VentureCraft SounDroid Vantam

Why Vantam?
I was looking for a portable DAC/Amp preferably on PCM chip which is capable to drive both low impedance IEMs and sensitive portable headphones.
I guess I found what I need. Here are my thoughts…shortly.
 
Let's start from its specification (in Japanese but I think it should be clear what they are talking about).
My particular unit is on LME49860. There are some other versions of the Vantam with different op-amps.
 

 

Package  

Very poor. Just Vantam and one usb to micro usb cable. That is basically it.
This is nothing for the unit of around $600. 
Usually cheaper products go with richer packages including different cables for i-devices and Android phones, rubber rings would be also nice to have since this is a portable device first of all.
No English manual. I had to translate some parts of Japanese User Guide to understand some functions and to be aware of some cautions they provide.
 

 

Functionality and Design  

 
     
 
 
On the front panel we have: Phone output combined with Optical out (that's why you can see here red light coming out); Line in /out combined with Optical in; Balanced output, LED DSD indicator; Mode Switch with LED battery indication feature.
On the rear side it has a micro usb port to connect it to any digital source and to charge the battery, plus there is a standard usb type A port for i-devices. 
 
To me Functional panel of the Vantam is questionable.
On the one hand all switches are located deeper than the surface and it prevents you from any occasional activation of any function/mode but on the other hand if you need to switch the gain on the go having different head phones with you, it makes really hard to do it just with your fingers unless you have long nails))
I could understand almost all functions but I had to discover more regarding SMTP function.
What I could understand from Japanese User Guide you switch it on if you don’t want your Android smart phone to be charging Vantam.
Please note that charging function will be deactivated in this mode so charging from the usb port or from any other independent wall charger will not be possible until you switch it off.
 
The device also features Auto Power Off function. I guess it turns it off after 10 minutes of idling.
 

[size=20.0069999694824px]Indication[/size]

    
 
Blue Light of DSD LED is too bright to me, especially in the night. It’s like a small lamp in your room.
Strange thing is that when it’s connected to NWZ A15 in USB DAC mode the indicator is red (since I don’t listen to DSD) but when you connect AK100 through an optical cable it will be always blue on the same non-DSD simple FLAC tracks. So with AK100 the DSD LED is always blue but with Sony A15 it is always red. 
 
Vantam gets hot after a 20-30 minutes of listening. 
 
 
Size and dimensions in comparison with Oppo Ha-2
 
    

 

[size=20.0069999694824px]Battery Life  [/size]

Estimate it around 4 - 5 hours. Not much but expected.
It reminds me Sony PHA-3 in balanced mode which also lasts for the same amount of time plus-minus.
I'm personally fine with it since I listen to the music for max 1,5-2 hours a day on-the-go.  
Charging time in case I use Orico usb charging station (should be more than 2A) is around 3-4 hours which is not bad at all.
This is not a special rapid 1,5 h charging of the Oppo HA-2 but it's not 5-6 hours which requires for the pha-3 (in my case) to be fully charged.
 

Sound 

I was mainly using it with Ultrasone Signature Pro and Ortofon e-Q8.
My previous devices are: Oppo HA-2 and Sony PHA-3.
 
Besides I tried some other IEMs like DN-2000, Earsonics Velvet, and some AT IEMs.
All of them were performing very well with Vantam without any background noise. It's just a dead silence when you plug them in.
 
So how does it sound?  It just sounds great!
Very detailed sound through all the range of frequencies.
Deep and very wide soundstage.
Fast and punchy bass, crystal clear highs with a lot of air, great instrument separation.
Mids are also very good,  I like how guitars with distortion sound - typical PCM signature.
 
How does it drive low impedance IEMs?  Perfectly, I would say (e-q8@6 Ohm, dn-2000@16 ohm)
 
Is it powerful enough to drive Signature Pro in high gain?
I would say yes, but in some very noisy places like Moscow metro (some old lines with old wagons) you have to increase the volume up to 100% on some very silent records..
Quality wise the sound remains amazing even on a maximum volume without any distortion.
 

Balanced vs unbalanced

Actually you compare here a single TPA6120 vs dual MUSES8920. I could only test it on my modified e-q8.
To me balanced output adds more analytics to the sound with even better instrument separation but with less quantity of bass (mid bass).
Honestly speaking I prefer unbalanced output with the e-Q8 since it gives more body to the lows.  It could be different for other IEMs or headphones. 
 

Digital transport

I actually tried two sources. Sony NWZ-A15 and AK100.
They both fit very well.  In case of the A15 you have cables from both sides of the combo since you utilize a micoUSB port of the Vantam. With AK100 you connect through an optical cable and everything is on one side of the combo.  The issue with the A15 is that you can not listen to the music and charge the device at the same time since the port is occupied.
I have not noticed any difference in sound between these two sources.
The AK100 also features 2 slots for micro SD cards vs 1 in A15.
 
 
        
 
 

Additional third party accessories 

Very nice bags from VanNyus.  
 
 
    
 
       
 
  
 

Conclusion 

To me the Vantam is one of the best performing devices I've ever heard in the range of $300 - $1000 . 
Yes, it is not perfect but I can live with some weaknesses it has since the sound is great.
 
Thanks to MusicaAcoustics where I bought the Vantam for their great customer support.
 
Update. 28.12.15.  LME49860 is replaced with OPA627BM
 
  
  

VentureCraft are a Japanese company well known for their portable headphone amplifiers and amp/DAC combo units. Today, I will be taking a look at their latest offering in this category: the feature-packed SounDroid Vantam. On paper, it may just be the audiophile’s ultimate portable companion: DSD playback, balanced 2.5mm output, line/optical/USB in, line/optical out, digital upsampling and op-amp exchangeability are all crammed into its tiny aluminium chassis. Colour me impressed! How impressed? Let’s find out below.
 

Package and Contents

 
Not much to see here. Inside the cardboard box, we have the Vantam which comes in a flimsy synthetic cloth bag (I definitely don’t want to be storing/carrying the unit around in this), a USB A to micro-B cable and a warranty card that tells you to look on VentureCraft’s website for the manual (currently only available in Japanese). That’s literally all you get, which I suppose helps VentureCraft to keep the Vantam’s price as low as possible.
 

Design and Functionality

 
The SounDroid Vantam measures 66mm wide by 126mm long by 18mm deep and weighs a paltry 180g. By what black magic VentureCraft managed to fit so much tech into this thing, I don’t know, but it certainly is impressive. The construction is all aluminium, with the exception of the switches; the unit seems to be quite sturdy and well-built overall. It’s form factor allows it to stack comfortably with most modern smartphones and larger music players (iPod Touch, AK240, Calyx M and the like), although you will need to provide your own rubber bands. The provided USB cable measures about 65cm from terminal to terminal, so you may want something shorter if you aim to use this as your daily driver.
 

 
Starting with the front panel, we have the very pleasing volume/power knob which turns on/off with a satisfying and recognisable click and has a pleasing resistance as you turn it, reducing the likelihood of accidental volume adjustments. Next to it is the signal LED which will turn different colours to indicate what kind of signal the Vantam has locked on to (e.g. orange for 44.1-96kHz, purple for DSD 64 etc). The function switch to the right also doubles as a power LED and battery indicator that will turn red when the unit requires charging – how nifty is that! This switch allows you to change between use as a DAC for iOS devices, regular USB DAC and Sync with iDevices/iTunes. We also have the balanced 2.5mm output, Line in/out/optical in combo jack and 3.5mm unbalanced/optical out combo jack. Again, you will need to provide your own interconnect cables for all of these.
 

 
On the rear of the unit, we have a USB micro-B (for charging and use with PC/Mac) and USB A port (for use with portable devices).
 
    
 
The bottom of the unit (if you go by the facing of the text on the front) is perhaps the most interesting, featuring 6 switches which allow you to alter:
 

1. The speed of the digital filter (for what the manual describes as either a clearer or more natural sound)
2. Smartphone connectivity
3. Line in or out functionality for the combo jack
4. Low or high gain
5. Sample rate and bit depth of digital upsampling

 
These switches are very shallow and contained in a recessed housing, making them difficult to flick either by accident or on purpose. You will need a pen or some other narrow object to adjust them, which I found to be annoying, although I doubt most users will be changing these very often.
 
The Vantam contains a 3500mAh battery, which VentureCraft quotes as providing about 7 hours of playback time. When using the unit’s amp and DAC functionality, playing 16bit/44.1kHz FLAC files, I found this figure to be closer to 4 hours – far shorter than the 10 hours we’ve come to expect of the typical audiophile player or portable DAC. You will probably need to charge the unit every day or carry a power bank with you if you plan on using it for your daily commute. I imagine that this would also make the Vantam a pain to use on long flights or while travelling. Thankfully, the unit can be charged while playing on a PC/Mac, although charging is disabled (for obvious reasons) when the smartphone switch is turned on.
 
Speaking of smartphones, I did have issues getting the Vantam to work with my Xperia Z1, running Android 4.4.2 – most of the time the phone would fail to recognise or output to the device at all. I’m not sure that this would be different with other models or versions of Android, but this is just my experience.
 

Sound

 
The scope of my sound test was very narrow, given the Vantam’s rather impressive list of functions; as I had problems running the device from my phone, I plugged it into my PC via USB and used it in combination with my UM Miracles and Ortofon e-Q8’s. I experienced no noticeable channel imbalance or noise from the unit and it drove these two rather sensitive IEMs very well. I was unable to verify the unit’s performance with high-res or DSD files, nor sound from the balanced output as I don’t possess the files/equipment. Nevertheless, what I heard was pretty darned impressive. The Vantam’s sound is very uncoloured and clear, with an expansive soundstage and instrument separation that is right up there with some of the best I’ve experienced. That’s not to say it’s analytical sounding though: the bass comes through with decent quantity and force and is very snappy and responsive. Mids, particularly vocals are clear without being sibilant, although positioning is perhaps a step back from what I usually like to hear. The treble provides all the detail and sparkle I’m after and is never hot or harsh.

I think it’s a sound that will be pleasing to most people, however, those seeking a particularly warm, smooth or ‘intimate’ sound may wish to look elsewhere. Another option for such folks is to try rolling in alternate op-amp units (as with the SounDroid Typhoon) sold separately by VentureCraft, which may allow you to tune the sound to your liking.
 

Conclusions

 
The SounDroid Vantam is truly an engineering marvel with so much functionality packed into an very portable form factor, that is decent looking to boot. Oh, and did I mention it also sounds amazing? The let-downs with the Vantam are really its short battery life and what I experienced to be finicky Android device support, although your mileage may vary on the latter. If these aren’t a worry for you, then I think the Vantam could just be your ticket to audio bliss.