TTVJ Portable Millett - ringing issue? - Page 3

It won't ring unless it comes in contact with a hard surface, so walking around you would never hear it.

In my opinion, this is the creme-de-la-creme or portable/desktop amps. Good looking, great sounding, especially with Grados. Depending on your imod, though, I would probably just plug the Etys straight in.

The synergy of this amp with Grados has already been noted. It works well with Etymotic IEMs because they are not very sensitive - so the gain is not too high, and the tube rush is not at all an issue with Etymotics for me. You can hear it while nothing is playing if you listen carefully for it - but it's a good deal quieter than the sounds made within your own body or caused by your own motion, wearing Etymotics. The level of the iMod line out plus the gain of the TTVJ Portable Millett keeps the volume pot at between 7:30-9:30 O'Clock when using Etymotics and around 8-10 O'Clock with the Grados. The pot has a very nice feel to it, so I find it easy to make fine adjustments using it to get the level "just right". The only time I ever had to put the pot so low that I got channel imbalance is with Shure SE530's - which, for their really high sensitivity, aren't a good match for the TTVJ Portable Millett anyway.

Used transportably (used as a stationary amp in multiple places, and being transported between them) it works really well. I have used the TTVJ Portable Millett using an iMod + LOD cable. As long as the phones used are not really sensitive (118 dB/mW is WAY too sensitive for use with this combination, closer to 100 dB/mW is OK with it) it works well, IMO. And I now use this amp in a stationary rig with an iMod + VCap dock as source, which is a gorgeous match for my Grados (ALO-Modded SR225).

I don't use the TTVJ amp while I am carrying it around (I only transport it between stationary places), so I have no comment about the ringing while walking around.

I mentioned Image X10 as working with it, which like ER4 are not too sensitive so tube rush was a not a big problem like with SE530. Not only do Grados do well with it, but so do Denon and Ultrasone and HD600.

Let me not forget to mention the TTVJ & HD650

I'll add one more full-size phone that I know from experience works well in a stationary rig with the the TTVJ Portable Millett amp and a good source: the HD650. I had my Bedside rig all set up with the TTVJ and the HD650 - and was loving it. Then along came the Caliente which has such a marvelous synergy with the HD650 to my ear that I pretty much permanently paired them up, and have now moved them to my main rig with my best source and IC. But before that, the TTVJ and the HD650 were quite good together - just not as jaw-droppingly gorgeous together as the Caliente/HD650 pairing. At this point, I've got the SR225 in the Bedside rig with the TTVJ - and LOVing it.

I'm happy to tell you why I do what I do, though, when I tell you why, it won't be very satisfying. My IC is a VD Nite 2.0, which is VERY heavy and stiff. It is relatively easy for me to "sculpt" it into shape to go into the input of the TTVJ, which is on the rear of the amp, leaving the front of the amp unencumbered by that thick, heavy, stiff IC as I tweak the volume pot to the "perfect level".
Also, I purchased the SR-71A primarily for use at work, and it is a whole lot easier to leave it in the computer bag that I use to carry my laptop to and from work than it is to set it up every night at home, and then to take it down every morning to carry it back to work.
My favorite work phone is the Yuin PK1 (for a combination of SQ and ergonomic reasons) - and the SR-71A, to my ear, is a noticeably better match for the PK1 than the TTVJ. I am also really LOVing the sound from my Bedside rig with the TTVJ and the SR225.

It may, in fact, make my Bedside rig better to replace the TTVJ with the SR-71A from a SQ point of view. I haven't done the required VD Nite "sculpting" to try that yet. But given the inconvenience of setting up and taking down the SR-71A every work day versus leaving the TTVJ permanently settled in one rig, and the SR-71A used at work (with both rigs making my ears REALLY happy), I'm not likely to choose that as a listening solution that I'd like to live with.

I HAVE used the SR-71A with the iMod/VCap Dock using a Zynsonix VRay-Prime mini-to-mini, which is VERY convenient - and, with the HD650's that I was primarily using then, the iMod/VCap Dock -> SR-71A -> HD650 produced some seriously delicious sound for me to immerse myself in. So, my pairing of the iMod/VCap Dock with the TTVJ is NOT the result of anything wanting in the iMod/VCap Dock - SR-71A pairing. It's more related to what else I have and have grouped together and use in other rigs, and the ergonomics and convenience of using my 2nd best IC, and trying to minimize the amount of time I spend setting up and taking down rigs every day. The particular groupings of gear items that I am currently using in my main, bedside and work rigs seem to be optimizing my SQ/ergonomic listening experience across the board at this point.

The iMod/VCap Dock - SR-71A pairing is wonderful! So is the pairing of that same source with the TTVJ - and especially so when the phones are the ALO-modded SR225.

I got rid of 95% of the ringing by putting blue tack in a bubble gum wrapper and pressing this around the tubes.. the tubes do not generate any heat so this is fine... works great this way as a portable.