ALO The Continental - Page 31

Quote:

Originally Posted by imackler 

If changing batteries is such a pain, is there any estimation of how many hours battery life you'll get? I imagine that would vary wildly based on the headphones you're powering, but are we talking a year, two years, etc.? 

Good question, It is strange that some companies loos the battery out of sight. It is either difficult to replace or difficult to recharge or not holding a good charge.I am interested to see how the V3 holds up.

I just got a used V2 and am enjoying it a lot. I do have a question which may have already been addressed on here. Everytime I have used it so far, I have noticed after 20-30 minutes a very sudden and dramatic increase in sound quality. I know that tube amps turn on slowly and also take a while to warm up, but I guess I thought the sound quality would just gradually increase.

But with what I am hearing, the amp sounds a little flat and lifeless and I am wondering what is wrong, and then, BAM, the sound just fills in. It is like going from 2-D to 3-D with fuller tone and a much more natural and lifelike sound. Is this typical of this amp or of tube amps in general? It has been a while since I had tubes in my system, and I do not remember hearing such a sudden change in SQ once the tubes have fully warmed up.

Boy does it sound good after I finally reach warp speed!

Edit added: I think I figured out what was happening. It turns out I had a loose connection in the aftermarket cable feeding my HD650s. So every now and then the connection would work and the sound would jump way up in quality. I am back to the stock cable and so far the sudden shift in SQ has not happened again.

Yesterday, I hooked up my TDS202 Sound Enhancer between my Tera Player and my Continental. It sounds amazing using my Beyer DT770-LE which did not sound as good when I was just using the Continental without the TDS. I do not know why it made such a big difference, but the sound is now crystal clear with amazing delicacy and realistic and  natural sounding instruments. It makes for a very nice contrast to my usual Tera-iCAN-HD650 setup which has more of a full bodied, visceral sound. Kind of like the difference between a female figure skater and a male figure skater. They both have incredible speed, grace and fluidity, but the HD650s are like the male figure skater in that there is a more muscled athleticism to the sound, wheras the Continental/DT770 combo is more delicate and beguiling in its own way. I like them both a lot.

The TDS is an inexpensive device that boosts low level details in the sound. It is only $40 and so can be a fun thing to experiment with: http://www.amazon.com/Acoustic-Research-TDS202-Enhancement-1-Speaker/dp/B00005QZ16/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top