[jdimitri]

Hey all, just want to share my first impression with the Move

I bought the move as a downgrade(ish) from my tomahawk, because i need all the money i can get to buy a raptor (on its way

)

First impressions:

Using AKG K501- around the same level of performance, and this is from the first listen only.. No burn in done yet whatsoever

K701- Sounds pretty good, drives it decently.. but seems like it needs a bit more oomph. Never tried the k701 with my tomahawk so can't compare it

ES2- Noooooo

Unfortunately the RSA-ES2 bond was real.. and the move combo sounds noticably worse than the tomahawk combo (from memory). It seemed a lot harsher, but hopefully it'll soften up as some burn in hours sinks in..

Build/Looks:

Build is excellent.. very solid, easy access to the battery compartment (with a spare plastic thingy that closes it, just in case). Would've been nice if the current/gain switch are externally accessible though
For now, i have to say i prefer the look of the black tomahawk.. but i guess it's a personal choice
BUT tomahawk has those 2 screws on the back which WILL scratch your mp3 player or whatever you have attached to it if you're not careful

I'll update this thread once i've burnt it in and tried the DAC etc

Ps.. some of the things i wrote may seem harsh.. but this is compared to the tomahawk and so far it does almost nothing worse (except for the synergy with ES2) at about $70 less

I guess i might miss tomahawk's tiny size (not likely.. never carried amps in my pocket) or the ultra long battery life, but let's see..

 

[dragonma]

thanks for the intial thoughts on the move... I'm considering it against a supermicro IV. I would like to hear what you think after burn-in.

 

[wakeride74]

I'm surprised at your impressions on the ES2 and Move synergy. I never thought any portable would compete with the Hornet for ES2 synergy but I find the Move very enjoyable with the ES2's and the highs seem a tad smoother. Bass is tighter and has more impact but the mids are not quite as liquid as the Hornet and while the vocals sound very clear I still think the Hornet wins on female vocal clarity and presentation.

Overall the Move is a steal for how it sounds and its versatility IMO. What source and music are you listening to for your impressions?

 

[ADD]

It might be helpful if people also report their jumper settings (current / gain) on the Move when appraising it.

 

[jdimitri]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADD /img/forum/go_quote.gif It might be helpful if people also report their jumper settings (current / gain) on the Move when appraising it.

I use mine on high current and low/high gain, depending on the headphones

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakeride74 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm surprised at your impressions on the ES2 and Move synergy. I never thought any portable would compete with the Hornet for ES2 synergy but I find the Move very enjoyable with the ES2's and the highs seem a tad smoother. Bass is tighter and has more impact but the mids are not quite as liquid as the Hornet and while the vocals sound very clear I still think the Hornet wins on female vocal clarity and presentation. Overall the Move is a steal for how it sounds and its versatility IMO. What source and music are you listening to for your impressions?

Yeah, it's definitely the best value amp i've had (except for the supermini of course..)
Well, that was just a first impression.. probably the harshness will go away with a little burn-in. Source is my Philips AZ6832 pcdp

I'll try em out some more with different sources today

 

[ADD]

I just received my Move today and I think I can now understand where jdimitri is coming from. I'm using it with Westone UM2s, and I have to confess that thus far it isn't quite the combination I had been hoping for. Don't get me wrong - it is still very good and hopefully things will get better with more hours on the clock. But thus far, the only improvements over my $40 cMoy are a complete lack of any hiss at normal listening levels and more punch in the top end (without becoming "hard" in the process). But it does not (yet?) have the transparency nor imaging capabilities of my cMoy, and to me these last two attributes are quite important. On the other hand, the cMoy is a bit more "fuzzy" sounding, induces some hiss and is rather "closed in" at the very extreme top end.

I wasn't sure if I would need to adjust the settings of the Move, but I have found that at the default settings (I assume high current and high gain), I have the volume control at around 12 o'clock with my UM2s. However I should point out that I only listen to classical music, which can be anything from around -50 to -20 dB below the level of popular music, with only extremely rare excursions to near the 0 dB clipping threshold.

I certainly have to agree with everyone else that the Move is very well built - it reminds me of perhaps what a precision engineered classic German microphone might be like. It was well packaged too. And I agree about the volume control, but that is a minor quibble in the scheme of things. It's hard to see how that might be improved given the tiny size of the thing.

So in summary, the build quality and lack of noise are very welcome, but I am hoping that with more hours under the belt the amp will bed in like a pair of leather shoes. I do have slight regret that it simply wasn't possible to audition it's competitors (i.e. Hornet, Tomahawk) but in the end I'm not really sure the differences would be that substantial if living with one or the other on a day to day basis. Often the differences in direct A / B comparisons aren't as stark when one just settles listening to one device only and getting "used" to it.

 

[ADD]

btw jdimitri, look forward to your ongoing impressions, especially if using the DAC. Mine has already improved a little in the first 2 hours and I intend to run it continuously from my 12 volt regulated supply for about 4 days straight.

I guess the DAC was a selling point for me, since I am trying my hardest to get away from these horrid redbook discs and only go with lossless downloads of minimum 48 Khz quality (or 24-96 because I can downsample to 16-48). I have always wanted proper DAT quality and the Move is an affordable chance to get it.

I can hear a difference between the exact same recording at 16-44 and 16-48, so my ultimate intention is to stream wav files from my PC to the Move DAC. I haven't gone into details yet, but I am hoping there wil be some wireless way of connecting the DAC via some sort of wireless USB receiver to the computer in another room.

 

[mdarnton]

Though I like the changes with my ER4Ps, I don't think IEMs are the best utilization of the Move. Do you have anything else you can try it with?

 

[ADD]

Sadly no. Not on hand at any rate. Actually the amp is coming along fairly well, or perhaps I am getting used to it (or a bit of both). I have experimented a bit tonight with powering it and found that it really responds to lots of clean power. I'll start another thread on that though.

 

[Tantra]

The MOVE is a very energetic device. It does move a lot of air, with a good amount of control, and that doesn't necessarily match with IEM's. If you don't have a solid foundation in the soundscape the minor flaws of the MOVE may very well be audible.

 

[ADD]

Well my Move has improved markedly in the 30 hours I have had it thus far (it has been running non-stop for 24 hours since I connected it directly to a 10 volt DC power supply (primary batteries). The imaging has improved significantly, the bass extension and clarity have improved and the top end has become more transparent and open. The whole thing does inded pack an energetic, dynamic punch with exceptional control. I'm now finding it extremely hard to fault when used with my Westone UM2s.

I suppose I should not have posted my first impressions without letting it burn in a little first.

Interestingly, it's the first sound setup I've had (of any type - not just head fi) that makes modern digital recordings actually sound good - so long as they are of course good to begin with. That is saying a lot, since I have never been a fan of compact disc and have - in general - detested digital recordings on compact disc up until now.