Anaxilus
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2010
- Posts
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- 339
You TF10 users should inquire as to what the output impedance is on the Leckerton. The TF10 has been known to be picky w/ amps.
I've always wondered about the UHA-4 but didn't want to buy one to find out. I'm glad some people are getting it.
@aamedford: can you try it out of a computer with your quads and let me know how it goes? I want a smaller dac/amp for my netbook when I leave the house and I was looking at this before I got lazy and just stuck with my current dac/amp which sounds great but I would prefer a smaller package.
No hiss with MTPC and volume adjustment seems to have a rather significant range but not so much as to be impractical or a hassle.
From memory, the UHA-4 is better than the RSA Shadow (and more than two times cheaper!) as it has a built in DAC, crossfeed, gain switch. UHA-4 SQ is also more satisfying than the Shadow - the Shadow is very good and clean but rather dry and sterile in contrast to the UHA-4, which is rather musical and just slightly warm perhaps. The UHA also has a better soundstage/3d.
The UHA-4 and TTVJ Slim are actually quite on par SQ wise, but the UHA-4 seems to have better control over the bass, where the TTVJ seems a bit loose if not boomy. Both great amps though and the UHA-4 has a better DAC than the TTVJ Slim with DAC. UHA is also shorter, has better battery life and it's almost three times cheaper!
Leckerton also has a 30 day money back guarantee, which I'm not sure if either RSA or TTVJ have.
This is from memory as I no longer have the shadow or ttvj:
All three are top tier amps.
Detail - almost equal with the shadow seeming more analytical due to sounding a bit dry but only relative to e Ttvj and UHA-4
Mids - ttvj and UHA-4 more lush and musical but shadow is not bad
Highs - all are pretty good and nothing stands apart but shadow is quite clear and maybe just slightly flatter where ttvj and UHA-4 are a bit more music/mid centric
Soundstage - UHA and ttvj deeper and wider than shadow but again shadow is very clear but more two dimensional perhaps
All three are great amps but ttvj and UHA-4 are really really close to each other in SQ whereas the shadow is a rather different but still great. Shadow is very very small and I found it a bit impractical as it was difficult to reach and find and adjust volume in a pocket as it is much smaller than iPod or iPhone.
Ttvj has a very nice volume control although not digital but actually I prefer it over the rocker switches that the UHA and shadow sport but the UHA has a bigger one so it's a bit easier to work than the shadow. The shadow has a crazy long battery life.
Given all of the above and factoring price, I can't justify spending more on the ttvj or shadow over the UHA-4 unless there is some synergy issue related to specific equipment.