Holy Crap! A 5 star review from Snapacap?!? What is this?????
Anyway,
I would like to thank the community here at head-fi. The helpful people over at the HD600 impressions thread recommended this amp to me. I simply asked for something more powerful than a Fiio e10 for an incoming pair of HD600s, and the list was extensive. I decided to get the Project Polaris based on two factors. I wanted a tube sound, but I also didn't want to have to deal with tubes, and the Polaris came with adjustable settings that aren't the most common in the world of amps.
Looks:
Look at it.
Options of your choice:
Alright, now that you have seen it, I will add that Garage 1217 gives a variety of color options for the LED, and it can also be toggles off and on with a jumper cap. You can also adjust the brightness with a tiny screwdriver in the hole just above the LED jumper. Also, the LED can be manually changed out for another color if one desires variety in their life.
The acrylic plates can be swaped for sharp-looking CNC aluminum ones at additional cost, but I like how the light spreads through the clear acrylic.
The most interesting choice you have is mellow and aggressive bandwidth options. The Aggressive setting is referring to a steeper bandwidth adjustment setting which, when adjusted to a lower setting, results in a more mellow sound. The mellow option does the same thing, but not as steeply, resulting is a lesser mellow sound. There are nice graphs on the Garage1217 website if you all are interested. Clearly I got the aggressive option.
This page on the bottom: http://garage1217.com/garage1217_diy_tube_headphone_amplifiers_015.htm
Last you can choose a black, or silver volume knob.
I just love how many options there are for the Polaris. You can make it truly yours, match your setup, or just get creative!
Also, they give you a sticker!
Adjustable settings
There are some nice settings on the Project Polaris that really made this amp more than what I expected it to be.
one note: I wish there were switches that didn't make me nervous to bend pins every time I want to change them. I do not like jumper caps.
First, as I said before, there are bandwidth settings. They are labeled "High BW" "Mid BW" "Low BW", as all other settings are abbrevitated similarly. You also adjust these separately for either channel, as with all the other settings. The bandwidth setting does not make a huge difference in sound, but is more of a fine tune sort of thing. The difference is notable, but not dramatic. Sometimes it can roll off the upper-highs enough to get an extra level of grain in vocals. This is useful for sure.
Next there is Resistance adjustability. I find this to be more for making sure the headphone takes well to the amp. Low resistance Headphones seem to have a much different opinion of resistance than HD600s.
Lastly, and most importantly, there is Gain Adjustment galore! this is where the rubber meets the road for the Project Polaris. There are three basic gain settings, multiplied by two with an attenuation module in the back corner of the amp labeled "Not" and "ot" . The gain adjustability is by far my favorite feature, and will be very important to sound.
I should mention there is also an RCA line out. More features is better!
Sound
The sound of the Project Polaris is what finally made me admit to myself that I am indeed an audiophile. When the Polaris arrived, I plugged it in real quick and shoved the HD600 cable into it, and was disappointed. I thought I had spent $250 on a small amount of extension increase, and dry sound. Luckily, I rubbed enough brain cells together to try the various settings. This is when my mind got blown. I put the gain setting from 'Low G' to 'Mid G' and my jaw hit the floor. A simple gain increase took the HD600 from being another pretty good headphone to being king of the castle. I spent the next couple hours plugging in all the things, and playing with all the settings. I ended up liking the HD600 the most of my collection with the Polaris. Honestly, I still sit and listen to music with this combo and actually have to vocally express how good some things sound to myself, alone, in my room. Clearly I have a problem. 'Mid' settings all around for the HD600 is the magic setting for me.
What is odd is that the cheaper the headphones are, the more they seem to gain from the Project Polaris. My HD558 gained a significant amount of clarity and extension from the amp. The Superlux 668b smoothed out quite a bit as well.
One of my favorite things about the sound is that instead of being like every other solid state amp, the Project Polaris as a bit of a tubey quality. There is a slight hollowish tube-like sound compared to my Fiio e10, LG V20, etc... The power of this amp more than enough to make this pleasant. I had found the Bravo Ocean to be too hollow in its tubey nature. I think I found a nice middle ground with the Project Polaris. I get the fun part of tube amplification sound I like, while not having to deal with tubes. Fantastic!
Not every headphone is a perfect match for the Project Polaris. I find I like my HD700 more on the Fiio e10 for example.
Some Headphones can sound like more than one pair by adjusting setting around. My SHP9500 has significant difference in sound signature to my ears with adjustment. Sometimes they are more rumble, and Bassy, while others they gain soundstage air, and become tighter.
This amp has power in spades. Anything I throw at it is more than powered well.
I Freakin love the Project Polaris amp.
Conclusion:
This amp has opened the door to the never ending world of audio hardware like nothing else has. I can say that I am more than pleased with how this amp performs, and recommend it highly. Having just enough sonic flair while not having to deal with tubes is a pure joy. Some of the larger companies should take notes. Adjustability is important. That is the feature that simply takes this amp to the next level. I feel like a mad scientist while toggling around all the settings, looking for the next maniacal creation to hear all my music in a different way than before.
I need more music to try on this beauty. I like recommendations in any genre. Thank you!
I forgot to do this earlier:
Recommended song: Trouble - Avicii
Anyway,
I would like to thank the community here at head-fi. The helpful people over at the HD600 impressions thread recommended this amp to me. I simply asked for something more powerful than a Fiio e10 for an incoming pair of HD600s, and the list was extensive. I decided to get the Project Polaris based on two factors. I wanted a tube sound, but I also didn't want to have to deal with tubes, and the Polaris came with adjustable settings that aren't the most common in the world of amps.
Looks:
Look at it.
Options of your choice:
Alright, now that you have seen it, I will add that Garage 1217 gives a variety of color options for the LED, and it can also be toggles off and on with a jumper cap. You can also adjust the brightness with a tiny screwdriver in the hole just above the LED jumper. Also, the LED can be manually changed out for another color if one desires variety in their life.
The acrylic plates can be swaped for sharp-looking CNC aluminum ones at additional cost, but I like how the light spreads through the clear acrylic.
The most interesting choice you have is mellow and aggressive bandwidth options. The Aggressive setting is referring to a steeper bandwidth adjustment setting which, when adjusted to a lower setting, results in a more mellow sound. The mellow option does the same thing, but not as steeply, resulting is a lesser mellow sound. There are nice graphs on the Garage1217 website if you all are interested. Clearly I got the aggressive option.
This page on the bottom: http://garage1217.com/garage1217_diy_tube_headphone_amplifiers_015.htm
Last you can choose a black, or silver volume knob.
I just love how many options there are for the Polaris. You can make it truly yours, match your setup, or just get creative!
Also, they give you a sticker!
Adjustable settings
There are some nice settings on the Project Polaris that really made this amp more than what I expected it to be.
one note: I wish there were switches that didn't make me nervous to bend pins every time I want to change them. I do not like jumper caps.
First, as I said before, there are bandwidth settings. They are labeled "High BW" "Mid BW" "Low BW", as all other settings are abbrevitated similarly. You also adjust these separately for either channel, as with all the other settings. The bandwidth setting does not make a huge difference in sound, but is more of a fine tune sort of thing. The difference is notable, but not dramatic. Sometimes it can roll off the upper-highs enough to get an extra level of grain in vocals. This is useful for sure.
Next there is Resistance adjustability. I find this to be more for making sure the headphone takes well to the amp. Low resistance Headphones seem to have a much different opinion of resistance than HD600s.
Lastly, and most importantly, there is Gain Adjustment galore! this is where the rubber meets the road for the Project Polaris. There are three basic gain settings, multiplied by two with an attenuation module in the back corner of the amp labeled "Not" and "ot" . The gain adjustability is by far my favorite feature, and will be very important to sound.
I should mention there is also an RCA line out. More features is better!
Sound
The sound of the Project Polaris is what finally made me admit to myself that I am indeed an audiophile. When the Polaris arrived, I plugged it in real quick and shoved the HD600 cable into it, and was disappointed. I thought I had spent $250 on a small amount of extension increase, and dry sound. Luckily, I rubbed enough brain cells together to try the various settings. This is when my mind got blown. I put the gain setting from 'Low G' to 'Mid G' and my jaw hit the floor. A simple gain increase took the HD600 from being another pretty good headphone to being king of the castle. I spent the next couple hours plugging in all the things, and playing with all the settings. I ended up liking the HD600 the most of my collection with the Polaris. Honestly, I still sit and listen to music with this combo and actually have to vocally express how good some things sound to myself, alone, in my room. Clearly I have a problem. 'Mid' settings all around for the HD600 is the magic setting for me.
What is odd is that the cheaper the headphones are, the more they seem to gain from the Project Polaris. My HD558 gained a significant amount of clarity and extension from the amp. The Superlux 668b smoothed out quite a bit as well.
One of my favorite things about the sound is that instead of being like every other solid state amp, the Project Polaris as a bit of a tubey quality. There is a slight hollowish tube-like sound compared to my Fiio e10, LG V20, etc... The power of this amp more than enough to make this pleasant. I had found the Bravo Ocean to be too hollow in its tubey nature. I think I found a nice middle ground with the Project Polaris. I get the fun part of tube amplification sound I like, while not having to deal with tubes. Fantastic!
Not every headphone is a perfect match for the Project Polaris. I find I like my HD700 more on the Fiio e10 for example.
Some Headphones can sound like more than one pair by adjusting setting around. My SHP9500 has significant difference in sound signature to my ears with adjustment. Sometimes they are more rumble, and Bassy, while others they gain soundstage air, and become tighter.
This amp has power in spades. Anything I throw at it is more than powered well.
I Freakin love the Project Polaris amp.
Conclusion:
This amp has opened the door to the never ending world of audio hardware like nothing else has. I can say that I am more than pleased with how this amp performs, and recommend it highly. Having just enough sonic flair while not having to deal with tubes is a pure joy. Some of the larger companies should take notes. Adjustability is important. That is the feature that simply takes this amp to the next level. I feel like a mad scientist while toggling around all the settings, looking for the next maniacal creation to hear all my music in a different way than before.
I need more music to try on this beauty. I like recommendations in any genre. Thank you!
I forgot to do this earlier:
Recommended song: Trouble - Avicii