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pico vs mustang with decent source - Page 3

post #31 of 45
1/26/09 at 6:09pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lil' Knight View Post
The DAC is only useful when you use your pc/laptop as a transport. If you're fine with your iPod then don't bother with the DAC.
exactly
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post #32 of 45
3/8/09 at 7:14pm
Up it goes. Any other experiences? Both highly regarded, (somewhat) similarly priced amps...I'm hoping to read more comparisons between the two.
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post #33 of 45
3/8/09 at 10:26pm
If you have nice, lossless or 320k AAC recordings and like a more forward sound.... I would go Mustang.

If you have 256k MP3's and enjoy a mellow, relaxed sound - go Pico.

The Pico has a quality that makes most lower quality recordings or files sound better. It is a more mellowed, relaxed sound. The Mustang is the more revealing of the two and is more forward while having a very "crisp" sound.

I had the privilege of owning both, even for a while at the same time. I know that the Pico/Grado combo sounds quite good. I don't know if the Grado/P51 would work as well because the Grado is already a forward edgy sound to begin with.

For me, the P51 was just the ticket and I have never wanted the Pico back (even though I really did like it). Mustang fit my needs and mobile listening wants.

For anyone who is thinking of the other RSA amps and their experience....the Mustang does not sound like the other RSA portable amps.
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post #34 of 45
3/8/09 at 10:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by -=Germania=- View Post

For anyone who is thinking of the other RSA amps and their experience....the Mustang does not sound like the other RSA portable amps.
I've only heard the SR71a and P51 but I must agree with this. They do sound very differently.
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post #35 of 45
3/9/09 at 3:23am
I should qualify myself first by saying I've listen to both Pico and P51.
Everything that was said about the PICO is true, it has a nice sound, clean, and tranparent. But the P51 will give you an up close and personal type of involvment to music. In fact, after I bought the P51, I like it so much better with the ESW10jpn that I have almost abandoned my UE10pro. It seems like with P51+esw10jpn, I can have any artist performing right next to me, an experience that I do not get from most iem and/or amp comb in a portable setting.
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post #36 of 45
3/9/09 at 8:03am
My friend has both the pico and p51 and he pairs them up with the imod 5.5g. I feel that the mustang has more bass quantity and vocals sound very upclose, it makes any song more engaging while the pico to me sounds more detailed, airy and also transparent. Being a previous w3 owner, i guess the mustang will have better synergy with the w3's.
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post #37 of 45
3/9/09 at 5:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Surrealsky View Post
My friend has both the pico and p51 and he pairs them up with the imod 5.5g. I feel that the mustang has more bass quantity and vocals sound very upclose, it makes any song more engaging while the pico to me sounds more detailed, airy and also transparent. Being a previous w3 owner, i guess the mustang will have better synergy with the w3's.
It's comments like this that have me second guessing my thoughts that the P-51 could outclass my Pico...for me and my tastes that is.
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post #38 of 45
3/9/09 at 10:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZephyrSapphire View Post
Nope. Most of us fell in the pitfalls of either;
A) Hype
B) Biased reviews due to reviewer's personal taste
C) Exaggerated details
D) Marketing strategies

And bought whatever we initially have/had based on those.

Yes we still do get those even in the serious Hi-fi world.
The biggest problem with this hobby is that there is not ONE "brick and mortar" store whereyou can listen to 10 or so amps and headphones combinations. So you rely on trusted friends, reviewers, etc. and --this for me personally---shop at a place where they offer 30 day return policies.

Think about it: if your hobby were model trains, photography, even home audiophile equipment there are stores in most cities that carry an array of products. Not so for the headphone/amp/DAC market.

too bad. But we rely on ourselves and our trusted friends and reviewers.
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post #39 of 45
3/9/09 at 10:42pm
The Pico to me is quite neutral. I use mine with an iPhone and a 4G iPod and it sounds very nice. I use it with my macbook pro as a DAC/Amp, and it really, really shines. If you choose the Pico, you won't be disappointed, I suspect.

Now to lame out completely. I haven't heard the P-51, but have heard the Tomahawk. I know, not the same sound. I only point it out on my way to saying that RSA's products are second to none. I really don't think you can make a wrong choice here.

Last point - I've had excellent experiences buying on the FS forum here. ALL my current gear from Pico downstream is from the FS forum.
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post #40 of 45
3/10/09 at 1:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Surrealsky View Post
My friend has both the pico and p51 and he pairs them up with the imod 5.5g. I feel that the mustang has more bass quantity and vocals sound very upclose, it makes any song more engaging while the pico to me sounds more detailed, airy and also transparent. Being a previous w3 owner, i guess the mustang will have better synergy with the w3's.
that's what im up to. right now i'm happy user of w3 + um56 + iaudio x5l

there's dyimod 5.5g + VERY solid LOD made by one of our head-fiers sent for me [18awg cryo copper + 22awg Cryo silver + xlo jack - it's going to be soooo sweeeeet [i hope] ]

little offtop

anyone knows about sq etc improvement when confronting imod 5.5g with x5l?

some of head-fiers say that the difference is minimal but i need to know more

i hope i didn't picked wrong patch buying imod +lets say...p51 which is on his way to my handies

cheers
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post #41 of 45
3/24/09 at 8:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Surrealsky View Post
My friend has both the pico and p51 and he pairs them up with the imod 5.5g. I feel that the mustang has more bass quantity and vocals sound very upclose, it makes any song more engaging while the pico to me sounds more detailed, airy and also transparent. Being a previous w3 owner, i guess the mustang will have better synergy with the w3's.
With that statement I think I'll go with the Pico then. I already find the W3's mid-bass to be too warm.
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post #42 of 45
10/11/09 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dallan View Post
You can not go wrong with either one. I have a Pico and a RSA Hornet M and both are good amps. The RSA house sound seems more warm and bassy and the Pico seems maybe to have a lower noise floor and detail to me, but that is against the Hornet. I have to admit though that although i lean toward the Pico most of the time, with iems i often prefer the more bassy sounding RSA Hornet. So depends on further buys, if you are staying with iems the mustang may be the way to go, otherwise i kinda prefer the Pico more detailed sound with punchy bass over the RSAs bass warmth.

Like i said in the beginning though, it is a win win both are great and you can't go wrong with either choice.
WTF does that mean, i mean which one has the more powerful lower bass, pico or hornet, and which bass pops harder........gotta be more specific,,,,,
also have you tried or heard bout the predator, im hoping the specs are the same as the other rsa models cause the predator has a usb input
im wondering if usb would sound better than my current hdmi jacked into lcd tv then optical out to my aduidio technica ha25d amp that lacks bass.....fyi
obviously the usb would cut down on the line interference but hdmi and optical are pretty quiet, interference is probably when i dac my optical toslink from my dir 800c reciever into the head amp itsself
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post #43 of 45
10/11/09 at 1:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Surrealsky View Post
My friend has both the pico and p51 and he pairs them up with the imod 5.5g. I feel that the mustang has more bass quantity and vocals sound very upclose, it makes any song more engaging while the pico to me sounds more detailed, airy and also transparent. Being a previous w3 owner, i guess the mustang will have better synergy with the w3's.
thanks, heard anything about the predator compared to the other rsa' models bass quantity?
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post #44 of 45
10/12/09 at 8:11am

predator vs the mustang

Quote:
Originally Posted by -=Germania=- View Post
If you have nice, lossless or 320k AAC recordings and like a more forward sound.... I would go Mustang.

If you have 256k MP3's and enjoy a mellow, relaxed sound - go Pico.

The Pico has a quality that makes most lower quality recordings or files sound better. It is a more mellowed, relaxed sound. The Mustang is the more revealing of the two and is more forward while having a very "crisp" sound.

I had the privilege of owning both, even for a while at the same time. I know that the Pico/Grado combo sounds quite good. I don't know if the Grado/P51 would work as well because the Grado is already a forward edgy sound to begin with.

For me, the P51 was just the ticket and I have never wanted the Pico back (even though I really did like it). Mustang fit my needs and mobile listening wants.

For anyone who is thinking of the other RSA amps and their experience....the Mustang does not sound like the other RSA portable amps.
question, how does the bass and pop of the mustang compare to the predator, whatve ya heard? also how does your p51's bass and power stack up to the hornets,
predator has a usb port, what i need, also what you think of the headroom dektop amp:
HeadRoom Ultra Desktop Amp DAC - Digital Analog Converter | HeadRoom Audio
i really like all the optical inputs, two analog inputs, usb and one output just like an amp should be!
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post #45 of 45
12/8/09 at 7:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dallan View Post
You can not go wrong with either one. I have a Pico and a RSA Hornet M and both are good amps. The RSA house sound seems more warm and bassy and the Pico seems maybe to have a lower noise floor and detail to me, but that is against the Hornet. I have to admit though that although i lean toward the Pico most of the time, with iems i often prefer the more bassy sounding RSA Hornet. So depends on further buys, if you are staying with iems the mustang may be the way to go, otherwise i kinda prefer the Pico more detailed sound with punchy bass over the RSAs bass warmth.

Like i said in the beginning though, it is a win win both are great and you can't go wrong with either choice.
i thought that the rsa amps had more bass punch than the pico?
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