What do you think of the Graham Slee Voyager headphone amp?

[Zafonic]

Do any of you guys have this headphone amp and if so, what are your impressions of it?

Does it really improve the sound quality of music from mp3 players? I'm thinking of a portable headphone amp to go with my 4th gen iPod Classic, plus it would pave the way for me to get a decent set of full sized headphones!

I know many headphones sound good with an mp3 player but from what I've read I think the general consensus is that they sound great with even a small portable amp.

Thanks

[Crackerman]

Its a really nice amp. It was the first one I bought and I ended up selling it because of financial problems. Later on I bought a Ray Samuels Predator, but have ended up selling it in order to get another Voyager. I really mice the nice smooth, warm, deep sound that it had. The Predator sounded really harsh by comparison.

Only drawback is it doesn't have a built in DAC, but you can get something to fill that gap in. I really strongly recommend the Voyager and can't wait to get a new one.

You might want to get the headphones before the amp though or else you might end up getting the amp and not noticing a difference with cheaper 'phones.

[Zafonic]

Sorry if this is a really naive question but what is a built in DAC and why should I need one or something to 'fill in that gap', as you suggested?

I thought I could just connect the amp to my ipod with a 3.5mm connector and plug the headphones into the amp?

Thanks for the recommendation though - I have Etymotics ER-6i headphones at the moment but planning to get a pair of full sized headphones soon like the Grado SR60/Alessandro MP1, etc.

[Crackerman]

Some portable headphones amps come with a built in DAC which is a digital analogue converter. The Predator does. What the DAC does is convert the digital audio signal into analogue, bypassing the mp3 players internal DAC which tends to be inferior.

The Voyager doesn't have a DAC, so if you used it with a laptop or a computer for example, plugging it into the headphone socket, you wouldn't be improving the sound just making it louder. If you have a DAC plugged into the computer, then connected the Voyager to that, you'd be getting a cleaner, improved sound meaning you'd get more from your amp.

[Crackerman]

Also, you'd want to plug the amp into the lineout of your mp3 player if it has one rather than the headphone socket for similar reasons.

[Andrew Jones]

Originally Posted by Crackerman

Some portable headphones amps come with a built in DAC which is a digital analogue converter. The Predator does. What the DAC does is convert the digital audio signal into analogue, bypassing the mp3 players internal DAC which tends to be inferior.

The built-in DAC of the predator only takes a USB input, so you can't use it to bypass the DAC of an MP3 player. You can use it with a PC or laptop (using an application such as foobar2000 to play audio files) and it will generate a higher quality feed for the Predator's amp than most (all?) MP3 players. The amp in the predator can be switched between the USB DAC and the standard mini input.

[Zafonic]

Thanks Crackerman!

I would mainly be using my 4th gen ipod classic with the amp and headphones and probably connecting it to the mains when stationary.

I assume it is fairly easy to buy a line out cable to connect the ipod to the amp? (as I'm in the UK I'm guessing Maplin would be the natural source for the cable)

Is the amp pretty straightforward to use (I mean, I don't have to tinker with any of the internal switches or stuff do I?)

[Crackerman]

You can get a lineout cable pretty cheap on ebay, I don't know about where you'd get them in actual shops. I'm in the UK too and I've never seen one

I didn't find the amp hard to use at all, it was the first one I'd ever had. There was an on/off switch if I remember right although the volume knob thing might have controlled that, and there was a contour switched that boosted the bass without making everything else sound muffled.

[Zafonic]

A line out cable like this one?
iPod - 3.5mm Stereo Cable > Maplin

It's not cheap at £179 but I just looked at Graham Slee's other amps and they look very well put together. Quality doesn't come cheap, unfortunately!

I know there are many other portable amps but I have no idea what they will be like. I have a feeling that the Voyager is probably my best bet for sound quality.

[Crackerman]

You'd want something more flexible than that, like one of these

IPOD LINE OUT DOCK WITH CABLE AND 3.5mm MINI JACK PLUG on eBay, also Docks, Apple iPod Accessories, MP3 Player Accessories, Consumer Electronics (end time 22-Aug-08 00:52:09 BST)

I don't have a huge amount of experience with amps but I did prefer the Voyager to the Predator, and the Predator is a consistent favourite around here.

The Voyager is particularly good if you like a nice amount of bass but don't want it to be overpowering.

[dazzer1975]

yes exactly like that cable from maplins, however, you could try this:

iPod Connector Line Out to 3.5MM STEREO MINI (imod LOD - eBay (item 330261338085 end time Aug-18-08 19:46:38 PDT)

which is the same price, free shipping and will possibly be a better quality as those extending cables can be a bit delicate, certainly feel it in the hand at any rate.

Also this one, little bit more expensive and the seller doesn't mention shipping to the uk so I dont know?

Ipod Line Out Dock (LOD) cable for classic, touch, nano - eBay (item 150282091185 end time Aug-18-08 14:13:51 PDT)

p.s. the voyager, at that price point is amongst one of the best portable amps out there. It has a dark bassy signature, but with an ipod and some good earphones you will appreciate the difference, plus graham slee is a quality renowned company, there is no issue about sound quality from a voyager other than personal taste and subjective opinions.

If it isn't to your liking (and with the etymotic er6i I personally wouldnt recommend an amp) then you will should be able to find a buyer for a reasonable price anyway.

edit: or this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IPOD-LINE-OUT-...d=p3911.c0.m14

and use any mini to mini cable u already have

[Zafonic]

Thanks for all the links, guys

Why wouldn't the ER-6i be a good mate with a portable amp?

I am getting another set of headphones anyway (Grado SR60/Alessandro MS1/similar) but was just wondering as I would have thought the extra bass and depth from the amp would help the bass-light Eytmotics?

Cheers

[dazzer1975]

You will most definitely appreciate the dark background and bass attributes of the voyager in conjunction with the er6i, but the er6i was designed to be used from the headphone out of a dap, the er6 I think is better amped (not sure on that as I own the er6i but not er6) however, its the same with ety's higher end iem the er4, the er4p is designed to be used without an amp and the er4s is designed to be used with an amp.

Of course, there is absolutely no problem whatsoever amping the er6i, but, you would derive a greater benefit of amplification with a different iem such as the er4s. (and the ety sound signature is a great iem to team with the voyager as they are so nuetral, so the voyager with its blackground and bass can provide the warmth and colouration, of course, all these different sound sigs are purely subjective, either way, the voyager is a quality amp)

However, if you are in a position to buy some er4 iem's I would recommend the er4p and buy yourself a 75ohm resistor cable to use with the er4p which turns it into an er4s, that way, for essentially the price of one iem you get two with the ability to use amped or not.

[Zafonic]

Cheers for all your advice, Dazzer

I spoke to a guy today at GS who apart from being very helpful, also said that Sennheisers combine very well with the Voyager.

I'm looking at possibly the HD650 with the Voyager + iPod....what do you reckon?
(Btw - this is not for portable use of course! I will use the Senns with my main audio and movies via dvd too)

[dazzer1975]

The graham slee solo was apparently designed with the hd650 in mind, indeed, sennheiser showcase these headphones in conjunction with the graham slee solo

I couldn't comment on the hd650 in using it with the voyager and a dap with regards how exactly that combo works and how it sounds, but I do have a some input on it in a more general sense.

I think there are swings and roundabouts with regards this path (as no doubt future replies to this thread will testify) yes, you will be able to drive them the hd650's with the voyager, but, there is a possibility that it wont be as nice an experience as it could be as the hd650 are quite power demanding and the voyager is just a portable amp running off batteries... in addition to the hd650 being more of a home phone as opposed a portable but thats horses for courses whatever phones people use outside.

The benefit is, that with the hd650, as you upgrade your gear and maybe get into home amps etc the hd650 will just keep sounding better and better.

I plan to get the hd650 and graham slee solo combo in the next twelve months and also replace the voyager I sold as I am missing its sound sig now I am without it.

ultimately, the ideal is to marry up home phones with home amps as they simply require greater power to drive them properly, but portable amps can drive home headphones, its simply not at the optimum level basically.

Other than that, I wouldn't want to sway your decision either way, but I do feel, that if you had no further plans of moving into the home equipment area that the hd650 wouldn't be the most suitable headphone for the voyager.