Headstage Arrow HE: Reviews, Impressions, Perceptions & Sensations - Page 165

ive seen shipping as fast as 2 weeks, to as slow as 8 months for the arrrow. its best to have patience, no matter you have it or not, and try not to think about it as it will definitely arrive in your place.

Do you usually get an email once it ships?

Just got my email from Robert - should have it by this weekend or early next week.

Is this the same one as the Headstage Arrow 12 HE?

Has anyone upgraded the 3G to the 4G? what is the difference in sound/battery life? How long did it take in the US?

 

To my ear and in general, they sounded identical in regards to overall sonics and  sound quality.

 

That said, there is a definite difference between the bass boost circuits.

 

The 3G is a more "thumpy" and "tight" bass sound ... 

 

The 4G is a bit more "refined" ... "deeper" and more "smooth" ... not as taut and snappy sounding.

 

But they both (the bass circuit) are about the best realized I've ever heard. It just depends on your cans/IEM's.

 

Myself? I prefer the 3G bass circuit with my Shure SE535's ...  mostly due to the fact that the Shure's are designed to be as flat/neutral as possible (at least to my ear) ... with nothing added to any frequency range ... and, this make the bass seem a bit lacking some times (though it's really just a matter of the recording) ... and so the extra "oomph" in the 3G bass circuit really is nice.

 

However, if you have some  cans/IEM's that have a more prounounced default bass signature, then you might prefer the 4G more so.

 

Hope that helps...

 

.joel

I have now had my headstage arrow 4g for a few weeks and have listened to it with many sources (iPhone 4, iPad, computer) with high gain output and lower gain output, and ran through most of my IEM collection as well as all kinds of music. I am so thoroughly impressed with this amp.

Ordering: took a total of 2 weeks start to finish, including a tracking email from Robert.
Packaging: I think everyone knows this is not the strong suit. Cheap box, couple of connectors and a chargin cable. Pretty basic.
Form factor: perfect size, very slim, matches very well with my iPhone 4. Switches are very solid and I like the fact that nothing sticks out from the amp so when it is in pocket nothing is done by accident. Love having an input on both ends and 2 headphone outs is nice. I thought I would not like the volume wheel, afraid it would feel cheap but it is very solid and the turn is slightly stiff which I like. Only draw back as there is no level indicator on the volume knob so you have to a little careful to turn it down a touch before firing it up so you don't blow your head off.
Usage: all the switches do what they are supposed to and having 3 options for each one is absolutely fantastic. The auto power on/off I thought I would also not like. It works so well that I wish my other amps had it in fear of leaving them on and run out of juice.
Sound: the true meat and potatoes of any amp is this. The sound quality here is phenomenal!!!! Everything seems to be tight, detailed and smooth. Seem amps seem like they are just have a hard time keeping up and being accurate but this thing is just so true. The bass is tight with great extension, mids are full punchy and the highs are just so smooth while still being crisp and detailed. I just love the impact and clear details. Run into a few tracks or set of headphones that need a little boost in an area, just grab a toggle switch, these thing do example what the label says and do so so well. Some other amps I would not even use the eq functions because they were done so poorly (eq on the e6 for example) that I would not use them and others while boosting the low end also boost other areas and just don't do it well. Here, you ask for a bit more bass flip the switch and that is all you get a bit more bass and it does it accurately. Have a track or headphones that a touch veiled, dial up the treble a notch and there you go no more veil on the vocals. Gain switch works well and having 3 setting is quite useful (more so that only having 2) is you are using IEMs and cans.

To sum it up, this thing is awesome and smooth as a gravey sandwich. If you have been looking for that higher end amp, this is fantastic. Nothing bad to say and I love the sound. The bass and treble adjustments make this amp so flexible because those adjustments do their job so well.

Excellent work Robert.

Nice review.  Any power specs on the amp?
 

Came with zero spec, maybe check the Headphonia site.

Thanks.  Strange there's no amp power listed on the web site since it is just a bit relevant.

I can tell you that I have a long way to do on the volume knob before getting to the end and I am using using gain position 2 so there is another one to go yet so I think there is a lot of juice on this thing. Excellent battery life as well.

 

I tried setup 2 above with the Note 2 but the sound was disappointing...much worse than the USB Dac cable hooked up to my computer.  Does it matter what player you use?  

I also use the above setup 2 but I think it sounds very good (other than the occasional interference issues) with my GS3. It doesn't matter what player I use and strangely even Pandora sounds a lot better to me on my phone than on the web player (on either my MBP/PC). What I will say is that the background is quieter on a computer for me than my phone but not by much.

I use Poweramp and sounds good. Also tried XBMC, and was fine too.

Is anyone using or has used arrow with jh16 (with or without freqphase)? can share your thoughts? thanks.