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HEADSIX vs. MOVE vs. MINI 3 vs HORNET: Portable Amp Showdown

post #1 of 28
1/8/08 at 3:56am
Thread Starter 
how do you rank them from 1-4? i have a headsix but i'm curious to know if these are worth the upgrade? or is the headsix pretty much on par?
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post #2 of 28
1/8/08 at 4:15am
Well I only have a Mini 3, but I think it's excellent. Theres a high performance version and a long life version. The high performance version (which I have) has different op-amps than the long life version, which as you would imagine doesn't run as long.
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post #3 of 28
1/8/08 at 4:37am
I never tried Hornet, Move or Mini^3, but Headsix definitely my favorite mini amp. So my vote goes to Headsix.
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post #4 of 28
1/8/08 at 4:57am
Poll's are useless. People just vote for what they have.
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post #5 of 28
1/8/08 at 5:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fraseyboy View Post
Poll's are useless. People just vote for what they have.
I'm afraid this is true in this case. I think there aren't enough people out there who have heard all 4 of them.
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post #6 of 28
1/8/08 at 7:11am
Of the four listed I have only heard 3, perhaps one day I will listen to the Headsix.

I wouuld rank three "amps" I have heard as:

1. Mini^3 tied w/ the original Hornet (Non-M)
2. The Hornet "M" (a close second)
3. Move
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post #7 of 28
1/8/08 at 7:40am
I've got both the Move and the Headsix, so I can only compare these two.
While they do sound similar when the Move is in Low Current mode, the High Current setting on the Move is better for my ears with low-impedance cans (SR125s/325i's).
Crossfeed on the Move is a very addictive feature. I have recently auditioned a C.E.C. HD53 v.8 amp with Grados and though the synergy was fantastic, the lack of crossfeed was clearly percieved.
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post #8 of 28
1/8/08 at 8:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrarroyo View Post
Of the four listed I have only heard 3, perhaps one day I will listen to the Headsix.

I wouuld rank three "amps" I have heard as:

1. Mini^3 tied w/ the original Hornet (Non-M)
2. The Hornet "M" (a close second)
3. Move

I also have tried only three of them, but a different three .

My ranking (with a couple of other amps included) is slightly different...
1. Mini^3
2. RSA SR-71
3. Meier Headsix
4. The original Hornet (Non-M)
5. Z-Audio Lambda
6. The Hornet "M"

All are quite close in overall SQ but with distinctively different strengths and weaknesses.

All of this is based on my listening through my rig (FLAC-iRiver H140-cantsleep silver mini-2-mini-AMP-Livewires T1) to my ears. Your results could be quite different.
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post #9 of 28
1/8/08 at 10:13am
I've owned three of the four and rate them:

1) mini3 (HP)
2) move
3) hornetM

As the headsix was defined as less than move by Dr. Meier and I owned the Move, I saw no point in buying the Headsix to confirm it.

Edit: I agree these polls are useless; I doubt that many have tried and certainly much less owned/extensively used all four amps to rank them.
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post #10 of 28
1/8/08 at 11:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by itsborken View Post
I agree these polls are useless; I doubt that many have tried and certainly much less owned/extensively used all four amps to rank them.
Much as I agree that there are few, if any, of us that have all four of the Op's amp suggestions I think the poll and comments are both satisfying the Op's initial curiosity whether he's missing out on much with his headsix.
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post #11 of 28
1/8/08 at 2:15pm
How would the Pico and Predator compares to them?
And the Ibasso P2 and D2..

Only the amp section.
Better or lousier by a big or small margin?
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post #12 of 28
1/8/08 at 3:30pm
Perhaps the review made by Skylab of 26 portable amps might interest you. The final ranking table he made is as follows:

1. Triad Audio Lisa III
2. Qables iQube
2. Larocco Audio Pocket Reference II mk 2
2. Meier Audio MOVE (discontinued)
3. RSA SR71
4. RSA The Hornet “M”
5. Xenos 1HA-EPC (discontinued)
6. RSA Tomahawk
7. Meier Audio Porta Corda III (discontinued)
7. Xin SuperMicro IV
8. Headamp AE-2
9. Go-Vibe 7
10. Leckerton Audio UHA-3
11. Portaphile V2^2
12. mSeed Spirit (discontinued)
12. Mini-Box E
13. Storm B4
14. iBasso P-1 (discontinued)
15. Visely HEA- 1
16. Microshar uAmp107
16. Practical Devices XM4
17. C&C XO
17. iBasso T2
18. Go-Vibe 6 (discontinued)
19. Xtra X-1 Pro
20. Xenos 0HA-REP (discontinued)
20. iBasso T1 (discontinued)
21. Xtra X-1 (discontinued)
22. C&C Box V2
23. Little Dot Micro+ (discontinued)
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post #13 of 28
1/8/08 at 3:54pm
Well, out of all 4, I've only heard the Hornet, so I guess it gets my vote by default. Kind of a ridiculous poll, I mean how many Head-Fiers do you think have actually compared all four of those amps?
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post #14 of 28
1/8/08 at 5:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shopper View Post
I don't know...for me something like the Move is overrated, if truly it has AD8610 opamps amplifying both channels bufferless.
Who cares what opamps are used in an application. The final word is the SQ and ...I think too many people focus on what parts are used rather than what it sounds like. Aesthetics are one thing, but who cares what components are if it SOUNDS good???
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post #15 of 28
1/8/08 at 8:17pm
Wow people REALLY like the Mini3...

Ranking it better than the SR-71 or Hornet which are like 3 times the price? It must be some piece of equipment...

Personally I want to find someone who has a Little Dot II++ or Little Dot MK II and a Mini3 to see what they rank highest.
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