[Patu]

Oh boy was I surprised when FedEx courier called me 30 minutes ago and said that he was waiting downstairs with a package for me. I expected this beauty to arrive Wednesday at the earliest. Rudi sent it Friday and it arrived today. Can shipment get any faster?

First thing which impressed me was the size of RP5.1. Damn I thought it would be half of the size it really is. I never really looked/thought the dimensions they have on the web site. And the weight. This sure ain't any light weight equipment (for a headphone amp). It weights ~6kg and you can feel it. Compared to HA1 MkII it's huge in every aspect.

I let it warm up for 10 minutes because it was still ice cold (yeah it's getting pretty cold here in Finland) then I hooked it up. I also took a look under the hood and everything looked very good. I think the build quality seems even much better in live than it looks in the pics they have on the web site.

About the sound... I won't say much about it yet. I have only listened this for 15 minutes now. But I can say that I have never ever enjoyed listening music as much as I am now. It has just so great amount of musicality and airiniess in its sound that it's something amazing.

I'll sure write more about it when it has bee burned in and I've calmed down.

http://www.rudistor.com/soundsystems/RP5-en.htm

 

[Solude]

Glad you bought it even if you didn't take mine

It really is a nice piece.

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solude Glad you bought it even if you didn't take mine It really is a nice piece.

Yes I'm glad also. When I'm listening to this I forgot the price I paid for it. Nice piece indeed.

 

[RnB180]

what is the price of it?

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnB180 what is the price of it?

Check the link on the first post.

I hope your cable would arrive tomorrow or at last on wednesday RnB.

 

[Nik]

Congrats! Do you use the amp with the HD 650?

Best!
Nicola

 

[Andrea]

Nice! But where's the HA-1 mkII gone?

 

[gundam91]

Congrats! Warm up time will take longer than 10 minutes, especially if in cold weather.

I usually let it warm up at least 30 minutes to an hour before doing any critical listening.

I suggest leaving your system on, and put a CD on repeat, and just let the amp burn-in for three to four days. (Make sure your headphone is connected to the amp too, just turn the volume to a low level). If you are using some nice tubes in the amp, I would replace them with some cheap Sovtek tubes for the burn-in process, then plug them back for listening. Make sure the power is off before doing any tube swapping.

Thanks to Nik for introducing me to this amp in the first place. Mine is currently mated with a set of Amperex 6922 PQ white label.

Solude was selling his on the "For Sale" section. And it didn't get too much interest, so I posted a shameless plug for the amp on his thread:

Quote:

Originally Posted by gundam91 Although the Rudistor RP5.1 is an excellent amp, unfortunately, it doesn't get too much publicity here on Head-Fi, and not too often does one show up at local meets for people to listen to it first hand. And even if people hear one at a meet, the amp doesn't jump out from the crowd immediately. (This is not a bad thing) I think the strengths of the Rudistor amp are its balanced sound, the resolution of micro details, and spatialness which get drawned out with all that background noises at meets. And it doesn't fit the taste of a lot of head-fiers that I have met so far who either like lots of bass or overly bright sound, which sometimes gets misconstrued as "detailed". (No punt intended) It's like tasting a very fine wine from some unknown vineyard. When you first taste it, nothing really jumps out at you, but as you savor the taste over time, you realize how good it truly is (as compare to something that might highlight certain aspects). So in a large wine tasting setting, it could easily get dismissed quickly. Plus the style is fairly bland, so immediately most people just kind of dismiss it as "just another amp".

I was at a friend's place this past Friday night listening to his Sonus Fabre Amati speakers (US$20,000) powered by BAT VK75SE amp/Sonic Frontier Line 3/Electrocompaniet CD player after I had posted the statement above earlier that day. And I came to the same conclusion that European audio products seem to emphasize more on the microdetails, a different level of refinement I have not heard on most North American audio products. Most of the North American audio products seem to focus on the "big picture" aspect, which gives people a "larger than life" impression. Things like imaging, dynamics, bass extension, etc. Some people characterize this as sounding "Hi-Fi", and it usually has bigger impact for someone listening to a specific system for the first time. (I am not criticizing either, just making a generalization of the different emphases that I have observed.)

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea Nice! But where's the HA-1 mkII gone?

Well it's for sale. But I first try to sell it here in Finland. And if it doesn't sell (which I highly doubt) I'll try to sell it here.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Nik Congrats! Do you use the amp with the HD 650?

Yes I do. And I'm about to drive HF1's with it too when they arrive.

For this short listening I'd really say that RP5.1 and 650s has a great synergy.

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gundam91 Congrats! Warm up time will take longer than 10 minutes, especially if in cold weather. I usually let it warm up at least 30 minutes to an hour before doing any critical listening.

Well I meant that I warm it up because it was just brought me by FedEx courier and weather outside was very cold so the amp itself was like an ice stick.

Quote:

I suggest leaving your system on, and put a CD on repeat, and just let the amp burn-in for three to four days. (Make sure your headphone is connected to the amp too, just turn the volume to a low level). If you are using some nice tubes in the amp, I would replace them with some cheap Sovtek tubes for the burn-in process, then plug them back for listening. Make sure the power is off before doing any tube swapping.

Well Rudi recommends not to leave RP5.1 on for too long periods. Actually it says on the manual that not over 8 hours straight (preferably). But I don't know then. Manual recommends 20 hour of burn in for the tubes but I don't know about this either. It sounds very nice straight out of the box but it's okay if it gets even better.

Quote:

I was at a friend's place this past Friday night listening to his Sonus Fabre Amati speakers (US$20,000) powered by BAT VK75SE amp/Sonic Frontier Line 3/Electrocompaniet CD player after I had posted the statement above earlier that day. And I came to the same conclusion that European audio products seem to emphasize more on the microdetails, a different level of refinement I have not heard on most North American audio products. Most of the North American audio products seem to focus on the "big picture" aspect, which gives people a "larger than life" impression. Things like imaging, dynamics, bass extension, etc. Some people characterize this as sounding "Hi-Fi", and it usually has bigger impact for someone listening to a specific system for the first time. (I am not criticizing either, just making a generalization of the different emphases that I have observed.)

Well I can't comment on North American amps when I've never heard one.

That's so right what you said in your quote. For what I've now heard I think RP5.1 has very balanced sound. It doesn't emphasize anything. Everything sounds just right.

And what I said earlier about enjoying music. Damn with RP5.1 I really do. It just makes my 650s sound so right. And what you said about spatialness... RP5.1 is getting me right into the music and giving me a realistic and lively image of what I'm listening to.

This doesn't really tell you anything yet but this is how I feel. And as said I can't give any critical comments about it when I've owned it just for a couple of hours. But later then.

Well I might add one pic of it on my desk. Look at its size! Damn it takes half of my desk.

RP5.1

 

[neilvg]

Congrats Patu. It's a beauty isn't it? Both looks wise (it has a certain presence) and the sound of course. I think that both of Rudi's Hybrid amps do an excellent job especially with the senns. You'll be happy my friend.

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilvg Congrats Patu. It's a beauty isn't it? Both looks wise (it has a certain presence) and the sound of course. I think that both of Rudi's Hybrid amps do an excellent job especially with the senns. You'll be happy my friend.

Thank you neilvg!

This sure is beauty. In pictures it doesn't look so special but when looked live it really looks, feels and SOUNDS like a high end headphone amp.

Did you decide to keep your RP6 neilvg?

 

[neilvg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu Thank you neilvg! This sure is beauty. In pictures it doesn't look so special but when looked live it really looks, feels and SOUNDS like a high end headphone amp. Did you decide to keep your RP6 neilvg?

Yeah, I'm actually glad interest was relatively low, because I really do like the amp, and I like the HD600's better out of the RP6 than the EMAE. Of course if the price is right... But yeah for now it stays, and it is very very welcome

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu ...But I can say that I have never ever enjoyed listening music as much as I am now. It has just so great amount of musicality and airiniess in its sound that it's something amazing.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly! I enjoyed the sound this amp made more than anything else even close to its price range. The first morning I was up until 4am listening to disc after disc, and relishing in how much it made me enjoy my music. I'm starting to regret returning the amp instead of just buying the review sample.

 

[RnB180]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gundam91 Congrats! Warm up time will take longer than 10 minutes, especially if in cold weather. I usually let it warm up at least 30 minutes to an hour before doing any critical listening. I suggest leaving your system on, and put a CD on repeat, and just let the amp burn-in for three to four days. (Make sure your headphone is connected to the amp too, just turn the volume to a low level). If you are using some nice tubes in the amp, I would replace them with some cheap Sovtek tubes for the burn-in process, then plug them back for listening. Make sure the power is off before doing any tube swapping. Thanks to Nik for introducing me to this amp in the first place. Mine is currently mated with a set of Amperex 6922 PQ white label. Solude was selling his on the "For Sale" section. And it didn't get too much interest, so I posted a shameless plug for the amp on his thread: I was at a friend's place this past Friday night listening to his Sonus Fabre Amati speakers (US$20,000) powered by BAT VK75SE amp/Sonic Frontier Line 3/Electrocompaniet CD player after I had posted the statement above earlier that day. And I came to the same conclusion that European audio products seem to emphasize more on the microdetails, a different level of refinement I have not heard on most North American audio products. Most of the North American audio products seem to focus on the "big picture" aspect, which gives people a "larger than life" impression. Things like imaging, dynamics, bass extension, etc. Some people characterize this as sounding "Hi-Fi", and it usually has bigger impact for someone listening to a specific system for the first time. (I am not criticizing either, just making a generalization of the different emphases that I have observed.)

wow, I dont think I would ever leave any tube amp on for 4 days straight! I turn mine off when I leave the house, you never know if something ever goes wrong and you tubes explode, overheat or catch something on fire.