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I want to have faith in Ray Samuels Audio... but I just don't - Page 18

post #256 of 267
8/10/08 at 8:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaron313 View Post
It seems as though everybody thinks Ray's products sound "incredibly" something.
Not unlike many other manufacturers. Some have a "love 'em or hate 'em" sound. Others maintain a more middle ground. No harm in being either!
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post #257 of 267
8/10/08 at 9:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zanth View Post
Not unlike many other manufacturers. Some have a "love 'em or hate 'em" sound. Others maintain a more middle ground. No harm in being either!
Could you cite some of those other manufacturers? I am curious.
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post #258 of 267
8/10/08 at 9:22pm
For amps?

Grado
Antique Sound Lab
AKV
Sugden
Headamp
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post #259 of 267
8/11/08 at 1:56pm
I really do like Ray and I think he turns out a good product.

However, it is just not my kind of sound. I really liked the new SR-71a prototype, but I happened to see a great deal on a Pico and took it. The new SR-71 will probably be out of my reach ATM for the limited production first run.

I will say that the Raptor seems to do wonders for Sennheisers IMO. Then again, that is not my kind of headphone...took me 2x's of owning them to finally understand that regardless of cable or burn in, that they are just not for me.

The B52 seems to do, at the very least, fairly good with ANY headphone I attached to it, but I will say that the balanced seems to be just that much better. Some headphones seemed to do much better than others.

The portable amps are nice and do have a lush sort fo tubey quality to them, but to me they seem to have less treble presence than I like.

I will say that he is very open with allowing anyone to mess with any of his gear at meets and that is a very good gesture. Some people can be very picky/finiky about their stuff.

Different Strokes for different Folks.
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post #260 of 267
8/13/08 at 1:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr_Junesequa View Post
If I have a problem with my ipod, I take it up with the manufacturer.

If I have problems with the way a product is made or whether it is 'fit for purpose' I return it.

good or bad design elements? i see no build diagrams on internal pictures...hardly a hint from ray and pages and pages of rambling. This thread is nothing more than a sowing circle!
Actually one the purposes of this forum is to discuss audio gear, what we like and what we do not like. Just so you know we even talk about ipods as well. Many members depend on user reviews and comments to help steer buying decisions. Unfortunately the OP really still did not get his question fully answered. Just that the raptor is an OTL design and some of them struggle with low impedance headphones, some do not btw.

Quote:
Originally Posted by krmathis View Post
Yeah, Ray like to keep the origin (vendor, model, ..) of his chips a secret. Guess thats part of his business model.
there is really nothing special and most DIYers could tell you the chips that are used in most amps. I think the red polish and sanding the chip thing does more to hurt than help RSA but that is just me. This is just a practice in the portable amps I believe why not obscure all parts used or glue the case shut or encase it in glue like grado if the circuit was really secret. Most experienced DIYers can tell what each of the portables amps are and what they owe there lineage to. There are few truly unique amp designs out there just variations on a recipe.
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post #261 of 267
8/13/08 at 9:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaron313 View Post
It seems as though everybody thinks Ray's products sound "incredibly" something.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zanth View Post
Not unlike many other manufacturers. Some have a "love 'em or hate 'em" sound. Others maintain a more middle ground. No harm in being either!
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaron313 View Post
Could you cite some of those other manufacturers? I am curious.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zanth View Post
For amps?

Grado
Antique Sound Lab
AKV
Sugden
Headamp
Could you, please, also cite some of the manufacturers that have a "love 'em or hate 'em" sound?

Because, after reading tis thread, I get the impression that it's only Ray Samuels' amps that sound completely different in comparison with all the other amps.

If this is correct, then either something is wrong with all the non-RSA amps... or with the RSA amps.
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post #262 of 267
8/13/08 at 10:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jp11801 View Post
there is really nothing special and most DIYers could tell you the chips that are used in most amps. I think the red polish and sanding the chip thing does more to hurt than help RSA but that is just me. This is just a practice in the portable amps I believe why not obscure all parts used or glue the case shut or encase it in glue like grado if the circuit was really secret. Most experienced DIYers can tell what each of the portables amps are and what they owe there lineage to. There are few truly unique amp designs out there just variations on a recipe.
So he is just fooling himself.
Then it sure don't make any sense adding red nail polish to the chips. But to each their own, I guess..
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post #263 of 267
8/13/08 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenhorn View Post
Could you, please, also cite some of the manufacturers that have a "love 'em or hate 'em" sound?

Because, after reading tis thread, I get the impression that it's only Ray Samuels' amps that sound completely different in comparison with all the other amps.

If this is correct, then either something is wrong with all the non-RSA amps... or with the RSA amps.
Your quote contains the "love em or hate em" not the middle ground guys.
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post #264 of 267
8/13/08 at 11:09am
Zanth, if I understood correctly, further to aaron313's question, you have already given examples of "middle ground" amps (Grado, Antique Sound Lab, AKV, Sugden Headamp).

This is why I asked now for examples of "love 'em or hate 'em" category of amps.
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post #265 of 267
8/13/08 at 11:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by krmathis View Post
So he is just fooling himself.
Then it sure don't make any sense adding red nail polish to the chips. But to each their own, I guess..
exactly, it's up the the manufacture to to or not do I have a phono pre amp (not RSA) that did the same thing, silly really but it's up to them.
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post #266 of 267
8/13/08 at 11:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenhorn View Post
Zanth, if I understood correctly, further to aaron313's question, you have already given examples of "middle ground" amps (Grado, Antique Sound Lab, AKV, Sugden Headamp).

This is why I asked now for examples of "love 'em or hate 'em" category of amps.
No you misunderstand and this is due to my sloppy sentence structure. My last post was clarifying my previous post. I listed "love em or hate em" amps because that is what Aaron was asking about.
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post #267 of 267
8/13/08 at 11:41am
Ah, OK. Thanks!
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