Cypher Labs Algorhythm Duet
Sep 6, 2015 at 11:34 AM Post #331 of 353
Hi All. I was looking for a possibly more appropriate thread to post this, but decided it was best to ask CL fans. I have an HD800 coming and have settled on CL for amping. I see Picollo, Duet and Theorem as the top 3 choices. Any thoughts? Due to compatibility issues with my Samsung Tab S, the dac in the Theorem may be irrelevent for my purposes, and I would use it purely as an amp. Anyone care to chime in with a vote? They all appear to have enough juice to drive the 800s, correct? Thanks in advance!

 
They all do. Actually in my sig you'll see there's another CL amp you didn't mention, which is the Trio. Out of all CL amps I have with me (Duet, Theorem, Trio, Picollo), I think my personal favourite is still the Duet. However I'm driving all off them from the CLAS -dB usually (and more recently trying out the AK380 as the transport/source). The HD800 I have at the moment belongs to @Currawong.
 
Sep 6, 2015 at 12:50 PM Post #332 of 353
Hi All. I was looking for a possibly more appropriate thread to post this, but decided it was best to ask CL fans. I have an HD800 coming and have settled on CL for amping. I see Picollo, Duet and Theorem as the top 3 choices. Any thoughts? Due to compatibility issues with my Samsung Tab S, the dac in the Theorem may be irrelevent for my purposes, and I would use it purely as an amp. Anyone care to chime in with a vote? They all appear to have enough juice to drive the 800s, correct? Thanks in advance!


The Duet hands down.   I run my HD800's from the Duet's balanced connection.   With the Cypher Labs AlgoRhythm Solo dB DAC balanced connected to the Duet it sounds fantastic.   
 
Sep 6, 2015 at 12:51 PM Post #333 of 353
   
They all do. Actually in my sig you'll see there's another CL amp you didn't mention, which is the Trio. Out of all CL amps I have with me (Duet, Theorem, Trio, Picollo), I think my personal favourite is still the Duet. However I'm driving all off them from the CLAS -dB usually (and more recently trying out the AK380 as the transport/source). The HD800 I have at the moment belongs to @Currawong.


A+  
 
Dec 13, 2015 at 7:59 AM Post #334 of 353
Apologies for necroposting but I believe this is the proper thread where I can post my query.
 
I'm a proud owner of a CL Duet that I got second-hand a couple of months back. I'm currently using it with a Senn HD600 (and eventually with a HifiMan HE400i that I got via the BF sale). At the back of my mind, though, I am thinking if I will be better served with a dedicated desktop amp, such as the Lake People G109-A. I know that the CL Duet performs an admirable job driving the HD600 (and I've already tried demoing the HE400i with it and I enjoyed how the pair sounded) but is there a significant "performance jump" from the CL Duet to the G109-A?
 
Thanks in advance to whoever is going to answer my query. :)
 
Dec 14, 2015 at 6:06 PM Post #335 of 353
Greetings,
 
I have Cypherlabs setup. SInce this is old stuff was wondering if there is better. My setup is IPOD LOD>Cypherlabs -R>AlgoRhythm Duet with various IEM's and headphones. Was wondering if a Fiio X5ii is better to replace all the Cypherlabs and the IPOD? I don't care about portability etc, just if the Fiio would sound better with the same ALAC files that are now on the IPOD. 
 
Thanks in advance.
 
Dec 15, 2015 at 7:40 AM Post #336 of 353
  Greetings,
 
I have Cypherlabs setup. SInce this is old stuff was wondering if there is better. My setup is IPOD LOD>Cypherlabs -R>AlgoRhythm Duet with various IEM's and headphones. Was wondering if a Fiio X5ii is better to replace all the Cypherlabs and the IPOD? I don't care about portability etc, just if the Fiio would sound better with the same ALAC files that are now on the IPOD. 
 
Thanks in advance.

 

The IPOD doesn't give the best sound source into the DAC.  I found the sound quality to be much better when I plugged my Mac Book Pro running Audirvana software both for CD Redbook files and higher res files.   Running the R AlgoRhythm & Duet system is also much better when running completely balanced including balanced out for headphones.
 
Dec 15, 2015 at 7:56 AM Post #337 of 353
Despite the Cypher Lab stack may seem not very common in the community I find it quite comparable to good desktop rigs. Compared for example to the AK120 II which I had the opportunity to listen lately the CL stack is a step above. Doubt the X5II will be better.
 
Dec 15, 2015 at 3:05 PM Post #339 of 353
Despite the Cypher Lab stack may seem not very common in the community I find it quite comparable to good desktop rigs. Compared for example to the AK120 II which I had the opportunity to listen lately the CL stack is a step above. Doubt the X5II will be better.

 
Yes I agree 100% with PCWar's comment.   
 
The Cypher Labs is a great system for the money.   It has driven my HD600's, HD800's and Westone WR4's IEM's very well with very good sound quality for its small size especially with balanced out to the headphones.  
 
Dec 15, 2015 at 3:14 PM Post #340 of 353
   
Yes I agree 100% with PCWar's comment.   
 
The Cypher Labs is a great system for the money.   It has driven my HD600's, HD800's and Westone WR4's IEM's very well with very good sound quality for its small size especially with balanced out to the headphones.  

That's awesome. I was fearing it was outdated and new DAC/DAP's chips got better over the years. Good to know it's still in the ring. 
 
Dec 15, 2015 at 3:21 PM Post #341 of 353
Age does not tell much in the audio world. My main desktop rig relies on a Theta Generation V DAC produced in 1994. You can easily find comparisons here on head-fi of this dac to today ones and you may be surprised of the outcome. 
 
Dec 15, 2015 at 3:32 PM Post #342 of 353
  Age does not tell much in the audio world. My main desktop rig relies on a Theta Generation V DAC produced in 1994. You can easily find comparisons here on head-fi of this dac to today ones and you may be surprised of the outcome. 

 
A++........  Vintage tube pre-amps and amps are another example ! 
 
Dec 15, 2015 at 5:02 PM Post #343 of 353
  Age does not tell much in the audio world. My main desktop rig relies on a Theta Generation V DAC produced in 1994. You can easily find comparisons here on head-fi of this dac to today ones and you may be surprised of the outcome. 

With technology getting better and better would think things are better like every year new amps and headphones come out that blow the previous models away. Good it's not completely true, at least in my case.
 

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