Cypher Labs AlgoRhythm Solo - Discussion and Impressions Thread - Page 6

I like the thought of a bigger capacity classic, I really would get rid of my iMod if that came out.

Just got a few male USBs so will be knocking up a copper and/or silver data cable to see if there is any difference between stock, obviously I'll report back.

Well here is my 1st full DIY USB using mil spec SPOFC..

Sounds great but not sure how much (if at all) better than stock USB. I've only tried it for a few minutes so not enough time to judge really, I'll listen tonight but initial it's certainly not night and day. Placebo? Maybe....

Pics:

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooperpwc 

kiwirugby, volume control access is easy. Like I said, i wasn't sure that it would be but it is.

Great!   I bet your fingers are smaller than mine!   I love the combination of the three.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pekingduck 

I've had my Classic 7G for almost 2 years and it's still going strong. I did have some issues in the beginning (hanging, library got wiped out etc...) but after some firmware upgrade, it's all good.

 

Add me to the iPod 7 classic happy customer along with pekingduck and cooperpc.  Haven't had a problem with it at all.   Never used is just by itself.   Always with an amp and now with Solo+Pico Slim.

At the start of this thread there was a suggestion that someone would compare the sound quality to the HM801.  I read the whole thread but it was never brought up again.  Looks like the solo can't do 24 bit but other than that i am curious about the comparison.  Obviously the platform of an ipod and the storage kills the 801, i have a 160 gig that is full, but the sound quality?  Anyone heard them next to each other with the same files?

Thanks for all the positive feedback on the iPod Classic 7.

Mike
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwirugby 

Add me to the iPod 7 classic happy customer along with pekingduck and cooperpc.  Haven't had a problem with it at all.   Never used is just by itself.   Always with an amp and now with Solo+Pico Slim.

 

I finally had good light to capture this. This photo shows how the bespoke TWcu/SCSCag IC from qusp connects the Solo to the Pico Slim. (The latter is inset at the rear in the portable stack so that the front side with volume control is flush with the Solo and Classic.)

Hey Ian!
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianmedium 

Add me to the list of happy classic users though I am not sure it is #7 it is the latest version that I have.

Looking at your profile photo, which components other than the Stepdance can you power with the XP8000 while the stack is playing?

More specifically, I know the XP8000 can provide power from all three output jacks simultaneously - 5V,12V, and 19V, and I know you're using the19V jack with the XPAL WI15 cable to supply the Stepdance with 15V, so that leaves the 5V and 12V jacks available for something else.  I suspect the Classic can't be charged while connected to the Solo, so the question comes down to:  Can you charge the Solo with either the 5V or 12V jacks while it's playing?

With what range of voltages can you recharge the Solo (assuming it's variable)?

I'm somewhat convinced just from reading reviews, that the CLAS outperforms the iMod in terms of SQ, but...

"The Red Wine Audio 4th Gen iMod converts the 1/8" headphone jack into a dedicated line-out jack".

Quoting: http://www.redwineaudio.com/products/imod

So...  Not only is the stack smaller, lighter, and less expensive without the Solo (which is so cool, I just want to burn money on it, anyway), but the 4th Gen iMod can be charged while playing - unlike a Classic when it's connected to the Solo (unless I'm missing something.)

The difference in price, size, weight, and convenience (keeping it charged) is forcing me to be really curious about just how much better the Classic > Solo > Stepdance > LCD-2 would sound than the iMod > Stepdance > LCD-2.  

Comments from anyone who has compared SQ of iMod vs. CLAS would be very much appreciated.  

Lastly, as discussed here, recently, I recognize the value of the Solo's interchangeability with other iDevices, even future iDevices, perhaps.  That's hugely appealing to me.

All I need is for someone to twist my arm on the SQ benefits of the Solo.  How does it's Wolfson DAC compare to any desktop DACs you've heard (same amp and headphones)?

Unfortunately,  I'm trying to shake off having seen a photo that Skylab once posted, showing his Leben + LCD-2 on a bedside table, sourced with an iMod.  I realize that his having done so on a secondary system in his home, where space is limited, should not necessarily be interpreted as a combo he would recommend to others or anywhere near what he would consider to be ideal, but at first consideration, that image and the fact that he uses (or at least used) that combo for bedside listening makes a pretty strong endorsement of the iMod.   Poor Sklyab...  He has so many groupies he can hardly twitch a muscle without someone noticing...   

Thanks!

Mike

(So close to pulling the trigger.)

Mike, Skylab is uding the iMod with the massive V-caps as the required DC blocking caps. They are meant to be nice but I can't comment from experience.

4G iMod would indeed allow you to charge and listen at same time but they are hard to come by. Frankly, if you put a fresh battery in the 5.5G iMod, battery life is excellent. (15-20 hours...)

My opinion of the iMod 5.5G with blackgate caps in the LOD versus CLAS:

iMod is lovely. It is warm and sweet. It has the iPod Video sound signature but lots of detail and air in the soundstage thanks to the cleaner line out. I was very happy using it with the Stepdance (modded down 6db for even better low voliume control) and the ES5. If my iMod hadn't died, i would still be using it.

I did destroy my iMod (long story), and so I compensated for the tragedy by upgrading to the Solo. And it really is an upgrade. Imaging of the Solo is fantastic (which I attribute to the reclocking.) The DAC is also Wolfsen (but a better chip) so it has that nice musical quality compared with CL. It's not as warm and also less dark than the iMod. Detail is greater. It's definitely more dynamic (output is 2Vrms, double the iMod). The soundstage is bigger and more layered. It outperforms the iMod in every regard IMHO.

But the iMod is very nice and it is more convenient.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooperpwc 

Mike, Skylab is uding the iMod with the massive V-caps as the required DC blocking caps. They are meant to be nice but I can't comment from experience.

 

4G iMod would indeed allow you to charge and listen at same time but they are hard to come by. Frankly, if you put a fresh battery in the 5.5G iMod, battery life is excellent. (15-20 hours...)

 

My opinion of the iMod 5.5G with blackgate caps in the LOD versus CLAS:

iMod is lovely. It is warm and sweet. It has the iPod Video sound signature but lots of detail and air in the soundstage thanks to the cleaner line out. I was very happy using it with the Stepdance (modded down 6db for even better low voliume control) and the ES5. If my iMod hadn't died, i would still be using it.

 

I did destroy my iMod (long story), and so I compensated for the tragedy by upgrading to the Solo. And it really is an upgrade. Imaging of the Solo is fantastic (which I attribute to the reclocking.) The DAC is also Wolfsen (but a better chip) so it has that nice musical quality compared with CL. It's not as warm and also less dark than the iMod. Detail is greater. It's definitely more dynamic (output is 2Vrms, double the iMod). The soundstage is bigger and more layered. It outperforms the iMod in every regard IMHO.

 

But the iMod is very nice and it is more convenient.

From my experiences with the 4G and the 5.5 iMods (with a Pico Slim at the moment) and now with the 7G iPod Classic+Solo+Slim, I would agree with cooperpwc's assessment.   The Solo adds a sound quality value for me that is quite dramatic, the most notable of which includes the separation and placement of instruments, the accuracy and clarity of the sounds different instruments make, the much better definitions of sound quality at the extremes of the frequency spectrum, and a real richness of sound.   (I listen mostly to classical and jazz with JH13s.)  As cooperpwc says, imaging is fantastic.  Agree whole-heartedly.

The comparisons above are comparing the 7G iPod with the two iMods that I can't use with the Solo....well, I could, but have no control over the sequence of what plays.   So, please bear in mind that the iPods as sources do vary here and it maybe that I am getting a better sound because of the 7G iPod AND the Solo, rather than just the Solo.

I agree with you that the iMods are great sounding.  I have been really happy with mine, and once I get the JH-3A, I will put the Pico back with the 5.5 iMod for something more portable than the transportable stack (brick!) of 7G iPod+Solo+3A.  As for the 4G iMod.....the bride has it, but seems to use her iPhone more as a source with just earphones.  Opportunity lost, if  you ask me!

I you can save the right amount of pennies, I would suggest you get off that fence and buy the Solo.   Sorry...!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwirugby 

I agree with you that the iMods are great sounding.  I have been really happy with mine, and once I get the JH-3A, I will put the Pico back with the 5.5 iMod for something more portable than the transportable stack (brick!) of 7G iPod+Solo+3A.  As for the 4G iMod.....the bride has it, but seems to use her iPhone more as a source with just earphones.  Opportunity lost, if  you ask me!

So true.  I was looking at the size of the solo, and was shaking my head.  I would not touch that with a stick.  Just look at the size of the thing and the price?  Not worth it.  Don't even know how well it perform, haven't seen any real review(not some audiphile BS, measurements).  The fact that it's being sold at 6moons, or ALO audio turns me off.  I have a diymod, and happy with that.  

Well that's it then! we can close this thread and all go home

I'm sympathetic. Sometimes a guy just has to take a crap. Hopefully he's wiped his ass properly, pulled up his knickers and moved on.

LMAO ! Nice one...