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Review: Portable amp roundup! 56 portable amps reviewed and compared - FINAL update 12-20-10... - Page 153  

post #2281 of 3234
1/30/09 at 9:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LaurentD View Post
Hi, It’s my first post here, and I want to thank Skylab for his review of all those AMP.
And after reading all this thread ( OMG it’s a long way ;-) )

To Skylab >

Here are my questions; as an audiophile, I need a” no compromise” portable gear…. But with some constraints
With this idea, earphone will be UE PRO-11.
So, I need an AMP to load it well

According to your list,
Triad Audio Lisa III
Qables iQube
RSA Mustang P-51

First, about Lisa, it seems to be large and his connections (both sides front and rear) are not very useful to carry it in the pocket even a small bag with all the cables connected.
Do you have the measure of the Lisa (Hx LxP) ? I can’t find it

Second, about the 2 others, do u think they could load EU-11 without *any* problem?

And third, according to my tastes, I don’t want “any” sound coloration, and my key points are Transparency and of course sound stage.

So :
Lisa > a little bit to big to travel “in a pocket”… and not easy to carry it
IQube > soundstage A-, and Transparency, Mid and Bass ….. A “only” rated
P-51 > Transparency A “only”, Mid A++ ….. what does it means really…. Colored

So, if you can help me a little bit more

Thx in advance
Laurent

Sorry for my English, I’m French
the lisa III (with the right interconnects) is easily carried in a small bag; I use it 90% of the time, only swapping to the pico if i'm out in summer and do not want to bring my bag with me. I havent tried the IQube personally, but from my listening on many amps at meets, and through friends. it is simply the best 'no compromises' amp going. it will turn your daily commute into a magical mystery tour. with a SQ that is simultaneously transparent, natural, detailed, accurate, powerful and somehow magical and involving at the same time. This is a VERY difficult trick to pull off, most quality portable amps are a few of these things, but the lisa is the only one I have experienced that manages to have all these qualities that would otherwise seem to be impossible to have at the same time. If you are willing to sacrifice tiny size for awesome SQ there really is no other choice IMO and if you are going to get UE11, you are obviously serious about this. The lisa also needs a top notch source to do her justice. I have not heard such soundstage in a portable before and I would agree with the term intoxicating 100%; with UE11 it should be totally expansive, plus you will have the ability to use harder to drive headphones later on (fullsize) will do a great job of driving HD600 or similar 300ohms. for use with portable phones I either use a 1/4" to mini adapter, the type you are supplied with most decent IEM's or in the case of SE520 and soon IE8 I made myself a cable terminated in 1/4". and I use a DIYMOD 5.5G ipod and teflon VCAP dock of my own design that has RCA outputs on the back, just like the lisa, so I only needed to make 2 very short compact RCA cables.

Iqube will be great if you value transparency over everything else, I have heard the iqube labeled boring, but maybe with UE11 that wont be a problem. the iqube is very much the 'wire with gain' type of amp, has great battery life, nice slick design despite the frustrating battery cover (I actually like the lisa more) so really they are both great, but i'm glad I chose the lisa thats for sure!!!
post #2282 of 3234
1/30/09 at 10:39am
wow compare 47 amp and still going on...

Skylab: why dont u test review Fiio E3 and E5?, that amps are very cheap that cannot hurt your pocket
post #2283 of 3234
1/30/09 at 11:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by a_tumiwa View Post
wow compare 47 amp and still going on...

Skylab: why dont u test review Fiio E3 and E5?, that amps are very cheap that cannot hurt your pocket
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/5369141-post2277.html
post #2284 of 3234
1/30/09 at 11:32pm
Hi Skylab,

When you reviewed the Practical Devices XM4, did it have the stock op-amp or the upgraded AD8260? If it was stock, I wonder how your impressions would change with the upgrade...
post #2285 of 3234
1/31/09 at 12:23am
Thread Starter 
Yes, mine was stock, and that is the only way I heard it.
post #2286 of 3234
1/31/09 at 2:44am
skylab, what amps have the most quantity of bass? (not quality)
post #2287 of 3234
1/31/09 at 5:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by qusp View Post
the lisa III (with the right interconnects) is easily carried in a small bag; I use it 90% of the time, only swapping to the pico if i'm out in summer and do not want to bring my bag with me. I havent tried the IQube personally, but from my listening on many amps at meets, and through friends. it is simply the best 'no compromises' amp going. it will turn your daily commute into a magical mystery tour. with a SQ that is simultaneously transparent, natural, detailed, accurate, powerful and somehow magical and involving at the same time. This is a VERY difficult trick to pull off, most quality portable amps are a few of these things, but the lisa is the only one I have experienced that manages to have all these qualities that would otherwise seem to be impossible to have at the same time. If you are willing to sacrifice tiny size for awesome SQ there really is no other choice IMO and if you are going to get UE11, you are obviously serious about this. The lisa also needs a top notch source to do her justice. I have not heard such soundstage in a portable before and I would agree with the term intoxicating 100%; with UE11 it should be totally expansive, plus you will have the ability to use harder to drive headphones later on (fullsize) will do a great job of driving HD600 or similar 300ohms. for use with portable phones I either use a 1/4" to mini adapter, the type you are supplied with most decent IEM's or in the case of SE520 and soon IE8 I made myself a cable terminated in 1/4". and I use a DIYMOD 5.5G ipod and teflon VCAP dock of my own design that has RCA outputs on the back, just like the lisa, so I only needed to make 2 very short compact RCA cables.

Iqube will be great if you value transparency over everything else, I have heard the iqube labeled boring, but maybe with UE11 that wont be a problem. the iqube is very much the 'wire with gain' type of amp, has great battery life, nice slick design despite the frustrating battery cover (I actually like the lisa more) so really they are both great, but i'm glad I chose the lisa thats for sure!!!

hi qusp,

thx for your msg. I'd passed last few days reading and reading posts here..... and as you'd said it is simply the best 'no compromises' amp going. it will turn your daily commute into a magical mystery tour. with a SQ that is simultaneously transparent, natural, detailed, accurate, powerful and somehow magical and involving at the same time. This is a VERY difficult trick to pull off, most quality portable amps are a few of these things, but the lisa is the only one I have experienced that manages to have all these qualities that would otherwise seem to be impossible to have at the same time.

so, i think I just have to think how to manage portability. it my only question now.
I'll order Lisa, and after that looking for a small bag to carry it .

thx all for your help


Laurent
post #2288 of 3234
1/31/09 at 10:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by a_tumiwa View Post
skylab, what amps have the most quantity of bass? (not quality)
The ones with a bass boost (FiiO E3, E5, XM4, XM5, etc).
post #2289 of 3234
1/31/09 at 12:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dfkt View Post
The ones with a bass boost (FiiO E3, E5, XM4, XM5, etc).
BINGO! If youw ant an AMP to provide extra bass, you need one with bass boost. The Lisa III has the world's best implemented bass boost, IMO.
post #2290 of 3234
1/31/09 at 9:51pm
Two amps which do not get a lot of exposure anymore but have outstanding bass are:

1. Portaphile V2^2 Maxxed
2. Original Non M Hornet

Neither has a bass boost switch but both have lots of high quality bass impact.
post #2291 of 3234
2/1/09 at 1:24am
The SR71a also has an abundance of bass...maybe a bit much.
post #2292 of 3234
2/1/09 at 8:09am
great review
post #2293 of 3234
2/1/09 at 4:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wolfen68 View Post
The SR71a also has an abundance of bass...maybe a bit much.
The Mustang P-51 ditto, save I think the bass is about right.
post #2294 of 3234
2/1/09 at 5:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylab View Post
I actually had planned to review the E+, but for some reason that I cannot recall, the plan fell through. I should look into that again
Thanks for that Skylab , hope you may get a chance at some point, will look forward to it
post #2295 of 3234
2/2/09 at 9:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kiwirugby View Post
The Mustang P-51 ditto, save I think the bass is about right.
X2
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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