An Amphora Update - more like a Blast From The Past
I received my Amphora: iMod/iPod, Walnut, back in April, along with an ALO-modded Ultrasone HFI-780 (an ALO-780). The burn-in, improvement and refinement of the sound has been a long and slow process. I can cleanly and clearly say now that the two together have arrived to a point of sound quality which is unsurpassed by any other headamp that I currently own. The bass is as full, as deep, as rich, and as textured as I could want, without it being too much of a good thing, without ever obscuring voices in any other portion of the acoustic spectrum. The mids are full, present and, in the case of human voice, spookily real and "there with you". The highs are really lovely. Not at all "too much treble energy" or edgy. To give some context on that, I LOVE the Ety ER4S presentation of highs from a modest, but decent source and amp, which, I am aware, some would label artificially boosted. The Amphora/ALO-780 presentation of highs is not as forward as that, but it gives a comparable level of detail and nuance so as to bring forth the comparison from me.
For me, I am totally loving my iMod/ALO VCap Dock (VHAudio OIMP caps), and a good quality (Zynsonix solid-core silver, Eys, mini-to-RCA) IC from VCap Dock->Amphora. It's interesting that there seems to be more actual detail and crystal clarity using the iMod on the Amphora's iMod dock, but more fullness of sound (weight and textural/timbral richness) using the VCap dock. I've got a custom set of RCA pair ICs in the works with Zynsonix which, when they arrive, I'll use between the VCap Dock and the Amphora. Now, THAT will be really delicious.
In those wee-hours-of-the-morning listening sessions, when I'm, frankly, spent and cranky, and demanding of only the best listening experience before I mentally and physically pack it in for the day, the iMod/VCap Dock, Amphora and ALO-780 deliver more of what really satisfies my ear and the yearnings of my heart than I can ever remember experiencing before using any rig I've ever owned. I simply get drawn INTO the music, transported to the scenes being depicted by the music (from live, contemporaneous performance venues, through historical venues and scenes on Earth and on into hallways and communications centers of extraterrestrial intergalactic motherships, or joyous or melancholy meetings in strange dark woods at dusk with celebrating, or fallen and fading, bands of Elves). As I've posted before, the experience of listening using the Amphora is less like that of hearing the amazing reproduction of recorded sound, and more like that of replaying and reliving someone else's recorded memories of the places, inhabitants and events being portrayed in the recording. The iMod/VCap Dock, Amphora and ALO-780 used together are a very special set of listening instruments which I am coming to treasure more and more the longer I use them and the more I realize just HOW much they are bringing to my listening to recorded sound.
Pretty soon, I'm going to have to move the Amphora to my main rig, and pair it up to what I currently think of as my best source and IC to date: wave and 24/96 flac files into a HeadRoom Ultra Micro DAC (via Optical Digital SPDIF), with VD Master IC into the Amphora and ALO-780, just to see what they can do together. I currently have my Caliente/HD650 in that "main computer rig". I've been hesitating to make this move because I've been SO enjoying the Amphora/ALO-780 in my bedside rig, and I don't currently have an amp and phones that can perform up to their level for that rig. But, I've gotta know how good it can get with them in my main rig.
It's been a long, slow burn-in and adjustment process getting to this place, though. And worth every bit and every minute of it.
