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Review: Portable amp roundup! 56 portable amps reviewed and compared - FINAL update 12-20-10... - Page 13  

post #181 of 3234
2/5/07 at 5:14pm
Skylab, could you give us a run down of which amps hiss the least?
post #182 of 3234
2/5/07 at 5:25pm
Yeah! Give us a run down!


PS: Out of all the amps I've sampled so far, the blackest was the hornet and TH, as far as portables.. not sure about Xin's, but I wouldn't expect anything less from him!
post #183 of 3234
2/5/07 at 7:05pm
Thread Starter 
The Quietest amps were the Hornet, Tomahawk, and the Headphonia, and AE-1, which are all completely silent. All the others exhibited a very small amount of hiss at the top of their volume controls, which could vary slightly with the headphone used, but none made audible hiss at a normal listening level.
post #184 of 3234
2/6/07 at 4:57am
Skylab - first of all - thanks for the great review. It was your review that made me take that final plunge of purchasing the Headphonia.

You're quote:
"has that “wow” factor of feeling a wide open window to the music, like the Headphonia, Hornet, and the PRII."

--Is totally accurate!

I have a Corda Aria to compare the headphonia with, and when using the K701s, I can easily tell that the Aria is a lot more refined.

However.

There's something about the Headphonia's presentation that I like. I'd describe it as being very "up-front" which is a feature I like about my MS1s, but never got with the Aria+K701, because it was a slightly laid back amp with a headphone that had the same quality.

Great amp. It sounds a lot more expensive than it looks! Highly recommended! BTW, I have the 3 switch version, with the new AD8397 opamp.
post #185 of 3234
2/6/07 at 6:40am
Skylab - when you say completely silent, do you mean with IEMs or full size headphones?

I know you have some Shure E500s - what are the amps like with them?
post #186 of 3234
2/6/07 at 10:38am
Regarding the Hornet and Tomahawk, COMPLETELY quiet with IEMs and full-sized cans!!
post #187 of 3234
2/6/07 at 10:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by John_M View Post
Skylab - when you say completely silent, do you mean with IEMs or full size headphones?

I know you have some Shure E500s - what are the amps like with them?
Both, I've used both, the TH and the Hornet, with full size cans and my E500's....dead silent.
post #188 of 3234
2/6/07 at 11:10am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by John_M View Post
Skylab - when you say completely silent, do you mean with IEMs or full size headphones?

I know you have some Shure E500s - what are the amps like with them?

Yes, even with IEM's. All of the amps I thought were really excellent worked well with the E500 except for the Larocco PRII, which just had too much gain. I have ordered a PRII mk2, since it has a gain switch, and it seems that I may actually get it soon (fingers crossed). If so, I will indicate if this makes it a good match with the E500.

For anyone using ONLY the E500 with a portable amp, then I really have to recommend the Tomahawk strongly. It's a great sonic match, and if using just with an IEM, the size of the TH is just such a huge advantage. I have a tiny little bag that holds the TH, a 8GB iPod Nano, an ALO cryo micro LOD, and my E500's - this is my "stealth" rig, and it's tiny. The 80GB iPod in the YoTalk iTank case with the Xenos 1HA, ALO Cotton, and Senn HD25-1's is about 5 times the size and 10 times the weight
post #189 of 3234
2/6/07 at 4:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylab View Post
Yes, even with IEM's. All of the amps I thought were really excellent worked well with the E500 except for the Larocco PRII, which just had too much gain. I have ordered a PRII mk2, since it has a gain switch, and it seems that I may actually get it soon (fingers crossed). If so, I will indicate if this makes it a good match with the E500.

For anyone using ONLY the E500 with a portable amp, then I really have to recommend the Tomahawk strongly. It's a great sonic match, and if using just with an IEM, the size of the TH is just such a huge advantage. I have a tiny little bag that holds the TH, a 8GB iPod Nano, an ALO cryo micro LOD, and my E500's - this is my "stealth" rig, and it's tiny. The 80GB iPod in the YoTalk iTank case with the Xenos 1HA, ALO Cotton, and Senn HD25-1's is about 5 times the size and 10 times the weight
Thanks. FYI I have a PRII mk2 and it's unfortunately quite hissy with E500s...
post #190 of 3234
2/6/07 at 4:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by John_M View Post
Thanks. FYI I have a PRII mk2 and it's unfortunately quite hissy with E500s...
Even in low gain mode?
post #191 of 3234
2/6/07 at 6:36pm
The version I have has a volume attenuator switch on the back. I'm not entirely sure that's what you mean. The PRII still hisses when it's set to on.
post #192 of 3234
2/6/07 at 6:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylab View Post
Even in low gain mode?
What is gain?
post #193 of 3234
2/6/07 at 6:55pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by John_M View Post
The version I have has a volume attenuator switch on the back. I'm not entirely sure that's what you mean. The PRII still hisses when it's set to on.
Hmmmm...not sure. I hope to get my PRII mk 2 next week, and then I'll have more to say :-}

Gautama, "gain" is essentially another way to describe amplification - amplifiers have gain, -- it's how an amp makes things louder.
post #194 of 3234
2/7/07 at 12:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylab View Post
Hmmmm...not sure. I hope to get my PRII mk 2 next week, and then I'll have more to say :-}

Gautama, "gain" is essentially another way to describe amplification - amplifiers have gain, -- it's how an amp makes things louder.
Does your version have a little volume attenuator switch on the back? If not, seems pretty likely that I've got the MKII version. It only arrived v recently (and I had to wait a long time for it, as well!)
post #195 of 3234
2/7/07 at 1:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by John_M View Post
Does your version have a little volume attenuator switch on the back? If not, seems pretty likely that I've got the MKII version. It only arrived v recently (and I had to wait a long time for it, as well!)
Mine hasn't arrived yet - hopefully soon.
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Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Headphone Amps › Review: Portable amp roundup! 56 portable amps reviewed and compared - FINAL update 12-20-10 added RSA SR-71B