 (my own) and HD600 (loaners from my brother to try out)... My brother has a degree in Sound Engineer and Audio Recording and worked at Telarc for many years and his opinion of the HD600s was nothing short of the best of the best compared to other headphones he had tried, which I'm not sure he would remember although I'll be talking to him tonight so I'm excited to hear what his memories are of his time at Telarc with respect to these...
I'm still waiting for the 650 to arrive, but in the meantime, I have the true and deep deep pleasure of listening to the Predator / HD600 combo, which is without exception to me "Aural Sex". Even though its only been about 1/2 hour since getting it, and I'm 499 1/2 hours short of being broken in, I'm am speechless!! Add to that the fact that I'm listening to iTunesPlus 256kbps music, and I can say without a doubt, I have never heard a fraction of the things I am hearing today... Led Zeppelin's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" at 1:45 has an incredibly subtle background vocal by Robert Plant, that I never knew existed before... It made me jump out of my seat, and when I rewound to make sure it wasn't my mind playing tricks on me, I was beyond convinced to the SQ difference between anything i've heard or had before and the Predator and HD600 combo. Before this revelation, I thought my Shure e5c's were the end all IEM... time to revisit those with a more discerning ear now too, LOL...
To say I'm pleased is an understatement and I really appreciate having a place like this to share my thoughts, ideas and most importantly hearing other people's as well...
To that end, I'd like to know what the proper break-in procedure would be for the amp, and if headphones need to be broken in too, or just the amp.
I tried searching, but didn't see anything that was obvious to me, but it seems like from various posts here and there you just play music or test noises though everything. Would I also want to give everything a rest every once in a while?
Your guidance is much appreciated and I'm stoked to be part of the community!
Best to all!
RPT
Richard
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01-29-2009, 03:37 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Rocky Mountains, CO
Posts: 11,663
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I usually just play music through mine to break it in, at normal volumes with the headphones under a pillow. The Predator sounded much better by 350 hours, even better at 600 and best by 1,000 hours - but most people could stop at 350-600 hours and just use it normally after that.
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01-29-2009, 04:52 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Manhattan
Posts: 6,058
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RPT1778
Add to that the fact that I'm listening to iTunesPlus 256kbps music, and I can say without a doubt, I have never heard a fraction of the things I am hearing today... Led Zeppelin's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" at 1:45 has an incredibly subtle background vocal by Robert Plant, that I never knew existed before... I'm stoked to be part of the community!
Best to all!
RPT
Richard |
It's awesome when you pick up layers and sounds that you've never heard before in your favorite tunes. Welcome to head-fi and sorry about your wallet.
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01-29-2009, 05:48 AM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 69
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wish to check , does the predator have any history/problems driving any demanding headphones?
thanks.
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01-29-2009, 05:58 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Rocky Mountains, CO
Posts: 11,663
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xcluded
wish to check , does the predator have any history/problems driving any demanding headphones?
thanks.
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I can't really drive my 600 ohm AKG K240M to more than conversational volume and nothing spectacular sounding with that headphone. It also can't drive a heavily dampened SFI orthodynamic custom headphone, but then again almost no portable amp can drive those two except the TTVJ portable millett hybrid tube amp (Pico in second, followed by Vivid V1).
Everything else seems to be fine. It sounds great with my 300 ohm HD600 and can play moderately loud but cannot play them as loudly as many other portables like TTVJ, 3MOVE, Pico, iBasso D3, or Vivid V1. It will play approximately as loud as other amps like D2 Boa, D2 viper stock, or Nuforce Icon, which are acceptable volume levels for listening but not rocking out. However, it will go quite loud and clean and controlled with Denon D2000, Edition 9 and Grado RS-1. So, I think it is fine for almost anything between 16-300 ohm except those 120 ohm orthodynamics which would be fine on a speaker amp.
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01-29-2009, 09:41 AM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 131
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hey guys! i'm new to portable amps...anychance you can tell me the method to break it in? connecting to it the charger and play it for hours and hours with pink noise? at low gain , mid , or high gain?Sorry...i'm just pretty clueless
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01-29-2009, 02:04 PM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 69
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict
I can't really drive my 600 ohm AKG K240M to more than conversational volume and nothing spectacular sounding with that headphone. It also can't drive a heavily dampened SFI orthodynamic custom headphone, but then again almost no portable amp can drive those two except the TTVJ portable millett hybrid tube amp (Pico in second, followed by Vivid V1).
Everything else seems to be fine. It sounds great with my 300 ohm HD600 and can play moderately loud but cannot play them as loudly as many other portables like TTVJ, 3MOVE, Pico, iBasso D3, or Vivid V1. It will play approximately as loud as other amps like D2 Boa, D2 viper stock, or Nuforce Icon, which are acceptable volume levels for listening but not rocking out. However, it will go quite loud and clean and controlled with Denon D2000, Edition 9 and Grado RS-1. So, I think it is fine for almost anything between 16-300 ohm except those 120 ohm orthodynamics which would be fine on a speaker amp.
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Thanks for the insight.
Btw , do you think this amp can drive Beyerdynamic DT 880 (250 ohm) with ease ?
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01-29-2009, 06:55 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Rocky Mountains, CO
Posts: 11,663
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xcluded
Thanks for the insight.
Btw , do you think this amp can drive Beyerdynamic DT 880 (250 ohm) with ease ?
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It should. Anyone here with those who can comment?
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01-30-2009, 06:06 AM
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Junior Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Novato, CA
Posts: 8
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I've been running the Predator and HD600s now for coming up on 24 hours straight and I'm wondering whether I want to let them rest overnight, or should I just let it rip through the 500 hours with no breaks?
WOW, the amp is definitely like a great wine... gets better with age!
RPT
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01-30-2009, 06:36 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Rocky Mountains, CO
Posts: 11,663
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Jamato8 claims that a 1 hour break with the amp off each day will help the caps form faster. I don't have any idea if that makes a difference.
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01-30-2009, 06:43 AM
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Junior Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Novato, CA
Posts: 8
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much appreciated, I'll give her the evening off then.
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01-31-2009, 12:20 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Santa Rosa, CA --image Katmandu, Nepal Summer 2006 *We are but a cosmic blink or was that wink?*
Posts: 7,553
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RPT1778
much appreciated, I'll give her the evening off then.
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I just turn amp off a couple of hours.
__________________
John aka Jam and Jama
Photo gallery at: www.pbase.com/jamato8 Recent publication: Ethnobotany Research & Applications, Vol 7 (2009) Kam Guilzhouh nyim Guangxxih di Benxtux Wenchual nyim Zihyuanc dih Gonxliix: Kam Local Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Resource Management in Guizhou and Guangxi Provinces, China http://www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/
The one constant in life is change, so will that change?
Feel with your own heart, see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears.
JH13's > Why stay home when you can go to the concert?
Listening with: JH13 Pro, Grado HF2 #469
Digital conversion: the all new MB-1 optical dual Wolfson portable dac
Amps I am currently listening with: RSA P-51 Mustang, SR 71A, iBasso D10, Lisa III, OEM BLack Gate, Non Black Gate, iBasso P3+, iBasso T3 (new version), RSA Shadow, iBasso D4
Favorite monitors: JH13 Pro, Grado HF2, Ultrasone Ed. 9 #1010, ATH-ESW10JPN
Portable monitor ratings: 1. JH 13 Pro 2. ESW10 JPN 3. PortaPros, KSC35 (modified-a great value) *4. UM2
Source: iRiver H130,140, D303 optical out, D-EJ955, D-EJ1000, D-EJ2000, 25s, 25, D-303, D-777 and others (optical out if available)
Digital Conversion: MB-1 optical Dac, Altoid tin Monica Dac I, Altoid tin Monica II Asynchronous Reclocking Dac, iBasso D10
Headphone Amplifiers:RSA: Shadow, Predator, P-51 Mustang, SR71A, Xin: IV Micro, IV Mini, Reference, SM3B, SuperMacro V LE, SM3 V6 (IV all switches), XRTA X-1, C&C Box, iBasso: P1, P2, P3, P3+, T1, T2, T3, T4 D1, D2, D3, D4, D10 Woo 3 Modified-Siemens 6922 driver, 7236 power tube, Woo 6 with the original Pseudo dual PS -
Ear Monitors: JH13 Pro, Ultra Ed. 9, Grado HF-2/F1 #469, HD650, ATH-ESW10 JPN, Ultrasone 750, HFI780, PortaPro modified, KSC35, Equation RP-21, Westone UM2
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02-01-2009, 01:51 PM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Boston
Posts: 927
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Hi Jamato8, How does Predator compare to SR-71A? Which amp to recommend to get Mustang or Predator if you have SR-71A?
__________________
Feedback
iPhone > JH13 Pro
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02-01-2009, 02:02 PM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 69
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after reading much reviews on mustang...before plunging myself into buying
yeah i wish to know as well , whether the predator sounds inferior to mustang in terms of low , mid and high ? 
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02-02-2009, 04:59 PM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 34
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My predator is 1 year old and more than 1000 h on it. The DAC works perfect and the sound is great. The battery never gets empty. My only remark would be that the volume know is hissing when you turn it but only when you turn it. That's it, in rest I'm loving it. Do not expect huge amplification with high impedance cans. At the end is only a small portable amp.
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