[koolas]

5. Mullards - I also listen to Mullards a good bit and they tend to be on the warmer side, but are very euphonic and lush with the right phones.  The DT880's (600 ohm) came alive with these; here are my notes - " An interesting and unique soundscape, different from all other phones; not as much bass as I expected with the Mullards, but the mids are incredible; enough reason to keep these headphones even if they sounded lousy with everything else."

That is absolutely true! I think I might be a "mids-head"

I think also that Mullards distort sound in that nice tubey way, that gives adds that analogue feeling to Pan Am's DAC, which otherwise sound very "digital". I just love how Pan Am sounds with Mullards whether I listen to classical, trance or pop - it's a pure joy especially on very well resolving orthos

 

[NZheadcase]

Using the PanAm to drive the Alpha Dogs at the office. Siemens tubes, high gain. Just have several hours on the pairing right now, but wow! Of all the closed headphones that I've used here at work, this is the pair that currently holds the top spot. Great isolation, great sound quality.
 
The TH900 sounds better on the PanAm overall, especially in the bass, but the isolation is not up to par on the Alpha Dogs. Isolation and comfort-wise this PanAm>Alpha Dog is the best office pairing I have experienced.
 
I've yet to try these cans on other gear as I've packed all those up. Moving house this week. Also waiting on the HiFi M8. Hopefully the PanAm vs M8 will provide a fun comparison. But right now, the PanAm satisfies.

 

[koolas]

The TH900 sounds better on the PanAm overall, especially in the bass, but the isolation is not up to par on the Alpha Dogs. Isolation and comfort-wise this PanAm>Alpha Dog is the best office pairing I have experienced.

Couldn't agree with you more Did you get any interesting comments from colleagues in the office?

I've yet to try these cans on other gear as I've packed all those up. Moving house this week. Also waiting on the HiFi M8. Hopefully the PanAm vs M8 will provide a fun comparison. But right now, the PanAm satisfies.

So once you get M8, will you try it as DAC with Pan Am as amp maybe?

 

[NZheadcase]

Couldn't agree with you more

Did you get any interesting comments from colleagues in the office?
So once you get M8, will you try it as DAC with Pan Am as amp maybe?

 
They're pretty much used to seeing me with "weird" headphones, so no out there comments about the alpha dogs. hehehe. 

 
I will probably try a couple of things, however, head to head as a DAC/Amp from USB seems the most appropriate comparison. I may try to compare them as portable setups with android as source (the PanAm won't work straight up via USB on any of my iOS devices) as well. 

 

[NZheadcase]

Here's some Alpha Dogs + PanAm + Carlsberg + Head-fi action for you.
 

 

 

[BattousaiX26]

  Here's some Alpha Dogs + PanAm + Carlsberg + Head-fi action for you.
 

 

nice desk!

 

[koolas]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Here's some Alpha Dogs + PanAm + Carlsberg + Head-fi action for you.

All in place

 

[desertstrike]

hi guys, i just got my pan am, all is great but i notice there is a hissing or static interference noise, is this normal?
 
my setup is the panam + passport + hd600
 
thanks!

 

[themad]

No, it is not normal. I don't notice any kind of noise or hiss on mine, even if I turn the volume all the way up.
 
Try changing the place you put it. Maybe it is interference from your monitor or even cell phone? What input are you using? Did you try changing cables as well? There are a couple of tests you could do to identify the source of this.

 

[desertstrike]

i tried changing the power cable, and even remove the usb cable... to no avail...
 
brought it back to the shop, the shop owner ask me how long have i been using it, i said 4 hours,
he said it is normal and ask me to run in for 24 hours...
 
the power cord can be any power cord or even those used for LCD or desktop?

 

[ahhui90]

just curious are you from SG?

 

[themad]

  i tried changing the power cable, and even remove the usb cable... to no avail...
 
brought it back to the shop, the shop owner ask me how long have i been using it, i said 4 hours,
he said it is normal and ask me to run in for 24 hours...
 
the power cord can be any power cord or even those used for LCD or desktop?

 
What power cord is that?
My Passport came with a wall wart to recharge it. And then I connect the Passport to the PanAm using one of the connecting cables provided (3 different sizes).

 

[koolas]

hi guys, i just got my pan am, all is great but i notice there is a hissing or static interference noise, is this normal?

my setup is the panam + passport + hd600

thanks!

I also hear that when I connect Pan Am to my laptop. I think hear it only on more sensitive headphones like CX300II and RH-A30. I don't remember hearing it on Alpha Dogs or HD570.

 

[koolas]

Going back to my question from some time ago, i.e. "What DAC will improve Pan Am SQ?"

Back then I found that DAC in Pan Am is not as good as DAC in my huge NAD T744. I was wondering if there is any standalone DAC for reasonable price that would out-do Pan Am's DAC and if it would perform as good as DAC in T744. I can imagine there is a huge gap between Pan Am and the T744. So while finding a DAC better than one in Pan Am is probably not a big problem, finding low priced and yet still portable DAC that will sound better than huge (over 10kg) AVR (especially if it's made by NAD) is a proper challenge.

So what did I found? I found iDSD. At the first glance I was calculating, Pan Am is at EUR600 level and iDSD is EUR180 level, so I concluded it is a bet. I never heard iDSD before, but I have read good reviews. I couldn't stand curiosity and ordered it on almighty ebay. When I received it I found it not working properly with my laptop, but it worked with my desktop, so I tried it with that. I have tried its headphone out for a very short while, and switched RCA outs connected to Pan Am.

Wow! When I heard that sound I was in heaven! So much f...n detail! And the background is so black, instruments so sharp! Then I wanted to see how it does with DSD format and so I downloaded some sample songs in DSD128 format. When I heard iDSD playing them I was in total shock. The sound I was hearing I wouldn't qualify as amazing, but I would qualify it as life like. It gave me the feel of full presence. It was no longer about sound quality, but all about the artists who play and how they play, like Hi-Fi equipment was not there anymore.

Being in such a shock, I figured out that if some DAC for EUR180 can make me feel this way, what else can be done by let's say Invicta? Maybe some day I will have chance to see my self and maybe iDSD will be not as good as Invicta, but at present moment I can't even imagine that! It is far beyond my imagination.

So, conclusion

Laptop -> iDSD => Pan Am -> Alpha Dog

This is the rig from StartTrek - turn it on and it will teleport you to a different place.

 

[desertstrike]

  just curious are you from SG?

 
yea. got the dx 50 casing from u, remember? lol...
 
anyway, where do u get the mullard tube?