Portable amp for LCD2 - Page 6

Send me a PM with the prices and details :)

 

 

Many of us also doubted if going balanced will improve sound. However...

http://www.head-fi.org/t/214588/review-portable-amp-roundup-56-portable-amps-reviewed-and-compared-final-update-12-20-10-added-rsa-sr-71b/3090#post_7214061

And Skylab is a serious man, with serious reviews...

Skylab prefers the SR-71B in balanced mode over the other 2 amps even with single-ended source. Well I'm convinced =) time to pull the trigger!

 

Anybody here know when the Norse Audio website will be up and running?

 

A balanced amp being run single ended is not the same as a pure single ended amp.  In general, when run single ended, it can reasonably be expected to perform worse single ended than balanced (which propagates the belief, I think, that balanced *must* somehow be better).  Many balanced amps are definitely better balanced than single ended because they have probably been optimized for minimal distortion, output impedance, and other parameters. 

 

I don't think Skylab was trying to generalize that balanced is better than single ended, only that in these amps, the SR-71B in balanced mode had the best result for him.

 

 

Edited by mrspeakers - 9/20/11 at 10:02pm

The amps will probably predictably run better in balanced mode than single ended, regardless of source.  The reason the feature is there is almost certainly that RSA optimized performance for balanced mode, but single-ended was added as a convenience/good feature for people with some cans that aren't cabled right. 

 

Again, I'm not saying balanced is bad, and when I heard the 71B I definitely liked it.  I'm just adding a little engineering POV to the "balanced is better" notion....

 

/me is taking notes :P

I read that the 71B doesn't sound as good single-ended compared to the 71A, but you're spot on about the single-ended being a convenience thing, well for me anyway. I don't have the money to buy everything yet either so my HD650s will do for now until I can afford a pair of balanced LCD2s =). 

Which comes back to the original point that balanced SR71B will sound better than the other two because of the balanced mode.

as i have mentioned, in my experience using the balanced out of the 71b was clearly a better sound.

 

i should also mention that as far as balanced gear goes, i have neither experience, nor knowlege, or even understanding of what a balanced or semi balanced rig is.. i just went by sound quality comparison, and it didnt take more than 2 quick switches back and forth from single ended output to balanced output to declare a clear winner and never look back.

 

even when i am using an ipod and lod.. in other words, nothing fancy being fed into the 71b.

 

 

 

No...  This specific amp sounds better IN balanced mode than these two amps, not BECAUSE it is balanced per-se.  It is absolutely wrong to conclude that an amp is better simply because it is balanced.  This topology does have it's own drawbacks, as any does, and a given design should be judged on the result, not a theory that "it is balanced therefore it is better."  It's like saying that "it is discrete so it is better" or "it has a brown nob and felt feet, so it is better."  

 

RSA did a great job with this balanced amp, and at least per Skylab's nice review, it is better than the two amps he compared it to.  That's all you can conclude.  If that motivates you to get a balanced cable and buy the amp, that's a fine outcome...  :-)
 

 

You're taking this the wrong way. If you read closely, what I'm saying is that the balanced mode sounds better, the mode being exclusive to the SR71B.... There's nothing to be arguing about here.

 

So balanced is inherently superior, regardless of amplifier? To you, or to everyone? What makes it objectively true, such that there's nothing to argue about?

We're talking about the three portable amps that are at hand right now, which are, SR71B, Stepdance, and the L3.

Are you people that bored that you need to argue about anything that pops up? Read my posts thoroughly first, and the posts that were made beforehand so you know what the situation is before trying to argue anything. Jesus Christ...
Edited by Girls Generation - 9/21/11 at 3:17pm

I get it haha. Not saying balanced mode is better than single-ended per se, just that the SR71-B's performance in it's balanced mode is "better" than the other 2 amps right? According to GG and Skylab as far as I know. Nothing to argue about here guys =)

Sort of.

I'm saying that if you run the SR71B in balanced mode, it will sound better than the sound of the other two amps, due to the use of that balanced mode. One can obviously assume I'm saying balanced mode beats all SE, but I'm saying this within the portable amp world, more specifically, the three amps that are being compared right now.