Headstage Arrow HE: Reviews, Impressions, Perceptions & Sensations - Page 168

Quote:

Originally Posted by audionewbi 

uha-120 and aha-120 both cost more than arrow 4G and they both are considerably thicker than arrow 4G. I agree the uha-6s mk2 is in price range and I need to say  I havent heard that but there is a ood chance it is going to sound better with the OPA 627 upgrade but once again sizewise it is much larger than arrow 4G.

There are many ways we can judge things. I believe shape plays an important role and considering its slim nature the arrow 4G does a decent job. I am sure Robert would have been able to put some better parts to improve the sound but than again it would put it in transportable region not portable. Arrow 4G is truly a portable amp, if size is not an issue there are other option which might provide a marginal better sound than the arrow but I still believe in order to get a better sounding amp than arrow 4G we need to spend a good 200 dollars. 

really? i thought the uha is around 180usd and the aha is around 300? i prefer a fully modded cmoy than the arrow and the three amps i mentioned though, since i get to make the sound how i wanted to be. i may make one in the future but i need a slim and long case for it... like the E12 case

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyaems 

 

really? i thought the uha is around 180usd and the aha is around 300? i prefer a fully modded cmoy than the arrow and the three amps i mentioned though, since i get to make the sound how i wanted to be. i may make one in the future but i need a slim and long case for it... like the E12 case

aha-120 is around 290 BP which is almost 400 AUD. uha is cheaper I cannot remember but how much but based on average joe review arrow 4G is on par and better than them.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/585786/multi-portable-amp-thread-12-amps-reviewed-shonyun-306-added-10-03-12

I agree E12 looks is just spot on, it will match my DD socket 1 perfectly. 

i thought just-audio is based on the USA, sorry about that xD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Yum Goong 

Hi folks!

I'm going to order a refurbished 4G next month and now I have more or less dumb question. It's a more general one.
How do you use an amp correctly? Do you turn up the volume of the amp and turn down the players volume or is it the other way around? I'm going to use my J3 and SM64 (98 ohm) with the Arrow.

I have read that 75% volume on the player is optimal if you are using the headphone jack, then adjust volume as desired on your amp.  Line out would be optimal if it is an option with your player.

good question as i already have a J3 / arrow 4g /re272 combo , nad i would like to hear opinions of other users

i am currently maxing out the arrow volume and keep the j3 around 18-22 / 40 on GAIN 1

not sure 100% , but i think someone has sais this is the optimal option (but i am not 100% certain if i read it or i simply imagined it)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Yum Goong 

Hi folks!

I'm going to order a refurbished 4G next month and now I have more or less dumb question. It's a more general one.
How do you use an amp correctly? Do you turn up the volume of the amp and turn down the players volume or is it the other way around? I'm going to use my J3 and SM64 (98 ohm) with the Arrow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by proedros 

good question as i already have a J3 / arrow 4g /re272 combo , nad i would like to hear opinions of other users

 

i am currently maxing out the arrow volume and keep the j3 around 18-22 / 40 on GAIN 1

 

not sure 100% , but i think someone has sais this is the optimal option (but i am not 100% certain if i read it or i simply imagined it)

That's interesting ...

Do you really find that the J3 benefits from use in conjunction with the Arrow? I had a S:flo 2 / Arrow combo and found it fantastic as the S:flo's resolution is so good and it's EQ is fairly lack luster, thus, line-out to the Arrow amp was like sonic love as I could flatten things and run just the bass boost with the Arrow; I found this a near perfect match with Shure SE535's and their somewhat "flat" tuning.

I now have a J3 and upon first listen the thought that came to mind was that I wouldn't be needing to get another Arrow amp as one, I found/find the J3, though quite nice sounding, to be not nearly as resolving as the S:flo 2 ... and two, I think the EQ implementation on the J3 is quite phenomenal and this combined with the insane battery life made living without the S:flo/Arrow just a bit easier (though I was seriously blown away by how less resolving the J3 was/is...

Currently, I'm a daily and happy J3 user but I simply can't find any reason to use an amp as it sounds pretty dang good, has a great EQ and drives my SE535's quite well ...

So just curious ... what do you enjoy about the combination? 

Thanks for any information...

(I wish Teclast would release a new batch of S:flo's damnit; I'd *so* buy another Arrow if they did...best portable amp I've ever used  hands down...)

;-) ...

i have sflo2 and i paired it with arrow once. soundstage really collapsed with that pair, very noticeable than a J3 for example. although i used it with a headphone with the pairing. i thought it was my interconnect that is getting that problem, but i even changed it with other interconnects and the tonality changed a bit, but the soundstage is still the same

not bashing the arrow as i still own one and love most things about it, although i lent it to a friend since i usually dont use amps anymore because my headphones and iems are pretty much easy to drive. except for my ES7 Ortho transplant which is incredibly hard to drive

I don't know if I will use the Arrows EQ. Right now I'm not using any EQ when I listen to music but maybe that will change ;)
It's just that my IEMs are a bit hard to drive and I heard a lot of great things about amping the SM64.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyaems 

i have sflo2 and i paired it with arrow once. soundstage really collapsed with that pair, very noticeable than a J3 for example. although i used it with a headphone with the pairing. i thought it was my interconnect that is getting that problem, but i even changed it with other interconnects and the tonality changed a bit, but the soundstage is still the same

 

not bashing the arrow as i still own one and love most things about it, although i lent it to a friend since i usually dont use amps anymore because my headphones and iems are pretty much easy to drive. except for my ES7 Ortho transplant which is incredibly hard to drive

I would have to agree (a little) with that. I always thought the straight headphone out of the S:flo sounded a bit more dynamic (wider) than the line-out to the Arrow ... but the overall tone and especially the bass boost (3G Arrow on setting 1) won me over as it made the SE535's sing. But yeah ... oddly enough and though I haven't thought about it ... there was a slightly more compressed soundstage from the line-out to the Arrow then was straight out of the main S:flo 2 headphone out ... and, truth be told, I'm not sure if this was a by product of the S:flo 2 line out circuit (as it used a different OPAMP than the headphone out) ... or the Arrow amp itself ...

Thanks for that ... interesting point.

I never experienced such things using my ipod 5 G and Fiio LOD and arrow 4G. Perhaps if you guys can use different DAP and see if similar things occurs. 

:sigh:  Headstage service is still terrible...they received my old Arrow on Feb 11 & still haven't shipped my replacement/upgrade 4G Arrow.  Now I remember why I swore back in 2010 that I'd never do business w/ them again, no matter how much I like the product itself. end rant/

Quote:

Originally Posted by feverfive 

:sigh:  Headstage service is still terrible...they received my old Arrow on Feb 11 & still haven't shipped my replacement/upgrade 4G Arrow.  Now I remember why I swore back in 2010 that I'd never do business w/ them again, no matter how much I like the product itself. end rant/

just placed an order for a refurbished arrow... no reply from Headstage when enquired about the expected delivery date... looks like it is going to be a long wait....

I think it improves the sound a bit , but maybe it's just my idea , i mean theoretically 272 are fine without an amp

 

in any case i managed to buy it quite cheap , so for the money i spent i think it is a nice add to my set-up

 

Originally Posted by s1rrah 

 

That's interesting ...

 

Do you really find that the J3 benefits from use in conjunction with the Arrow? I had a S:flo 2 / Arrow combo and found it fantastic as the S:flo's resolution is so good and it's EQ is fairly lack luster, thus, line-out to the Arrow amp was like sonic love as I could flatten things and run just the bass boost with the Arrow; I found this a near perfect match with Shure SE535's and their somewhat "flat" tuning.

 

I now have a J3 and upon first listen the thought that came to mind was that I wouldn't be needing to get another Arrow amp as one, I found/find the J3, though quite nice sounding, to be not nearly as resolving as the S:flo 2 ... and two, I think the EQ implementation on the J3 is quite phenomenal and this combined with the insane battery life made living without the S:flo/Arrow just a bit easier (though I was seriously blown away by how less resolving the J3 was/is...

 

Currently, I'm a daily and happy J3 user but I simply can't find any reason to use an amp as it sounds pretty dang good, has a great EQ and drives my SE535's quite well ...

 

So just curious ... what do you enjoy about the combination? 

 

Thanks for any information...

 

(I wish Teclast would release a new batch of S:flo's damnit; I'd *so* buy another Arrow if they did...best portable amp I've ever used  hands down...)

 

;-) ...