[Progenitor]

Thanks for the on/off display switch idea!

I shamefully still use a pair of monster cable I have bought from the start of my audiophile journey. Unfortunately my source is not balanced (Oritek OMZ) so I don't need XLR yet. However, I will ask him about interconnect + power cable!

Btw, am I right to say from your comment earlier that the Phoenix is warmer than the SPL Phonitator? I was very impressed with the phonitator when I demoed it around 1 month ago on how it sounds with my DX1000.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cafe zeenuts /img/forum/go_quote.gif LD MK6 is rated at 120ohm at 5W.....

Is that 5W in total or 2.5 W RMS ? Also that could be the peak unsustained rate and at what percentage distortion ? Likely it would be well above 1% something which is fine for a tube amp but would sound awful on it's SS counterpart.

I'm not saying the LD Mk VI isn't a good amp all I'm saying is you need to provide the details with the rating otherwise the numbers have considerable leeway of interpretation.

At any given time most end users are listening at a power rating between 100 mV and 400 depending on headphone impedance and efficiency so the top power output rating is somewhat misleading. That being said clean headroom is what makes or breaks most high end amps. Delivery and speed of I/V cleanly and effortlessly is what separates the wanna be's from the real deal.

Of course my understanding of this is from an amateur perspective but I've been in this game long enough to know that dynamic headroom (a spec at one time that was published and considered very important) is a critical part of the amp equation. If you look at big SS amp specs nowadays..... if it can cleanly double it's power (say 250 RMS in to 8 ohms, 500 W RMS into 4 and 1000W into 2) into half the rated impedance it will have plenty of dynamic headroom on tap. Early NAD amps used to be built to a 3 db headroom spec (which is massive) back in the early days of the UK based operation (which incidently they built there rep on). I'm getting off track here...

Peete.

 

[glitch39]

PP - it's 5 + 5 watts. Yes, it's powerful. way more than my SP extreme.

Agreed - it's not purely the RMS wattage that matters. A less powerful amp may sound louder if it's able to deliver the dynamics and headroom demanded by the material. So the power specs is not the end-all of amps, but just a good starting point.

are you getting your Phoenix next week (hopefully)?

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Peete and punk_guy: My EMS tracking info updated to this: 2009/06/27 00:27 VANCOUVER International item arrived in Canada and will be reviewed by Customs Still expecting Tuesday/Wednesday delivery. Actually Wednesday is Canada Day, so either Tuesday or Thursday then.

Mine still is saying the same as before....hopefully the update will occur on Monday morning.

Peete.

 

[les_garten]

A guy to ask about the LD MK VI would be Lil Knight. He had one and unloaded it relatively fast. Might want to ask him about why it had to go.

.

 

[IPodPJ]

Any of my earlier concerns have completely been eliminated. I promised not to sound excited so I won't. I will say that I completely rewired my power cord configuration and will post it later after I nap. (I've been averaging 4 hours sleep per night for the last 2 weeks.) I have the amp plugged directly into the wall as do I with my DAC. All other pieces of equipment are plugged into a different outlet. The holographic image I am getting from this system.... I can see Al Jarreau's face! I can hear the space between Mark Knopfler's fingers and his guitar. I can hear the resonating between the musician and an upright bass. And soundstage? I can tell you the [perceived] distance between the musicians in feet.

This power cord stuff pays off, big time. The amp and headphones aren't too shabby either.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is going to take some getting used to and I need to thoroughly compare this fully balanced configuration to other amps at the L.A. Meet. But I'm pretty sure my next purchase will be a power regenerator. I also need to try some different cable configurations and let my amp warm up for another 2 or 3 hours. Also, the balanced output on the amp may need some burn-in time, too.

Keep in mind that this amp will have some rather large swings in SQ during burn in...nothing (well, almost) you hear now will be what you hear past 1K hours. The tonality and power will remain constant but SS, texture, et al will change and refine considerably over the next 600 hours +. It's a long haul to fully settled electronics but the journey is fun to

IMO of course.

Jeez PJ I really wish you lived much closer or I lived much closer to you...I would have been happy to bring the CD7/RE1 to your mini meet. Maybe a LA based member will have a RE1 in the near future...not that I'm saying your current source isn't up to the job.

PS: Excitement is good for the soul ! If you are an exuberant and positive person than never apologize for it...we already have 300 Andy Rooney's around here it would seem so I find nothing wrong with people expressing joy etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by glitch39 /img/forum/go_quote.gif PP - it's 5 + 5 watts. Yes, it's powerful. way more than my SP extreme. Agreed - it's not purely the RMS wattage that matters. A less powerful amp may sound louder if it's able to deliver the dynamics and headroom demanded by the material. So the power specs is not the end-all of amps, but just a good starting point. are you getting your Phoenix next week (hopefully)?

Thanks for the update G. Specs in general can be manipulated to the point that most of what is published today (or yesterday for that matter) means very little or tells you not a whit what the unit will sound like. Anyway that's another story........my Phoenix and other stuff is still in the shipping/tracking page black hole according to the tracking numbers but I remain hopeful it shows next week (maybe Wed or Thurs if I'm lucky, which sometimes I am not).

Peete.

 

[glitch39]

My electrical wiring is similar to iPodJ's new configuration. I use an AC y-cable for my amp and DAC.
Pro gear has used them for a long time.

This reduces possible hum and ground loop issues. Here is an example, albeit ends are for non-US power outlets, but the idea is the same:

 

[Progenitor]

I see that cable has an UK head which is perfect for me. Where did you found this cable?

 

[IPodPJ]

Hi Glitch,

I wouldn't recommend using something like that. Keep your power cords separated to reduce the amount of interference between the two. They should be well shielded.

But I've never tried it so I don't know. I do know that regular power cords that look like that sound like poo. I've tried all number of gauges.

 

[JamesL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Glitch, I wouldn't recommend using something like that. Keep your power cords separated to reduce the amount of interference between the two. They should be well shielded.

You know they're all connected to each other in parallel right behind your outlet, right?

 

[Lil' Knight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by les_garten /img/forum/go_quote.gif A guy to ask about the LD MK VI would be Lil Knight. He had one and unloaded it relatively fast. Might want to ask him about why it had to go. .

I was bitten by a Stax bug.

 

[Currawong]

I thought it might be worth commenting that items such as the Phoenix and Ref 1 are best purchased if one is going to use them balanced. Using them SE negates some of the purpose of buying them.

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was bitten by a Stax bug.

Hey! Glad you chimed in.

"Bitten by The Stax Bug"

As Forest Gump would say, "It Happens"

.

 

[haloxt]

I thought the Phoenix was just a "pretty good for the price" deal until I removed the diode board in my headphones and balanced it. I think the biggest benefit from balanced is as Ipodpj said, it becomes encompassing, and next biggest changes I'd say it is now more intimate (I NEVER thought that was possible with my pro 900. I suspect removing the diode board may have contributed to this end) and ruthlessly realistic presentation and eerily fast and controlled bass. My headphone and blue dragon cable sucks bad for highs but right now bass has as much transient speed as a very hyperactive violin

. It's spooky when there's complex low-volume bass background music because it used to just sound like a continuous hum but now has a life of its own. But still, many aspects of my audio chain are probably keeping my Phoenix from sounding as good as what ipodpj describes. I think the Phoenix can be great, but you probably have to choose the rest of your equipment with extreme care. I'm hearing the itty bit of unintimacy of the dac19mk3, the somewhat toy-like sound of my transport, and excessive bass of my headphones+blue dragon cable, these three things are sometimes painfully apparent. Although the Phoenix does contribute an interesting sparkle to the sound (it reminds me of Mr. sparkle from the simpsons) which does help make the shortcomings in my setup quite a bit more bearable, but still I get the feeling I ought to upgrade at least my transport or my optical cable.