[Chris_Himself]

Are the V200's still the shizzle? I haven't heard about those for a while.. dang was that setup expensive though.

 

[DefQon]

You know hype wears off for new products eventually. V200 are still good contenders but it seems more people have moved onto the Soloist and other Burson stuff and moved onto LCD3's or other headphones from the LCD2's.

 

[Chris_Himself]

  You know hype wears off for new products eventually. V200 are still good contenders but it seems more people have moved onto the Soloist and other Burson stuff and moved onto LCD3's or other headphones from the LCD2's.

 
In that case I wonder if the Headroom amps are actually really good even though they've been out forever... 

 

[longbowbbs]

 

  You know hype wears off for new products eventually. V200 are still good contenders but it seems more people have moved onto the Soloist and other Burson stuff and moved onto LCD3's or other headphones from the LCD2's.

 
In that case I wonder if the Headroom amps are actually really good even though they've been out forever... 

 
HP Amp tech has been advancing quickly. My first HP amp was a Headroom, but it is not up to the competition today.

 

[paradoxper]

   
HP Amp tech has been advancing quickly. My first HP amp was a Headroom, but it is not up to the competition today.

 
Amp tech? 

 

[longbowbbs]

 

   
HP Amp tech has been advancing quickly. My first HP amp was a Headroom, but it is not up to the competition today.

 
Amp tech? 

 
The increasing popularity of Headphones means more research and innovation in materials, op amps, etc. The available quality of gear has improved a lot in the last few years.

 

[HPDJ]

My EXTENSIVE review of the RWA Signature 16 is up for viewing:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/683531/review-red-wine-audio-signature-16-integrated-headphone-speaker-amplifier
 
 
Enjoy

 

[paradoxper]

   
The increasing popularity of Headphones means more research and innovation in materials, op amps, etc. The available quality of gear has improved a lot in the last few years.

Well, opamps are in a lot of electronics, but they aren't a headphone amplifier specific type of tech. I see what you mean though.

 

[zilch0md]

TBI Audio Millenia MG3 (Class BD, 32Wpc into 8-Ohm on 24VDC power)
 
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue62/millenia.htm
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue67/tbi_millenia.htm
http://tbisound.com/dsp_products_millenia.asp
 

 

 
HPRC 2400F case, with Touch shown for scale.
 
Mike

 

[Poladise]

  My EXTENSIVE review of the RWA Signature 16 is up for viewing:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/683531/review-red-wine-audio-signature-16-integrated-headphone-speaker-amplifier
 
 
Enjoy

 
Nice review HPDJ. The fact that you mostly described details you notice in the recordings rather than the specific way the amp is reproducing the sound must mean it's doing it's job well. In such a long review I did find this bit amusing though

my amp at the time (Decware Taboo MKIII) and did a shoot-out. Long story short, the Sig 16 made my demo tracks sound a little more detailed and the bass was tighter.

 That comparison is probably main thing people would like a 'long story' on.
 
Also you mentioned wanting to hear the difference between your SE and the balanced headphone output version. It might be worth checking if you can re-terminate your LCD-2's & run directly from the speaker terminals. You'd should get at least 2W into your LCDs. Reading about success people are having with speaker amps like the 'TBI mg3' above, would love hear a comparison between a balanced Cassabria and a Signature 16 from the speaker terminals.

 

[DrNope]

   
If you like the 160D + LCD2 (which I never did), if you do upgrade in the future I think the Soloist may be something you might like, major improvement over the HA-160 but still far cry from being in my personal top 10 amp list for the LCD2's. YMMV.

 
Why did you not like it?
Soloist should sound the same I'd guess, the company is the same and probably also the ears tuning the amp. More power, but if you don't push the HA160, would you notice? I don't listen louder then at 9 o'clock on normal records. Should be plenty of head-room left?
 
edit: Sorry, you already commented on the fact that the soloist and HA160 would sound alike....

 

[Dubstep Girl]

   
Why did you not like it?
Soloist should sound the same I'd guess, the company is the same and probably also the ears tuning the amp. More power, but if you don't push the HA160, would you notice? I don't listen louder then at 9 o'clock on normal records. Should be plenty of head-room left?
 
edit: Sorry, you already commented on the fact that the soloist and HA160 would sound alike....

 
i doubt they'd sound anything alike.
 
the HA-160 is known to be a poor match with many headphones and theres mixed reviews of it. i always heard bright, harsh, bassy, and underpowered as some of the words used to describe it.
 
the soloist however, sounds absolutely fantastic and is one of the best SS amps available in its price range.

 

[DefQon]

   
Why did you not like it?
Soloist should sound the same I'd guess, the company is the same and probably also the ears tuning the amp. More power, but if you don't push the HA160, would you notice? I don't listen louder then at 9 o'clock on normal records. Should be plenty of head-room left?
 
edit: Sorry, you already commented on the fact that the soloist and HA160 would sound alike....

The HA-160 was just not focused enough with the headphones it was praised here to pair well with. The HA-160 sounded like an amp that was trying to impress me with all aspects of sound but only halfway, it was just a mixed bag. 
 
The Soloist and HA-160 won't sound very similar if you have brief hearing comparison's between the two, but if you listen to both for a little longer you can definitely go point at the Soloist and say "hey this bit sounds like the HA-160 but improved". This was definitely the case with a lot of users here that went from the HA-160 to the Soloist.
 

   
i doubt they'd sound anything alike.
 
the HA-160 is known to be a poor match with many headphones and theres mixed reviews of it. i always heard bright, harsh, bassy, and underpowered as some of the words used to describe it.
 
the soloist however, sounds absolutely fantastic and is one of the best SS amps available in its price range.

 
They have the same sound signature but the Soloist is a step or two ahead of it. Funny I never saw mixed reviews here of it, especially not in the old LCD2's thread where people endlessly raved about how a HA-160 + LCD2 (non angled) is on par with the HD800's, those impression/posts were a good laugh.
 
The Soloist one of the best SS amps in it's price range? 
Let me guess you took that out of Soludes book didn't cha?

 

[Dubstep Girl]

  The HA-160 was just not focused enough with the headphones it was praised here to pair well with. The HA-160 sounded like an amp that was trying to impress me with all aspects of sound but only halfway, it was just a mixed bag. 
 
The Soloist and HA-160 won't sound very similar if you have brief hearing comparison's between the two, but if you listen to both for a little longer you can definitely go point at the Soloist and say "hey this bit sounds like the HA-160 but improved". This was definitely the case with a lot of users here that went from the HA-160 to the Soloist.
 
 
They have the same sound signature but the Soloist is a step or two ahead of it. Funny I never saw mixed reviews here of it, especially not in the old LCD2's thread where people endlessly raved about how a HA-160 + LCD2 (non angled) is on par with the HD800's, those impression/posts were a good laugh.
 
The Soloist one of the best SS amps in it's price range? 
Let me guess you took that out of Soludes book didn't cha?

 
actually i didn't 

 
but i think it is, i've heard it and i love how it pairs with LCD-2.
 
i know people like HA-160 with LCD-2 as well, but i know ive heard terrible things about it pairing with HD 800/T1. and ppl still say it lacks power for some of the planars. so thats mostly the reviews i've heard.

 

[DefQon]

Well in reference to what I was originally saying about the praise the HA-160 originally received was being a godfather pairing with the LCD2's nothing else. I didn't find this the case and so same many other experienced posters/owners.
 
The Soloist is ok but it still doesn't depreciate the sounding flaws of the LCD2's to the extent the Mojo does which IMHO I'd consider an excellent amp for the LCD2's and HD650's.
 
But it's ok to agree to disagree.