GoVibe V6 announced! - Page 6

but with 6171s it is about 60 with alkaline
I guess we can't have everything.

TBH I still believe that the best compromise is 8610/20 chips for sound+power requirments...I dunno why they got phased from the govibe design.

By the way, does the whole "hi-gain/low-gain" thing have an effect on sound quality? The reason I ask is because I got the original V5 when Norm said there where no other options (at the time he obviously didn't think he'd get hooked on his old hobby again) , so I was surprised today to see that there is a low-gain option of it. All my headphones are low impedance cans.

Also, there is no word about the V6 coming in different gain versions or with amp rolling options. I won't jump on ship too quick this time (if I even do) and wait to see if Norm decides to provide other options later.

The internal charger option really doesn't do anything for me anymore, since when I bought the V5 I bought a Powerex charger and two rechargeables. So I just swap. And after having paid $30-ish for that charger, I want to use it! If I save to purchase the V6, I won't get a wall adapter anyway (I doubt it will be included) since I have the rechargeables. And if I do get it, then I will have to make a new sticker for it (remember this? http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=198787)

But anyway, I'd appreciate it if someone addressed my concerns (those in the first paragraph). My low-impedance cans are MS-1, HD555, and will soon get a pair of V-Moda Vibes.

Edit: I typed Powermax when I meant Powerex. Fixed.

I think definitely low gain - high gain would bring too much noise into those headphones. After all, you want low noise floor, and low gain should give enough power and volume to drive them adequately.

And then he was gone again! No more Mr. Blindbuy

*sniffle* *sniffle* well he had his day in the sun... He'll be back, rise again like the Pheonix, only to vanish into a pile of ashes! Btw, 3 more posts and I'm in the 500+ club! woohoo!

And here was I thinking he struck a deal and turned over a new leaf...oh, Blindb*y, we hardly knew ye!

Bahahahaha!!! I'm sorry, but that struck me as....funny! Aahaha!

Back to the Go-Vibe V6 .....

A few weeks ago, I received the Go-Vibe V5 I ordered with AD8397/AD825. I'm a big fan of the Go-Vibe V5 with LM6172/1 (I bought two of them, and they get regular use). The sound of the Go-Vibe V5 with AD8397/825 has a substantially more spacious, and cleaner, more coherent soundstage than with LM6172/1, a substantially fuller, riper spectral balance and more lifelike mids, timbre, textures, and more control in the highs - which are more natural and lovely. My OTHER amps are a PPA with Discrete Buffer and a high-bias M^3. The V5 with AD8397/825 takes another very nice step toward the authority and finer points of what those amps do really well. For one thing, I am far more impressed with how the V5/LM6172 drives my lower Z phones (Grado SR225, KSC75, Ety ER4S) than with how it drives my higher Z phones (HD580). I am substantially more impressed with how the V5/AD8397 drives them all, and especially so the HD580. With the ER4S, I'm getting an appreciably fuller, richer sound with more finesse/control in the highs - the most beautiful I've heard the ER4S sound (regular gain version, BTW). For the portably-minded, the sound of the V5/8397 running from a 9V battery is quite a bit closer to its higher voltage sound than it was with the LM6172 - based on the operational capabilities of the different opamps AND that the voltage difference is lower as well (max V is 12V instead of 24V). In an email to me during my purchase of the V5 with AD8397/AD825, Norm wrote that the V5 in this configuration has a current draw of 28mA at 10V, giving an alkaline battery a usable runtime of less than 20 hours, and about 8 hours for a 230 mAh NiMH rechargable battery.

So, the Go-Vibe circuit uses the AD8397 in a way which harnesses its power to produce a really beautiful sound across a variety of phones. I'd anticipate that, the V6, using the same opamps, will be at least as good as the V5/AD8397, which is a noteworthy improvement over the V5/LM6172. My educated GUESS (knowing Norm) is that he'll find some way to improve the SQ of the V6 over the V5/8397 he's already released (maybe some supporting component settings more optimized for the new opamps - along the lines of the mini^3-ification of the PINT) - again, only my guess. The only downside to the V5/AD8397 is that, having taken care of all of my 24V needs, I've recently built a 12V battery pack and purchased a 12V wall wart for this newer V5. Given the added SQ and listening enjoyment this amp delivers every time I hear my music through it, I find it to be worth it. YMMV, as usual (and expected).

For you gals and guys who have not had a chance to hear the Go-Vibe V5 with the AD8397/AD825, I'm anticipating that you've got a real treat to look forward to with the upcoming V6.

dw:
If you ever find yourself with a Go-Vibe V6, I'd love to read your comparison of it to your BIG Xenos sometime.

*sigh* - can't we just make peace and let Andrea stay? I know he can be irritating and over zealous - but he has some good experience and expertise on the topic - and everyone who reads his posts know to read them for bias. His opinions might be outspoken, but opinions nonetheless.

Back on: Great to hear that the 8397 makes such a difference - guess it will give the govibe the 'wow' that others report with tomahawk+hornet etc.
mseed faithamp uses this one too as do quite a few others.

Further question: What difference does the grounding opamp make? Is there a difference in using a 8610 or AD825 or OPA627 in ground? I've never quite undrestood this. I realise it is something about getting rid of 'excess current' I think in one email 'dumping current' and the opamp handles more than a TLE virtual ground railsplitter. I take it that a dual opamp in ground will do its job better......but what is the point of the ground opamp, why would you choose an opamp for ground and does the choice make much difference? Or are you choosing it based on its pure specs to do what it does?

On a side note - the audio straight from my audio player sounds a bit more transparent and open with better 'staging' and detail than through the line out and govibe so I really fancy ditching it for this one. I emailed norm but once again no reply to my message - but I guess he is busy - a la xin research mode.

Norm and I go way back. I never pass on his new products as support of him as a good guy and the good stuff he makes.
I am sure the credit card will be heading north soon and I will let you know how they compare. Bear in mind, of course, the
huge dollar difference in the amps when you read the comparison.

I'll start out by saying that I don't understand the mechanism by which the ground channel opamp has this effect, but I've got the ear of a particularly good listener (not me, BTW) and a statement from amb as to the effect of mixing Left&Right and Ground opamps if not done well. My good listener also thought that mixing opamps, with one type in the L/R channel and another in the ground would cause no difference, "How could it?" So, I sent him a single opamp which matched the pair he had in L/R, and it surprised him to hear a notable improvement in the sound quality. What's behind this observed effect? On an M^3 thread, where folks were piping in on their favorite "to taste" opamp mixes, amb posted that, having differing opamps in L&R and G can increase the distortion produced by the amp - which, some folks ears will prefer. This is why you normally see ground channel opamps in 3-channel designs chosen for their similarity to the L/R opamp (often a dual channel / single channel of the same kind). Examples: AD8620 (L/R), AD8610(G) - OR - LM6172(L/R), LM6171(G). Or two opamps in the same close family ( OPA637 (L&R), OPA627(G) ). Mixes, such as AD823(L/R), AD843 (G), or AD8397(L/R), AD825(G) need to be done with some reasonable spec matching to not introduce distortion. As I started out saying, I don't understand the mechanism by which that happens. I've got an observation of it from an ear I trust, and I've got a cause of that observation identified by an audio designer I consider to be "in the know". Given amb's visible history, since he posted that on a public thread, it is more likely than not that he's tried it and made measurements.

My "other amps" cost me $500-ish apiece, so I understand what spending 2-6X the money for an amp can add to it. No, I, personally, am asking for your comparison of the performance aspects of the Xenos and Go-Vibe V6, and where you'd say that the additional money is going with the Xenos, if that's how you end up hearing it.

Well, in the case of the 1HA-EPC, the extra money certainly in part goes to the discrete output devices. Also, the L-ion battery, included charger, and crossfeed capability add into the mix.

Sbulack: I will absolutely post the comparison when I get #6.
I think Skylab has a better understanding as he has compared far more portable amps than I, but I will post it nontheless.