Holy Batman! This PINT kicks freakin' butt!!! - Page 14

good choice. i would, however, request the AD8397 version of marshall's amp, as i think it's a more exciting, "energetic" amp. i listened to the LM6172 version and it did not sound as good as the PINT with AD8397. better battery life, though.

i would, however, like to borrow someone's HPDAC and test it against my "poor man's microstack"...anyone with an HPDAC want to swap that for a pair of headphones or something else for a couple of weeks??

MrFaust, would you mind sharing what you know? What's this XP amp? Did tangent release a new amp design to replace the PINT?

Agreed 100%.

Perked my ears up too! I haven't heard of it either. I know you're in good hands though!

Okay, okay, so how can I get my hands on a mini^3ified PINT? IIRC, the person on these forums that was selling the boards ran out quite a while ago. How are you guys getting yours?

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So if the Hornet sounds so great after 300 hours, why not burn them in at the factory for 300 hours?

Kinda like aged wine. You don't buy wine, just so you can wait 30 years to taste it. No...you buy it aged and taste the goodness right out of the proverbial box. Then you state your praise/dislike. Many more happy customers that way, as like stated, many are and want to be impressed with said performance right out of the box.

I know I sure as hell wouldn't want to buy a Ferrari and be told, "you have to wait 300 hours before you can really see it's potential..." The hell with that. If I'm spending money, I want you to show me off the bat, not tell me it comes in good faith.

I'm in no way bashing you or your products...as I haven't heard them, but I honestly, wouldn't spend that amount of cash(generally speaking about any product), only having to have to wait 300+ hours before I see it's potential, when a Pint or other significantly cheaper amp sounds very comparable if not better out of the box. And if it's cheaper and it only gets better with burn in and is already comparable to a burnt in Hornet...WHY would you go with the hornet?

Just my 2 cents...only seems logical to sell them way....

People want their product now

Considering the build time and cost, I'm pretty sure many people would get quite anxious if they had to wait an extra ~2 weeks for their amp so that the manufacturer can burn it in for you. I'd rather get it 2 weeks earlier, have it in my posession and use it, and burn it in by myself (What the point of having the manufacturer hold onto it for an extra 2 weeks so that he can do something that you can do by yourself?).

Though, the main difference here of course is that I'm aware of the burn-in necessity, and others aren't. But if Ray would include some sort of note indicating that the amp reaches optimal performance after 300 hours of burn-in, then I'm sure there wouldn't be that many issues.

Because they are not made at a factory. They are made individually by hand by one man in his shop. It is a battery powered unit. How would you burn in several hundred units for 300 hours even if you used the battery charger wallwart. That's a lot of outlets. Also, when a manufacturer recommends a burn in time, which most high quality companies do, they still expect you to use it while it's burning in...not wait for 300 hours. My Cary and McIntosh and Bryston and Cardas products all have a recommended burn in period on their websites and owner's manuals.

I wasn't aware there were any issues with the burn-in recommendation. Are there?

How about a Mini³fied Pint plus a NOS USB (I2S) DAC all in one. You can see my comments on Doug's (dsavitsk) page: http://www.ecp.cc/HPDAC.html

If you use a computer as a source rip your sound card out. For ~$200 assembled (it's DIY as well!) it's way beyond a "good deal".

I'm quite sure he could start on some now, and cycle them through. And initially start off by offering pre burnt in ones until his supply is diminished, and he only has burnt-in amps remaining. Or even just start building some now, and building a backstock until his supply is diminished. I may be wrong, but I doubt his demand is higher than an ability to burn in a few amps at a time and cycle some out....say ones he has just sitting there. Especially with the higher cost involved with something so opinionated as audio equipment.

It could easily be done with a surge protector and 2-3 outlets. A surge protector usually has 5-7 outlets. Each outlet has two sockets. That's 30-42 Hornet being burnt in AT A TIME......and I'de even be willing to do it if I could keep one

The point isn't the fact that you have to wait 300 hours, as it's obviously VERY KNOWN information and many dive into it headfirst knowing and not knowing the differences. And partly, due to some of the FOTM type topics. Many of you are VERY "highly regarded" and are easy impressional to some posters as they're newbies to the whole hobby.

But the point is that the product changes so dynamically, why not eliminate the chance of a customer losing any initial impressions and they can see the results straight out of the box? If the customer doesn't like the amp, it's not because of some rediculous break-in and is waiting on good faith....it's because he doesn't like the amp.

Just a thought.

This was discussed before when people first reported burn-in effects of the Hornet. Let's get back to the originally scheduled programming -- discussing PINT and alternatives/derivatives.

You buy one when it comes up for sale. I was determined to get one so I paid the seller's asking price which meant I paid a little premium.

as much as i love my pint, i'm thinking about adding a second amp, possibly a headfive, MH, or M^3

the only thing i wish my pint was better with was battery life, but if i can shove 12 aaa's in my hammond that problem should be taken care of