Which is better The HeadAmp Pico or Predator?

Good luck getting a definitive answer to that question. Pages and pages of the thread below have answered little.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/pre...s-pico-280735/

[Insert popcorn-eating avatar]

just buy both and sell the one you don't like!

It is really up to your own ears. Who can tell you what is better for you when in the higher performing portable amps as these are? I am sure though that people can give "their" impression of the sound with the source you have mentioned but ultimately that doesn't mean one is better than the other. You may be able to decipher from this what would fit your desired needs.

Neither. Both products are optimally used with a computer, not with an iMod.

Unless of course you also plan to use one of them with a computer. In that case, yeah you should probably buy both.

This is so true, one should keep this in mind before reading any reviews!

Not exactly, he/she could get the Pico w/out DAC for use with his/her Imod.

Are you implying, that a Pico WITH DAC (but using only the AMP) - will not produce the same quality as just the basic Pico with NO DAC??

I'm a bit confused by the comment about Pico not ideal for the Imod. Is someone able to explain this a bit further please?

I am on the waiting list for a Pico WITH DAC - even though I will only use it with my Imod 95% of the time. Am I making a mistake?

Thanks

The DAC in both the Pico and the Predator are made to be connected via USB. Your iMod will not output USB so you couldn't use the DACs. You would only be able to use the amp portion so you might as well not get a DAC/amp combo unless you plan on using it with a computer as well as the iMod. If you're not going to be doing that, then just get a portable amp without a DAC so you're not paying extra for something you can't use.

No you are not making a mistake. Pico with DAC with have the same exact quality of sound from using the amp as Pico with no DAC.

I meant that since both products come with a DAC, they are much better put to use in a computer setup. You can also use them only as amps from any analog source (like an iMod), but they won't be fully used that way. If you're buying a Pico w/ DAC to use with an iMod 95% of the time, IMO you're barking up the wrong tree. I mean, sure, you can do that. But if you're listening from a computer 5% of the time when the Pico or Predator have been optimized for that scenario...

Actually this is incorrect. Half the sound quality of the Pico is derived from the combination of the Wolfson WM8740 DAC + AD1896 up-sampler (DAC section). The other half comes from the AD8397 op-amp (amp section). The Pico as amp alone will be very dependent on whatever source it's plugged into.

I'd venture to guess most people who might use the Pico as amp only will not hear close to the same sound quality they would if they used the Pico w/ DAC off their computer with lossless files, as the DAC section in the Pico eclipses a lot of the inexpensive digital sources commonly available today.

In other words, the Pico w/ DAC, will, in most cases, sonically outperform the Pico lined up with most DAPs, especially if those DAPs don't have lossless files on them. Or, if you're just plain weird like me, not everyone might use a DAP with the Pico, but a higher-end non-portable source, like a CD player, in which case the Pico amp from that source might outperform the Pico w/ DAC. Case in point: my former Arcam FMJ CD33. I might as well just say it now, my Arcam's DAC section clearly thrashed the Pico's DAC section when I compared them.

So you are basically saying that the pico sound through Picos internal Dac exact the same as throughout imod internal Dac?

no that is not what i am saying. i am saying that if you use amp-only from Pico w/ DAC and amp-only from Pico without DAC, it will be the same thing. please don't twist my words.

If you only use the amp with imod, you can go after the HeadSix and save the rest for more music.

None of them are probably "Better".
They are just two different approaches of the same goal. A small, lightweight and great sounding portable DAC/Amp combination.