jamato8
Headphoneus Supremus
I thought it would be of interest to those who enjoy the SR-71 or who have wanted one that the SR-71a will be making an appearance. There will be a new appearance to this classic portable with a new restyled and smaller chassis, multiple gain control and a nice custom (well the whole thing is custom) volume knob. It will still use the two batteries and offers a nice long run time.
Edit: The main title changes as the release gets closer and as more is known.
image from RSA announcement
9 28 08
With the first few hours the 71A sounded very nice but after 10 or 15 hours the sound got a little bright with a slight grain and the staging was somewhat flat. At around 35 hours or so the amp opened up and became much more transparent with a very nice high frequency extension and a tight defined bass. From 35 on the amp has continued to refine with no real ups or down just a continued upward trend in sound quality. I am near 100 hours now. The soundstage on well recorded information is very open with both good depth and width. Placement of instruments is discernable, again on well recorded music.
I also find that this amp is very fast. I don't hear any smearing of the frequencies. The low and upper low frequency does not creep into the lower midrange, which can give the impression of a slow amp.
10 7 08 Battery of choice
I have found the Tysonic ultra low discharge rechargeable to sound the best by a good margin, much like the eneloop AA and AAA in other amp applications.
10 12 08
I am using the li-poly rechargeables and like the low discharge, the bass is slam hard and well defined. Very, very fast and articulate. This amp is powering my Ultrasone Ed. 9's very fine.
I still prefer the low discharge but the li-poly do a very good job and the amp rocks!
3 7 09
Well I have had the SR71A fired up today and I have to say that paired up with the ESW10's, the sound is impressive. The thwack of drums on some of the Grateful Dead stuff is great and the audience sounds can startle me with the realism. The 71A exhibits very good control and frequency range with these phones. Wow, what drive.
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Edit: The main title changes as the release gets closer and as more is known.
image from RSA announcement
9 28 08
With the first few hours the 71A sounded very nice but after 10 or 15 hours the sound got a little bright with a slight grain and the staging was somewhat flat. At around 35 hours or so the amp opened up and became much more transparent with a very nice high frequency extension and a tight defined bass. From 35 on the amp has continued to refine with no real ups or down just a continued upward trend in sound quality. I am near 100 hours now. The soundstage on well recorded information is very open with both good depth and width. Placement of instruments is discernable, again on well recorded music.
I also find that this amp is very fast. I don't hear any smearing of the frequencies. The low and upper low frequency does not creep into the lower midrange, which can give the impression of a slow amp.
10 7 08 Battery of choice
I have found the Tysonic ultra low discharge rechargeable to sound the best by a good margin, much like the eneloop AA and AAA in other amp applications.
10 12 08
I am using the li-poly rechargeables and like the low discharge, the bass is slam hard and well defined. Very, very fast and articulate. This amp is powering my Ultrasone Ed. 9's very fine.
I still prefer the low discharge but the li-poly do a very good job and the amp rocks!
3 7 09
Well I have had the SR71A fired up today and I have to say that paired up with the ESW10's, the sound is impressive. The thwack of drums on some of the Grateful Dead stuff is great and the audience sounds can startle me with the realism. The 71A exhibits very good control and frequency range with these phones. Wow, what drive.
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