[mrarroyo]

First a little introduction. Ken of ALO sent HeadphoneAddict (Larry) and I a PM inquiring if we wanted to listen to an Amphora Amp. It so happens that Zimm (Justin) a Head Fi member had purchased one, but sadly being in the US Armed Forces he is deployed overseas until September. Thus we would have an opportunity to burn in and comment on the amp, thus allowing Zimm to live vicariously through our reviews until he returns in September and gets to enjoy it.

As I was saying HeadphoneAddict received the unit and burnt it in, loved is so much he ordered one all for himself! Lucky devil, so he then shipped the unit and I have had it since last week. Below you will find my impressions and comparisons using various pieces of gear and music. You will notice the evolution of my perception and interaction with the Amphora.

So in closing of this pre-amble I would like to thank both Zimm and Ken for their trust, I have enjoyed this amp tremendously and hope to continue the comparison/evaluation but most importantly enjoyment of the Amphora for a few more weeks. It sure will be hard letting it go, but at the moment my finances do not allow me to purchase one. Hope things change, it would be great to own one.

[size=small]Part I: The afternoon of Saturday, April 11, 2009[/size]

I started my listening by using my APureSound re-cabled AKG K701. The cable is a 10" silver plated copper terminated in a 1/4" Furutech plug. ( APureSound - Where The Music Is Always Pure - APS Audio LLC. ).

All the pictures of the Amphora I have taken in one place for your viewing pleasure.

For music I started w/ a bit faster music than I normally would listen to, specifically the album Unchain Your Mind by Heavy Shift. I then switched to Bill Evans album Waltz for Debby.

The music is recorded as Apple Lossless and I am using the latest iTunes (8.1.1.10) out of my Dell using a Chaintech AV710 sound card and a glass optical cable feeding a Monarchy NM24 DAC. A Monarchy AC Regenerator is filtering the electricity. I am using a pair of 1 meter Zu Gede interconnects ( Gedeâ„¢ ) from the NM24 DAC to feed the signal to the Amphora.

I then switched to my Ultrasone HFI-780 which has a dual entry 7 foot long re-cable by APureSound terminated in a 1/4" Neutrik plug. I have also fitted a set of velour pads made by Beyer Dynamic for the DT250/280.

As a contrast for today’s initial listening I used a Novo by Graham Slee including the much better linear PSU1. I do not have a second pair of Zu Gede IC’s so I used a pair of LC-1 by Blue Jean Cable ( Precision Stereo Audio Cables from Blue Jeans Cable ).

Please be advised that the following is just an initial impression w/ just two headphones and just two albums of music. I felt the bass was deeper, punchier, and tighter with Graham Slee Novo, while the Amphora had more treble extension and a tad wider soundstage. The Novo has a bit more depth to the music, and the Amphora a bit more air between the notes. The mids in both amps is very good (very clear, detailed, but w/ an slight warmth which to me is a welcome way in presenting the music) and at this moment I cannot decide, perhaps as I become more familiar with the Amphora it will be easier to hear the nuances. So far I can hear the Amphora has a better affinity for the K701, while the Novo has a better affinity for the HFI-780.

An interesting thing I noted but was in no way expecting is the change in sound after the amp had been on for about an hour. Normally I expect tube amps (and to a lesser degree SS amps) to change a bit after they warm up. I honestly did not expect a battery driven transportable amp to exhibit this phenomenon, but I heard it. Basically the sound became more coherent and a bit easier to tell where a note started/ended. To me this was a totally unexpected change and if I had not heard it I would not believe it.

Over the next couple of weeks I hope to compare the Amphora w/ the Rudistor Sistema NX-02 and a Graham Slee Solo SRG w/ the PSU1. I will use two additional headphones, a Grado RS-1 and a Denon AH-D5000 w/ MarkL mods ( Home ) and a pair of Mark’s V4 Bubinga wood cups.

In these comparisons I will use the same IC’s, two pairs of Silver Sonic BL-1’s built by Drew of Moon Audio ( Interconnects ).

[size=small]Part II: The Evening of Saturday, April 11, 2009[/size]

For this second listening section I chose my trustworthy Grado RS-1 that I have had since around September 2005. I posted a picture of them above. For music I chose Larry Carlton’s Collection Album. As stated above the source, dac, cables, and amps remained the same.

I have to say this portion of the review presented a few challenges. First I expected the more extended Amphora to have the upper hand in the upper end of the presentation, while I expected the Novo to come on top in the bass presentation. Mids were expected to be very good out of both units w/ the result being very liquid and detailed yet having a level of tonal warmth not normally associated w/ your typical SS amp.

Boy was I wrong! It almost felt as the amp internals had been swapped with the Novo having a more forward upper frequency that at times was a bit too energetic. This while the Amphora was a bit less extended and there I say it almost fell as it had treble roll-off. These are totally different sounds than what I heard earlier in the day with the HFI-780 and the K701. The soundstage was swapped as well; the Novo exhibited a more distant yet wider soundstage while the Amphora was more in your head presentation. Although not quite as wide, it exhibited a bit more air in between the notes. The funny thing is that while both were quite different from each other and from what I heard this morning they are a lot of fun to listen with perhaps a slight edge in favor of the Amphora with a bit more organic spin to the music.

[size=small]Part III: The Morning of Sunday, April 12, 2009[/size]

As indicated earlier during this section I will be using the Rudistor Sistema NX-02 as a counterpoint for the Amphora by ALO. This Rudistor amp sold as a companion to the Ultrasone PROline 2500 and 750, and was available for $875 directly from Ultrasone. The source was a Meridian 506.20 and the electrical supply to the Meridian and the Rudistor was filtered via a Monster Power HTS 3500 MkII.

For music I chose three jazz compact discs, each with its own flavor in an attempt to “hear” different nuances between the two amps.

-The Buster Williams Trio Live – 65 Roses
-Madeleine Peyroux – Careless Love
-Samantha Siva – Rhythm of the Voices

In an attempt to account for the starting loads and warm up of the gear I let the music play for over 60 minutes. Yes some may consider this as overkill, but some would have asked the question. Plus interesting enough I heard a difference in the Amphora yesterday, it presented the music with an added smoothness and clarity after being on for about an hour. By the way, this morning I used a Denon AH-D5000 that has had the MarkL mods and a pair of Bubinga V4 cups (see pic above).

This was a very interesting comparison; it took me a while to pin down the difference I was hearing. First off both are very musical, the Amphora has a more relaxed presentation perhaps due to it being less extended. The NX-02 comes across as being more detailed and immediate, in other words it demands more attention since it has more upper end detail, which for some reason presents itself towards the middle of the stage. I am not saying the NX-02 has a narrower soundstage; nothing could be further from the truth. Both the Amphora and the NX-02 have very nice and wide soundstages, it so happens that the treble in the NX-02 is a bit more extended and it shows up in the middle.

The bass is much closer in these two units, to the point that it is a nonissue. Both present the bass lines in a very tight and clear manner. The upright bass notes cut right through and were crystal clear in Related to One (4th song in the 65 Roses CD). Both units are very clear and airy, the NX-02 uncanny in the way you can pick up the opening and closing of the hi-hat in Nikara’s Song (5th song in the 65 Roses CD).

If you had stopped reading at the end of the last paragrahp you would have thought the NX-02 was the slightly better sounding amp. Well, maybe so if you only used the 65 Roses as your basis of comparison. However when I swapped CD’s to Madeleine Peyroux’s Careless Love – KABOOM! What happened! The NX-02 continued with its very detailed, clear, and extended presentation, while the Amphora just EXPLODED (music wise) and Madeleine’s voice was just lovely to the point I could hear vibrations in her voice when she articulates the word “of” in “Dance Me To The End Of Love”.

I cannot find an explanation on why the Amphora “likes” Madeleine Peyroux voice so much, and frankly it does not matter. The Amphora just presents Madeleine in a very smooth and organic way. I could also make out Madeleine’s rasp in the song “Don’t Cry Baby”; at the same time I could also hear a bit better extension in the NX-02.

The recording of Rhythm of the Voices by Samantha Siva has more information (ie recorded music) in the upper treble and it is readily apparent when you transition between the Amphora and the NX-02. This album for some reason also had a wider soundstage as I could hear with the NX-02. Both of these of course are not something you would notice if you only had one of the amps, however when you go back and forth you cannot avoid noticing the differences.

For the next stage of the comparison I will use these same two amps as they are set-up but I will use the Grado RS-1 and music by Dianne Reeves and Renne Olstead.

[size=small]Part IV: The Afternoon of Sunday, April 12, 2009[/size]

For this section of the review I will use the same source, interconnects, amps (Amphora and NX-02), and same power filtering. For headphones I will use a Grado RS-1 and a Denon AH-D2000 which has been re-cabled by HiGHFLYiN9 (Brian) using 10 feet of his Xev featuring a hand braided litz of 24 gauge silver plated copper in teflon wire ( Zynsonix - Headphone Recabling Service ).

As stated earlier I used Dianne Reeves’ A Little Moonlight CD and Renee Olstead’s CD by the same name.

It is really amazing the things that come out with extended comparisons which are done fairly close and for which you still have the rest of the gear available for comparison. It also validates the wide range of results obtained by so many on any given piece of gear. I say so because in the last 30+ hours I have heard three amps with 5 different headphones, two different sources, and eight different musicians; all have sounded differently and many are the arguments that could be made why one amp should be chosen over another. In my opinion all the arguments would be correct and yet wrong, depending on what you are looking for. To put it differently they all offer so much that you the end user will be very happy.

Back to the comparison! … Listening to the two amps with the D2000 re-cabled by HiFlYiN9 (not fully burnt in, only about 180 hours out of 250 hours) and using Dianne Reeves validates all my previous observations yet it did so with an entirely different flavor than the earlier listening experience I had with the MarkL modded D5000.

As it stands the words that come to mind are smooth and clear, both amps exhibit a level of smoothness and clarity that makes for a very enjoyable listening experience. Interestingly enough the narrower soundstage of the Amphora works to its benefit by helping it bring Dianne’s voice to the forefront. Almost as if they used a mixing board to bring her voice to the front and center of the soundstage, it is subtle but it sure “spices up” the presentation.

As I swapped the AH-D2000 to the RS-1 I felt the sound was more coherent with the Amphora than the Rudistor. There is an edge to Dianne’s voice in the NX-02 not present with the Amphora, perhaps this is due to the NX-02 being more extended and the Grado’s having a bit more treble energy. In short although the difference is very subtle that slight edge in sound makes me choose the Amphora when using the RS-1 and listening to Dianne Reeves’ A Little Moonlight CD.

As I started listening to Renee Olstead’s CD I felt the roller coast ride was in full swing. With this particular CD the presentation was almost a toss up, only in the extreme highs would I say the NX-O2 was on top due to not only being more extended but also because it has more air between the notes. Mind you these observations are with the RS-1, which just a few minutes earlier was not sounding this good.

When I listened to Renee Olstead using the re-cabled AH-2000 it was mostly a toss up between the two amps. On one side I preferred the NX-02’s extension but on the other hand Renee’s voice sounded less nasal on the Amphora. Once again these are minor differences that in my opinion could not be heard unless you had both amps side by side to do a comparison. Perhaps both amps would benefit from a pair of ALO’s Jenna or better yet SXC IC’s.

[size=small]Part V: The Evening of April 13, 2009[/size]

Today I decided on a different approach, instead of comparing the Amphora to other amps I decided to just sit back and enjoy the music. For source I used Apple Lossless files from my PC via the Chaintech AV710 to the Monarchy NM24 DAC terminating in the Amphora via a pair of Zu Gede IC’s. The phone was a Denon AH-D5000 w/ MarkL mods and a pair of his Bubinga V4 wood cups. The intent was to just chill and just write what came to mind as I played varied music:

-Melody Gardot – Worrisome Heart
-Michael Bublé – Michael Bublé
-Michael Franks – Abandoned Garden

So, how would I describe today’s experience? The first word that comes to mind is enjoyable, just me and the music allows for a certain amount of freedom that liberates and allows pure unadulterated enjoyment without worrying about “hearing the differences”. Nonetheless I would lie if I did not indicate that although I was in “listening mode” and not in “testing mode” I do have a few observations.

Three words come to mind: smooth, musical, and engaging. The amphora has all three in great abundance and those who end with one will be very happy. As I sat I had a feeling of being complete and satisfied, not many components achieve this status. I probably will stay in this mode for the next few days and revert to testing mode in two weeks or so, by then a Graham Slee Solo SRG should be burnt in.

 

[mrarroyo]

Post blank on purpose for future use.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I have had another head-fier's Amphora arrive today, while he is in Iraq serving our country. It is my job to do the burn-in, listen to it, and let some other local head-fiers like Blutarsky, Sherwood and Naamanf listen to it as well. Then it will go on to some Florida head-fiers for more listening and enjoyment.

The Amphora is beautiful, as you can see from the photos.

Music played (lossless): Patricia Barber "Companion", Helge Lien trio "Hello Troll", Shelby Lynn "Just a Little Lovin", Jack Johnson "Sleep Through the Static", Arvo Part "Tabula Rasa", Wayne Gareth Trio "Shock", Portico Quartet "Black and White Sessions", Tsuyoshi Yamamoto "Smooth Jazz Festival", Diana Krall "Live in Paris", John H. Clarke "Acoustik Guitar".

I am currently comparing the Amphora with iMod vs my iMod > ALO Vcap dock with cryo silver x mini IC and silver/silk LOD > burned-in RSA P-51 Mustang (total almost the same price as Amphora without dock). I did some switching out the P-51 amp for Pico, Predator and iBasso D10 with LTC6241HV opamp as well. I also briefly plugged the P-51 mustang into the pre-amp out of the Amphora with a Soloz 12-strand Litz-braid RCA-mini so I could move back and forth between the two amps, with the iMod as the source. So far, with just 3 hours on it I am really digging this amp. I have tried most of my headphones for a little session with the Amphora, and nothing I have sounds bad with it.

At this early point in the game the Amphora still beats the Pvcap/Mustang rig with my woodied recabled D2000. Basically these phones are like a re-cabled D5000 since the cups and cable were the only difference between D2000 and D5000, in reality they sound better than a markl modded D5000 or a stock D7000. The Denon and Amphora were made for each other - end of story.

With Sennheiser HD600 the two rigs are approximately tied, but with the Sennheiser IE8 the Amphora is noticeably better than the Vcaps/Mustang or other amps.

With Grado RS-1 and bowls the Mustang is a little warmer and more pleasant sounding, but the Amphora is not bad at all and really shines when I switch the pads to flats.

With ATH-ESW10JPN the Amphora is a clear winner, being more transparent and neutral, while the Vcaps/Mustang gives them a warmer slant with a slightly edgier sound.

With my Edition 9 the Amphora also sings as well as it does with the D2000, and the Edition 9 that I have been thinking about selling suddenly sound like they are worth keeping. The Amphora is simply cleaner and more transparent with my APS V3 Edition 9 than the Pvcap/Mustang or any of my other portable amps.

With my Westone ES3X IEM the Amphora wins again for most transparent sound. With the music paused or no iMod plugged in I have noticed there is a very very slight low-level hiss on the Amphora with these very sensitive 124dB/mw custom IEM. This hiss is not bad and is about the same low background level as with the Apogee Duet, so it doesn't interfere with the music at all or in any way. NOTE: The volume knob is a joy to use even with highly sensitive IEM.

As I listen to this thing I start to become more attached to it. As a matter of fact, I am already working on selling some stuff to buy one for myself.

EDIT 11:00 PM -- As I spend more time with the Amphora, the hiss with Westone ES3X is a little more noticeable between songs than I initially thought, but it is still not heard during the music playing except between tracks. It does not change or increase with the volume knob or input selection or when no source is plugged in, and also appears on the P-51 or external amp when the amp is connected to the pre-amp out of the Amphora. Normal listening with the Goldpoint volume knob on low gain with ES3X is about 10-11 o'clock = 8-10 clicks up from zero. The hiss is not heard in the music once I get past the first 2 clicks and onto the 3rd click of the Goldpoint. Quiet listening volumes for going to sleep would be above that level at 3-4 clicks on the volume knob. With a Shure volume attenuator I don't have to roll the volume control on the Shure more than about 2-3 mm to make it quiet. With the Shure attenuator the normal volume listening with the ES3X occurs with the Goldpoint at 11-12 o'clock instead of at 10-11 o'clock without it. So, the 2-3 mm roll on the Shure volume means about 2 clicks more needed on the Goldpoint for the same music volume.

My impressions of the Amphora are still very favorable, as it is the best sounding portable amp in the house right now, and it is still relatively fresh out of the box. I wont know how much burn-in will affect the sound until I hear how it might change over the next 10 days. I have found it sounds even better when using my Macbook with the Pico DAC/amp as source, or my iBasso D10 optical DAC to feed it. Studio Masters 24/96 recordings out of the Macbook via optical DAC are impressive. I will try it later with my PS Audio Digital Link III DAC or Apogee mini-DAC as my source.

3/21/09 - 11:55AM: I charged the Amphora for 3 hours last night, and resumed burn-in on it around 3AM. I like Zimm's Amphora that I have here enough that I confirmed with KB last night that I want to buy one for myself.

It continues to open up and has almost 17 hours on it total, out of the 100-200 hours needed for burn-in.

3/25/09 - 1:17AM: I was thinking about selling my IE8 and Edition 9 before using them with the Amphora, but now I am not so sure I need to sell them at all. Amphora has about 65 hours on it as of midnight. I had it locked away in my suitcase for part of the day Monday and Tuesday, or I'd have over 90 hours on it already. Must keep it protected from hotel housekeeping...

3/25/09 - 10:22PM: I am back home tonight from a 4 day spring break trip, and got to listen with my ES3X again. I have to be honest that I am noticing the background hiss to be a little more pronounced than I recall hearing right out of the box, regardless of whether with a nice DAC via line-in or via iMod (or with no source connected).

I wasn't noticing very much hiss at all on my spring break with the IE8 or Phonak Audeo in the hotel room (and none with full size cans), but my Westone ES3X and Livewires 124dB/mw customs do need the Shure volume attenuator with the volume knob rolled only about 2-3 mm to wipe out the background hiss. I'll have to run out to my car to get my Westone 3 later to try again and listen for hiss. I only hear the hiss between songs or when paused and not above the music, but I can see how it can get to you knowing it is there with very sensitive IEM.

I am thinking that I might want to send a spare attenuator to Ken to install internally on the 1/8" jack. Then I can open the bottom of the amp and set it and leave it alone without looking at it or losing it. But the sound quality of my Edition 9, modded Denon and ESW10 with the Amphora is so good that I may consider the amp even just for those alone. In my living room rig where I plan to have the Amphora, IEM are not practical because I need a 6-10 foot cable, and my 4-foot APS V3 extension and 4-foot Cable pro panorama are too heavy for using with iEM.

At the moment the only dynamic amp in the living room rig next to my Woo GES is a head-direct EF1 which has poor channel balance at low volumes with IEM, too high gain for IEM, and at zero volume the music still comes through with IEM - so the Amphora is a big step up from that. I'll admit that if high sensitivity IEM will be the ONLY thing you listen to with the Amphora, that you likely will want to get a volume attenuator or a P-S adapter. But not all IEM demonstrate a bothersome level of hiss with it - It is mostly an issue with my customs, and 95% of the time I use the customs on my laptop rig with a small DAC/amp combo or with my iMod as a portable. However, when traveling with it at my bedside or at a desk, I may want to use it with IEM more. So, it can be an issue in those cases - but I have found no other issues of concern other than this so far. You mileage may vary.

3/25/09 - 11:20PM:

I am listening to the 70 hour Amphora with BOTH my woodied recabled D2000 and APS v3 cabled Edition 9 connected at the same time, and the Amphora doesn't flinch at all with two low impedance phones at the same time. My Single Power Square Wave XL cannot do this without the sound being affected negatively. But the Amphora's sound does not change when I am listening to one phone and plug a second one into it - it is rock solid.

The Amphora is so good with the Denon and Edition 9 that I am this close " " to canceling my interest check about selling my Edition 9. With Diana Krall "Live in Paris", while the modded D2000 gives me a spot in the audience that is farther back than the Edition 9 with the performance seeming to be in a larger venue, the Edition 9 portrays the vocals and mids in an engaging way that the D2000 simply cannot approach. I just don't need both sets of closed cans... do I? What a dilemma, huh?

3/27/09 - 10:33PM

I have 106 hours on the Amphora now, and tonight I tried the Grado RS-1 again.

The Amphora is most definitely better with the RS-1 after some burn-in than it was out of the box. The iMod/Pvcaps/Mustang no longer has the slight lead that it held previously with RS-1. (this is still with the flats that I installed on the RS-1 back on the first day). With some pianos the Amphora is actually now ahead with the RS-1.

The goal is 200 hours of burn-in per KB. It will get charged tonight when it reaches 110 hours, then I'll continue burn-in tomorrow morning and maybe even see how long the battery lasts before it dies. I have not let it run more than about 24 hours before charging it, just to be sure it wouldn't die while I was out and about. I am doing much of the burn-in and listening with my Macbook > iBasso D10 optical > mini-RCA > Amphora, since the iMod doesn't last more than 14 hours on a charge while the D10 charges via USB and can stay topped off.

The sound signature and soundstage between these 2 sources is actually very similar when using the same lossless music (diana krall live in paris for example), with maybe about 1dB more output volume when I switch from the D10 to the iMod as source. I am not about to do a D10 vs iMod review, but the iMod is clearly above the quality of line out from a normal iPod. The D10 with native 24/96 files via optical does pull away by a small margin, but the iMod with Vcaps is pretty darn nice, especially with the Amphora.

3/28/09 - 11:50PM

I took the Amphora to meet Blutarsky for a quick listen. With the APS v3 cabled woodied HF-1 he also likes Amphora better than the RSA P-51 Mustang. He felt it was smooth and transparent (shoulda asked if he thought it was creamy), while the P-51 he felt was brighter and more aggressive.

But he thought the TTVJ Portable Millett Hybrid was on a similar level of great sound or enjoyment. I tend to agree that the TTVJ is phenomenal with Grados, but it is a little too bassy with A900 or D2000 or Edition 9, and he didn't get to try the TTVJ with those (he just wanted the TTVJ for his Grados anyway).

I wish we'd had more time to compare them, but I was delivering the HF-1 and TTVJ to him (among other things) and picking up his O2 Mk1 for myself in trade, with my wife impatiently waiting out in the car. So, we had to keep it short.

3/30/09 - 5:57PM

The Amphora ran for over 38 hours on a charge with music playing at normal levels with the Denon D2000, before running out of juice this afternoon. And it now has over 150 hours on it and sounds very refined and transparent.

Will update again later!

4/1/09 - 11:53PM

The Amphora has almost 190 hours on it now, and I am really enjoying it. I have been listening to my woodied recabled D2000 with it on and off all day long, and they just sound so transparent and unlike a closed can right now.

I like Zimm's loaner Amphora enough that I paid for and had my own Amphora shipped out today. This is basically going to replace my EF1 that was in my living room rig next to my Woo GES (The EF1 had replaced the DV336i because it had better synergy with D2000 and RS-1). I have my whole living room rig centered around my PS Audio Digital Link III and Woo GES, with the EF1 looped out of the GES as an after thought.

So I've come up with a whole new plan for my rig out there. I elected to not get the iMod dock version and just use my DLO Homedock HD with my iMod and Amphora, which will charge my iMod or iPod. I'll feed the DLO RCA out into the Amphora 1/8" input (ALO SXC mini-RCA). And I'll feed the PS Audio Digital Link III into the Amphora's RCA inputs. Then I can easily switch between my iMod or DL3. I have several digital sources to pick from - the Airport Express, DLO dock optical out, Samsung DVD/CD, or my Macbook Pro.

I'll use my Isomax XLR>RCA transformer to take the XLR out of the DL3 and feed the signal to my Woo GES which has a pair of RCA inputs but no XLR. I can feed the Amphora's pre-amp out into the GES's other set of inputs. Then when listening to the GES I could also switch that amp between listening to the iMod through Amphora or listening to the PS Audio (either through the Amphora or bypassing it).

So, I can lay on the couch listening to any of my cans, and with my iPhone I can control my iTunes library playing through the Airport Express, or use the DLO remote to control the iMod.

Should be sweet.

4/2/09 - 10:39PM

The Amphora and ESW10 synergy is great. I have tried the iMod with iMod LOD>RCA with no pop/noise issues, except for a brief moment when the hibernating iMod was powering up and the Amphora just came off charging, where the volume knob had a quiet popping as I rotated the knob up and down. But only for about 3 seconds and once the iPod via iMod cable was powered up the knob would not repeat the noise.

I don't have a non-iMod LOD-RCA to try. And this amphora has a built in dock without the 1/8" input, so I can't try any of my non-iMod LOD-mini cables till mine arrives this weekend. With the iMod Blackgates LOD>RCA feeding the Amphora, there is very little change from using the built-in dock. At first I wanted to say slightly more bass and slightly less transparency with the cable having the blackgates in it, but after switching back and forth 5 or 6 times I find the differences very minimal.

I posted my thoughts earlier in the thread about the ES3X with attenuator and the sound is great. I decided not to permanently mod my Amphora with an internal attenuator on the 1/8" plug. Since the ES3X and Livewires sound fine with the external attenuator and all my full size phones have been recabled with a 1/8" plug, I don't need the attenuator permanently in-line with my full size cans. I do not need the attenuator with the Senn IE8 or W3. Although there is a slight hiss with them at the level of what I get from my macbook headphone out, they are useable without it (the W3 slightly more hiss than the IE8). The attenuator does help them go silent, so it is useful. The hiss was not a deal breaker, so I went through with the purchase that I had planned since my first 24 hours with the Amphora.

I am shipping my Westone 3 to Vinnie today, and he will listen to the background hiss, and send them to Ken Ball to listen to as well. I told him to expect another 2-3dB of hiss with the ES3X or Livewires, vs what he hears with the W3. I didn't want them to spend $400 on a sensitive IEM for testing, when I have so many here that I can live without W3 for a few weeks.

04-02-2009, 11:31 AM

On another note - using my modded re-cabled D2000:

1) Comparing the iMod via built-in dock as source vs my CD/Apogee rig.

I use a Marantz CD5001 > Synergistic Research Active Powered Shielding COAX > Apogee mini-DAC > ALO SXC mini-RCA > the Amphora (basically $2000 source including cables and Sigma 11 PSU). Both were playing the exact same Diana Krall "Live in Paris" album. I used the volume pot on the Apogee to match the volume levels of the Apogee output to the iMod output levels. I had the two sources synchronized so well that there was NO discernable jump in the music when switching between the two sources.

The Apogee mini-DAC was slightly better in depth and detail and treble extension, but the iMod with lossless was impressively close. To the untrained ear some people would have denied any differences between the two sources. I can hear the differences (like maybe the Piano was slightly more forward with the iMod, and the Apogee was slightly more refined with the piano), but I was surprised at how well the iMod with Vcaps in the Amphora sounded vs the CD rig. My iMod cost $500 including the iPod, and plugged into the Amphora I would guess that it comes within 90-95% of the $2000 CD rig. (I know some people hate percentages, but it helps). Basically the iMod Vcap dock built into the Amphora is almost as good as the Jensen Copper Foil Cap iMod dock that I compared to the Apogee last year. To get a headphone amp into the dock for only a couple hundred more is impressive.

2) Comparing the Amphora single ended out of the Apogee mini-DAC vs the Single Power Square Wave XL balanced ($1249) via XLR out of the Apogee.

The Sq Wave was the amp I used to listen to the Jensen dock vs Apogee last year. So in this comparison I had both amps running at the same time out of the Apogee's SE and balanced outputs. I used my modded D2000 as before - with 4-pin XLR plug and the APS V3 4-pin to SE adapter in the Amphora, and plugged my APS V3 4-pin to dual XLR balanced adapter into the Single Power. I then matched the volumes of the two amps. I took the 4-pin jacks from the cable adapters into my hand, closed my eyes an mixed them up so I would not know which amp was which when I was listening.

I could not reliably pick which amp I was listening to. One time I thought one was more spacious and energetic and guessed it was the balanced amp but it was the Amphora. I mixed them up again and listened for that same sound, to tell the difference in the amps, and when I thought I was listening to the Amphora again I found it was actually the single power this time. They both sounded excellent, and too close to call.

With HD600 the advantage goes to the Sq Wave, especially balanced, but I wasn't kidding when I said the Amphora was a perfect match for the Denons. It was also a perfect match for the Edition 9, and if I hadn't sold the Ed 9 to help pay for my HD800 I'd be regretting the sale right now.

04-05-2009, 11:58 PM

I want to add to my comments about single ended HD600 on Amphora vs balanced HD600 off the Single Power balanaced Square Wave XL with Blackgate upgrade. While the advantage goes to the balanced rig as I stated above, I am still surprised at how much more transparent the HD600 sound now with 250 hours on the amp than they did when it was pretty new. Those with HD600 do not have to avoid the Amphora as I was worried about initially.

I had a Headamp Gilmore Reference Amplifier here for a several week loan a few months ago, and I compared to my Sq Wave back in January. While the Gilmore Reference was quite close to the Sq Wave with the D2000 and Edition 9, it was not as good with the Grados or HD600 as the Sq Wave or WA6. And now after comparing the Amphora to the SP and Woo, I believe the Amphora would top the Gilmore with the RS-1 and HD600 as well. So, I like the Amphora more than a Gilmore Reference, and about as much as my Single Power balanced Square Wave XL with everything but HD600 and K1000, but slightly less than my maxed WA6 (my favorite).

For a lark I tried my new K1000 on the Amphora (with my 4-pin to SE adapter) and on the Single Power balanced. Up to the volume limit of the Amphora there was no clipping and the sound was clear, just not as loud as I would like to normally listen to them. With the balanced rig the sound signature was very similar to the Amphora, with the big difference being the volume and dynamics with the amp turned up. What I am finding is that the detail, transparency, imaging, separation and soundstage of the single ended Amphora is close to that of a more costly balanced Square Wave XL with most of my headphones.

Other than the Sq Wave having more power for HD600 and K1000 when using most of the typical head-fi headphones, there are not a lot of other reasons to recommend the balanced Single Power over the single ended Amphora (particularly with all the poor SP customer service reports).
(1) They both drive two headphones at the same time, but the Amphora can drive two low impedance phones at the same time without flinching and the Sq Wave XL struggles to do that.
(2) They both have outputs on the rear, but the SP is a simple loop out that doubles as an SE input, and the Amphora is a pre-amp out.
(3) The Amphora allows two sources to be connected at the same time, and switched in and out - while you can connect a source to the Sq Wave RCA or to the XLR but not at the same time (as the other input acts like a loop out).
(4) If you connect two sources to the single power at the same time (even with only one playing music) then the sound suffers as the Sq Wave tries to send the signal from one source via loop-out into the other source - I suppose this messes up the input impedance.
(5) The Amphora has a very nice Goldpoint attenuator and a gain switch, while the Sq Wave uses two very tiny volume knobs for left and right that are difficult to use and you must take some time to match the volume of each channel whenever you adjust the volume (I have to use my mini-DAC as a pre-amp to avoid the issue).
(6) The Sq Wave, while smaller than the Amphora, is larger as a package when you weigh in the huge power brick, so it is not as transportable as the Amphora (which runs on battery).

So, I will be sending Zimm's Amphora to mrarroyo in a couple of days, as I now have my own Amphora here to play with. Blutarsky got to listen to this Amphora/iMod a week ago and liked it more than the iMod/Vcaps/P-51 Mustang (using woodied APS V3 cabled HF-1). Later Naamanf, Sherwood and Asr will get to hear my Amphora, so I don't need to hold onto the extra one.

Zimm - Thanks so much for the short loan (which was going to be for another month or longer), and the opportunity to burn it in and post my findings before I got mine! KB knew I had expressed interest before the release, and I'm glad he held the one that I wanted for me until I could sell off some stuff to pay for it.

 

[Skylab]

Larry, Miguel - fantastic work, as usual. I don't think anyone is going to even bother to read my review when I get my sample in a few weeks. You guys have given it such thorough coverage! Great job.

 

[vkvedam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif Larry, Miguel - fantastic work, as usual. I don't think anyone is going to even bother to read my review when I get my sample in a few weeks. You guys have given it such thorough coverage! Great job.

I'll be watching...

 

[krmathis]

Fantastic written and detailed review. Thanks!
The Amphora sure looks really nice, and from how I know the RWA gear its solid built as well.

Enjoy!

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vkvedam /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'll be watching...

I will be watching as well.

 

[Zimm]

Me thinks Miguel has been totally transfixed just listening to the music with the Amphora. I can't wait to get home and listen for myself. Can anyone comment on how a pair of HFI-780's sound with the amp? I have been thinking about a pair of new cans when I get home and they are on my list.

Music recommendation: get the latest Rachael Yamagata album. And the new Mastodon if you're into metal of the finest caliber.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zimm /img/forum/go_quote.gif Me thinks Miguel has been totally transfixed just listening to the music with the Amphora. I can't wait to get home and listen for myself. Can anyone comment on how a pair of HFI-780's sound with the amp? I have been thinking about a pair of new cans when I get home and they are on my list. Music recommendation: get the latest Rachael Yamagata album. And the new Mastodon if you're into metal of the finest caliber.

Considering that it is the best amp for the Edition 9 that I have tried, I suspect the HFI-780 will sound very good with it.

Good enough that I am thinking about replacing the 780's that I sold when my Ed 9 were a little better a while back. Now since I sold the Ed 9 to pay for the HD800 I only have my HFI-700, which sound a little more like a closed can than the 780.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zimm /img/forum/go_quote.gif Me thinks Miguel has been totally transfixed just listening to the music with the Amphora. I can't wait to get home and listen for myself. Can anyone comment on how a pair of HFI-780's sound with the amp? I have been thinking about a pair of new cans when I get home and they are on my list. Music recommendation: get the latest Rachael Yamagata album. And the new Mastodon if you're into metal of the finest caliber.

I posted some impressions on the HFI-780 above on the 4/11 section.

For the last three days I have been using the Amphora mostly w/ the AKG K501 re-cabled by Alex of APureSound with a 10 foot long V3 terminated in a Furutech 1/4" plug.

The Amphora and K501 are IMO made for each other, the mids are just awesome. There is a level of detail that is only surpassed by the airiness of the presentation. Then you realize how smooth and relaxing the presentation is ...

 

[mbd2884]

Nice reviews! Who is in Iraq? Any internal shots later to see what Ken is using to create this beauty? Are there any technical data or parts list for this Amphora? Look forward for further input about this ALO Amplifier.

@ Mrarroyo I found it hilarious all your links were to cables. Your other gear used for comparisons or that interesting NM24 DAC used I found far more interesting and had to do individual searches to look them up.

 

[mrarroyo]

The Monarchy NM24 DAC is IMO a killer piece of gear. It has a tube dac as well as an SS dac, plus a tube line stage. You can feed the line stage using the tube or the SS dac w/ the flick of a switch. I have had the opportunity to listen to a lot of dacs under $2,000 and so far my favorite is the Monarchy NM24 DAC.

I used links for the cables because I do not have very good pictures for them.

BTW, Zimm is in Iraq.

 

[FallenAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbd2884 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any internal shots later to see what Ken is using to create this beauty? Are there any technical data or parts list for this Amphora?

x2 Pop the hood, lets look inside!