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post #1 of 11
2/12/10 at 9:26am
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Meier Corda 2 Move amp/USB dac, bought 11.08.2008, original owner, excellent condition (apart from some tiny scratches on the back which I have tried to capture with my camera). It comes in the manufacturer box with the original cable, hex key, documentation and a 9V Ansmann accu.
A constant 3rd place against tough (and expensive) competition in the portable amp/dac comparatives on the forum http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f105/r...mpared-214588/
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Meier Audio MOVE

Kein Titel

I have always liked Meier amps, so I was anxious to get my hands on a MOVE. My main beef with the Porta Corda was it's very DIY looks. It sounded very good (although I did find it slightly lean).

After breaking in the MOVE for 100 hours, I listened to it a LOT before writing this - much more so than many other amps I have reviewed. I used a bunch of different headphones. Why? I wanted to be sure of what I was going to say, because there will be some people who are going to get their panties in a wad about this review.

I think the Meier MOVE is a phenomenal headphone amp. Stunningly good. Better than any amp in this review aside from the Larocco PRII, and in some ways better than it. It combines a natural, warm sound with incredible detail, an outstanding soundstage, and very extended frequency extremes. It's also built like a tank, is very well featured, and is bargain priced. It's impossible not to recommend with great enthusiasm.

Build Quality: A: Awesome metal case. I'm certain it could survive being thrown against a wall at high velocity, although it's so pretty you wouldn't want to. I'd give it an A+ except for one thing - the volume knob, while attractive, is very difficult to grip, and thus hard to turn. It's my one complaint about this amp.
Treble: A+: Treble is amazingly clear. Smooth, open, liquid, and detailed ZERO grain. Highly transparent, and neutral. Very much like other Meier amps. Great extension and air. I doubt there has ever been a portable amp with better treble than this.
Midrange: A: Beautiful, wide open sound. Inviting, clean, open, and engaging. Grain-free. Just gorgeous.
Bass: A+: Excels in pitch, attach, and definition. Also punchy as heck. ZERO bloat or boom, but great weight.
Neutrality: A: There are simply no issues here - very, very impressive.
Soundstaging: A: soundstage width is excellent, depth is just short of the best. Image specificity is very good. The soundstage is top-shelf.
Transparency: A: This is a strong suit to be sure – all Meier amps I have ever heard are jaw-droppingly transparent, and the MOVE is no exception. I was prepared for it not to be, since there was some talk that the choice of op-amp wasn't going to mean a transparent sound. That isn't the case. It's very transparent.

So now we have a terrific Meier portable amp that also looks nice. I preferred the sound in high current but low gain mode. Basically noiseless in this mode. Dynamic, lush, detailed - it's hard not to gush. I listened over and over again to it to be sure - I am sure. The MOVE is the best bargain in portable headphone amps right now on the market, based on all that I have heard.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f105/u...ce-xm5-306883/
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I just spent the last 9-10 hours with all the amps, and a well burned in 2MOVE from Skylab. I first listened them all with the ALO modded HFI-780, but my current sinus infection must be boosting the vampire wire 780's bass a bit too much vs 7-10 days ago. So, I switched to my APS re-cabled RS-1 for more detail and layering, and more balanced bass, and listened to everything again. Having just gotten the APS re-cabled RS-1 and also re-cabled my Edition 9, it is an eye opener into hearing that the ALO modded HFI-780 are darker and bassier and less open at quiet volumes than I remember with the first part of the review (they do open up at higher volumes but louder make my sinus headache worse). Right now I am preferring the RS-1 and Edition 9 vs my 780's with 666 hours on them (don't laugh, that's how many hours they have ).

All Amps were reviewed as before, using only their USB DAC as source, via Macbook. The D2 was also tested with new opamps, with a LM6172 replacing the LT1364, and a THS4032 replacing the NE5532.

I used the same music as in the first test, but had to add a few more items: "Handel Messiah" conductor Christopher Hogwood, William Orbit "The Best of Strange Cargo", James Asher "Shaman Drums", Guinea Pig "Cool Cats", Jack Johnson. I also threw in various pop artists from my kid's music in 128kbps to test with poor sources.

The 2MOVE sounded closer to the Predator than the PICO, but with a little more treble extension and what I would call a slight midbass hump that I did not hear in the Predator other amps. The 2MOVE was what I would call warm and mellow - but not dark as it had a little bit more treble up top, in between the Predqtor and PICO (like the D2). The Predator seems to have a little better bass presence, especially helpful with the RS-1 which I feel are usually a little bass shy with bowls. The Predator's high end was also more suited to the RS-1 and HFI-780's which already have a strong treble presence. Bass and treble were not overpowering with any of the amps with the RS-1.

The 2MOVE was more forward and up front than the Predator or Pico, which didn't help the soundstage with Handel's Messiah when listening via the RS-1. The 2MOVE still has excellent ambience and detail of the large venue, but you are definitely closer to the choir. The Predator's bigger soundstage was itself beaten by the Pico by a small margin, which produced a more 3D Cathedral space. With one small studio recording (Tsuyoshi Yamamoto on FIM XRCD), I can almost hear the drums and cymbals echo off the walls with the 2MOVE, but that coloration does not appear to be there with any of the other amps.

The 2MOVE with piano and saxophone was sweet and seductive, like the Predator, where you could hear the warmth and the reedyness both at the same time. Where the 2MOVE also excelled was in acoustic music like Jack Johnson, like in "Badfish" on Look at the Love We Found, or "Times Like These" from the "On and On" album.

ALL the amps did electronic music well, like William Orbit, Chris Spheeris, James Asher. And ALL the amps are particularly ruthless with poor quality Mp3, revealing the poor dynamics and compression artifacts. With ALL of the amps I heard a grating quality with my kids' 128kbps pop/hip hop like Plain White T's. The Fray, Cartel, Avril Lavigne, Boys like Girls, Chris Brown, Wyclef Jean, Rihanna, Fergie, etc, which rubbed me the wrong way.

Back to the good stuff. What surprised me was listening to Diana Krall - the PICO just sounds more natural and transparent with songs from "Girl in the Other Room". This album gets included every time I do a review because it is mastered with some sibilance or harsh highs still remaining, so it makes a good test album to see how the amps or headphones handle it. While the Pico handles this the best, just above the Predator, I thought the 2MOVE was the most irritating of the amps with this partitcular album, and this hurt it's score. However, with the low-bitrate kid's music above, it was no more irritating than any of the other amps.

Now we get to the D2 with rolled opamps, using the LM6172 and THS4032 opamps, which would be about $25-30. The opamp change definitely changes the character if the amp, and it is less "Pico-Like" and more 2MOVE-like, except that it handles the one Diana Krall CD a little better/smoother, and it is slightly less forward, and the midbass hump is less. So, I guess that makes it more predator-like then? The D2 does Saxophones VERY well now vs stock. It is like magic, wave the wand, and the D2 is transmorgrified into something else.

Having picked out the areas where one amp excels over the others, or falls behind the others, it makes it even harder to rank the top 4 amps. The Predator, 2MOVE and modified D2 sound the closest to each other's sound signature or flavor. While the Pico and stock D2 sound the closest to each other's sound signature. A similar sound signature is a "reminds me of" NOT a "sounds just like". That puts the amps in 2 camps, yet makes all the rankings fall between a 9.4/10 and a 10/10, and in my opinion too close to call based on sound alone.
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Headroom Portable Desktop 2007 Headroom Portable Desktop Amp - Headphone Amplifier | HeadRoom Audio, manufactured 10/08/2007, bought from Rainbird in January 2009. The amp is in mint condition and comes with the original neoprene bag and a 220V power supply (not the original PSU). As the amp is running on batteries, an upgraded PSU will make no difference whatsoever. This is the newer version, which can run plugged to the mains. It is one of the most versatile hifi pieces of gear I came across, incorporating a DAC with optical, coaxial and USB inputs, two level inputs (mini-jack and phono), a preamp section with variable line out and a headphone amp with three gain settings, an excellent crossfeed circuit and two outputs on both jack/minijack. It is the best portable DAC/amp I have tried to date and an excellent match (one of the best SS I've heard) with K702. But since I sold K702, I no longer use it so it's time to let it go.
A review headroom
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If you're looking for a dynamite sounding amplifier that doubles as a travel and desktop piece, I'm pretty sure you can't do any better than HeadRoom's Portable Desktop Amp. It is really pretty fine. Best In Class.
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My feedback on Headfi http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f12/revenge-381155/
Thanks for looking and, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. High resolution pictures on demand.
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post #2 of 11
2/12/10 at 9:49am
PMed
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post #3 of 11
2/13/10 at 6:21pm
Thread Starter 
PM replied. Also interested in trades with HD800, Lavry DA11 or SPL Phonitor.
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post #4 of 11
2/16/10 at 11:37am
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Up
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post #5 of 11
2/20/10 at 8:40am
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SOLD
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post #6 of 11
2/22/10 at 2:30pm
Thread Starter 
Still available.
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post #7 of 11
2/25/10 at 5:47am
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Up
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post #8 of 11
2/25/10 at 9:42am
How much to send the 2move to Portugal?
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post #9 of 11
2/25/10 at 2:24pm
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You've got a PM.
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post #10 of 11
2/28/10 at 5:56am
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Still available.
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post #11 of 11
3/2/10 at 5:47pm
Thread Starter 
Both amplifiers are now sold.
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