GoVibe V6 announced! - Page 11

Hey sb, I recently installed the AD8620/10 in my V5S and I'm quite impressed with the results, especially at 24V with my external power supply.

Since it now has the on-board charging capabilities, is the V6 then limited to just 12V?

Of course, this was not an issue with the AD8397/AD825 op-amps which accept a maximum of 12V to sound their best.

But since the AD8620/10 play so very well at 24V, it would be a shame to lose this option.

...

Yes, I too would like to know more about this.
I think the 24V Elpac is a major sonic boost to the GV5.
If the new V6 uses the 8620/8610 combo, will it accept the 24V Elpac, or does it's circuitry limit the voltage to 12V regardless?
I really could care less about charging my batteries, since I use my rig at home mostly anyway.

So what I need to know is if the 24V on the V5S with 8620/8610 sounds better than the V6 with 8620/8610 and 12V. Either one would be low gain, and used with IEMs only.

I am an IEM user, 32ohm Triple.Fi, which sound incredible with the standard GV5+Elpac.

Any insight would be helpful, and I have e-mailed Norm the same questions.

Please let us know what Norm says, IPPJ, since I have been too lazy to e-mail him myself!

NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! Go-Vibe V6m is here!

(pre-P.S.: DexDexter, you wanted to know what Norm said, here's the following, buddy.... enjoy!)

Without Norm's endorsement, I have now coined the breed of a new amp: the Go-Vibe V6m

Ok, what might you ask is the V6m? To put it quite simply, it's just the name that I (me, myself, and I alone) have given to a version of the V6 that was the culmination of about 15 to 20 e-mails, back and forth between Norm and I, trying to get the perfect little amp built for me. Now, don't take the name V6m as official, because it's not (at least for the time being). The "m" only stands for "modified". It's just what I like to call my little wonder amp that will be arriving tomorrow*.

I like 24V. Plain and simple. Ever since I made my 18V batery back, I discovered how much better the original GV5 (with the LM series opamps) sounded with the higher voltages. And the Elpac 24V adaptor revealed an even higher range of fidelity with its greater power output and low ripple.

The V6 will not work with 24V because of the battery recharging circuit. Neither would the original 8397/825 opamps. But now with the 8620/8610 combo, they will run on 24V. And most any opamp will perform its best with its maximum allowable power provided to it.

OK, so again, what is the V6m??? The nicknamed "V6m", for the same $85, will be my own custom V6 withOUT a battery charging circuit, but that WILL run on 24V using the same Elpac 24v DC linear regulated power supply with 2.5mm DC jack (which is the same one used with the Go-Vibe V5 and V5S models; model #WM080-1950-760) and with a Blue LED light. I ordered mine with low gain, but I'm sure you can get this same configuration with high gain as well.

I don't personally care about having the rechargeability factor (especially if it comes at the expense of better quality sound), and portability isn't much of an issue anymore, since I listen to my rig at home most often... if I need to, I will use an Alkaline 9V like I always have. According to Norm, the V6 has a superior sound circuit with "superior caps" over the V5. The V6 amp is smaller than the V5, has better input/output/volume pot locations on the front than the V5 (in my opinion of course). (With the V5, the LOD cable often gets in the way of turning the volume pot).

So why didn't I just get the V5S or V5 with 8620/8610 opamps? For all the reasons mentioned above.

So before you decide to get a V5, which doesn't have a recharging circuit anyway, perhaps consider this modified model, if Norm will make one for you (a V5 with the 8620/8610 opamps will cost slightly less than the V6)... tell Norm you talked to Phil or read my comments on Head-Fi "and would like to know if you can get the same V6m (a V6 with a Blue LED, with no battery circuit that will run on a 24V Elpac with a 2.5mm DC jack input)".
I'm sure (but don't quote me on this) he would be happy to make one for you. This might work out to be a very good selling item for him. (The V5S is different and would be good for you if you plan on op-amp rolling.) He's such a great guy anyway (as I've known since my GV5 purchase experience), I have to give him so many kudos for accomodating me like this. He doesn't charge for fancy pad printed cases; just excellent sounding, elegant and simply designed, low cost headphone amps. And even better, he didn't charge me extra for this modification (perhaps because I'm costing him less money in amp parts, or perhaps it's just because he's an excellent guy that knows he has my repeat business for life).

It seems this configuration of V6 might quickly replace the V5 with 8620/8610 opamps (not the V5S).

So if you have recently placed an order, you might want to ask Norm if you can change your orders quickly.
Please don't overwhelm the guy with e-mails though. I will receive the amp tomorrow, and will answer any questions you might have based on sound quality and performance.

*Norm is aware that I am choosing to call it this, and A) he has made no official endorsement of me doing so, B) has never given me written or verbal permission to announce this custom modified amp by the name of "V6m", and C) any plans to add this particular modified V6 model to his already stellar line-up of portable amplifiers in not guaranteed to be forthcoming.

PJ

Finally!

I think I asked the same question on three different threads and it took your persistent e-mails for me to have the answer.

Sounds most promising, IPPJ! Thank you!

Just the parts for a V5 probably runs around $30, and then you have to add in labor and profit.

$55 is a steal for V5's.

Question???

Why are line outs 2x the price?

Totally agree about the V5 being an incredible value.

But some line outs sell for less. Qables are quite reasonable, with their Performance Line starting around 27 EURO.

As for the more expensive ones out there, first off, it's a niche market. Next, they are quite labor intensive to construct. Finally, like all higher-end cables, they are marketed with the aura of being something special. Of course, whether it's true or not is quite another thing altogether.

I just wanted to add that this is precisely the sort of thing that sets Norm apart from the pack. He listens to the needs of his customers, and then does whatever it takes to accommodate them (even if it takes 20 e-mails from our intrepid IPPJ ).

In fact, I see that Norm has now officially added the V6M to his roster of killer amps!

Congrats, Phil, you done good!

WOOHOO!

I guess Norm took my suggestion to heart. It is now officially called the V6m... and I can say I named it. I told him it seemed to have worked for the Hornet, so might as well go with it, right?

However, with Norm, you aren't paying exorbanant prices for fancy pad printing.

Norm has always been a great guy and does in fact serve the needs of his customers.

I received my V6m today at work (as I had him ship it to me International FedEx Priority overnight, which is very expensive at $47, but with my FedEx discount it's still $26), and will let you all know tonight how it sounds. I'm looking forward to listening to it.

I'm honored to be the very first to audition this new amp model.

And thanks again, Norm, for all your hard work and effort.

P.S. Does anyone know why on the V6 the input/outputs are not gold plated like on the V5? Are these just regular jacks, or are they silver plated?

They look the same to me. Time for yet another e-mail to your new best friend!

Yes they are, my mistake. I must have been looking under poor lighting at the V5. Oh well.

Would you like a review of the V6m + Elpac??? Oooh.. Oooh.. I bet you would... Well, you'll have to wait a little bit longer until I fully audition it, but here are my initial comments.

Incredible sound... absolutely superb. Much fuller bottom end than the V5+Elpac with LM ops... Also has much better soundstage and pinpointing (imaging) of instruments... Midrange is livelier... Top end (treble) is clean and super smooth, not quite as forward as the V5+Elpac with LM ops... Also, IEMs don't seem to distort when using iPod EQ settings with V6m+Elpac as they did with the V5+Elpac (or just iPod headphone output alone, which is a given, unless you decrease the decibels of your music files -- see my sig). But noone should feel the need to use any iPod EQ settings with this amp... at least not with the IEMs I'm using (triple.fi).

I'll comment more later, but so far, the V6M is clearly the winner of the pack in my book. When an opamp can handle 24V, feeding it less will yield a poorer performance... and it does... just put a 9V alkaline in there and listen for yourself (compare 9V alkaline to 24V Elpac). If I'm not mistaken, you should also be able to use a dual 9V battery pack (18V) with this V6M as well -- the same as you could with the V5 (BUT BE SAFE AND CONSULT NORM FIRST... I AM NOT LIABLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS IF I AM INCORRECT). I have provided instructions somewhere in this forum months ago on how to make one.

Happy purchasing!!!

how does the bass sound on them?

The bass is incredible. I just did a side by side swap & swap with the V5+Elpac and the V6m+Elpac... I was totally floored at how inadequate the V5 sounded. This hobby never ceases to amaze me. Things just get better and better sounding, and when you think you've taken a headphone/IEM (in my case, the triple.fi) as far as you can go with it, you get proven wrong again and again -- at least I do.

The V6(m)'s op-amps are in a totally different class or league than the V5's series LM chips. The V6 even brings back to life music that sounds rather dead, like some 80's music, a particular example would be Eric Clapton's Behind The Sun -- albeit a great album, it never had the oomph I wanted it to have... until now. The V6m does wonders for every genre of music, but it has a superb all around pleasingly balanced frequency response, with a stronger bottom end, moderate but lively midrange, and the highs aren't harsh at all, and present themself just as they need to be... looking back at the V5, it sounds like sometimes the highs were a bit too over-exaggerated (but not too badly). Those who primarily listen to Classical or Jazz are in for a real treat. That's certainly not to say it doesn't excel in other genres as well, it just happens to bring magic to those two genres especially.

For $85, this is one HELL OF AN AMP, and I would bet it easily competes with amps four times the price of it, and possibly even bests them. You will want to make sure you have a good headphone/IEM that excels in the upper-frequency ranges (even though that could be said about all the frequency ranges). If you don't have a pair of headphones/IEMs that doesn't perform well in the upper registers, this amp might come across as just slightly too bass heavy for you.... personally, I wouldn't want a pair of headphones with lackluster or rolled-off highs in the first place, so it's a non-issue for me.

This amp just kicks some serious ass, in ALL areas.... especially instrument separation and localization, and well defined soundstages. From top to bottom, the V6m (using the 24V Elpac with it of course) could remain in my collection for many years to come and I would be a very happy camper.

I'd be very interested to hear a comparison of GV5 vs GV6 - both with the AD8620/8610 op/amps and the Elpac 24v. I guess no one has such a combination yet.