[rasmushorn]

I just had a chance to listen to the GoVibe Porta Tube at Jaben in Hong Kong and I was deeply surprised by its sound. I paired it with my own travel companions my iPhone 4 with ALAC and DT-1350 and a pair of HD650 present in the showroom and specially with the DT-1350 it was a great combination. I only had 15-20 minutes in the shop as I was on my way to the airport but that was enough to put this amplifier on my list. This amplifier is the most rich and lifelike portable amplifier I have heard with great detail and a warm-ish sound to it.
 
I could not find a lot of info about it here. That is probably because it was released for sale less than two weeks ago but if anyone has done some comparisons to other portable amplifiers I would love to read more about this. It is not the smallest portable amp but fully worth the extra size. 
 
Here are some pictures.
 

 

 

 

 

 

[i_djoel2000]

looks neat! much better looking than previous govibe models..
 
dimension?

 

[loremipsum]

Looks pretty nice, but it's $630 USD, almost as much as the RSA SR-71B. It'll have to sound seriously good to justify the price tag.

 

[grokit]

So what kind of tube does this use?

 

[rasmushorn]

Quote:

So what kind of tube does this use?

I do not know much about it. I am not able to find any information on this and I can not find a GoVibe website anywhere. So I am hoping someone on this forum can help with some more info and comparisons with other well known portable amplifiers. 

 

[Austin Morrow]

Do you have any others you can compare it to. $600 is pretty high for a portable amp. The most I have is the TTVJ Slim and I think that sounds incredible for $350. This needs to sound really, really good.

 

[MulberryMadness]

 
Quote:

Do you have any others you can compare it to. $600 is pretty high for a portable amp. The most I have is the TTVJ Slim and I think that sounds incredible for $350. This needs to sound really, really good.

^diff type of amp, the Slim is very slim, compared to this 'handwarmer' boxier/thicker tube amp that can be seen is much larger than an iPhone. What kind of difficult cans could the Slim drive? Seems all of these manufacturers should make a list of difficult HPs they can or cannot drive well.
 
 


Quote:

I do not know much about it. I am not able to find any information on this and I can not find a GoVibe website anywhere. So I am hoping someone on this forum can help with some more info and comparisons with other well known portable amplifiers. 

^big problem, no specs posted anywhere, really disappointing.
 
 


Quote:

Looks pretty nice, but it's $630 USD, almost as much as the RSA SR-71B. It'll have to sound seriously good to justify the price tag.

...and the SR71B has *balanced* output, big + for that...but what's the output level, can it drive a K1000?
 
 

 

[rasmushorn]

Quote:

 

^big problem, no specs posted anywhere, really disappointing.
 
 
...and the SR71B has *balanced* output, big + for that...but what's the output level, can it drive a K1000?

I do not know how much it can drive and I am not sure this can drive a K1000. But as far as what I heard at the Jaben showroom it sounded absolutely great and I got myself interested in this fine amplifier. But it is a little too expensive for me to just dive in and buy it immediately. So I was hoping for some more info from someone here. But so far without luck
 
I wonder if GoVibe sends out samples for reviews? I would love to compare it to my iQube and P-51 Mustang. 
 

 

[joeling]

Hmm,
 
Just dropped by Jaben Singapore over the weekend & insted of getting a good Sennehiser home headphone, got a one of these + A Senn HD25. Sounded really impressive & very nice vocals. I felt that the porta tube pairs better with the Senn rather than the DT1350 which I already own. Also managed to fall for a pair of HE-6 *&^%$ good sales guy that Andy. Also compared with HD800, ED10 with a desk top amp + Meridian cd player. I was gunning for the Senn but left with another.
 
Anyway, really impressed with the portatube. I have the other portable tube amp as well. Jury's out on that one. This one I like immediately. However, I'm a newbie to headphone so this is my personal opinion only.
 
Regards,
Joe Ling

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

Hmm,
 
Just dropped by Jaben Singapore over the weekend & insted of getting a good Sennehiser home headphone, got a one of these + A Senn HD25. Sounded really impressive & very nice vocals. I felt that the porta tube pairs better with the Senn rather than the DT1350 which I already own. Also managed to fall for a pair of HE-6 *&^%$ good sales guy that Andy. Also compared with HD800, ED10 with a desk top amp + Meridian cd player. I was gunning for the Senn but left with another.
 
Anyway, really impressed with the portatube. I have the other portable tube amp as well. Jury's out on that one. This one I like immediately. However, I'm a newbie to headphone so this is my personal opinion only.
 
Regards,
Joe Ling

 
 
Congrats on the HE-6 Joe. When you get a chance try it out of a speaker amp, it really scales up with "too much" power.

 

[rasmushorn]

I really wish I could spend more time with the GoVibe Porta Tube somehow. The 20 minutes in Jaben Hong Kong was not enough. 

 

[Chao]

Had one loaned from Jaben Australia and this amp is super effective for listening to vocal and folk music . Clarity is top notch, i must say. Vocal, instruments, classic are magic. I'm not a basshead so might be bass is enough for me. Not so hard, not so light.
 
Overall, I'm amazed of the SQ it gives and I think it is on par and in some case, slightly better than my DIY amp (sadface). Also, it shines excellent with my AMB gamma2 DAC (optical cable).
 
 
Quote:

big problem, no specs posted anywhere, really disappointing.
 

Another big problem, it's big to take it out for a jog... and it's a bit hot too

 

[jendol]

I had the chance to audition the same amp with dt1350 last tuesday, but with hifiman hm603. it sounded sweet

 

[dBel84]

I have to say that I have been rather impressed with this little amp. I don't mind tubes being run at low B+ , this was the start of the YAHA , SOHA , MILLET etc but they have a tendency to sound a little compressed and warm, "fun to listen to" was the usual description because they would make nasty recordings sound great and great recordings still sounded good. The Go vibe doesn't suffer from this "warmth" or compression and does a very good job of aiding the enjoyment of the music. The built in dac does a good job of 44.1 / 88 / 192 recordings. I am probably most impressed with the way it handles really tough headphones - i am an orthohead and thus most of my headphones are planar. The amp has not flinched with any of my vintage orthos and the K501 sounds unstrained. It is not as resolving nor as clean in the bass as my liquid fire but then it is not expected to be, truly a superb little portable tube amp..dB

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

I have to say that I have been rather impressed with this little amp. I don't mind tubes being run at low B+ , this was the start of the YAHA , SOHA , MILLET etc but they have a tendency to sound a little compressed and warm, "fun to listen to" was the usual description because they would make nasty recordings sound great and great recordings still sounded good. The Go vibe doesn't suffer from this "warmth" or compression and does a very good job of aiding the enjoyment of the music. The built in dac does a good job of 44.1 / 88 / 192 recordings. I am probably most impressed with the way it handles really tough headphones - i am an orthohead and thus most of my headphones are planar. The amp has not flinched with any of my vintage orthos and the K501 sounds unstrained. It is not as resolving nor as clean in the bass as my liquid fire but then it is not expected to be, truly a superb little portable tube amp..dB

 
I totally agree with your impressions of the PortaTube - it was so good I ended up buying one with the recent demo round from Jaben.  What do you mean about the built in DAC though?   The P-T is amp only - no DAC.