New Loaner Program TTVJ/Millett - Page 10 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

kwlinder · 05-19-2008, 12:00 AM

First of all, thank you Todd for making this amp available for us to review, and second for letting me keep the amp for a few extra days while I went on an 9 day trip. it made the 5+ hours on the plane really pleasurable.

For most of my listening, I used the amp like I would my own portable amp (an older Headroom Total Airhead) with several iPods (3rd through 5th gen) via the line out and a pair of Ety ER-4S IEMs. I also used the amp with Grado SR-60’s and my Beyer DT880-250 (2003). Most of my music is in Apple Lossless format.

I really liked this amp. The mids are amazing. Female vocals sounded so natural as did acoustic guitar. Alison Krauss, Lisa Loeb, Suzanne Vega, and Alicia Keys all sounded warm, clean, crisp and natural. The bass from the ETY’s was balanced, crisp, deep and better than I have ever heard them.

Here are some impressions.

Goodbye Is All We Have, Alison Krauss - The vocals are just delicious, the acoustic guitar sounded natural, and the overall tone was warm and enveloping. I felt like I was there listening to the performance.

Sandalwood, Lisa Loeb - This is just Lisa and her guitar. Again the acoustic guitar sounded natural and the vocals luscious. You can hear her breathing between the words and it just sounded right.

Firecracker, Lisa Loeb - This song is has a number of complex sounds that never quite seemed right on most systems. The sound can get muddled, soundstage not quite right, etc., except with my Beyer DT-880's fed from a Meier Corda Opera. The TTVJ Millet portable did a fine job, the sound was warm, and complex with the soundstage about what I expected.

A Picture of Nectar, Phish. This is one of my favorite albums. The bass was deep, drums crisp and overall a very nice listen. Cymbals were reproduced very well and the snare drums and other percussion on Cavern crisp and sharp. Who said Ety's were not for rock.

The amp had plenty of power with my Beyer's, and the sound was pretty neutral, with the high's slightly recessed and the bass a little looser than with the Opera. Was it as good as the Opera? No, the Beyers with the Opera had tighter bass, the highs much more open and airy, better soundstage and just sounded better. The Opera costs more than twice as much so Ithis should be no surprise, but the TTVJ Millet portable holds it own and If I had not heard the Beyer's with the Opera, I probably would not think there was anything missing.

With the Grado's the sound was also excellent. On a couple of albums the bass was a little loose and overpowering, but still crisp overall, and a huge improvement over my Total Airhead.

Battery life was excellent. I listened to the amp daily, and charged it when I thought about it. It never took more than 30-60 minutes to charge. I had been using the amp for several days and forgot to charge it before the flight home, but it lasted the 5 hour trip just fine.

Build quality was very good. This is a solid amp and should last a long long time.

There were several minor issues. Several of the reviewers have mentioned the ringing if the amp is bumped or touched, I noticed it mostly when there was no music playing, and it was not a problem on the plane even then there was significant turbulence. I think it would be fine on a bus or train also, but I am not sure about running or walking about, but I normally would forgo an amp in those situations. I also noticed some noise when I had the phones plugged in an I turned the amp on or plugged the phones in with the amp on. After turning on the amp, it was quiet, no hiss, hum or other noise.

Thanks Todd! As I said in the beginning, I really enjoyed this amp. The mids and vocals really stand out, and the bass and highs quite nice as well. For many, I think this would do double duty at home or while traveling. I did not want to pack it up to send off to the next person.