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Should I get a "The Tomahawk" or a "The Hornet"?

post #1 of 37
9/26/08 at 8:18pm
Thread Starter 
Hello all!

Well, I'm just a newbie here, so I'd like to ask for the opinion of the vets and for those people who already had the chance to test the two of them:

Should I get a RSA Tomahawk or a RSA Hornet to use it with my iPod? I'm expecting anyday now my ALO Cryo Dock to get home, along with my UE Triple.fi. I have also ordered a Corda 2Move from Jan to basicly use with my notebook and my iPod, but I was reading tons of reviews and decided to search for the RSA portable amps, since they must sound great, and they seem to be much easier to carry during long trips.

My quetions is: the Tomahawk seems to be VERY small, but no volume control right? The Hornet, on the other hand, is a bit bigger, but has volume control. Are the extra $75 worth it, talking about SQ? And, is the Hornet so much bigger that can annoy me when carrying it?

I'm really tempted to buy a Hornet. but I'm really worried about the "portable" issue of it.

Thanks in advance guys!
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post #2 of 37
9/26/08 at 8:26pm
Both amps have a volume control.
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post #3 of 37
9/26/08 at 9:27pm
And according to some reviewers, the Hornet is way better than the Tomahawk... And both are really small, let's say, half the size of the 2Move (but don't trust me, I had never see them)
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post #4 of 37
9/26/08 at 10:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Punnisher View Post
Both amps have a volume control.
Thanks, I thought the Tomahawk had only a low and high gain control.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jma790 View Post
And according to some reviewers, the Hornet is way better than the Tomahawk... And both are really small, let's say, half the size of the 2Move (but don't trust me, I had never see them)
Thanks jma790! I have read some reviews too, but some of them seemed very relative to me. Also, I wanted to get opinions from people from the Head-fi forums

For the head-fi'ers who own a Hornet: is it worth extra $75? My guess so far: Yes, it is
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post #5 of 37
9/26/08 at 10:18pm
To my ears i prefer the Tomahawk, but the general consensus is that the Hornet has a better overall sound. The BIG plus for the Tomahawk is the crazy long battery life-2x AAA's lasts for months.
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post #6 of 37
9/26/08 at 10:28pm
I don't have a Hornet. I love my Tomahawk. My Pico is the best...
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post #7 of 37
9/26/08 at 10:28pm
Haven't spent much time with the Hornet, but I love my Tomahawk with IEMs. The low gain setting allows for a large usable volume range for their low impedance. And as nickyboyo points out, you only have to change the batteries like twice a year, even with regular use.
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post #8 of 37
9/26/08 at 10:32pm
Thread Starter 
Guys... you're making my life harder

Kidding, thanks for all your inputs. The Tomahawk's portable/battery point is really a BIG plus for it.

But what keeps bumping inside my head is if I'll lose too much SQ for those $75. I think I'll take a loooooong time to make up my mind
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post #9 of 37
9/27/08 at 4:29am
Me vote for The Tomahawk.
A really nice little portable amplifier, with battery life matched by few (if any).
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post #10 of 37
9/27/08 at 9:28am
Hard to beat the lovable Tommy for portable use. Unreal battery life (300+ hours), high/low gain, yet it has a volume control and crazy small size (about the size of pack of cigarettes or of a Cowon D2). SQ is wonderful with IEMs. What's not to love?
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post #11 of 37
9/27/08 at 10:58am
I had both -- the Tomahawk is very, very close to Hornet sound-wise and power-wise -- if blindfolded, you probably could not tell them apart when listening -- the battery life and size of Tomahawk makes it a better deal for me.
It also easily drives full-size cans like HD580 and others.
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post #12 of 37
9/27/08 at 12:17pm
I have compared The Hornet, Tomahawk, Pico, SR71, etc. Of the ones I listed the SR71 was the best sounding but it only has one gain setting that Ray has to set up and battery life w/ 2 9 volts is about 65 hours.

The Tomahawk has the longest battery life and it is the smallest. But I prefer the sound of The Hornet versus the Tomahawk. BTW the Tomahawk needs lots of burn in.
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post #13 of 37
9/27/08 at 12:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by silverrain View Post
I had both -- the Tomahawk is very, very close to Hornet sound-wise and power-wise -- if blindfolded, you probably could not tell them apart when listening -- the battery life and size of Tomahawk makes it a better deal for me.
It also easily drives full-size cans like HD580 and others.
Thanks a lot silverrain! And to all of you guys! I think I've made my mind for th Tomahawk. IT will be a lot easier to be shipped to Brazil also, because it doesn't come with the wall adaptor. Knowing that it only takes 2 AAA's is also great!
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post #14 of 37
9/27/08 at 12:24pm
I am waiting on my tomahawk to arrive. I wanted the smallest amp possible, with low low gain for iems.
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post #15 of 37
9/27/08 at 1:08pm
I never like the Tomahawk. I never noticed any sound changes, just a big volume boost. One good think about it is that it kills the hiss on crappy sources.
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