Lets end this madness - every portable amp comparison comes back to one King of the Hill, and it rounds out to about a thousand dollars (with PSU) and waiting in the queue for Phil to build the thing.
http://www.triadaudio.net/Triad_Audio/Lisa_III_Standard.html
No argument that the Lisa is an achievement, but those of you who graduate to fullsize amps in the thousand dollar (plus) range are often dismissive of portables, so lets hear it from those who actually own amps up to the thousand dollar mark. I posted elsewhere that I don't want to carry adapters etc, but there is a price to be paid for everything. My criteria are fairly straightforward:
- needs to fit neatly into a backpack and weigh no more than 5kg (!)
- solid-state (.... dont laugh - I'm sure someone here has a 'transportable' tube amp...)
- similar or better SQ (bass weight, extension, definition, clarity, yada yada) to the Lisa III - see Skylab's review below
- no more than $1000 USD delivered
As I said - transportable. For use in a bedside rig, in a hotel room or at a meet - readily transportable, as opposed to battery-powered and truly portable. So many reviews have put the Lisa III on par (or better) than some fullsize amps - its time we named those amps :)
Thanks,
estreeter
I apologise for reposting Skylab's review of the Lisa III, but it might save those who dont spend a lot of time in 'portable amps':
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Update 9-16-07
Triad Audio Lisa III
Info: Welcome to TriadAudio.net
Surprisingly to me, a lot of people have asked me to include the Lisa III in this review. This is in spite of several things:
1. It's far more expensive than all but the Larocco PRII;
2. It's big enough that it really stretches the limit of what can be considered a "portable", in spite of it being battery powered;
3. I've already reviewed it here; and
4. It should be pretty clear that it would be number one, taking the above into consideration.
But nonetheless, I've been asked enough that I have decided to do it.
Build Quality: A-: Well built in a nice metal hammond case. Nice faceplate and knobs. LOVE having RCA jacks, but would have preferred hacing a mini-jack in parallel. Not quite quiet enough for IEM use without an impedance adapter. It should come with a power supply at this price, especially since it uses internal rechargeable batteries, and gets a modest 5-6 hours on a single charge.
Treble: A+: Oh, those highs. SOOOO very clean, extended, airy, sweet, detailed...the treble is so much better than most portable amps. Only RSA amps, Meier Move and the PRII are in the same league. And I'd say the extension and airiness is even better on the LisaIII than any of these. Not night-and-day better, mind you, but better..
Midrange: A+: The midrange is open, lush, inviting, and very transparent. It's not the least bit too aggressive, but it isn't at all recessed either. I guess that makes it neutral, but not in a sterile way - it's "good neutral". If anything, perhaps it's just a touch warm. That's a good way to be.
Bass: A+: The bass is of course quite tailorable in terms of quantity, due to the bass countour knob, but the quality is excellent - it's well defined, tight, and has good "speed" of attack. And it's as deep as your headphones can muster, to be sure. And that control knob means you can have as much of it as you want. For my Denon D5000's it was best left off. For Sennheiser HD580's, though, I liked the bass control at about 1/3 "on".. Great pace and rhythm.
Neutrality: A+: Supurbly neutral, but not analytical or cold. Just plain old not colored.
Soundstaging: A: The soundstage is also exceptionally good -- nicely deep, wide, and fleshed out. It isn't light years ahead of other amps here, but it's still great.
Transparency: A+: I do not hear any way in which the Lisa III isn't transparent. WIDE open window to the music.
OK, so it's great. Really. If you can accommodate it's size and weight, can live with 5-6 hours run time between charges (this will be improved in future versions to 10 hours I hear), and can afford it's asking price, it's a no brainer. Those are some significant ifs when it comes to a portable amp, but if you are concerned solely with sound, the Lisa III is the way to go, no doubt.
