Quote:
|
Originally Posted by volcomjerk
Thanks! I'm glad I didn't have to spend much to find it too. For now this will do and then it's on to bigger things when I move into my own place.
Everyone needs to know the truth and I'm sure everyone who is looking for headphone advice stumbles across this site without knowing any better and goes ahead and buys the most expensive toy without actually knowing what they are buying. I know I did this I bought some pretty expensive things and I know I could have made better choices but I guess it comes from experience at being on head-fi that things aren't what they seem to be. Any person can come on the head-fi forums and think hey this place is pretty open to discussion about anything but the fact that there are so many people here afraid to say what they think about something is not a true discussion forum to me. I'll bring up an example... I had a Bithead vs. Hornet thread earlier and I bought the Hornet. I gave the Hornet a listen for a few days and that thing didn't make any difference to me between the source and the amp. (I know all you Hornet readers are about to click that QUOTE and try to tell me otherwise but please refrain because I know some people like their Hornets). I couldn't believe how much I paid for it and so I think to myself, maybe I should post my impressions on the forums and see if it's just my ears. So... I do and people are telling me I'm not giving it enough time... "350+ Hours before you hear it transform into something glorious!" or "You're wrong! The Hornet IS THE BEST!" Sorry, that's not how I work and I know I don't have to burn in something for me to know I'm going to like it. Also telling me that my ears are not hearing things correctly is not the appropriate response in my book. So from there I'm just like screw it I'm tired of listening to what everyone THINKS of the Hornet and I'm going to try out something less expensive and see how it sounds from there. Only then would I truely know how the Hornet's value compares. So I get my Pint (lucky me) and I'm completely blown away by the sound at the price I paid because I'm being led to believe that because so many people own a Hornet and so many people talk about it that it's absolutely the best portable amp you can get. Sorry, but my ears tell me that this PINT is CLEARLY superior to what I heard on the Hornet. So I'll summarize what I just said but maybe with some reality check in it? In summary to ME... the Hornet is a complete rip off for $350+ (no shipping included). If that's what is afraid of being said then that's sad. People need to know that there's potential for such an expensive item to sound nothing like what they paid for but hey like I said, that's just my opinion only because I value my hard earned money and find it hard to believe that I almost kept the Hornet simply because people here think it's the end of the world when someone thinks otherwise of their equipment. If this truely is a discussion forum then there should definitely be posts of negative/positive reviews of equipment because it's the right of the consumer to know what's bought. |
I'm new to the whole portable rig thing too.
I have triple.fi's on the way (I love my super.fi 5 pro, wish they were a little more comfortable though). I've heard my IEMs with an amp and it makes all the difference in the world.
I am going to purchase a Go-Vibe V5 from Norm very very soon [within the next 1-3 weeks] and am looking forward to it. It's a great value for the price. It's also a shame that this Pint is no longer being made.
I was interested in the Hornet from what posters have posted. Maybe there is bias because RSA has their own forum here or something like that -- who knows.
A question though regarding RSA.... I have e-mailed Mr. Samuels 3 times already and have still not gotten a response from him. 3 E-mails over the course of almost a month. Is this normal? I have seen him post on here, but I can't seem to get an e-mail reply. My e-mail was completely humble and had a few questions to ask regarding the unit and purchasing it and can't get a response from him. I even provided multiple e-mail addresses wondering if that was the problem, but it's not.
I'm glad I read this thread, though. It was very insightful and helpful (with regards to the PINT's quality). So, thank you for that.
But does anyone know what the deal is with RSA returning e-mails?
Edit: Also, you noted that the Hornet doesn't change the sound signature. I think this can be a good thing as well. To preserve the original source without distorting it can often be quite beneficial. Yes, amps like to have a nice tone all to their own, and in many cases this is a good thing. Coloration is often just what the listener wants. In my case, I like to be able to tailor the sound to my liking with bass, mid, and treble [without the iPod EQ] so finding a portable amp that has those features would be a good thing for me. But by the same token, many times you want an amplifier to do its job, and just "amplify" the sound, but do it cleaner than a cheesy little internal iPod amp will do. For this very reason, the Hornet does sound to have its appeals. And if Ray is good about letting his users listen to his amps and send them back if they don't like them, that sounds like a great thing to me.
I agree that using the term "rip-off" to a devoted member of the head-fi community with regards to his product can and will be interpreted by him as
harsh/slander/rude. Look at it this way -- isn't the whole point of being in business to make money? If you had a business selling product, would you want to continue doing so if you weren't making a good profit? (That's the basic American dream, more or less, at least here in America anyway hehehe). If you weren't making money selling a product, what would be your insentive to continue making it? He can't put bread on the table from "thank yous, your product is wonderful." I can understand that some people, like myself, may not be able to afford a product such as his, and there may very well be better sounding products out there, but all variables in the equation have to be taken into consideration (i.e. customer service, build quality, etc.). There is a right way and a wrong way to express your feelings to the manufacturer and to the community in which you participate in. I think in this instance, you chose the latter. As the old saying goes, "You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar."
I just still want to know why I can't get a response via e-mail from Ray, as I've been trying for a month now.
).
