[__machine]

i borrowed a friend's porta corda over the weekend to check out with my hp890's.

i've been using them for a week with an mz-r50 as source and no amplification.

i also tested the porta corda with my aureal vortex2's line out and the ps2 audio (i don't have a dedicated cd player).

i can't discerne any appreciable difference when using the porta corda or not! from the mz-r50, vortex2, or ps2 (to a yamaha 45w stereo amp and out through its headphone jack), it sounds IDENTICAL but the corda can go louder (except for the yamaha).

am i insane? are my ears so **** that i'm just missing the "night and day" differences?

at least i can spot the change when i turn the cross-feed on

 

[markjia]

Those phones have an impedance of only 32 ohms, so they wouldn't be as demanding on an amp, but there should still be a noticable difference...

You question of "are my ears in need of an upgrade?" may not be too far from the truth...different sources/amps make a big difference, but you might need to train your ears to hear them. It might take a while, but after using a headphone amp for a while, your ears should become more sensitive to minor differences (at which time, they will not sound minor any more).

In some ways, you're better off not knowing what better sounds like...you'd save a lot of money.

 

[markjia]

It might also be because you don't have a great auditory memory...you can't really remember what the last one sounded like so you don't know which is better.

 

[__machine]

i've only had these phones for a week, and the amp for a couple days. even when i switch in the middle of a track, it sounds identical, surely i couldn't be forgetting that quickly

but... it would be more apparent if i could just hit a switch rather than unplug and re-connect.

i'm also not really familiar with the little details of each track, as i usually just have music on, rather than really listen to it.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

How are you connecting the porta corda? The the line outs or the headphone jacks?

 

[taoster]

The Porta Corda is actually my and it has also been biased to run in Class A with a 24V regulated PSU.

I've had this setup for a year now and the difference is obvious for me. how he could not hear the difference is really beyond me and i found it all quite amusing.

The Porta Corda has under gone 2 major upgrades with the Class A bias and 24V PSU supply. Where both mods has improved the Porta Corda significantly from its original state.

I do believe all phones and amp requires time for the ear/brain to get accustomed. It's easier to hear the difference without it than with it. if you know what i mean.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Well, you know how I feel about my Porta Corda

 

[__machine]

it was the line out. it sounds identical !

eheh... but... i don't have that much confidence in any of the sources i was using... mz-r50 line out, ps2 rca plug into fem-fem rca plugs and an rca plug to phone cable to porta corda...

but... i couldnt even tell a difference with same src (ps2) going into yamaya 45w amp and out through headphone jack vs ps2 going to corda...

 

[BoardC3]

youve been blessed. you dont need to spend a ton of money now. really its not a bad thing (assuming that you like your current setup)

 

[Howie]

Okay now I'm a bit concerned about buying the Porta Corda for Discman and MD purposes.

 

[__machine]

taoster says he can hear the difference, but i think not as clearly as with his pcdp, commenting that perhaps the line out or recording was not that good, and so there was not much improvement.