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Fostex HP-P1 vs Cypher Labs Algorhythm Solo?

post #1 of 82
8/17/11 at 12:39am
Thread Starter 

Which one is better?

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post #2 of 82
8/17/11 at 3:37am

They are apples and oranges. The CLAS is only a DAC where as the Fostex HP-P1 is an amp/DAC, the CLAS is going to cost more paired with a good amp (such as the Rx Mk2). I have not heard them in person but the Fostex seems to have a better DAC but the amp seems to be no where near good as a standard $200 + amp (I could be wrong though, since I've never heard any of them in person).

 


Edited by Parall3l - 8/17/11 at 7:18am
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post #3 of 82
8/17/11 at 9:32am
Headfonia.com had an interesting comparison between the two. He seemed to favor the HP-p1 and made it seem like it would really suit my tastes BUT....he only listened with CLAS to the ALO mk2. I would love to hear the CLAS with Arrow, Pixo Slim, etc and compare it then....
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post #4 of 82
8/28/11 at 4:39pm

I've been wrestling with this myself recently, as the upgrade bug has bitten again.  I seem to recall at least one credible review that stated the amp section for the Fostex was extremely good.  I am really trying to scale things down and the idea of going  iPod - > HP P-1 fits the bill perfectly.  Worse case scenario, is to pair it with my SR71-A.  I would love to leave the triple-decker approach for sandwiches only.

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post #5 of 82
8/28/11 at 6:40pm

Decided to listed to the little man in my head -- just pulled the trigger. :-)

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post #6 of 82
8/28/11 at 10:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Il Mostro View Post

Decided to listed to the little man in my head -- just pulled the trigger. :-)



Great, give us an impression? popcorn.gif

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post #7 of 82
8/29/11 at 8:51am

I have listened the Fostex HP-P1 today with the ipod gen 6 connected by the USB cable provided

by Fostex.   I don't have CLAS to compare but I would like to comment on its amplifier section.

 

I have not heard them in person but the Fostex seems to have a better DAC but the amp seems to be

no where near good as a standard $200 + amp (I could be wrong though, since I've never heard any of them in person).

 

I only would like to share my experience to its amplifier section which initially I thought it may be the weak point of Fostex HP-P1

to drive the difficult present day cans.  Today  I have tried the Fostex HP-P1 starting with Grado Vintage RS1, JVC DX1000,

Denon LA7000 (Lawton mod, Jenawire, Kal Cedars oak), Smeggy Thunderpants, LCD2 rev2 and now I am listening

with the Sennheiser HD800.   I would like to say that it is a beautiful amplifier with excellent DAC section and it is not

a weak amplifier at all because it can drive the LCD2 rev2 and HD800 adequately.   I used only filter 1 and midgain setting

I don't think it will have any problem with the HE5 or even HE6.   I am not quite confident on the HE6 but I don't think it

can drive the AKG K1000 like the SR71B or the Ibasso.   I will try with HE5, HE6 and may attemp it on the AKG K1000 later.

  

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post #8 of 82
8/30/11 at 4:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parall3l View Post





Great, give us an impression? popcorn.gif


Will do.  It should get in tomorrow or the day after, along with DT1350's.  Hopefully my new (non-IEM) portable rig...

 

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post #9 of 82
8/30/11 at 4:41pm

I hope you have a pair of IEM's to review!!! I'm so ready for this hp-p1 rig. My Fiio E7 is down due to faulty interconnect! I was just testing the water with E7 and can't believe how much better my IE8's sound! If I can just get that sound (DAC) from my computer on my iphone / ipod. I won't even listen now without E7 it sounds broken to me, flat, noisy and just wrong. 

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post #10 of 82
8/30/11 at 5:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ironmantk View Post

I hope you have a pair of IEM's to review!!! I'm so ready for this hp-p1 rig. My Fiio E7 is down due to faulty interconnect! I was just testing the water with E7 and can't believe how much better my IE8's sound! If I can just get that sound (DAC) from my computer on my iphone / ipod. I won't even listen now without E7 it sounds broken to me, flat, noisy and just wrong. 


Yes, from my IEM's I will listen with Westone UM3X and Ety ER4S.   Full sized will be Senn HD600 and Beyer DT880 (250 ohm).  Maybe AKG 702's.   But my real goal is to use it with "portable" on-the ear headphones.   I am already getting good results with Gen VII iPod -> SR71A -> ESW9's, so this will likely be the acid test.  I have high hopes for the 1350's...


Edited by Il Mostro - 8/30/11 at 5:41pm
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post #11 of 82
8/30/11 at 5:57pm
Thread Starter 
I just found out the DAC chip of the Fostex uses the same brand of DAC as my Esoteric player. Of course the Esoteric uses a higher model and with 16 of them, 8 per channel, but it would be interesting to see how the AK DAC chips would fare with the more common ones like Cirrus Logic or Wolfson. I think the CLAS uses Cirrus Logic?
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post #12 of 82
8/31/11 at 10:40pm

Mine came in today.  Holy crap!  Perfect with my new DT1350's.  Drives HD600's with ease, using the medium gain setting.  I am done -- I have my new portable rig for the foreseeable future.  This is a game changer for portable audio, plain and simple.  

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post #13 of 82
9/1/11 at 5:03pm

the Fostex HP-P1 amplifier section can also drive the HE5 HE6 and AKG K1000

I used the mid gain and filter one.

 

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post #14 of 82
9/1/11 at 5:11pm
Thread Starter 
How does the Fostex amp section compare with dedicated portable amps such as the Stepdance or SR71A?
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post #15 of 82
9/1/11 at 6:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by googleli View Post

How does the Fostex amp section compare with dedicated portable amps such as the Stepdance or SR71A?


I haven't used the Fostex with line out to my SR71-A yet and even so it would not really be apples to apples -- but I will have to get around to this at some point.  My initial impression is the Fostex drives HD600's at least as well as the SR71-A.   I never use that combination on the go and at home I use other amps with HD600's.  That said, both of these have the juice and SQ to a fine job with moderately difficult loads.   Subjectively, the Fostex may have even slightly bigger huevos than the RSA.  

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