Anyone using the TTVJ Slim ?

[estreeter]

Thanks Giles, but I think I have it covered. My initial mistake when I started in this hobby/obsession was to buy a pair of K601, and I havent been back to the house of AKG since - starting with something that hard to drive is simply nuts. You spend your life trying to find the right amp when it would have been a lot easier, and cheaper, just to start with something like the ES7/DT440 etc : I ended up owning, and selling, many of the mid-fi phones along the way.
 
I now own several pairs of Grallesandros, the ATH-AD900 and various middling phones like the PX200 II, KSC-75 and PL50 (ironically, the SoundMagics are probably the most demanding of the lot !). All of these work happily from my 6G Nano, even more so from my D4 and thats not a terrifically powerful amp. I believe the TTVJ Slim will be adequate for my 'transportable' needs, but there are a couple of others on the shortlist. The big pluses for the TTVJ amp are the layout and the form factor - Todd isnt going anywhere for the next couple of months so I can safely sit on my hands a little longer

 

[Kunlun]

A little thump shouldn't damage any earphones. If earphones were that fragile, imagine what playing music would do!
 
Ears get damaged before transducers do, so if it's not damaging to your ears then don't worry about your earphones.

 

[Gilles De Rais]

Hi estreeter,
 
Excellent - as you have the experience and wherewithal to know the limits of phones and amps, my observations probably just confirmed your opinions. I only mentioned it because to be frank I get tired of newbies posting "I bought x headphones on recommendations from Amazon and it sounds crap out of an ipod, what amp will help?" (though with nearly 3,000 posts I would never think of you as a newbie...). Any caveat is a good caveat....
 
As you discovered early on, the best solution - admit a mistake has been made and take a more reasoned and considered approach to system building, don't throw good money after bad.
 
I'm sure with the phones at your disposal, the TTVJ will work out fine. 
 
regards,
 
Giles
 

 

[pekingduck]

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Awesome PekingDuck,
 
Anyone else have ttvj slim experiences?

Thanks!
 
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I had one with DAC. Sold it, and I regret it. I will be buying another soon. It was great. Matched very well with both my iphone on the go, and iMac at home. The service from TTVJ is great as well. 

What did you think about the performance of the DAC? Mine also has that and I am unimpressed, to say the least. I wonder if mine is faulty...

 
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Isnt on/off thump potentially damaging for sensitive IEMs like the JH13s ? Not really a concern for me, as I will be driving fullsize phones, but it may be for others.
 

I hope not

The Slim has no problem driving my DT770/600 to ear-splitting level so you should be fine!
 
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one could always plug something like the jh13's in after they turned the amp on and unplug them after the music has ceased before deciding to power down...just a thought...if it's a concern...

Yeah that's what I usually do but once in a while I forget to and get a nice little surprise LOL
 

 

[estreeter]

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A little thump shouldn't damage any earphones. If earphones were that fragile, imagine what playing music would do!

I really need you to refer that to Jerry Harvey, along with your warranty claim - good luck
 

 

[adktitan]

 
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Thanks!
 

What did you think about the performance of the DAC? Mine also has that and I am unimpressed, to say the least. I wonder if mine is faulty...

 

I hope not

The Slim has no problem driving my DT770/600 to ear-splitting level so you should be fine!
 

Yeah that's what I usually do but once in a while I forget to and get a nice little surprise LOL
 

 
I though the DAC section was ok. When compared to my iMac headphone out, it was worlds better, which is what I was going for. I read a good quote somewhere saying "Buy it for the amp, love it for the dac"..or something along those things. I think that is about right. It is a great amp with a very usuable DAC, imo.
 
 

 

[kbuzz]

HAs anyone tried this with an ipad lately. I cant seem to get mine going with the camera connection kit.
 

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

 I think that is about right. It is a great amp with a very usuable DAC, imo.
 

 
That seems to be the consensus, even from those who are comparing the Slim with a better amp. If there is a criticism, it seems to come from those who feel that you can get more amp for less money, but there are usually tradeoffs when you move away from that form factor. The original SR71 is, by all accounts, an absolute barnstormer (for a portable), but there was a lot of grizzling about its size, the battery replacement hassle etc - you just cant please all of the people all of the time.
 
 

 

[edvardd]

Has anyone used TTVJ Slim with Ultrasone Pro 900 or W1000x? how was it?

 

[dj nellie]

For use with custom IEMs, has anyone who has heard both the TTVJ and Pico Slims comment on which amp provides better volume control and channel balance?  How about hiss control?  I'd also like to hear more about sound signature differences between these amps.

 

[dj nellie]

So I bought a TTVJ used, and on the first day I thought that I broke the gain switch trying to turn it down.  Todd and Pete Millett were nice enough to take a look at it and repair it, even though I wasn't the original buyer.  Turns out the amp was fine, the gain switch is just really hard to move and the 0db setting looks like it's actually the 10db setting.
 
Initial observations: 
 
1.  Gain is way too high for custom IEMs, even on 0db and the lowest possible volume.  Maybe the high gain is made worse by the high lineouts of my sources and the high DB at which my music was ripped at (I have downloaded from many different sources).  But to me it makes the TTVJ basically unusable with customs, especially when you add fairly loud hiss (which the SR71b doesn't have).
 
2.  It does, however, sound great with my LCD-2 and Solo as the source.  I was really engrossed by this setup, and my gut feeling is that it sounds less veiled and better overall than the SR71b single-ended.  Very creamy mids, fairly large soundstage, and good clarity.
 
So, it's a solid portable amp with the LCD-2 and maybe universal IEMs, but IMO the high gain makes it unlistenable with my sensitive customs.  I'll see if Todd or Pete can lower the gain somehow, because I really like the form factor and the sound signature with my LCD-2.
 
EDIT: 
 
Just to clarify...I think the Solo has a very high line out, or some gain already built into it. If I switch the source to the line out of my iPhone 4 or Touch 2, there are 2 listenable volume settings on the volume dial (the first 2).  But even with those sources on the lowest volume, it's still a bit too loud on some songs.  I haven't tried he HM-801 yet, but I know that player has a high line out too.
 
So the lesson seems to be, the TTVJ requires careful matching with your headphone and source...

 

[adktitan]

Interesting observations. I will add a counter however. I felt that the TTVJ Slim was a perfect match for my custom JH-13's (I do not use full sizers, yet), and it is my favorite amp to use with them to date.I also did not hear or notice any fairly loud hiss. I felt that it was a perfect match both sonically with a nice warm sound that made electric guitars bite, among other things, and was not too loud at all with gain at 0db with my JH13's, the thought never even crossed my mind TBH. Also, the form factor and volume pot I felt were a wonderful match for my Iphone and the DAC was great with my various apple stuff... the lesson here, I think, may be YMMV.....

 

[dj nellie]

Is the iPhone the only source you're using the with the Slim? I should clarify that my impressions are based on the Solo and HM801 as a source, which both have very high-gain lineouts. With the iPhone and Touch, the Slim provides a little more volume range (but still only about 2 clicks on the dial).
 
And again, anyone using a universal IEM or full-size can probably wouldn't have these gain issues with any source.

 

[adktitan]

Quote:

Is the iPhone the only source you're using the with the Slim? I should clarify that my impressions are based on the Solo and HM801 as a source, which both have very high-gain lineouts. With the iPhone and Touch, the Slim provides a little more volume range (but still only about 2 clicks on the dial).
 
 

Nope.... I used it with apple everything: iMac, macbook, iPod touch, iPad, iPhones (3gs (mine), 4g (wife's), ((various apple stuff))......all sounded great when I could use the amp/dac combo and even just the amp alone....to each their own and all that..
 
 

 

[estreeter]

Whoa - a slimline portable amp with too MUCH grunt ? I stick to 32-ohm fullsize cans mostly, but this will alarm some on this forum.