Why Vantam?
I was looking for a portable DAC/Amp preferably on PCM chip which is capable to drive both low impedance IEMs and sensitive portable headphones.
I guess I found what I need. Here are my thoughts…shortly.
Let's start from its specification (in Japanese but I think it should be clear what they are talking about).
My particular unit is on LME49860. There are some other versions of the Vantam with different op-amps.
This is nothing for the unit of around $600.
Usually cheaper products go with richer packages including different cables for i-devices and Android phones, rubber rings would be also nice to have since this is a portable device first of all.
No English manual. I had to translate some parts of Japanese User Guide to understand some functions and to be aware of some cautions they provide.
On the front panel we have: Phone output combined with Optical out (that's why you can see here red light coming out); Line in /out combined with Optical in; Balanced output, LED DSD indicator; Mode Switch with LED battery indication feature.
On the rear side it has a micro usb port to connect it to any digital source and to charge the battery, plus there is a standard usb type A port for i-devices.
To me Functional panel of the Vantam is questionable.
On the one hand all switches are located deeper than the surface and it prevents you from any occasional activation of any function/mode but on the other hand if you need to switch the gain on the go having different head phones with you, it makes really hard to do it just with your fingers unless you have long nails))
I could understand almost all functions but I had to discover more regarding SMTP function.
What I could understand from Japanese User Guide you switch it on if you don’t want your Android smart phone to be charging Vantam.
Please note that charging function will be deactivated in this mode so charging from the usb port or from any other independent wall charger will not be possible until you switch it off.
The device also features Auto Power Off function. I guess it turns it off after 10 minutes of idling.
Blue Light of DSD LED is too bright to me, especially in the night. It’s like a small lamp in your room.
Strange thing is that when it’s connected to NWZ A15 in USB DAC mode the indicator is red (since I don’t listen to DSD) but when you connect AK100 through an optical cable it will be always blue on the same non-DSD simple FLAC tracks. So with AK100 the DSD LED is always blue but with Sony A15 it is always red.
Vantam gets hot after a 20-30 minutes of listening.
Size and dimensions in comparison with Oppo Ha-2
It reminds me Sony PHA-3 in balanced mode which also lasts for the same amount of time plus-minus.
I'm personally fine with it since I listen to the music for max 1,5-2 hours a day on-the-go.
Charging time in case I use Orico usb charging station (should be more than 2A) is around 3-4 hours which is not bad at all.
This is not a special rapid 1,5 h charging of the Oppo HA-2 but it's not 5-6 hours which requires for the pha-3 (in my case) to be fully charged.
My previous devices are: Oppo HA-2 and Sony PHA-3.
Besides I tried some other IEMs like DN-2000, Earsonics Velvet, and some AT IEMs.
All of them were performing very well with Vantam without any background noise. It's just a dead silence when you plug them in.
So how does it sound? It just sounds great!
Very detailed sound through all the range of frequencies.
Deep and very wide soundstage.
Fast and punchy bass, crystal clear highs with a lot of air, great instrument separation.
Mids are also very good, I like how guitars with distortion sound - typical PCM signature.
How does it drive low impedance IEMs? Perfectly, I would say (e-q8@6 Ohm, dn-2000@16 ohm)
Is it powerful enough to drive Signature Pro in high gain?
I would say yes, but in some very noisy places like Moscow metro (some old lines with old wagons) you have to increase the volume up to 100% on some very silent records..
Quality wise the sound remains amazing even on a maximum volume without any distortion.
To me balanced output adds more analytics to the sound with even better instrument separation but with less quantity of bass (mid bass).
Honestly speaking I prefer unbalanced output with the e-Q8 since it gives more body to the lows. It could be different for other IEMs or headphones.
They both fit very well. In case of the A15 you have cables from both sides of the combo since you utilize a micoUSB port of the Vantam. With AK100 you connect through an optical cable and everything is on one side of the combo. The issue with the A15 is that you can not listen to the music and charge the device at the same time since the port is occupied.
I have not noticed any difference in sound between these two sources.
The AK100 also features 2 slots for micro SD cards vs 1 in A15.
Yes, it is not perfect but I can live with some weaknesses it has since the sound is great.
Thanks to MusicaAcoustics where I bought the Vantam for their great customer support.
Update. 28.12.15. LME49860 is replaced with OPA627BM
I was looking for a portable DAC/Amp preferably on PCM chip which is capable to drive both low impedance IEMs and sensitive portable headphones.
I guess I found what I need. Here are my thoughts…shortly.
Let's start from its specification (in Japanese but I think it should be clear what they are talking about).
My particular unit is on LME49860. There are some other versions of the Vantam with different op-amps.
Package
Very poor. Just Vantam and one usb to micro usb cable. That is basically it.This is nothing for the unit of around $600.
Usually cheaper products go with richer packages including different cables for i-devices and Android phones, rubber rings would be also nice to have since this is a portable device first of all.
No English manual. I had to translate some parts of Japanese User Guide to understand some functions and to be aware of some cautions they provide.
Functionality and Design
On the front panel we have: Phone output combined with Optical out (that's why you can see here red light coming out); Line in /out combined with Optical in; Balanced output, LED DSD indicator; Mode Switch with LED battery indication feature.
On the rear side it has a micro usb port to connect it to any digital source and to charge the battery, plus there is a standard usb type A port for i-devices.
To me Functional panel of the Vantam is questionable.
On the one hand all switches are located deeper than the surface and it prevents you from any occasional activation of any function/mode but on the other hand if you need to switch the gain on the go having different head phones with you, it makes really hard to do it just with your fingers unless you have long nails))
I could understand almost all functions but I had to discover more regarding SMTP function.
What I could understand from Japanese User Guide you switch it on if you don’t want your Android smart phone to be charging Vantam.
Please note that charging function will be deactivated in this mode so charging from the usb port or from any other independent wall charger will not be possible until you switch it off.
The device also features Auto Power Off function. I guess it turns it off after 10 minutes of idling.
[size=20.0069999694824px]Indication[/size]
Blue Light of DSD LED is too bright to me, especially in the night. It’s like a small lamp in your room.
Strange thing is that when it’s connected to NWZ A15 in USB DAC mode the indicator is red (since I don’t listen to DSD) but when you connect AK100 through an optical cable it will be always blue on the same non-DSD simple FLAC tracks. So with AK100 the DSD LED is always blue but with Sony A15 it is always red.
Vantam gets hot after a 20-30 minutes of listening.
Size and dimensions in comparison with Oppo Ha-2
[size=20.0069999694824px]Battery Life [/size]
Estimate it around 4 - 5 hours. Not much but expected.It reminds me Sony PHA-3 in balanced mode which also lasts for the same amount of time plus-minus.
I'm personally fine with it since I listen to the music for max 1,5-2 hours a day on-the-go.
Charging time in case I use Orico usb charging station (should be more than 2A) is around 3-4 hours which is not bad at all.
This is not a special rapid 1,5 h charging of the Oppo HA-2 but it's not 5-6 hours which requires for the pha-3 (in my case) to be fully charged.
Sound
I was mainly using it with Ultrasone Signature Pro and Ortofon e-Q8.My previous devices are: Oppo HA-2 and Sony PHA-3.
Besides I tried some other IEMs like DN-2000, Earsonics Velvet, and some AT IEMs.
All of them were performing very well with Vantam without any background noise. It's just a dead silence when you plug them in.
So how does it sound? It just sounds great!
Very detailed sound through all the range of frequencies.
Deep and very wide soundstage.
Fast and punchy bass, crystal clear highs with a lot of air, great instrument separation.
Mids are also very good, I like how guitars with distortion sound - typical PCM signature.
How does it drive low impedance IEMs? Perfectly, I would say (e-q8@6 Ohm, dn-2000@16 ohm)
Is it powerful enough to drive Signature Pro in high gain?
I would say yes, but in some very noisy places like Moscow metro (some old lines with old wagons) you have to increase the volume up to 100% on some very silent records..
Quality wise the sound remains amazing even on a maximum volume without any distortion.
Balanced vs unbalanced
Actually you compare here a single TPA6120 vs dual MUSES8920. I could only test it on my modified e-q8.To me balanced output adds more analytics to the sound with even better instrument separation but with less quantity of bass (mid bass).
Honestly speaking I prefer unbalanced output with the e-Q8 since it gives more body to the lows. It could be different for other IEMs or headphones.
Digital transport
I actually tried two sources. Sony NWZ-A15 and AK100.They both fit very well. In case of the A15 you have cables from both sides of the combo since you utilize a micoUSB port of the Vantam. With AK100 you connect through an optical cable and everything is on one side of the combo. The issue with the A15 is that you can not listen to the music and charge the device at the same time since the port is occupied.
I have not noticed any difference in sound between these two sources.
The AK100 also features 2 slots for micro SD cards vs 1 in A15.
Additional third party accessories
Very nice bags from VanNyus.Conclusion
To me the Vantam is one of the best performing devices I've ever heard in the range of $300 - $1000 .Yes, it is not perfect but I can live with some weaknesses it has since the sound is great.
Thanks to MusicaAcoustics where I bought the Vantam for their great customer support.
Update. 28.12.15. LME49860 is replaced with OPA627BM
will be bringing the Vantam SounDroid among other gadgets.
Come over to CanJam UK. Looking forward to meeting with UK audio fanatics.