[K.I. Unlimited]

Hello all, I've heard this amp at a shop and even though I've had only a little time with it, the sound produced was mind-blowing.

Now I'm just saving up for it and a nice ALO LOD to compliment it(but that's another story), could the more experienced head-fiers around tell me more about the Contour/Flat? I've heard that there are some people who couldn't get off Contour the moment they flicked that "no going back" switch, but also have heard that in certain cases the Flat is better, e.g. with high-impedance headphones. (Sorry if I got that one wrong).

As for me, the only major finding from my "crash course" with the Voyager was that apart from holding true to the phrase "rubbish in, rubbish out" (I heard through two ALAC files, nearly made a face when I heard another 128kbps .mp3 one after that), and that the Contour made the music feel "more alive", I found that the Voyager REALLY needs a good Interconnect/LOD with it.

Not only good, but COMPLIMENTARY with your current rig. The shop helper who handed the Voyager for me to hear through, attached a DIY Cryo Copper Interconnect to it. The result? Even for some hard rock/metal music, the bass (most notably the drums) drowned out everything else important, the vocals, the treble...LOL

i.e. Overwhelming and intruding bass. Though I must note, it was tight and punchy, not muddy at all. Especially when comparing to the entry-level amp I now own, the .22 Ordnance amp.

When I put my own DIY Hybrid Interconnect in, the music blended in better - my rig had suffered from anemic bass before, and now with the Voyager, I finally had "bass that is alive", right amount, right amount of punch, great soundstage. And of course, expecting from a major amp upgrade, 100% improvement.

So IMO what I want to re-iterate is, the Voyager really brings the juice out of your Interconnect/LOD. I would say it's a great amp if you want to compare ICs/LODs, because the differences in SQ and everything else are no longer subtle, they become SIGNIFICANT.

I fished out the previous Voyager thread (which was in the wrong section, the Full-Sized Amp, btw) which was very informative, but unfortunately got serious derailment from a fellow head-fier. Now I need some fresh opinions and reviews.

Open to the floor now

(With reference to the derailment of the previous Voyager thread @ http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/voy...m-slee-264381/, please keep discussions mainly to SQ and other sound traits, rather than the mere appearance of the amp, thank you very much.)

 

[mrarroyo]

All I will say is congratulations. The Voyager by Graham Slee is a very nice amp which should bring a big smile to your face.

 

[K.I. Unlimited]

Yes it did - and during the testing, it made me laugh too - especially when the Contour blew me away, + the mismatching with the DIY Cryo Copper

This definitely showed me that an Interconnect/LOD is NOT just a piece of filmsy wire, and now I can share this great piece of info with my other audiophile friends @ another forum

 

[vkvedam]

Congrats, but check out for others in the same price range like 2Move which might bring you the DAC feature that could be used in future..may be.

 

[K.I. Unlimited]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vkvedam /img/forum/go_quote.gif Congrats, but check out for others in the same price range like 2Move which might bring you the DAC feature that could be used in future..may be.

Hmm yes, the DAC. Thanks for your suggestion, dude

But most likely I'll be getting a GoVibe DAC-1 (or something like that) for that purpose later, and getting a worthwhile amp and a good LOD is already going to cost me a bomb...

 

[vkvedam]

For that price of Voyager, you could get 2Move or a D3 which are considered to be quite decent around here. Voyager is good, but not the best for that money, I feel.

 

[K.I. Unlimited]

Thanks for the suggestion; I will listen to those two you've recommended, as well as the other two in my signature

I just want to confirm, is the D3 the iBasso D3?

And could you link me some threads to those two amps? Thanks.

Though still, I'm leaning more towards the Voyager's SQ and sound signature, and it doesn't make my heard palpitate like the RSA Predator does =X

 

[vkvedam]

Check out HeadphoneAddict, Jamato8, skylab's perennial threads on this same portable amp section of the forums.

 

[mrarroyo]

Not everyone likes chocolate! What is good for A may not be for B. Ideally each of us should listen to the various amps and make an informed decission.

The Meier 2Move amp/dac is favored by some, I am not one of them. I rather lisen to other amps w/ my iPod as a portable.

 

[GreatDane]

The big picture is that all of these top tier portable amps sound great and you really can't go wrong. If you spend the time to research and read user reviews it can make the decision easier and just might help to make the best pairing of monitor to amp.

 

[K.I. Unlimited]

All your suggestions are great! I'mma burn 2 hours of time reading again

Though mrarroyo, maybe a more correct analogy would be between milk, dark, and mixed chocalate...

 

[wharfrat1]

K.I.,

No worries. The Voyager is a great amp, but I prefer the Mustang. It is pulls you in deeper to the music.

 

[K.I. Unlimited]

Sorry, but I won't be buying amps anytime soon - I haven't tried out the D3, 2Move, Pico and Mustang. The Mustang's only available in my country @/after Christmas, Pico's OOS, and I'm going down to try the other two today.

Thanks for the offer though - and um, if it's possible, I'll preferably like the thread to talk about the Voyager, or comparing it with other amps.

 

[Fido2]

After having spent many hours in the past week or so with my new(used) Voyager I must say...I don't feel the need to look for anything else. I enjoy this portable rig almost as much as my big rig and better on some recordings. I am listening through an iPod Classic 120G with ALAC files, ALO Cryo SXC 18g LOD and Grado SR80's. Sometimes I use the Shure SE530's. Very very enjoyable. The contour switch is great for underwhelming recordings. I listen to everything from metal to bluegrass to classical. Very versatile little amp. Smooth, clean, detailed and FUN!

 

[K.I. Unlimited]

Thanks for bumping - reminded me of something.

I've heard from acquaintances that every single Voyager is different - it depends on how you burn in. So better burn it in the way you want it, or it's going to have sonic characteristics you find undesirable, like decreased soundstage =p