Tralucent T1 appreciation thread - post your experiences and questions here - Page 20

Well, whatever the opinions out there, kudos to iBasso for making a variable line output. It's a killer spec for portable headphone fans.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo 

Well, whatever the opinions out there, kudos to iBasso for making a variable line output. It's a killer spec for portable headphone fans.

Yep I feel the same. I think it's ingenious because it makes this player very versatile with so many amps out there. While with DAPs with a fixed LO level you more so need and amp with a digital potentiometer to really play it on the safe side (in terms of sensitive IEMs that is)...

That is one thing I didn't agree with Fang on. His comment stating that ibassos implementation of the LO was lazy.... I know that comment was out of the blue lol but it popped in my head when you mentioned the LO :P.

Have any of you guys had a chance to compare the T1 with the Portaphile 627, because it is the other amp I always hear pair well with the DX100...
 

I've not heard the Portaphile 627.

I haven't heard the 627 but if it's anything like the 627AP Op Amp that was in my UHA6 MKII. It's gonna be a warmer sound. More euphoric, smoothed out treble and more intimacy in the mid range and very nice bass texture. More so of a musical sound with an expansive sound stage. While my T1 amp was truer to the source in direct comparison. Both great amps but I preferred the T1 on the DX100.
 

I've finally gotten 250hrs burnin on my T1 and extremely impressed!   Over a year ago I had both the Arrow(not the 12HE)  and LeckertonUHA4 and sent back the Arrow, it just seemed slightly bass heavy and didn't have as clear, warm and balanced mids as the Leckerton.   Comparing my UHA4 to the T1 was hard because the T1 is so much more powerful, volume at half on the T1 is full for the UHA4.

Yet after getting the volume equal there was no comparison.   The whole music spectrum through the T1 had more depth, definition,impact and clarity.   In fact, I've never had to use the word "muddy" but the T1 made the UHA4 sound thin and muddy!   There is great balance on the T1, the bass is deep, clear and doesn't overtake the mids and highs. 

I'm using the T1 velcroed to my StudioV and it fits perfectly, they are both the same size.   I use the T1 at half volume and my V at 6 to 10 depending on the recording.   My initial problem with the T1 was a bad power cable, but when I switched it charged fine and contrary to jeffsf comment, "You can't use the amp while it is charging." you can listen through it while charging, with the bad power cable it wouldn't play throught my IEMs when charging.   When I first got the T1 it really sounded poor, highs didn't sound clear, definate improvement with burnin.  Didn't notice poor sound from the UHA4 before burnin.   If I used a DAC I would definately get the T1 and a separate DAC over the UHA4, the T1 is a definate step up from the UHA4 amp section. 

Today I have mini meet with 4 friends and done the comparison as follow :

Source : AK 100 standard

amp : Tralucent T1 vs

          Ortofon MHd Q 7

headphone : LCD 2 rev 0 and LCD 3

like the set up above the sound quality from T1 is better from Ortofon MHd Q7 in term 

power : is not enough power  to drive LCD 3

high : T1 has more presents , more clear than Ortofon MHd. Q7

mid : T1 has better mid clearer 

bass : T1 is more tight and detail 

Clarity : T1 has more clarity than Ortofon .

if pair with additional external DAC iBasso DB 2 , the Ortofon MHd Q7 has better analog sound quality than T 1 

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomscy2000 

I'm not sure exactly what the timeline is, but I'll be evaluating the T1 (along with the 1plus2) in the coming weeks. I've already (very briefly) heard the T1 once before, and thought it was quite good.

 

I'm thinking about comparing it against the Firestone FireyeHD, which has been mostly neglected here on head-fi, but is an amp that I also find to be quite good. Let me know if that's something you guys would be interested in reading (or just a simple, singular review).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saraguie   I would like to hear about the Firestone please.

Hey guys, I've posted my T1 review here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/649249/portable-amplifiers-from-the-far-east-firestone-audio-fireye-hd-tralucent-audio-t1-lots-of-pictures

It's a dual review with the Firestone Fireye HD, but is separated into different posts for people who aren't interested in the Fireye. My review for the T1 ended up being very, very similar to Shigzeo's --- it sounds really, really great, but it plays too loud. I've asked Gavin to entertain the possibility of making a lower gain version of the T1; selectable gain isn't likely, because Gavin has said that selectable gain would degrade sound quality, but hopefully, fixed low gain would be possible. I know a better volume knob is in the works, but I really, really encourage lower gain, still, for IEMs. The T1 really does sound great; it'd be a shame if people with fixed output sources couldn't use it as an amplifier.

I agree with you on this tomscy. I've been talking with Gavin about allowing for lower volume listening without channel imbalance on the volume pot. Heck even if it would costs more I'd be for it since the T1 is a very good amp. The only cons I see are the volume pot with channel imbalance with powerful sources and of course the bright blue light lol. :P
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nirmalanow 

I posted the following on a thread about the DX100, but it is relevant here also:

 

I can't report on the new firmware, but I can share that I tried the Tralucent T-1 amp as per lee730's recommendation. And it is quite an amazing amp for the price, and a definite upgrade over the amp in the DX100. However, I also happened to be trying a used Continental V2 that I got on here for a good price. And yes the $529 amp is even better than the $229 T1. No surprise there given the much lower price of the T1, but the surprise is how close the T1 came to the ALO tube amp. Clarity and the ability to sort out complex music was the same on both amps. The Continental just has a certain fullness and body to the sound that the T1 can't quite match, although in most respects they are incredibly close, and the T1 actually has a very nice tone itself, just not as full and dense as the tube amp. If the Continental is out of your budget, then I would certainly recommened giving the T1 a try. Also I was using them both with the HD650s which probably is not an ideal match for the T1. With an easier to drive headphone, the differences might be even less than what  I heard.

So I have decided to keep the Continental. Rather than return the Tralucent to Gavin which would incur a restocking fee, I have put it up for sale on here. So anyone from the US reading this thread and considering trying the T1, you can save $50 by buying mine which is in mint condition and only a few weeks old.

Just wanted to pass this on.   The battery in my T1 recently started heating up and would only charge for a few minutes then play for only 1 hr before cutting off.   A google search only revealed one place besides bulk purchase places for a similar battery http://www.ebay.com/itm/9V-Li-ion-650mAh-Super-High-Capacity-Rechargeable-Battery-/120774100952.

Apparently this battery is commonly used in China and it is made in Japan,LOL.   My suggestion if your battery goes during or after one year warrantee to contact Gavin to make sure that the ebay battery is indeed the right one, or just buy one from Gavin tho shipping is the cost of the battery itself. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nirmalanow 

So I have decided to keep the Continental. Rather than return the Tralucent to Gavin which would incur a restocking fee, I have put it up for sale on here. So anyone from the US reading this thread and considering trying the T1, you can save $50 by buying mine which is in mint condition and only a few weeks old.

So i decided to try an Altmann Tera Player and am now going to keep the T1 a little longer to see how it synergizes with the Tera. I have a feeling the cleaner sound of the T1 might actually work better with the sound of the Tera than the Continental....or at least maybe it will be good enough to allow me to keep it and save some $ by selling the Continental instead. They really are very close in SQ with the difference mainly one of tone.

Nice. Keep me posted on how the Tera sounds :).
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by lee730 

Nice. Keep me posted on how the Tera sounds :).
 

I realized I could not rest without trying it, so I ended up buying one new from Charles. I hope to find a combo of DAP, amp and headphones that I can live with for a while. I will post my impressions for sure.

And thank god for the for sale forums on here so I can recoup some of my recent purchases once I decide what to keep :)

So as I mentioned I hung onto the Tralucent. And now that I have had some more time with it, I have decided that I like it better than the Continental V2, at least with my HD650's. After a while the Continental seemed a little slow and thick, and switching to the Tralucent added a nice dose of adrenaline to the sound. This little amp really has such a powerful and clear sound.

With my Beyer T1s, I still like the Continental a bit more as they need a little softening and thickening of their overall brighter more detailed sound. But overall, I still like the HD650s with the Tralucent amp better than the Beyer's with the Continental amp. This might mean I end up selling the Beyers and Continental, and keeping the Tralucent and HD650's which would be great because they cost less than half as much!

The only wildcard is that I am getting a loaner of the new iCAN amp by iFi. It is a pretty different beast as it is more of a desktop, although you could get a bettery for it and use it as a transportable (kind of like the ALO PanAm). I am Ok with just a transportable setup instead of a truly portable, so I will have to see what sounds best overall. The iCAN has some unique features with a bass boost and also something they call a 3D effect which is supposed to be much more than just a crossfeed.

In the meantime, I sure am glad no-one wanted to buy my Tralucent amp.