BREAKING NEWS! ALO audio's new portable tube amplifier + DAC! - Page 3

Hmmm I would also like to know, seems like ALO took the specs out, what is the voltage swing for the Pan Am?

O.M.G., no optical line in ? How long are we to wait for a top portable amp + DAC with an optical [toslink or coaxial optical] line in ? To hell with I-pods.

My review of the Pan Am is up now.

This doesn't have any input for iPod or iPhone. It has RCA (pretty standard) and 3,5mm (for all systems that don't have proprietary line outs, and for headphone outputs. USB cannot be used with an iPod/iPhone anyway as the Pan Am draws a little too much power. 

I do wish it had coaxial input, but still, as is, the system is very very good (and extremely powerful). 

I remember being all set to order the ALO Continental for my ATH-W3000ANV's back in July, but after speaking to the guys at ALO, I decided to wait to see what the fuss over their new Pan Am was all about.  And I'm glad I did. The Pan Am is a neat piece of gear that I was able to audition two days running at RMAF's Can Jam 2012.  On the first day, I spent time with the Audeze LCD3's and really enjoyed the combination.  I didn't take notes, but distinctly recall how fun, lively and musical this combination is. 

On the second day, I brought my ATH-W3000ANV's along and did A/B testing with the National, the Continental and the Pan Am. I was torn between the National and Continental for the first several listens, ultimately leaning toward the Continental by a very small margin.  The National being the smallest of the lot is clear, quick, responsive, and everything you'd expect from a solid state. The Continental on the other hand, has a touch more warmth and depth; and although I'd hardly call it slow, the Continental wasn't nearly as crisp and quick as the National. I was hard-pressed to declare a winner as each has a lot going for it.  And if your parameters had you opting for a more portable unit, I'd say you really couldn't go wrong with either.  

When I rotated the Pan Am into the mix however, the depth and openness of it's presentation took things to a whole new level...as well it should.  Now, don't expect it to replace a full-size desktop just yet, but for the ease of portability it offers along with a nice price point, it's a worthy contender.  For full size headphones that you probably won't be jumping on a plane with, the Pan Am is really a super semi-desktop and/or move-around-the-house unit.  And just what I've been waiting for.

As an aside, I was able to do an A/B comparison with all three of the ALO's using the W3000's and LCD2's. I wasn't nearly as impressed with the LCD2 as I had been with bigger brother LCD3 using these portable units.  And switching from the LCD2 to W3000ANV seemed more of a lateral move than anything, with my ears leaning more toward the finesse of the W3000's with each of the ALO offerings.  Of course, I would've preferred making the comparison using the LCD3, but alas Tyll Hertsens of Inner Fidelity was busy doing his own comparisons across the table from me.  And just as I thought he was done, Tyll proceeded to film his interview with ALO's founder Ken Ball.  (Yep, that's me in the orange shirt).   

Peace

I had a quick listen to the PanAm in Tokyo and it sounded pretty good. Would be interesting to see how it goes with different tubes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmichels 

Very Nice portable gear indeed ! Too bad it's Dac only support 24/96khz :-(.

Has someone tried it with a Samsung Galaxy S3 android phon ( "almost STANDARD USB ) ? Is it limited to 16/48 on the Glaxy S3 ?

--> Does someone know a battery powered portable DAC/Headphone amp ( if possible " ballanced" that support 24/192 from a PC/Mac ? ( besides the Solo -dB + alo rx Mk3 amp )

The Audio-gd NFB-16 did, but it is not being sold at the moment.