Portaphile V2 Owners Thread - Page 7

How about including Larroco Pocket Reference in that list?

Is the import tax really that high? Maybe you can ask the shippers to mark it as a gift? I don't think shipping should be a problem.

VAT is at 17.5%

And I've read somewhere in these forums from UK folks who bought some Alessandro (sp?) headphones that there is a commission on top of it, which is close to £10 ($18)... per item.

So roughly, I am looking at 395 (SR-71) + 200 (PP2 with backplate) + 250 (average SM) + 50 (shipping, low estimate). Thats $845.

17.5% on top of that and result in a nearly $150. Add the comissions (3x), on top of it, we are pretty much at $900. But basically, we are dealing with almost $200 worth of tax! (pretty much price of the portaphile).

Of course, thats the worst case scenario. Marking a product as a gift might work. But I think that in theory, anything worth more than £100 (all of above), needs to be declared.

And I've not even added the price of shipping back the ones I am not keeping!

All in all, the price of "trying" the amps is pretty much worth the price of the portaphile (and close enough to the SM) in the worst case scenario... Considering that -any- of those amps would beat what I am using now (no amps ), I would be better off just picking *any* of the three than trying all three... From a financial point of view (I am still a student - doing a full time unpaid placement nonetheless).

Updates?

Does anyone have any updated impressions of the P-V2 after significant amounts of burn in, as compared to out-of-the-box ... 100 hours ... 200 hours ... 200hrs vs. 100hrs ...?

I've only put about 60 hours on it and the top end has gotten cleaner and smoother, but overall I know it needs still more time. The overall sound seems more integrated in that particular frequency ranges don't pop out as they seemed to at first listen. The sound has warmed up somewhat. The bottom has perhaps gotten "rounder" but still needs more downward extension.

It has good attack and punch, but still lacks the depth and slam of, say, the Coda amp.

Who has given it enough burn in to open up the bottom end, and how has it developed (as well as the rest of the sound)?

It is to big to be a true portable amp.

To me, an amp is portable if it runs on batteries and you can move it from room to room. Granted, it may not fit in your pocket, but if you can run it on the road, it's close enough.

The shipper can always mark down the price, although I don't know how this will affect shipping insurance.

I don't have quite 50 hours, but at this point, I'm satisfied enough with the sound that any more improvement from here on is an added bonus, not a necessity.

Do you have the AC/DC back? Then just fire it up. I would do that for you but I'm half moved and my audio system is about to be disassembled.

I'll tell you what ATX you put down your hard cold cash and you review them. My Shoot Out, my amp selection.

I wasn't forcing you to write a review. If you don't want to, then don't do it, but spare me the anal attitude.

Yes bobeau I do own the amp, but I am focusing on amps that are the most portable. Plus it is an older PR and from what I understand there have been several changes made. The amps in the Shoot Out are all new release (SR-71 not withstanding).

As you can see by the image below, the PR is quite a bit bigger than the SR-71. It is not even in the range of a reasonable portable amp IMHO:

To be honest, I am a bit torn on this as well.
I've originally used portability as an excuse not to consider splashing $400 on an amp (SR-71). But the truth is, no matter which amp I get, I won't have the space in my pocket anyway. I have a mobile phone on one pocket, cards and cash on the other. I don't like to put stuff in my backpocket other than soft things like tissues (so I don't even want to move my card holder there).

So -really- that leaves me with my jacket which I do not always wear. So maybe no matter how portable the amp, I'll need to get something else to carry the amp.

Edit: Wow, that thing is a kinda big. Reminds me of an external CD-Rom I had way back (4x speed, so it really was waaaaaay back).

One of the best truly portable amps that I have used is the SuperDual. It is just a bit bigger than a box of matches and really packs a punch. It's a shame that they are not being produced any more, but well worth it if you can find one used.

A repeat question: Any Portaphile V2 owners with updated post-burn-in impressions, or is it still too soon?


Yes and yes. It's been fired up steadily (as much as logistically possible) with ELPAC WM080-1950-760 24VDC PS but I've only had it a few days.

It's all just words, but my personal feeling is that SR-71 is at the edge of "portables". I just call anything bigger that's battery power or at least easily carried about "transportables". Even with a carrier of some sort, to hold player, amp and cables -- the transportables just don't fit my personal ground rules for portable comfort. Lots of people feel otherwise. Coda/Overture are battery powered and some feel they're not to big for portability. I already carry too much in my briefcase, so the Coda and moreso the PR don't work for me. Even my LaCIe 80GB Firewire Pocket Drive -- which I have carry for work -- is the same width and just an inch longer than the Coda, and I wish it were smaller. At 6.3" long, the PR seems huge to me. Looks nice for home, tho'.

A question for Jester - and anyone else:

Has anyone heard or even read about anyone having heard at least a review sample (prototype) of the yet to be released 2005 PR? Or is it being kept under wraps until production release?

2005 Larocco PR

I have not heard it, but really like the new additions:

Features:

1. (NEW) "Socketed" Discrete Output Buffer. (Significantly improved sonic performance over the 4 X stacked BUF634 buffers)

2. (NEW) Variable Bass Contour (50K Alps Log taper Potentiometer gives true "Variable" 500Hz-DC 20dB boost) Excellent for reviving Low frequency dynamics and punch on whatever your music choice without compromizing frequency fidelity.

I am curious as to what kind of upgrade path they might offer for my PR.