I have had a little bit of experience with hybrid amps from the Vali, Little Dot 3, and finally the Fournier HTA-2. What I have not had experience is with all in one tube-hybrid/DAC which yes I have seen them around from unknown chinese versions that cost less and High end audio gear that cost so much more. I will say for this Price I think many units will have a hard time beating out this DAC/Amp. Now that fact that you can travel with this and have it connected to your laptop and or tablet on a bus or train and being listening nise 96khz files from a great amp and DAC is just a hefty plus. Mainly because I actually preferred getting the Gateway which is the aftermarket powersupply, for a cleaner and or more solid power supply. The sound quality on this unit for the price you can find them at is what really is amazing, because this DAC is definitely on par with the ODAC/CDAC+ that I have used in the past, which many know from their own experiences is fantastic DAC for the value it brings to all types of audio hobbyists. Well, the PanAm is not a slouch in the DAC dept. and man does it sound clean and clear with great detail, which for this price it should be. Yet, all this is for not if the amp is lacking in qualifications....well do not fret, because the Amp is in many ways the star of the show being even better, from power(raw power this thing is seriously fronting with the ring of power or something) to versatility. This amp can drive them phones, and does it sound good? *a very satisfying hell yeah, Let us get into a few specifics
The Design/Build
Honestly this feels and looks like a higher quality DAC/Amp from the small compact size to the sturdy construction and aesthetically pleasing chassis and ability to stack the PanAm with both the Gateway power supply( same size and color if one so chooses between black and silver) and the Passport( the battery pack that can charge and last up to 10 or so hours otg) which if buying both of the aftermarket accessories/extensions this product looks really cool and still is much smaller than many to any DAC/amp combo's I have seen. That amber to orange led light is non-obtrusive to the eye and gives a very nice pairing with the the orange tubes leds. It is heavier that it looks for it's size but that just adds to the solid feel it gives when first unboxing this gem. To myself this is easily a 10 out of 10 if they had decided to throw in the ability to use RCA out and have a stand alone DAC for those hobbyists, and I am happen to be one, that like to have more than one amp for a pairing with a particular headphone. I understand that was not in the design and new this going in, but I also know 500$ is nothing to scoff at so I give Design and build an 8/10
Sound quality and performance
If I could of a one word description, perhaps...beautiful. I can honestly say this unit with all the headphones from 35 ohm to 600ohms, from Dynamics to Orthos everyrthing is driven with authority. Not just authority though, with the RTC French 5654 tubes I am using everything has a spaciousness and detail that just knocks me to a music dream state. I have used 5 headphones with this unit the top 3 with it that I have given ample listening time are the T70p(35ohms), the HD600(300 ohms), and the ZMF X Vibro(Ortho not sure on Ohm)...each performed admirably but these exceeded that with performing remarkably. I have say as far as closed back headphones both the X Vibro and T70p are great for a pairing, one have heavier bass impact lush full midrange and smooth easy listening treble. Where the T70p has great extension on bottom and top, the bass being lighter but tight and quick, the midrange being the best I have heard from a Beyerdynamic, and treble though bright is very detailed and not as harsh as the lesser siblings of the DT line. The T70p's resolution and spaciousness for a closed headphone really helped it be an easy fit with the ALO PanAm especially pairing with the RTC tubes which has great detail and separation yet still has a musicality and intimacy that I happen to love ...with the T70p this feels like a very detailed yet musical pairing that many hobbyists would grow to love. I happen to Listen to all three of these headphones pretty regularly with the PanAm, but what I did not expect was how incredible this hybrid would sound with the pairing of lower sensitivity IEMs such as the ER4PT. I plugged them into the 3.5 audio jack turned gain to low setting and took a shot, fingers crossed, and was surprised with awesome satisfaction when I heard no hiss and or noise with the ER4PT and never have I heard them sound so good or large for that matter. Versatility is definitely a strong point with the PanAm, because it has torn through all the Headphones and IEMs(which are only a few) that I have put in it's path. I am hopefully getting the Cfte tubes from a member of this community( a very good one at that) and will be trying them on for size and when I do I will probably put down an edit list at the bottom where I place what tubes I felt made the best impression along with what headphones. Granted all of this is subjective because everyone's ear and taste is different to some extent. Sound quality and performance I give a 10/10 especially for the price right now.
As it stands there are other units for both DAC/Amp out there especially with the growing values out there in the audio world that compete with the PanAm, but I do not feel there is many that allow you to get this size, soundquality, versatility, and option to tube roll for the price that is on par with the PanAm, but granted this is my subjective opinion. Do I feel it warrants the money spent? Yes, I definitely do and it is incredible as far as audio performance in such a small package such as the PanAm.
This was just the initial impressions and review after a couple weeks with this device, but after I try more headphones and some different tubes I will definite come back to edit what I feel needs to be.
Thanks for reading please leave comments and questions below.
The Design/Build
Honestly this feels and looks like a higher quality DAC/Amp from the small compact size to the sturdy construction and aesthetically pleasing chassis and ability to stack the PanAm with both the Gateway power supply( same size and color if one so chooses between black and silver) and the Passport( the battery pack that can charge and last up to 10 or so hours otg) which if buying both of the aftermarket accessories/extensions this product looks really cool and still is much smaller than many to any DAC/amp combo's I have seen. That amber to orange led light is non-obtrusive to the eye and gives a very nice pairing with the the orange tubes leds. It is heavier that it looks for it's size but that just adds to the solid feel it gives when first unboxing this gem. To myself this is easily a 10 out of 10 if they had decided to throw in the ability to use RCA out and have a stand alone DAC for those hobbyists, and I am happen to be one, that like to have more than one amp for a pairing with a particular headphone. I understand that was not in the design and new this going in, but I also know 500$ is nothing to scoff at so I give Design and build an 8/10
Sound quality and performance
If I could of a one word description, perhaps...beautiful. I can honestly say this unit with all the headphones from 35 ohm to 600ohms, from Dynamics to Orthos everyrthing is driven with authority. Not just authority though, with the RTC French 5654 tubes I am using everything has a spaciousness and detail that just knocks me to a music dream state. I have used 5 headphones with this unit the top 3 with it that I have given ample listening time are the T70p(35ohms), the HD600(300 ohms), and the ZMF X Vibro(Ortho not sure on Ohm)...each performed admirably but these exceeded that with performing remarkably. I have say as far as closed back headphones both the X Vibro and T70p are great for a pairing, one have heavier bass impact lush full midrange and smooth easy listening treble. Where the T70p has great extension on bottom and top, the bass being lighter but tight and quick, the midrange being the best I have heard from a Beyerdynamic, and treble though bright is very detailed and not as harsh as the lesser siblings of the DT line. The T70p's resolution and spaciousness for a closed headphone really helped it be an easy fit with the ALO PanAm especially pairing with the RTC tubes which has great detail and separation yet still has a musicality and intimacy that I happen to love ...with the T70p this feels like a very detailed yet musical pairing that many hobbyists would grow to love. I happen to Listen to all three of these headphones pretty regularly with the PanAm, but what I did not expect was how incredible this hybrid would sound with the pairing of lower sensitivity IEMs such as the ER4PT. I plugged them into the 3.5 audio jack turned gain to low setting and took a shot, fingers crossed, and was surprised with awesome satisfaction when I heard no hiss and or noise with the ER4PT and never have I heard them sound so good or large for that matter. Versatility is definitely a strong point with the PanAm, because it has torn through all the Headphones and IEMs(which are only a few) that I have put in it's path. I am hopefully getting the Cfte tubes from a member of this community( a very good one at that) and will be trying them on for size and when I do I will probably put down an edit list at the bottom where I place what tubes I felt made the best impression along with what headphones. Granted all of this is subjective because everyone's ear and taste is different to some extent. Sound quality and performance I give a 10/10 especially for the price right now.
As it stands there are other units for both DAC/Amp out there especially with the growing values out there in the audio world that compete with the PanAm, but I do not feel there is many that allow you to get this size, soundquality, versatility, and option to tube roll for the price that is on par with the PanAm, but granted this is my subjective opinion. Do I feel it warrants the money spent? Yes, I definitely do and it is incredible as far as audio performance in such a small package such as the PanAm.
This was just the initial impressions and review after a couple weeks with this device, but after I try more headphones and some different tubes I will definite come back to edit what I feel needs to be.
Thanks for reading please leave comments and questions below.