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Is Graham Slee really the only British portable amp manufacturer ?

post #1 of 31
1/16/09 at 7:21pm
Thread Starter 
I am not sure if I even want to purchase an amp, however looking around on UK sites the only portable amp manufacturer I can find in the UK is Graham Slee!! Is he really the only one!?
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post #2 of 31
1/16/09 at 8:18pm
There might be a few DIYers in eBay, so you may want to check there. The Voyager is a very nice sounding unit, give it a listen to find out.
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post #3 of 31
1/17/09 at 12:42pm
I believe he is the only British manufacturer, but there's always Meier Audio in Germany.

Further away there's iBasso in China.

There are others, but these are the only one's I've bought from.

What's your budget.

Steven.
51 years old, discovered good headphones too late in life.
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post #4 of 31
1/17/09 at 4:55pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for those, when I saw Meier Audio I just assumed it was American as they donated to Head-Fi, once again I just assumed iBasso was American.

Well that is just it, I really do not know what my budget is. I would probably have about £350 for a new amp/headphone combo. I would not have a problem with dishing out the cash for a Graham Slee Voyager, but only if the Voyager could power a pair of HD 650's very well.

Also I like the way you ended your last post, I'm very sorry you discovered headphones late
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post #5 of 31
1/17/09 at 8:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apple254 View Post
Thanks for those, when I saw Meier Audio I just assumed it was American as they donated to Head-Fi, once again I just assumed iBasso was American.

Well that is just it, I really do not know what my budget is. I would probably have about £350 for a new amp/headphone combo. I would not have a problem with dishing out the cash for a Graham Slee Voyager, but only if the Voyager could power a pair of HD 650's very well.

Also I like the way you ended your last post, I'm very sorry you discovered headphones late
My iBasso powers my AKG K701's satisfactorily, but I'm not sure about the "very well" part which is why I got the Arietta. There are a few threads here about hard to drive headphones and portable amps and I think the consensus is don't wear your HD650's on the bus.

My portable rig is iPod+LOD + iBasso. I leave the larger headphones at home.

Amazon have HD650's for £180, that'll leave £170 to play with.

Steven.
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post #6 of 31
1/17/09 at 9:18pm
Apple254 please make the time to audition the HD650 and the HD600. Many inlcuding my self prefer the sound of the HD600 which btw is cheaper.

We find the bass on the HD650 to be overpowering, but this is a call only you can make. As far as the voyager contact Graham via his site, he could change the gain of the Vogager to meet your needs. Good luck.
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post #7 of 31
1/18/09 at 4:57pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks both for your advice, I have absolutely no idea where I could test HD's in England. There are not really many places near me that I can think of that would let one test headphones. I guess I could always look at Sennheiser's retailers and have a look around...

Also with the Graham Slee being £175 I guess I could always stretch my budget by another £5 . From reading reviews of the Voyager, I am sure they could drive the HD's reasonably well; I would most certainly hope so at £175 anyway.
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post #8 of 31
1/18/09 at 5:25pm
Well we've got Creek, but they don't do real transportables like Voyager.
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post #9 of 31
1/18/09 at 6:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apple254 View Post
Thanks both for your advice, I have absolutely no idea where I could test HD's in England. There are not really many places near me that I can think of that would let one test headphones. I guess I could always look at Sennheiser's retailers and have a look around...

Also with the Graham Slee being £175 I guess I could always stretch my budget by another £5 . From reading reviews of the Voyager, I am sure they could drive the HD's reasonably well; I would most certainly hope so at £175 anyway.
There used to be HiFi shops in Tottenham Court Road that would let you audition HiFi, but the only one I know of now is Techno Sound in Milton Keynes and they're not cheap by any means. From their web site: "HD650 - Delivery 6-10 Days - £330", which I think is ridiculous, but then I'm not a shop.

I bought my K701's purely on what I read on Head-Fi.

Also, don't forget that the Voyager is an amp. The Corda 3Move and the iBasso D3 are both amp+DAC combo's.

Steven.
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post #10 of 31
1/18/09 at 6:16pm
Thread Starter 
I have been to MK a couple of times, is that shop in Xscape?
I'm quite shocked by that price and I feel VERY sorry for anyone who bought them from there. I guess the reason I was looking at the Voyager si because it is in the UK and I would be spending the amount of money as advertised on the internet, rather than paying import tax which is a real bitch. Would the D3 perform as well as the Voyager amp wise?
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post #11 of 31
1/18/09 at 6:23pm
i do believe my good friend lisnalee had his voyager at the same time as his 650's maybe he could comment on their ability to drive them?
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post #12 of 31
1/18/09 at 6:49pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you very much Quaddy. Sent him a private message :K701smile:
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post #13 of 31
1/18/09 at 7:00pm
If you can get yourself here then Graham Slee will have a stand:
Sound & Vision - The Bristol Show - Home

I myself will be there (and hoping the HD800 will be as well )

If you live in West, West, West Greater London, I will receive the GS Novo from the loaner program on this forum on Thursday so you could always check out my T115 and the Novo on my limited Edirol UA-25
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post #14 of 31
1/18/09 at 7:23pm
Thread Starter 
Unfortunately I will not be able to get there. I will be in school! And I live in North, North, North Surrey, so it looks like a no-go. I have read many Voyager reviews, I am sure it would be fine. Then again I should look at iBasso D3's. I wanted an Amp/DAC originally So I will just have to pay the import tax I guess
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post #15 of 31
1/18/09 at 7:45pm
Apple254 just replied to your pm but thought i'd post something here as well.

I had the voyager for about 6 months last year hooked up to an imod and vcap dock . It was mainly used with the livewires but tried it with the HD650 as well. IMO its does an ok job with them but it really lacks the punch and detail separation that you get with a home amp. You really need to crank the volume dial way up to get a decent level of sound with them. At the time i had mine it was a definite sound upgrade from the rsa tomahawk, but since then my eyes or should i say ears have been opened up to other options and i would have to say there are perhaps better portable options out there.

If you really want a pair of 650's i would definitely recommend getting a nice ss desktop amp for them instead. I used the gilmore lite with mine and really loved the sound combo, it retails about $400 new but they can be found for less in the FS section. I'm sure other's can recommend other good amp choices.

You should try and find a retailer with a good return policy, that way you can get a chance to audition them and can return them if they don't suit.
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