For those interested, Tom has published the simplified circuit diagram on his website:
 
http://www.neurochrome.com/hp-1-ultra-high-end-headphone-amp/
 

 
There is also new casework available now, although the colour in the pic is not representative (too much flash Tom!). In reality they are much darker; basically like the header at the top of his webpage plus some texture, sorta like a fine hammertone:

Aaaaaaand here we go! Measurements of the much lauded Objective O2 amplifier...
 
http://www.neurochrome.com/o2-headphone-amp/

Since Tom doesn't have a direct side-by-side... I've taken the liberty to copy'n'paste (with a bit of rearranging to line up relevant values) and am posting here without further comment:
 

i'm literally narrowing down choices to neurochrome hp-1 and rupert neve rhnp. which one do you think better?

I haven't heard the RNHP, so can't offer any subjective comparisons for you.
 
What does your budget allow for? Do you need the power/headroom that the HP-1 provides over the RNHP?

ruhenheim said:

  i'm literally narrowing down choices to neurochrome hp-1 and rupert neve rhnp. which one do you think better?

Click to expand...

armaegis said:

  I haven't heard the RNHP, so can't offer any subjective comparisons for you.
 
What does your budget allow for? Do you need the power/headroom that the HP-1 provides over the RNHP?

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around $1000. i'm not sure. i'm just looking for better deal i supposed
 
currently i'm using CK2III 

Hp1 definitely a step up from my sigma22 powered ckkiii.

Hd650 is soft and underpowered in comparison on the ck

I don't know why ****ting on the O2 is so important to you. It would be hella sad if an amp that costs almost exactly 10x as much fully-assembled and is released 6 years later didn't measure better than the O2.
 
By the way, any chance you'll measure similarly-priced amps like the Schiit Magni 2 and compare it to the O2?

He wasn't ragging on the O2. It was a technical evaluation of the performance of the O2. I found his MiniDSP evaluation very helpful as well.
 
Now I couldn't afford the Neurochrome, but I do support the openness of his specifications. It reminds me in a good way of "The Wire" project on diyaudio, very measurement driven. It's not often that a designer specifies noise and distortion figures accounting for load (which is how it should be done).

sssn said:

I don't know why ****ting on the O2 is so important to you. It would be hella sad if an amp that costs almost exactly 10x as much fully-assembled and is released 6 years later didn't measure better than the O2.
 
By the way, any chance you'll measure similarly-priced amps like the Schiit Magni 2 and compare it to the O2?

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I noticed this too. Interesting way to market their product to say the least.


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jologskyblues said:

I noticed this too. Interesting way to market their product to say the least.
 

Click to expand...

 
Fun fact, the history of the O2 stemmed exactly from the designer ragging on other gear, so there's no claim to innocence there. He would have just been another objectivist guy lost in the wind, but he made his name by latching onto the backs of established members in the industry and throwing not just measurements around but actually tried calling them out and challenging them. Very few responded, because they recognized it as a ploy to build his name by dragging them down.
 
I used to have an O2 years ago. Objectively, I have issues with the development of the brand. Subjectively, I sold it after two weeks because it simply didn't sound good.
 
Tom here designed his HP-1 as a natural extension of his Neurochrome brand. He's a measurement nut, so I sent him a QRV08 to compare against since it is one of more complex DIY projects out there for headamps and considered to be a very high technical performer. Tom later went and bought an O2 himself out of curiosity to see how it measured up since that was it's "raison d'être" so to speak.
 
 

The difference is that the designer of the O2 didn't do it for money but to prove a point so technically, that's not marketing.

Ridiculous price. $1250 fully assembled   
 
With O2 in title I assumed the price would be <$200 but this is way too expensive for me. I'm sure its a good amp tho.

armaegis said:

   
Fun fact, the history of the O2 stemmed exactly from the designer ragging on other gear, so there's no claim to innocence there. He would have just been another objectivist guy lost in the wind, but he made his name by latching onto the backs of established members in the industry and throwing not just measurements around but actually tried calling them out and challenging them. Very few responded, because they recognized it as a ploy to build his name by dragging them down.
 
I used to have an O2 years ago. Objectively, I have issues with the development of the brand. Subjectively, I sold it after two weeks because it simply didn't sound good.
 
Tom here designed his HP-1 as a natural extension of his Neurochrome brand. He's a measurement nut, so I sent him a QRV08 to compare against since it is one of more complex DIY projects out there for headamps and considered to be a very high technical performer. Tom later went and bought an O2 himself out of curiosity to see how it measured up since that was it's "raison d'être" so to speak.
 
 

Click to expand...

You are right, NwAvGuy did beat down other brands - for good reasons though. The Schiit Asgard could destroy headphones and items like the NuForce uDAC 2 were -objectively- overpriced garbage. But he didn't use that to market his own stuff, he didn't make money with the O2. He was trying to make a point. The headphone amp market prior to the O2 was disastrous. Also, he compared items of similar price levels.
 
I am not doubting the measurements of Neurochrome. Especially the part about the battery dying is important info and a clear design flaw of the O2.
But I really, really do not see the point in comparing it to your own amp that is much more expensive, much harder to assemble, non-portable and 6 years younger. Get a Schiit Magni 2 and compare that to the O2. Then people could draw conclusions for themselves.

I already talked a bit about pricing in my review. High performance parts are not cheap, a custom chassis is not cheap, plus many hours to assemble by hand. "Ridiculous" is subjective
 
Look, you're jumping to the guy's defense, fine. He had some points to make, but his behaviour and attitude were terrible which led to him getting banned from virtually all forums he participated in (I watched it happen in several), and it actually makes me a bit nervous to be talking this much about him as that's been cause to lock threads before. Some do it for money, some do it for the fame/infamy. To call the market before the O2 "disastrous" is a gross exaggeration. The subj/obj divide has always existed and designers have belonged in both camps in the past and will continue to be so in the future. To rag on a company's product on safety concerns is one thing, but it could also have been done tactfully and left to the public to decide. To rag on another company's product as "overpriced garbage" when they're a boutique manufacturer selling a roughly $100 item is stirring the pot. To disagree with another maker's design philosophies and continually referring (I would say they were attacks, but that's my personal opinion) back to them to explain how "bad" they are is pedantic and petty.
 
If someone sends a Magni2 to Tom, I'm sure he'd be happy to measure it when time allows.
 
I should reiterate right now that the side-by-side measurement charts were compiled by me. Tom makes no mention of any of his work when discussing the measurements of the O2. He has also posted a small addendum by JDS Labs and amended portions of his text to reflect that.