Go-Vibe V7 arrived! - Page 3

OK, well my amp has arrived. I'm at the office so I can't listen to it until I get home later, and I will most certainly post my impressions. The battery does not slide around in there, by the way. It is as snug as a bug in a rug.

It is a nice looking little amp, but I see what the person was saying about how it is easily scratchable. Also, I put the little self-stick soft pads on the bottom that Norm supplies with the amp. I figured, why not... I never really travel with it anyway.

Well, two of the glue dots are thicker than the other two, so the amp wobbles back and forth. Ok, fixed. I just moved one of the dots from the front to the back and vice versa and it seems to be level now.

I have the maxed out package. V7 Max Extra (gain 3) with 9V rechargeable and 12V adaptor.

I am looking forward to trying it with my Denons and my Triple.Fi. Reviews to follow this evening.

Letter to Norm / V7 Max review

Instead of repeating myself, I will just post the letter I sent to Norm. That should give you a fairly good impression of what I think of this amp.

______________________________


Norm,

I received my V7 today. I've been listening to it for an hour and I can't think of anything negative to say about it. You really set the bar high on this one, and I offer you all the praise in the world. This is a real contender among amps that cost significantly more! This amp has 3 times the transparency of the V5 or V6. There is no bass bloat like there was on the V6, and no harsh highs like on the V5. The V7 Max has a much better power output, and I can't hear any distortion like I did on the V5 or V6. The gain of 3 only has a very slight background noise when turned all the way up on the volume dial when there is no music playing, so it still very quiet considering it is not low gain. The detail and soundstage are dramatically improved over the V6. You should really hear it with these Denon AH-D5000. It's quite impressive.

You did a superb job, Norm, and I just wanted to congratulate you and thank you. You provided me with my first ever headphone amp (V5) and my V6 and now my V7 Max. In fact, you've been the only person I've turned to for amps! You have helped me to discover the wonderful world of hi-fi headphone audio, and it's been a pleasure to have trained my ears and learn and grow with your amps. I already have my eyes set on a $1200 Meier Audio amplifier for desktop use, and I would have never known about the necessity of amps if it wasn't for you.

I know you are trying to extend the line of Go-Vibes to another builder, so I have already offered my services to anyone who wishes to use them. I'm sure you remember the logo concepts I came up with for you.

I wish you all the best in the world as you retire from the business and move on to bigger and better things. It's a shame though, because you have really turned the Go-Vibe into a competitive player with this V7. No longer can people think just because the Go-Vibe is inexpensive that it isn't worthy of praise. It's no longer the amp that says "I think I can," rather it is the amp that says "I've climbed over the hill and gone a few miles more!"

Best of luck in all of your future endeavors! You will be missed by many of us in the Head-Fi community.

Kind regards,
Phil

Send him an e-mail. He will mail you one. It has to be a regulated and isolated power supply. It is a 12VDC. I think he sent you a piece of paper that says how many millimeters (mm) the adaptor plug needs to be.

Also, you should get the rechargable 9V NiMH battery. It is a MAHA brand, 200 mAh. (unless of course you had your amp set to no charge, which would be silly because these batteries can charge up to 11.7 volts says Norm.) Otherwise, I would have went with charging off so I could use a regular battery, but the reason above is why I didn't.

Here is the model of the power supply he sent me, so it's obviously the one he recommends. I'm just copying the info off of the label for you. Hope it helps!


CUI Inc.
Switch Mode Power Supply
Model No.: EPAS-101W-12
P/N: DPS120100UPS-P5P-SZ
Input: AC 100-240V, 50-60Hz, 0.3A
____
Output: DC 12V - - - 1.0A

For I.T.E. Use only

Then the UL logo, etc, etc.

Then it has a drawing of the (-) on the outer ring, and the (+) on the center. So it's center pin positive.

0721 A Made in China RoHS

Did some of you not get your V7 yet? I'm surprised we don't have more impressions yet.

Will someone volunteer to send Skylab a V7 Max to review? I would, but I just got it and am not willing to part with it, not until I have a home amp anyway.

I would be surprised if the V7 Max isn't one of the best (if not the best) amps in the $100 - $300 range. Of course, I am basing this on absolutely nothing as I have only listened to a handful of headphone amps. But my ears don't seem to be deceiving me. The one great thing about this amp is it has opened my perception up to sonic transparency. I can't even imagine how transparent an amp like the Opera is.

The sad thing about this is that probably only 25 people will be fortunate enough to own a V7 Max, and 35 people owning the V7 Eco (but only because Norm ordered 10 more Eco boards, and I think he has 9 left for sale).

You think we can convince Norm to stick around long enough to make a V7 Max + DAC? I could only imagine how awesome this thing would be if it had a killer DAC built into it, with top of the line Burr Brown chips.

It's funny... You start out the hobby with cheap IEMs. Then when you get to a Super.Fi 5 pro and an iPod, you think it's the most amazing thing you've ever heard. Almost $3,000 later, I still get thoroughly impressed with each additional purchase. I can't imagine how impressed some of the people here must be who have killer sources and amps. I am fortunate though to not have taken any backwards steps. A lot of people on Head-Fi wind up buying equipment and then regretting their purchases, realizing their older equipment is better than the new stuff. I am lucky that I have made sound, progressive purchasing decisions -- and it's only because of this community!

So the next time you think about purchasing more gear, stop, and donate $20 to Head-Fi first. It's the best investment you could make.