[pompon]

Can you telling us more about the recabled job on your phoenix and on your xlr connector with the resistor on it ? The fact of single end sound better than XLR is a stop for me atm.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pompon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can you telling us more about the recabled job on your phoenix and on your xlr connector with the resistor on it ? The fact of single end sound better than XLR is a stop for me atm.

There is no resistor inside the amp. I am having a resistance adaptor made to plug my headphones into the amp. But with the Ref1, it is not necessary.

I won't use XLR or RCA anymore. CAST is the only way to go with this combo. In fact it is so good that I might eventually have Lemo connectors put on both the Phoenix and Ref1.

SE sounded better in the bass department once the amp was fully warmed up. XLR has better separation. But then I switched from XLR input 4 to input 2 and the bass was pretty much equal.

The Phoenix has not been recabled yet and I'm not sure that it needs it, at least for CAST. You could experiment with different wires if you want. My Ref1 is recabled with Cardas single Litz on the XLR and RCA outputs.

 

[Bob Jones]

Hold it hold it hold it.Back to the subject.I've had a rough road getting here.Yea the monkey man came through for me with a dac to die for.The Phoenix was tough,couldn't get the first one to work,the second one worked but.Anyway,my problem,the amp started farther back than any amp I've owned.Muddy base,harsh highs,no soundstage.The dac {Northstar Mk 2 } was there from day one,I can't explain.Now after many hours of burn in IT has finally happened.MUSIC IS BACK,GOTTA GO.

 

[tosehee]

It takes that many hours to burn in before you start to enjoy the music? Wow. that's the first amp with such high hour burn in. I usually do not believe in "burn-in" concept in the first place, but man. I guess I will have to check it out myself.. Damn. This waiting game truly sucks ball.

 

[IPodPJ]

It takes warm-up. About 4 hours.

 

[tosehee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif It takes warm-up. About 4 hours.

Bob's comment seems to be saying that his phoenix wasn't too great until so many hours of burn in.. That's what I was little puzzled at..

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tosehee /img/forum/go_quote.gif Bob's comment seems to be saying that his phoenix wasn't too great until so many hours of burn in.. That's what I was little puzzled at..

I haven't had that experience.

 

[tosehee]

Quote:

Anyway,my problem,the amp started farther back than any amp I've owned.Muddy base,harsh highs,no soundstage.The dac {Northstar Mk 2 } was there from day one,I can't explain.Now after many hours of burn in IT has finally happened.MUSIC IS BACK,GOTTA GO.

For some reason, I had quite a negative impression from reading this..

 

[punk_guy182]

Same here.
I'd like some clarifications on the comment.

 

[Yikes]

Warming up, and Breaking-In are two different things. Even after in excess of 500 hours of break-in the Phoenix still takes about 30 minutes to an hour to come up to it's operating temperature and sound it's best (IME not the 4 hours that some claim).

As far as Break-In goes; it's difficult to say, because it's a gradual process. It didn't suck when brand new, but I'd say it definitely benefits from a few hundred hours under it's belt. Meaning that it does sound better now than it did a month ago.

I played the Phoenix as a Preamp 24/7 for two weeks, and then the Headphone amp outputs for about 18 hours a day for about 3 weeks (with another 6 hr a day serving preamp duties).

Now the Phoenix is on almost all the time, and amplifying for maybe 10 hours a day (75% Preamp duty). I consider it mostly broken-in, however I have had electronics that took well in excess of a thousand hours to finally settle in.

IME a lot of electronics gear actually takes longer to break-in than most Speakers or Headphones, the primary difference being that the effects of electronics breaking-in is usually more subtle than that of Headphones or Speakers.

Of course this is all IME, Oh and it's what I have observed my customers experiencing over the past 25 years.

So my advice is that when you buy a new toy (Headphones or Electronics) you play it 24/7 for the first 3 weeks. The first thing that this does is it puts 500+ hours on the gear which is usually the lions share of break-in. Second thing it does is it stresses the gear as much as possible while you're still covered under the Return Policy. Things usually fail within the first few hundred hours, so it's best to get those hours out of the way quickly. So even if you don't believe in Break-In there is still a valid reason to play the hell out of your new toys for the first month.

 

[tosehee]

Well, I am sure and I do not dispute the benefits of burn in. I was just little puzzled because his remark/comments seem like the dac was crappy with initial impression.

 

[scootermafia]

Well, my Phoenix is shipping on either the 9th or 12th according to Kingwa's cryptic answer. I traded my Havana to Tyson for his DAC8 plus a couple hundred bucks, I may or may not upgrade it to Ref1 later by soldering in the fancy new DSP. Pretty happy with the deal, I'll have full cast in a week or so hopefully.

 

[Bob Jones]

I'm still not listening a lot but continue to burn in.Runs 8-10 hours a day.My listening sessions are about an hour every few days.
Yes the sound improved,everything cleared/cleaned up.Instruments have there own distinct spot. Instruments so REAL.My music sounds incredible.
On the soundstage,what I hear is me ON the stage with the band.As opposed to being in the audience of a large music hall.
Remember,this is just what I'm hearing.Would I buy it again?Yes.Would I recommend the Phoenix to others?You bet.

 

[tosehee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Jones /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm still not listening a lot but continue to burn in.Runs 8-10 hours a day.My listening sessions are about an hour every few days. Yes the sound improved,everything cleared/cleaned up.Instruments have there own distinct spot. Instruments so REAL.My music sounds incredible. On the soundstage,what I hear is me ON the stage with the band.As opposed to being in the audience of a large music hall. Remember,this is just what I'm hearing.Would I buy it again?Yes.Would I recommend the Phoenix to others?You bet.

well, your 2nd comment/remark is far more forgiving than your first.

Thanks for sharing the impression.

 

[Charnwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scootermafia /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, my Phoenix is shipping on either the 9th or 12th according to Kingwa's cryptic answer. I traded my Havana to Tyson for his DAC8 plus a couple hundred bucks, I may or may not upgrade it to Ref1 later by soldering in the fancy new DSP. Pretty happy with the deal, I'll have full cast in a week or so hopefully.

According to DHL tracking my Phoenix as just left Leipzig. Hopefully not much longer to wait now!