Emmeline "The Hornet" portable headphone amp.
Nov 2, 2005 at 7:53 PM Post #646 of 802
#9056 arrived and kicking. Which means I now need to build a mini to mini.
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Nov 2, 2005 at 9:21 PM Post #647 of 802
I just received my Hornet. Do I need to charge the battery prior to using, it seems to have plenty of power (LED is bright).

Thanks,
Ken
 
Nov 2, 2005 at 9:48 PM Post #648 of 802
Just got mine, and Wow, what can I say? This thing is amazing. I've still got my 'training ears', but I can tell this blows away my Pimeta. Also, it's much smaller in real life than in the pics!

One very minor, hardly worth mentioning thing, though. My instructions were blank on the inside. No biggie, if I need them, recstar24 already posted pics.
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Thanks so much Ray and crew!
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Nov 2, 2005 at 11:13 PM Post #650 of 802
I receive my Hornet about an hour ago. Listening through my Shure e5c's, my initial reaction is, Wow.

This is what I have been hoping for.

Here is what I've experienced so far. I am listening through my 4G iPod's line-out, via a Sik Din cable, then a mini-to-mini plug (just your standard Radio Shack plug. I might replace it later on.) First off, it is silent when nothing is playing, at all but the highest settings on the volume knob. The first thing I tried was Wilco's A Ghost is Born. An album I know well, so I could do my own internal A-B-A comparison. Sure enough, I heard details that even my Shures had not revealed before now. Also, the bass is clearly stronger. The overall tone is warmer, richer, fuller. Makes me realize without an amp in the loop, things were (accurate, but) cold, harsh, even with the Shures. The Shures make no mistakes, but they are honest: they don't embellish the sound.

Next, on to Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 59 #3. Especially that slow, deep second movement. It transports you, through the Hornet. You hear overtones you can't hear otherwise. This is perfect headphone music: you become a bug hovering between the instruments. The Hornet and Shures bring out overtones and nuances I hadn't heared previously.

Finally, Mahler's 2nd symphony. The ferocious eruption at the beginning of the piece packed a completely convincing whallop, through the Hornet. This piece in particular I have never enjoyed through headphones - nothing can replace the (non-auditory?) feel of the bass carried through your body. With the Hornet, I did not care. The symphony was completely convincing, and left virtually nothing to be desired in comparison to a home stereo. I got a kick out of being able to hear the musicians moving around. During quiter passages, the notes stand out so crisply.

I prefer to listen at low volumes. The Hornet does a great job of resolving fine details and conveying warmth when the volume is very low. It also preserves an equal drive to both ears almost all the way down.

I am still fairly new to the audiophile game: my iPod is 10 months old, my Shures are 2 months old. I have to say, I am still not fully convinced any of this is worth it, but with the Hornet, I am starting to get it. I thought the iPod was fun, I thought it sounded better through the Shures, I was able to (perhaps fool myself into) hearing improvements at better compressions. But now with the Hornet, my listening experience has finally changed qualitatively.

Still, (dare I risk ostracizing myself?) we are talking about marginal improvements over just having those stock Apple earbuds in your head. None of this is night-and-day. Music versus no music, that's night-and-day. More like, a regular day compared to one of those perfect Fall days. We really are pushing for diminishing returns in terms of sound quality, aren't we, fellas? That's kind of the tacit assumption to high-end portable audio.

OK, enough of this. Back to the Hornet... Let's see how it handles some Miles Davis.
 
Nov 2, 2005 at 11:27 PM Post #651 of 802
I received my Hornet today and am typing this with Allison Krauss crooning into my ears. I am delighted with the sound. It is the most musical headphone amp I have experienced, and I have owned more than 6 over time. I currently have the Total Airhead and the Meier Porta Corda, both great amps but the Hornet is clearly and advance in the state of the art. And not by a little.

I am now actually looking forward to the long airplane journey I begin on Sunday. Thanks Ray.

When can I expect to get the two rechargable 9V batteries? I assume you couldn't send them with the Hornet for a good reason. I am currently using a basic Duracell Alkaline but cant wait to hear even more improvement with the ones you found for us.
 
Nov 2, 2005 at 11:31 PM Post #652 of 802
Despite your minimizing at the end you wrote a very fine impression of the new Hornet I am now listening to as Richter plays the Appasionata. Simply suberb!

I agree about the diminishing return thing but it is a greater return, indeed.

My congratulations to Ray and all of us, his beneficiaries.
 
Nov 2, 2005 at 11:31 PM Post #653 of 802
Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetlag

Did everyone else's arrive in a pinkish-red "velvet" pouch?



My pouch is a nice Royal Blue.
 
Nov 2, 2005 at 11:57 PM Post #655 of 802
Quote:

Originally Posted by ab_ba
Also, the bass is clearly stronger. The overall tone is warmer, richer, fuller.


I just posted some initial impressions in the other Hornet thread and this is what I found in comparison to the SR-71.
 
Nov 2, 2005 at 11:57 PM Post #656 of 802
Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetlag
Did everyone else's arrive in a pinkish-red "velvet" pouch?


Mine's blue as well... Tim, looks like you got the "bonus pack"
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I'll be interested to hear your impression of the Hornet+UE-10 combo.

Man, the most I can do here at the office is charge the batts, fondle it and stare fascinated at the cool illuminated power switch. Can't wait to get home and actually plug it into my system... 35 minutes till I'm outta here!
 
Nov 3, 2005 at 12:26 AM Post #657 of 802
WOOHOO!

Finally!
Ray's little Hornet works great with UE-10 Pros!
Until now almost every amp I tried had to much gain for these highly sensitive IEMs.

I am listening to lossless FLAC (ripped via EAC~secure mode) tunes on a Karma on volume setting 8. The Hornet is set with the gain switch in 'low' and with the volume knob about 11 o'clock it is perfect.

I want to spend a few hours listening prior to posting a mini-review, but out of the box it is impressive.

That pouch made me want to listen to musicals, hmm....
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Nov 3, 2005 at 1:51 AM Post #658 of 802
i too have the blue pouch. out of the box, i am quite impressed by this tiny lil' amp. i'm not sure how much of an improvement over my D15's internal amp it has, but it makes my computer and my ipod sound just as good, which is welllll worth the price of entry.

the difference with my er4p's was slim at low gain, but then i remember they're probably 'med' gain. better detail, warmer sound. at once more separation between the instruments and better warmer final combination of all the sounds. i can finally power my 580s from my ipod, and can now justify getting k501/601s...

verry happy

-james
 
Nov 3, 2005 at 2:22 AM Post #659 of 802
It's definitely not blue, I SWEAR!

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2 cool things, my entire rig (except the chargers) can fit inside my UE-10 Pro case, and the Hornet is smaller than my cellphone.

I did find a use for the pouch though...

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Of course, now I'm going to have to buy a coupla tiny go-carts!
 
Nov 3, 2005 at 2:27 AM Post #660 of 802
hey, jetlag -- love the pouch (pooch?) mod!
 

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