[estreeter]

Great to see people realising the potential of the Solo, even if the initial sticker shock leaves a few of us gasping. Cant imagine anyone with custom (or upper-level universal) IEMs not being drawn to this - the potential for a killer bedside rig is immense.

 

[cifani090]

Hey Jude, if there is anything i (or other members of the community) can help you with, we would be more that happy to take some weight off of your shoulders regarding these videos, or anything else happening on Head-Fi.

 

 

[Mar7e]

Fascinating !! Thanks for sharing this new video

 

[jude]

Quote:

Hurray for the music! So awesome to see you guys are into that kind of sound as well instead of the dusty classical and jazz everyone thinks audiophiles prefer. These videos are an awesome way to introduce new music to the Head-Fi audience. I read someone's post saying Head-Fi is all about the headphones but might I add that Head-Fi is also about the music?

 
Yes, again, big thanks to Play Me Records for the permission to use it.
 
Quote:

Hurray for the music! So awesome to see you guys are into that kind of sound as well instead of the dusty classical and jazz everyone thinks audiophiles prefer. These videos are an awesome way to introduce new music to the Head-Fi audience. I read someone's post saying Head-Fi is all about the headphones but might I add that Head-Fi is also about the music?  
 
Great review! I like how you zoom in on the Solo and really give us an impression on how it looks. I must admit though that at some points it felt like I was watching a video made by ALO themselves. No negatives, not even a suggestion on how to improve on the product. No comments on the price? The first thing I thought was "damn that's a lot of money for a rig that won't sound that much different from a HM-801!". Ofcourse it offers the opportunity to hook up your Ipod to your amp but for that money you can easily buy a media center or media pc. Because the video was so focused on "OMG THE SOLO IS SO AWESOME" it felt a bit like a promotional video/product introduction reel by manufacturer. Then again, a positive review is the best advertising a product can get...

 
Though I certainly didn't intend for it to come off as ad-like, I'm not entirely surprised that it might, as I am genuinely thrilled with the Solo, and the rigs I've been using it in.  As I said in an earlier post in this thread (that you may have missed), in response to someone who was asking me what the drawbacks of the Solo are:
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by jude /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
For the way I use it, there haven't been any drawbacks for me yet.  Understandably, for some, as you stated, size may be an issue; though the video makes clear its size, so anyone watching it probably won't be too surprised when he sees it in person.  To my ears, the sonic performance is every bit as good as I state in the video. The battery life I've experienced has been at least as long as specified by the maker. And, functionally, it has done everything i expected of it so far.  So far, so very good.  However, if, over time, I find something I don't like about the Solo, I'll mention it here.

 
So, again, as of right now, it's all peaches and cream with the Solo with me, and, thus, the video reflects that.
 
As for comments about the price:  As I stated in the video, it's $579.00.  And while that certainly isn't cheap, it's not enough to make me flinch, all things considered.  In particular, it comes down to how it sounds, and the fact that it can be operated while powered from its internal lithium-ion battery.  In some ways, it's analogous to good desktop replacement laptop computers, in that you pay the price for portable performance, the portable ones almost always being more expensive than their performance-equivalent, desktop-only computer counterparts.
 
And thanks for the nice comments, Negakinu.  Given what you do for a living, it's particularly appreciated (as are your suggestions/critiques).  We seriously want to get better at these.  I'm afraid, though, that our bottleneck will always be that guy in the video, and there ain't much can be done 'bout him! 

 

[Tonyflo]

Would love to hear more impressions of the ipod classic --> Alg Solo --> SR-71B --> JH16 with twag cables from either ALO or Whiplash. That's the rig I'm building now and would love to know what others think ... or which full size cans they think would be best on that rig. In addition the 16's I would eventually like to get the HD800's or LCD2's for use with the same rig (as well as desktop) and impressions always help. 
 
Jude, how do the LCD2's sound on that setup versus a desktop amp like the Lyr? 
 
Thanks for the great review and heads up
 
Anthony
 
 
 

 

[Tonyflo]

One more thing ... there are some flac player apps for the ipod that handle the larger file sizes like 24/96 (though I think they downsample ...)  but wondering if they will play via the Solo? I went through all the other threads on the Solo but could not seem to find a definitive answer. 
 
Thanks, 
 
Anthony
 

 

[wolfen68]

I wonder how the ipod/Solo/SR71b rig would compare to a H140/ibasso DB-1/SR71b rig?  That has been the rig that has redefined portable audio for me.  No more compromises vs. desktop...other than price. 
 
Also, I didn't catch if the Solo was balanced out.  If not, would the DB-1 have a theoretical edge in keeping balanced throughout the signal chain?

 

[shuro]

I think I have a similar question to the one above, regarding the balanced capabilities.  In the video, it looks like the interconnect Jude is using between the Solo and the SR71B is single ended on both ends.  I thought, perhaps wrongly, that one needed a balanced termination for the RS amps in order to obtain optimal results.  Can one indeed get the advantage of a balanced amp by using a SE termination?
Thanks, in advance

 

[The Larch]

Have you ever thought of using VIMEO for video hoasting....I can't view youtube at work

 

 

[josephlogston]

thanks for this great review,  and if you have or know about a setup for zune 80g mp3 player that will work as of the apple mp3 player !!!!
 
thanks again;
joe

 

[dj nellie]

Quote:

As for how it compares to an iMod+amp:  I apologize, dj nellie, but I can't answer this, as I've not owned an iMod.

Thanks for your reply, Jude.  Can you give your thoughts about how the Solo compares to the HM-801, the other high-quality portable source that you have reviewed and had apparently been your favorite?  And have you tried using feeding the HM-801's coax input with the Solo?
 

 

[David Paul]

Hey Jude. 

 
I think this video series is a fantastic supplement to the rest of the content of the site. I remember that Red Wine Audio explained that the reason they only mod the 4th, 5th, & 5.5 Generation iPod models to make the iMod is because these were the only iPods that used high grade Wolfson DACs. For this reason, if someone were using an i"Mod" rather than an i"Pod" would the use of the Algorhythm Solo be completely unnecessary? I'm sorry if this sounds like a boneheaded question, but I really am that green. I am also curious about what Tonyflo asked:
Quote:

One more thing ... there are some flac player apps for the ipod that handle the larger file sizes like 24/96 (though I think they downsample ...)  but wondering if they will play via the Solo? I went through all the other threads on the Solo but could not seem to find a definitive answer. 
 
Thanks, 
 
Anthony
 

From what I understand, all of Apple's various "i" media devices will downsample higher res audio files to 16 bit. Indeed, can the Solo handle 24 bit? If so, than I guess the the rig your using here is superior to the iMod. Could you somehow, for instance, rip a DVD-Audio and play a 24/192 res flac file with it? Lastly, Red Wine Audio says that the modification they do results in the analog output running directly from the DAC to the dock connector pins, bypassing everything else that would be in the signal path. If I understand you correctly Jude, what your set up is doing is bypassing even the iPod DAC, and streaming the digital data directly from the hard drive to the connector pins. Do I have that right? 
 
I apologize for the barrage of questions, but I'm dying to know.
 
Thanks

 

[Tonyflo]

Hey Jude, thanks again. 
 
Posted about this in another thread in amps ... but I'm curious about why you paired the SR-71B with the Solo if -- as everyone says -- the Solo does not do balanced? 
Is it because of the SR71's power and better ability to drive electrostats like the LCD2's? Just curious because I have JH16's as my high end monitors now and it seems
like I probably won't see much benefit from the SR71 versus the Rx Mk2 given all this .... 
 
Kudos again on the review -- I thought you did great  
 
Anthony
 
 

 

[loremipsum]

Re-posting my questions here since apparantly jude doesn't like answering YT comments.
 

Quote:

Hey Jude, I've got a couple questions about the Solo.

Do you think that the Headstage Arrow would be a good match for the Algorhythm Solo? I've been considering buying a new 6th gen Nano (the little touchscreen ones), a Solo, and an Arrow or some other slim amp, so that I'd still be able to pocket the setup.

Does the ALO USB cable (the iPod -> Solo one, not the Solo -> amp) make a difference in the sound? I would assume not, since its a digital cable.

Thanks!

 

[Lezard]

I want DT 1350