bought from RSA directly. Ray is really nice and super helpful on the phone. I own 3 of his amps and he as let me use whatever I want as the serial # as long as it hasn't been taken - favorite athlete's jersey number, my initials, my favorite number...
The Shadow is RIDICULOUSLY small (width/depth size of a movie ticket stub) - I still can't believe it every time I take it out. I bought one of Ray's Mil Spec LOD's (good price, great product) and can use any iPod with the Shadow. It sounds so good - I think with IEMs, even though you can power them with any PMP, you should use an amp to get good sound since most don't have great soundstage and imaging like speakers or even good over-the-ear headphones. The Shadow makes up for this - the well controlled power and presentation really bring out the life from decent IEMs.
I like that the input is in the back - this is rare for a portable hp amp - and very convenient (especially considering the small size & light weight).
The minijack connectors are great - they really clamp on to the line out dock and your headphones. One of Ray's older amps used loose minijack plugs and my headphones or iPod would sometime come disconnected - especially moving around on a bus or airplane or lying in bed. The Shadow doesn't have this problem and is so light it can basically "hang" in the air between your PMP and 'phones. It never accidentally comes disconnected.
The shadow can power most headphones, not just IEMs. It's got some juice. It'll run for weeks listening for a couple hours a day.
I don't really mind this, but as soon as you plug in/turn on the Shadow you hear the music at the fixed "default" volume. The digital volume control is great - you can make really slight adjustments - but every time you power off the volume resets to the "default."
I love the Shadow and I'll never regret buying it. There's nothing else at this price in its league, particularly given size and build quality. I don't think it's breakable
even if you tried, it's so well built.
Sonically it is just a dream. It really brings out the three-dimentionality even through IEMs. Probably RSA's best portable ever built, save maybe for the SR71B which is about 4 times the size and twice the price (check Ray's Web site to confirm that). I've never heard that amp, I'm just guessing based on its power supply (2 x 9V) and more recent release.
If you're on the fence a all just buy it. You'll never regret it.
The Shadow is RIDICULOUSLY small (width/depth size of a movie ticket stub) - I still can't believe it every time I take it out. I bought one of Ray's Mil Spec LOD's (good price, great product) and can use any iPod with the Shadow. It sounds so good - I think with IEMs, even though you can power them with any PMP, you should use an amp to get good sound since most don't have great soundstage and imaging like speakers or even good over-the-ear headphones. The Shadow makes up for this - the well controlled power and presentation really bring out the life from decent IEMs.
I like that the input is in the back - this is rare for a portable hp amp - and very convenient (especially considering the small size & light weight).
The minijack connectors are great - they really clamp on to the line out dock and your headphones. One of Ray's older amps used loose minijack plugs and my headphones or iPod would sometime come disconnected - especially moving around on a bus or airplane or lying in bed. The Shadow doesn't have this problem and is so light it can basically "hang" in the air between your PMP and 'phones. It never accidentally comes disconnected.
The shadow can power most headphones, not just IEMs. It's got some juice. It'll run for weeks listening for a couple hours a day.
I don't really mind this, but as soon as you plug in/turn on the Shadow you hear the music at the fixed "default" volume. The digital volume control is great - you can make really slight adjustments - but every time you power off the volume resets to the "default."
I love the Shadow and I'll never regret buying it. There's nothing else at this price in its league, particularly given size and build quality. I don't think it's breakable
Sonically it is just a dream. It really brings out the three-dimentionality even through IEMs. Probably RSA's best portable ever built, save maybe for the SR71B which is about 4 times the size and twice the price (check Ray's Web site to confirm that). I've never heard that amp, I'm just guessing based on its power supply (2 x 9V) and more recent release.
If you're on the fence a all just buy it. You'll never regret it.
