2007 Micro Amps and Micro DACs

[TheSloth]

Originally Posted by jamey

3. I'd say that's pretty close.

Well if you ever need anyone to test that for you...

[noseallinit]

Originally Posted by jamey

3. I'd say that's pretty close.

Originally Posted by TheSloth

Well if you ever need anyone to test that for you...

oh, Jamey don't ya know we would like to see TheSloth get a chance to review the Micro Portable w/DAC. q;O)

welcome back Sloth!

[Torula Yeast]

dang - wrong thread again!

[Rise To The Top]

I'm liking that new Portable on the website... Looks neat, what module is it using?

[Jamey Warren]

Originally Posted by noseallinit

oh, Jamey don't ya know we would like to see TheSloth get a chance to review the Micro Portable w/DAC. q;O)

welcome back Sloth!

I would too except I want to send along the new Micro and Ultra Micro stuff as well and we currently only have one of each. It's pretty hard to let those go out of the office. Soon enough.

[Jamey Warren]

Originally Posted by PFKMan23

I assume that means $50 on top of the existing $199 upgrade?

Correct assumption. Thanks for clarifying.

[Jamey Warren]

Originally Posted by rumatt

Can USB power be used to charge the battery? Or can the dac/amp run off of USB power, to avoid draining the battery?


Thanks!

No sorry, the Amp and DAC are always running off of the battery and the included wall adaptor is the only way to charge it.

[PFKMan23]

Hi Jamey, is there any idea on when the page (or the appropriate addendum i suppose) for the Ultra Micro/DAC will be up and/or the anticipated pricing? Also, is it still the case the that new micro has (essentially) the Home model circuitry in it, as indicated by the first post of this thread?

[Jamey Warren]

Originally Posted by PFKMan23

Hi Jamey, is there any idea on when the page (or the appropriate addendum i suppose) for the Ultra Micro/DAC will be up and/or the anticipated pricing? Also, is it still the case the that new micro has (essentially) the Home model circuitry in it, as indicated by the first post of this thread?

Probably within about a month. The pricing will most likely be $399 for the standard which is arguably a little better than a Home Module due to its bigger output transistors. The standard Micro DAC is pretty identical to a Desktop DAC which is slightly better than the old Micro DAC. The Ultra Micro Amp will probably be $699 and is pretty much a Max Module. The Ultra Micro DAC is pretty much a Max DAC.

[bbrandt]

Hurry and get the page up! I have a birthday approaching and need a page to conveniently leave open on my wife's laptop...

[TheSloth]

Can I assume from the fact that you are using 7.4V batteries instead of higher voltage Li-Ion batteries (8.4V) that, at least in the desktop portable, you are doubling up the current to run the + and - rails at 14.8V instead of 7.4V, i.e. perfectly in line with your usual PSU voltages?

For the Portable Micro, are you using a rail splitter or something more elaborate to get the + and -, and from the single battery are the electronics +/-7.4V, or is it a single rail supply?

I see that you've put a 'preamp out' on the back of both the new units, however isn't that in reality just a further headphone jack on exactly the same circuit as the front outputs? That's not a criticism - I know they work very well that way as preamp outputs - just a detail.

I hate not knowing all the little details!

[Jamey Warren]

Originally Posted by TheSloth

Can I assume from the fact that you are using 7.4V batteries instead of higher voltage Li-Ion batteries (8.4V) that, at least in the desktop portable, you are doubling up the current to run the + and - rails at 14.8V instead of 7.4V, i.e. perfectly in line with your usual PSU voltages?

For the Portable Micro, are you using a rail splitter or something more elaborate to get the + and -, and from the single battery are the electronics +/-7.4V, or is it a single rail supply?

I see that you've put a 'preamp out' on the back of both the new units, however isn't that in reality just a further headphone jack on exactly the same circuit as the front outputs? That's not a criticism - I know they work very well that way as preamp outputs - just a detail.

I hate not knowing all the little details!

There are two dual cell 7.4V batteries in the Portable Desktop that each generate the + and - supplies.

The Portable Micro uses a custom battery with a center tap so we do not need any rail splitter or similarly functioning circuitry.

A very good preamp is able to deliver the signal from multiple sources with authority to whatever load is presented. The load presented from a headphone is much worse than what is potentially presented by any power amp. I'm not sure how a 'preamp' is really any different except that it could be simpler. It could be as simple as a passive switch depending on your system. This thing has the potential to deliver much more with the addition of the DAC. Feel free to elaborate on this as I don't know how I would make the preamp outputs any different. Maybe I'm not understanding the point?

Thanks for your comments and questions. I'm sure most of them will be answered when your package arrives. Don't hold your breath though...

[TheSloth]

Originally Posted by jamey

There are two dual cell 7.4V batteries in the Portable Desktop that each generate the + and - supplies.

The Portable Micro uses a custom battery with a center tap so we do not need any rail splitter or similarly functioning circuitry.

A very good preamp is able to deliver the signal from multiple sources with authority to whatever load is presented. The load presented from a headphone is much worse than what is potentially presented by any power amp. I'm not sure how a 'preamp' is really any different except that it could be simpler. It could be as simple as a passive switch depending on your system. This thing has the potential to deliver much more with the addition of the DAC. Feel free to elaborate on this as I don't know how I would make the preamp outputs any different. Maybe I'm not understanding the point?

Thanks for your comments and questions. I'm sure most of them will be answered when your package arrives. Don't hold your breath though...

I completely agree about the preamp. It's just a nomenclature thing. I was just wanting to clarify that there is nothing different about the signal path to the 'preamp' socket on the back then there is in the signal path to the 'headphone' socket on the front, and that they are in parallel and thus what is connected to one effects the other by altering the load on the circuit - is that right?

I'm still not quite with you on the PSU - by dual cell, do you mean that each cell is running at 7.4V and then run in series with its neighbour to make 14.8V per battery? And for the portable micro, does that mean it is running at +/-7.4V?

If that's right, I'd be very interested to hear how this battery arrangement compares to your DPS/internal PSU's with the same electronics. Experience tells me it might actually be better...

When are you expecting to post info on the rest of the new Micro line?

[Jamey Warren]

If you take a look at the Portable Desktop page, you'll see two green batteries mounted on the circuit board. They are both 7.4 batteries, one for the + and one for the - supply. In the Portable Micro, there is only one of those batteries but it is a little different in that it has a center tap (actually there's two cells inside) which essentially provides +/- 3.7V.


The rest of the Micro Line info will be posted in about a month, maybe sooner.

[TheSloth]

Ok, gottcha. Thanks for the info.