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Audio-gd Phoenix balanced headphone amp.
Oct 15, 2009 at 10:26 PM Post #2,506 of 3,352
A few months late, but now I got a fan! Went the computer fan route like suggested previously on this thread and got 2x Noctua nf-s12b FLX, an okgear ac/dc adapter with 4 pin molex connector and a Rosewill 12" PWM Splitter (splitter only necessary if using multiple fans from a single power adapter or if fan does not include 4-pin molex adapter). The air circulation makes the psu box slightly and sometimes moderately cooler than the amp box at the lowest setting of 600 rpm 29 cfm which is, to my great surprise, inaudible to my ears at 4-6 inches. 900 rpm and it is inaudible after 4-5 feet, 1200 rpm is much louder, a slight audible hum from 10 feet. 1200 rpm 59 cfm has a tech spec of 18.1 dBA noise, which is the same noise spec as a $100 cooling platform by studiotech (company I got rack from) that only moved 15 cfm of air.

Inaudibility at 6 inches is really overkill and Noctua is really expensive compared to other quiet fan brands. Next summer I might get a louder fan for the phoenix and steal the noctua nf-s12b for use as a personal fan. So if anyone wants to do computer fan just get a $13 okgear ac/dc power adapter and a 120mm quiet computer case fan that has adapters or something to go slower if necessary. Cheap and silent cooling. Check out my fan stand ^^.

 
Oct 16, 2009 at 1:00 AM Post #2,507 of 3,352
Quote:

Originally Posted by punk_guy182 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I know Audio-GD gear is good for sweet vocal music but I think that Kingwa should test and try his gear out with something else than nice charming vocal music.
For the record, I'd like a neutral sound over a sweet musical one because I don't want my punk rock records sound like a friggin' fairy tale but before making a final judgement I'd liek to upgrade to RE1 insted of Compass when using Phoenix.


I think you would notice a huge difference upgrading the dac. I currently own the Compass, and can say that the dac inside is far from reference quality. Comparing it against a DacMagic showed drastic differences. So even if you don't have the money to go all out on a REF 1 Audio-gd dac, there are steps in between that I think you will definitely notice an improvement with.
 
Oct 16, 2009 at 1:09 AM Post #2,508 of 3,352
Yes, I 've heard that the SQ of the DAC section of the Compass is not on par with the amp section. But, don't worry! If all goes well, I should order this beast very soon.
I'm just waiting for the canadian dollar to strengthen up a bit or have IPodPJ sell me his RE1.
icon10.gif
 
Oct 17, 2009 at 9:33 AM Post #2,509 of 3,352
Quote:

Originally Posted by punk_guy182 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Yes, I 've heard that the SQ of the DAC section of the Compass is not on par with the amp section. But, don't worry! If all goes well, I should order this beast very soon.
I'm just waiting for the canadian dollar to strengthen up a bit or have IPodPJ sell me his RE1.
icon10.gif



I'm not selling the RE1 anytime soon.
tongue_smile.gif
You'll be waiting a long time.
 
Oct 17, 2009 at 4:41 PM Post #2,510 of 3,352
I’ve had the Phoenix in my system for several months but I’ve retired the Phoenix from pre-amp duties for the present.

Something I noticed fairly early on with the Phoenix was how similar my various sources sounded through the amp. Coming from an Audio Synthesis Passion Ultimate, which is a top quality passive and very transparent, this was quite apparent. The problem is I find the Phoenix's character to be fairly dominant within the overall sound of the system making it harder to hear the true character of source components, some of which I’ve been auditioning recently.

Neutrality doesn’t imply transparency and mostly I've been happy to give up some transparency for the extra flexibility and functionality the Phoenix offers. It's just that sometimes I need that transparency.
 
Oct 19, 2009 at 6:03 PM Post #2,511 of 3,352
Quote:

Originally Posted by XXII /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I don't know if you know...for every watt you draw from the PPP (or P300), you draw around 2 watts from the wall. So plugging your computer in might not be a good idea from a cost point of view
wink.gif



the p300 will draw almost double what it outputs -- the ppp is much more efficient than that. it will draw more than it outputs, but no where near the 2-to-1 of the older units
 
Oct 20, 2009 at 1:51 AM Post #2,512 of 3,352
Just a slight update:

The P300 has arrived and I have to say the hype is true. The sound difference is not slight. I have not noticed a huge drop in background noise since the Audio-GD gear is pretty good at being silent. Where I hear improvements is the instrument separation. The instruments seem to be better defined and easier to tell apart. It's hard to explain until you hear it. My unit does have the Multiwave, but I cannot really tell a difference between the different variations.

I had a couple of issues with my Audio-GD gear that I was relating to dirty power. The first is the same issue Ipodpj had with the the Reference One going out of phase every so often. For me that was just about every 4-6 hours. The second was an issue with a ceiling fan causing the Phoenix to mute every time I turned off the fan. It appears that the fan causes a voltage spike and puts the Phoenix into safety mode and mutes the amp. Since the arrival of the P300 both issues have not shown up.

With all 3 pieces of gear plugged into the P300 I draw about 100 watts and the unit stay relatively cool.
 
Oct 20, 2009 at 2:03 AM Post #2,513 of 3,352
I am looking forward for demoingy your Transporter and p300. :wink:
beerchug.gif


Quote:

Originally Posted by googlephone /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Just a slight update:

The P300 has arrived and I have to say the hype is true. The sound difference is not slight. I have not noticed a huge drop in background noise since the Audio-GD gear is pretty good at being silent. Where I hear improvements is the instrument separation. The instruments seem to be better defined and easier to tell apart. It's hard to explain until you hear it. My unit does have the Multiwave, but I cannot really tell a difference between the different variations.

I had a couple of issues with my Audio-GD gear that I was relating to dirty power. The first is the same issue Ipodpj had with the the Reference One going out of phase every so often. For me that was just about every 4-6 hours. The second was an issue with a ceiling fan causing the Phoenix to mute every time I turned off the fan. It appears that the fan causes a voltage spike and puts the Phoenix into safety mode and mutes the amp. Since the arrival of the P300 both issues have not shown up.

With all 3 pieces of gear plugged into the P300 I draw about 100 watts and the unit stay relatively cool.


 
Oct 20, 2009 at 2:15 AM Post #2,514 of 3,352
Quote:

Originally Posted by googlephone /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Just a slight update:

The P300 has arrived and I have to say the hype is true. The sound difference is not slight. I have not noticed a huge drop in background noise since the Audio-GD gear is pretty good at being silent. Where I hear improvements is the instrument separation. The instruments seem to be better defined and easier to tell apart. It's hard to explain until you hear it. My unit does have the Multiwave, but I cannot really tell a difference between the different variations.

I had a couple of issues with my Audio-GD gear that I was relating to dirty power. The first is the same issue Ipodpj had with the the Reference One going out of phase every so often. For me that was just about every 4-6 hours. The second was an issue with a ceiling fan causing the Phoenix to mute every time I turned off the fan. It appears that the fan causes a voltage spike and puts the Phoenix into safety mode and mutes the amp. Since the arrival of the P300 both issues have not shown up.

With all 3 pieces of gear plugged into the P300 I draw about 100 watts and the unit stay relatively cool.


Thanx, Interesting info here. I have some Active monitors that mute like that whenever anything happens on that circuit. Can be as simple as plugging in a power strip. This started after moving to a new house. Kinda scary actually. The fan deal is very interesting.
 
Oct 20, 2009 at 3:43 PM Post #2,515 of 3,352
Quote:

Originally Posted by Charnwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I’ve had the Phoenix in my system for several months but I’ve retired the Phoenix from pre-amp duties for the present.

Something I noticed fairly early on with the Phoenix was how similar my various sources sounded through the amp. Coming from an Audio Synthesis Passion Ultimate, which is a top quality passive and very transparent, this was quite apparent. The problem is I find the Phoenix's character to be fairly dominant within the overall sound of the system making it harder to hear the true character of source components, some of which I’ve been auditioning recently.

Neutrality doesn’t imply transparency and mostly I've been happy to give up some transparency for the extra flexibility and functionality the Phoenix offers. It's just that sometimes I need that transparency.


So how would you describe the Phoenix's character?
From the info I have read I would assume that it has tube like qualities, very smooth hf's and full lush mids, and is possibly the reason Skylab likes it so much
normal_smile .gif
 
Oct 20, 2009 at 3:48 PM Post #2,516 of 3,352
Quote:

Originally Posted by nigeljames /img/forum/go_quote.gif
So how would you describe the Phoenix's character?
From the info I have read I would assume that it has tube like qualities, very smooth hf's and full lush mids, and is possibly the reason Skylab likes it so much
normal_smile .gif



Personally I would not term it Lush, I would say smooth, powerful, and quiet.
 
Oct 21, 2009 at 7:35 PM Post #2,520 of 3,352
Idealy, no. Practically, don't think it matters.

But man. your ref1 + phoenix is dirty.. mine is spotless..
 
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