[chumley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imyourzero Thanks for the excellent reply! That helps me out. I agree that between the two, it would probably boil down to a preference of sound signatures. Which amp provides more detail and musicality? I tend to think of the SR-71 as being more musical and sweet sounding, yet many people say it simply does its job very well and gets out of the way of the music. My impression of the GL is that it's very fast and transparent but also perhaps a bit lifeless--not that it makes the music sound dull by any means, but rather it doesn't have the character that Ray's amps have. A lot of people talk about the Ray "house sound" and how they greatly enjoy it. I'm not sure that the Gilmore has a house sound...perhaps it does, but I never seem to see people raving about it. I mainly see people discussing the speed and energy that the GL has, but I wonder if those qualities combined with Grados would be too much. With Senns, it sounds like a perfect balance. Ah, what to do, what to do. Both seem like great amps. I really wish I could test both of them without having to front an initial $800 outlay of cash. I just don't want to pick the "wrong one" (for me) and end up regretting it. I'm on a college budget here, and the last thing I want to do is to drop $400 on an amp and wish I had gotten another one. The fact is, I'd probably be happy with either since I'm coming from no amp at all, but I always research big purchases so that I feel like I've done the best I can do for the money. I know they can be resold and the SR-71 especially is in pretty high demand, but I'd rather do it right the first time. Though...wouldn't we all? Well, I guess not--for some people, the journey to audio nirvana IS the experience and the fun of this hobby.

I find the GL/PS combo with my SR225's and MS-2's (esp. w/Todd's Flats) to be amazing... lots of synergy... the Senn HD650's, w/either Cardas * or * Zu, sound a little better, to my ears, through the SR-71. The Grado/Alessandro/SR-71 combo is not too much, but about as close to sonic 'saturation' as I'd want to get with these cans; again, smooth, detailed, extended, accurate, and slightly 'warm'... the SR-71 seems to 'fix' the Senn soundstage a bit more than the GL, and manages to do a fantastic job with the Grado/Alessandro cans as well! I don't know what kinda mojo's in the RS amp, but, if you can live with the 9V * only *, it will NOT disappoint you! And, while the GL is fast, transparent, and greatly detailed, it is, to my mind, quite musical- others may find it somewhat 'technical' compared to the sound signature of the SR-71, and that's an apt comparison, more because of the warmer SR-71 'house sound', than any deficiency of the GL. The thing that really gets to me about the SR-71 is how it can simultaneously accomplish its dead-on accuracy, amazing detail, balance and extension throughout its sound range AND provide a notable, but not distortive (man, I don't think that's a word!) 'warmth' and smoothness to its presentation... truly a unique sounding amp.

Sorry if I digress a little here- my mind's wandering back to how great certain passages of music sound through each of these killer little amps...

 

[xtreme4099]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chumley Listened to both. SR-71 is the only one walking away from that contest...

notice i said with discrete buffer ... not the old buf634 buffered one.

 

[Ramrod152001]

I compared the Pocket Reference (discrete buffers) with the XP-7 w/797 op amps. Let me just say I sold the XP-7 the next day, lol I hear it sounds similar to the SR-71

 

[Natsuiro]

Ramrod, was it a close battle between them? Or was the XP-7 no competition at all?

 

[james__bean]

If I was looking to spend money on a semi-portable amp, I'd probably pick the PR. I really wanted one this summer, I just couldn't swing it with school and a computer upgrade.

 

[Graz]

I was actually so close to purchasing an SR-71, or even possibly an XP-7 (with power supply).

So close... In fact, I sent an email inquiry. Asked if they had inventory in stock & if not, approx. how long would it take to build one, etc. Also inquired if shipping to Taiwan would be a problem...

Man, I was so close... I mean, my AMEX was about to jump outa my wallet, log into PayPal and send the money all on it's own. We're talking CLOSE man...

But, due to an email snafu, my email inquiry ended up going unanswered.

So I fired off an email to Justin at HeadAmp...which was promptly replied to. Long-story-short...7-10 days later, my Lite arrived and I'm loving it.

[size=xx-small]Edited: I've re-worded this post, as the email issue was simply an honest mistake...hey, we all make mistakes.[/size]

Peace,

Graz

 

[jjcha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graz But the folks at ray samuels audio totally blew off my email. Zero response. Nothing.

No offense mate, but it's your loss. Frankly, I'm pretty amazed how people think just sending one or two emails is sufficient means of making contact, and that the failure to respond is some sort of cardinal sin. Have you tried calling? Even if it's just a voicemail, some sort of recorded message (e.g., "Hey, I'm gonna send you an email, can you respond?") does wonders for improving responsiveness.

In my business I regularly get 300+ emails a day - and learned long ago the sound of a human voice compels far more of a response than just a couple thousand bytes of data. Yes, any business ought to be responsible to its customers by implementing careful email monitoring procedures. And I doubt Ray gets 300+ emails a day - unless it's spam. But even if it's just 10 or 20, we're talking about a small business - it's just one guy. Give him a break and give him a call for crissakes.

I'm sure your lite is great - enjoy it.

Best regards,

-Jason

 

[saint.panda]

The Corda HA1 MKII albeit not portable is in the SR71's price range. It would be intersting to hear opinions from somebody who's heard both.

 

[NightWoundsTime]

SR-71>Gilmore Lite, quite easily. The reason Ray can compete with higher end amps is because he did extensive work making sure the tonal balance on the SR-71 was impeccable. This is why people say it's "transparent". The Lite sounds compressed, with harsh upper mids and weak bass. Go for the SR-71 and never look back.

Graz, "The folks at Ray Samuels Audio" equal one guy, Ray Samuels himself. Forgive him for deleting an email, or perhaps being out of town at a meet, or maybe even in Poland! I understand you were in a hurry but it isn't like Ray runs a huge customer service oriented business.

 

[bhd812]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graz I was actually so close to purchasing an SR-71, or even possibly an XP-7 (with power supply). So close... In fact, I sent an email inquiry. Asked if they had inventory in stock & if not, approx. how long would it take to build one, etc. Also inquired if shipping to Taiwan would be a problem... Man, I was so close... I mean, my AMEX was about to jump outa my wallet, log into PayPal and send the money all on it's own. We're talking CLOSE man... But the folks at ray samuels audio totally blew off my email. Zero response. Nothing. So I fired off an email to Justin at HeadAmp...which was promptly replied to. Long-story-short...7-10 days later, my Lite arrived and I'm loving it. Ray Samuels will never see a penny of my hard earned $$$. Never. Sigh. I know I'll prolly get blasted here, but this is the truth of how it went down for me. Peace, Graz

[size=x-large]This is one of the best reply's yet!!!!!!!

so close huh? lol[/size]

 

[sacd lover]

SR-71>Gilmore Lite, quite easily. The reason Ray can compete with higher end amps is because he did extensive work making sure the tonal balance on the SR-71 was impeccable. This is why people say it's "transparent". The Lite sounds compressed, with harsh upper mids and weak bass. Go for the SR-71 and never look back.

No way did the lite sound anything like that in my setup. The lite was not the least bit compressed or harsh and the bass was phenomenal for an amp that inexpensive. I do wish I could get a hold of an emmeline sr-71 or hr-2 amp to hear them for comparison though.

 

[tortie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graz I was actually so close to purchasing an SR-71, or even possibly an XP-7 (with power supply). So close... In fact, I sent an email inquiry. Asked if they had inventory in stock & if not, approx. how long would it take to build one, etc. Also inquired if shipping to Taiwan would be a problem... Man, I was so close... I mean, my AMEX was about to jump outa my wallet, log into PayPal and send the money all on it's own. We're talking CLOSE man... But the folks at ray samuels audio totally blew off my email. Zero response. Nothing.

One can always buy Ray Samuel's amps at Todd's Site they have unbeatable international service.

 

[Ray Samuels]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graz I was actually so close to purchasing an SR-71, or even possibly an XP-7 (with power supply). So close... In fact, I sent an email inquiry. Asked if they had inventory in stock & if not, approx. how long would it take to build one, etc. Also inquired if shipping to Taiwan would be a problem... Man, I was so close... I mean, my AMEX was about to jump outa my wallet, log into PayPal and send the money all on it's own. We're talking CLOSE man... But the folks at ray samuels audio totally blew off my email. Zero response. Nothing. So I fired off an email to Justin at HeadAmp...which was promptly replied to. Long-story-short...7-10 days later, my Lite arrived and I'm loving it. Ray Samuels will never see a penny of my hard earned $$$. Never. Sigh. I know I'll prolly get blasted here, but this is the truth of how it went down for me. Peace, Graz

Hi Graz.....
I am sorry for intruding on the this post, but you might very possible be "MARK" from far east, I don't remeber your last name in the e-mail but your first name is the same like my brother in-law, as it stock in my mind, that e-mail, I, accidently earased by mistake with so much jung e-mail & cleared the all junk e-mail including yours, & was hoping to get another one from you to respond to you questions, if you are the same person, please either pm me or send me an e-mail as I always respond to all my e-mail every day before going to sleep. I do apologize for my wrong doing.
Ray Samuels

 

[Ramrod152001]

Natsuiro, I compared the xp-7 with 797s and the PR (discrete buffers) using CD-3000 and Shure E-5s, I used an Emu 1212m sound card, and I also compared using my DE-J2000 sony portable player's lineout.

I tried the Shures first with the XP-7 and PR and noticed that the sound was very similar, but as i listened more between the two i really found the PR better in terms of a seemingly larger soundstage and fuller bass with a more realistic sounding high end. (without Bassboost) When i put the bass boost on the PR it just really pulled away from the XP-7 to my ears. At one pont i simply stopped comparing and just sat back and enjoyed the sound coming from the PR.

When I compared using my computer's EMU-1212m and CD-3000's I used some song CDs and also even tried videogaming with them on my computer. I tried the XP-7 and overall I found it fatiguing, hurting my ears, sounding thinner and brighter to me. The PR was a much more enjoyable experience for me, it sounded more alive, if that makes sense. The bass really sounded better to me as in it was deeper and fuller (without bassboost on!) CD3K bass is so awesome. I once thought it was incapable of doing bass until I got my amps! Gaming with my PR and CD-3K is a really awesome expereince!

I really could not go back to the XP-7 after that and it stayed in my shelf till i sold it the next day.
The XP-7 sounds like the extremes of the sound spectrum are a bit cut off, yet in some way i cant explain why the sound was so bright with the CD-3K, the PR with discretes really made the CD-3k sing. The XP-7 is a good amp overall, but maybe it just didnt suit my system.

 

[jpr703]

Anyone compared this amp to DIY projects like the PPA or Pimeta?