[Yetiman72]

No worries Cheers..

 

[S Crowther]

No worries Cheers..

Another thought about the power question.
I am using the Artemis with the Terminator+. That has quite a hot XLR output to the Artemis:
Analog Output: RCA at 2.2Vrms, 625 Ω
XLR at 4.4Vrms, 1250 Ω

 

[realmassy]

The perceived low volume has nothing to do with power, but with gain.

 

[S Crowther]

The perceived low volume has nothing to do with power, but with gain.

I expressed myself badly but you know what I mean. The Artemis driven from the Terminator Plus does not have perceived low volume. At least not with my ‘phones. I was trying to work out why.

 

[realmassy]

No no, I wasn’t referring to your statement, but to Yetiman’s, which was complaining about the Artemis (which I haven’t heard, by the way) not having enough power. Looking at the specs, it has 4W on 32 ohm, and it shouldn’t have problems controlling the headphones drivers with authority. Maybe the source hadn’t enough voltage, or simply the Artemis hasn’t got enough gain.
By the way, is there a low gain/high gain switch on the Artemis? I can’t see it in the specs

 

[S Crowther]

No no, I wasn’t referring to your statement, but to Yetiman’s, which was complaining about the Artemis (which I haven’t heard, by the way) not having enough power. Looking at the specs, it has 4W on 32 ohm, and it shouldn’t have problems controlling the headphones drivers with authority. Maybe the source hadn’t enough voltage, or simply the Artemis hasn’t got enough gain.
By the way, is there a low gain/high gain switch on the Artemis? I can’t see it in the specs

No there is not. The point I was making was indeed about the source voltage.

I moved to the Artemis from a Violectric V281 which surely has enough power and gain. I do not feel any lack of either after the move.
What I do notice is a different and to my ears preferable SQ.

 

[realmassy]

I’m personally still very tempted by the Artemis, also for a technical reason: my DAC (the Denafrips Venus II) has a relatively high output impedance, which suggests to pair it with an amplifier with relatively high input impedance.
My Manley Absolute is fine with it, having a 50kohm input impedance, the Artemis is fine too, at 14kohm, and so are usually preamps in 2 channel systems. But many solid state amps have a 10kohm impedance, and that would potentially affect the sound quality.

 

[lexterminator]

For the few out there currently having the Artmis amp, how do you like it ? I am mainly using Singxer SDA-6 Pro and Singxer SA-1 combo along with Beyerdynamic T1.3 headphones. Also have Nordost Tyr 2 power cords and XLR cables. It has a rich sound signature while still being detailed. I had a Violectric V200 that I sold and still have a V100 into a second kit with a Gustard A18 DAC at work that is more one the neutral side. I prefer the Singxer DAC and amp which I find more musical. I believe the Artemis would be a nice upgrade and would remain in the same musical sound signature. Thanks for your input !

 

[S Crowther]

For the few out there currently having the Artmis amp, how do you like it ? I am mainly using Singxer SDA-6 Pro and Singxer SA-1 combo along with Beyerdynamic T1.3 headphones. Also have Nordost Tyr 2 power cords and XLR cables. It has a rich sound signature while still being detailed. I had a Violectric V200 that I sold and still have a V100 into a second kit with a Gustard A18 DAC at work that is more one the neutral side. I prefer the Singxer DAC and amp which I find more musical. I believe the Artemis would be a nice upgrade and would remain in the same musical sound signature. Thanks for your input !

See my post #22

 

[lexterminator]

After considering other venues such as Moon 430, GSX-Mk2 and Violectric V550, I decided to take a shot at the Artemis and ordered one. I like the simplistic approach and design. I will post results when it comes in and after running for a while.

 

[centuriones]

I am also waiting for your impressions

 

[lexterminator]

I have received the Artemis and it ran for about 50 hours so far. Shipping was quick and the built quality of the unit is excellent. Compared to my Singxer SA-1 and Violectric V100 that are more neutral amps, the Artemis has a warmer tone, especially in the midrage but provides a lot more details and a much wider soundstage. Soundstage depth is only average, at least so far. Bass is deep and decent speed. It's a great amp for the price range, a great match with neutral/bright headphones but not so much with dark headphones. The problem I have right now is that my main headphones are Beyerdynamic T1 3rd generation that are known to be quite dark sounding, in their stock form they work great with neutral amps. The T1.3 with the Artemis is a bit too dark, trying different pads and removing foam inserts to make them sound more like T1.1 and T1.2 and they are indeed more neutral sounding but losing the magical 3D imaging, deeper bass and forgiveness. I have a Moon Audio Silver Dragon Cable coming soon to see if that will help giving more brightness to the T1.3 in their stock forms. Will consider brighter headphones such as Focal Clears that I did try in the past but prefered the T1.3 due to superior imaging on neutral amps. I may also consider getting the GSX MK2 amp at some point and keep one of the two.

 

[S Crowther]

I have received the Artemis and it ran for about 50 hours so far. Shipping was quick and the built quality of the unit is excellent. Compared to my Singxer SA-1 and Violectric V100 that are more neutral amps, the Artemis has a warmer tone, especially in the midrage but provides a lot more details and a much wider soundstage. Soundstage depth is only average, at least so far. Bass is deep and decent speed. It's a great amp for the price range, a great match with neutral/bright headphones but not so much with dark headphones. The problem I have right now is that my main headphones are Beyerdynamic T1 3rd generation that are known to be quite dark sounding, in their stock form they work great with neutral amps. The T1.3 with the Artemis is a bit too dark, trying different pads and removing foam inserts to make them sound more like T1.1 and T1.2 and they are indeed more neutral sounding but losing the magical 3D imaging, deeper bass and forgiveness. I have a Moon Audio Silver Dragon Cable coming soon to see if that will help giving more brightness to the T1.3 in their stock forms. Will consider brighter headphones such as Focal Clears that I did try in the past but prefered the T1.3 due to superior imaging on neutral amps. I may also consider getting the GSX MK2 amp at some point and keep one of the two.

I am using Hifiman HEKse and Sennheiser HD800s with the Artemis: they are a good match.
My Artemis sounded too warm (mids) and lacked treble when it arrived but later opened up nicely.

 

[lexterminator]

It took about 300 hours for the Artemis to become more neutral and settled, in the early stages it was fairly dark and bass was not that well controlled. The unit runs quite hot but flawlessly so far. Soundstage depth is better than I expected. Switching back to my Singxer SA-1 it sounded much drier and soundstage was like a funnel. The Artemis is more musical with a more expansive soundstage. Despite hundred of hours it was rather dark in combination with Nordost Tyr 2 cabling and the Beyerdynamic T1.3. It was in my plans to upgrade my power cords and interconnect to Valhalla 2 and be done forever. I made the cable upgrade rather sooner than later and it transformed the whole experience way beyond what I would expect. The Artemis reacted very well to the cable upgrade, it is now very neutral, fast sounding with amazing bass control and is musical with any kind of music. I no longer aim to upgrade amplifier nor headphones. I may eventually upgrade my Singxer SDA-6 DAC to a Denafrips Venus or Terminator but most likely next year. For someone with brighter headphones such as Sennheiser HD800 or Focal Clears / Utopias I'm sure the Artemis would be a terrific pairing.

 

[geoffalter11]

Interesting impressions of the Artemis. One of the reasons that Alvin hasn't put it out for a lot of reviews is that it is a Unity Gain amp, which really benefits from a pre-amp. McIntosh built their reputation around Unity Gain amps, so there is definitely something to it... But, it will definitely make it less synergistic with planars and you will have way less volume play if going straight from a DAC to the Artemis. I currently have the McIntosh MHA200 in house for a demo which is also a Unity Gain Amp. I don't have a proper Pre-Amp between my DAC and the MHA200. Zero on the volume pot is basically at 12. However, by 2 the MHA200 is louder than I can stand. Granted I can use my Exogal Comet+ as a pre/dac which definitely helps with the Unity Gain. I don't understand all the technical reasons why it was designed with Unity Gain, but it makes the amp harder to pair. It looks like everyone is enjoying it for the most part which is awesome. I, too have been very interested in this amp for awhile. Maybe one day I will get to hear it.