[iamdone]

Well I just received my Headsave PPA amp a few hours ago and have doing some testing. I compared the headphone out on the Ipod, the line-out of the dock using a fully upgraded Headsave Transit (comparable to the Tempo) and the Headsave PPA with opamp AD8610. I also hooked it up to a home DVD player through the RCA jacks. I used ety ER-4S and Sony 7506 headphones.

The first impression is the PPA is so much fuller. The low to mid range is completely filled out and I didn't even know it was missing until now. The Transit actually sounds a little harsh compared to it. The PPA has lot more detail and atomosphere. With the live recording of Ray Brown Super Bass, you can actually get a sense of the club it was recorded in. I also listened to Radiohead Hail to Thief, a little bit of Flaming Lips, Morphine and some R.E.M. Everything sounded much better with the PPA. The drums have much more impact, the vocals are smoother, the sense where the instruments are located is incredible. When I listened to the headphone out, I few things still sounded ok but the sense of space was completely missing, the punch gone, and the bass didn't go too deep. The Transit made the bass deeper, gave it more punch, and created a soundstage but as I said the PPA makes everthing fuller. The stereo seperating is amazing. Some of the Radiohead songs can almost give you motion sickness.

The good news is the when I hooked it up the the DVD player, I didn't noticed a great difference. It does create a better feeling and you can tell things are better but not enough to ditch the Ipod or even rerecord my library in WAV file. I currently use 256k mp3 LAME files. I might try a few in WAV files to see but the mp3s do sound amazing.

The other thing to mention is I also have the bass boost. I don't know if it is really neccessary with the etys. The etys are completely filled out and don't really need the bass boost. Maybe certain recordings will, but for everything I listened to so far, I liked it better with it off. On the Sonys, I could see using it more. It didn't change the sound as much and it may have made some things better. My main headphones are the ety, so I don't know how much use I'll get out of it. I may also be getting some HD 600s, so maybe I can use it more then. I was just borrowing the Sonys for this test.

Oh, one last thing. I also got the battery board installed. You can charge the batteries while your playing and you never have to take them out. I'm not sure how long it takes to fully charge but Tangent's website stated about an hour. I also don't know how long the amp will last on a full charge.

I hope this helps for any of you who asked me for a review.

 

[ekwinix]

Thanks for the comparison. It was excellent and just goes to show how damn awesome the PPA is.

I WANT MY DAMN PPA!!!!!!

Heh, too bad my electronic skills arnt up to scratch yet.

 

[pingles]

Interesting.

I have a PPA on order from JMT, and currently use a 30g iPod with the Ety ER4P earphones. However, I've also bought some Sennheiser HD650 headphones that I'll be using with the iPod/PPA and eventually a better CD/SACD source (most likely after Christmas).

Good to know that you've found minor differences between sources. The stuff I normally listen to is encoded using AIFF, with the minor things using 256kbps LAME. Be interesting to try the two formats out + sources with PPA and HD650s.

Still, gonna be a little while before it all comes through, HD650s are on their way from Sennheiser and will be through to me this week, the PPA will probably take a bit longer, but no idea how long. Has to come all the way from the US to here so shipping will take a while.

 

[iamdone]

Let me know how the HD 650 and the PPA sound when you finally get everything. You won't be disappointed with the PPA.

The main difference is it sounds like there are 3 amps powering it, left, right, and center. You can really here the difference in power compared to the Meta42. Every note sounds strong and you get lost in the music. The Meta42 lets you get lost in the music too but this is whole different experience. Every single note is easy to pick out. The bass on the etys sound great. Using a PPA, no one will be able to complain the etys are lacking any bass. Make sure you are using the P to S adapter to get the most out of the ER-4Ps.

The other thing this proved is that the Ipod through the line-one is actually a pretty good source.

 

[pingles]

Will do.

I'll be giving the PPA a go with both the iPod on line out with the HD650s and ER4Ps (with an S adapter), as well as hooking it up to Pioneer and Sony CD sources, and testing the SACD out on the Pioneer -- bought a copy of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue.

Can't wait now

 

[markkr]

I just got my PPA from Headsave today, its awesome. I have it hooked to my iPod as well, though I'm using the headphone out with the Monster iCable.

I agree it is a big improvment from my Transit.

Do you hear a reasonable difference between the headphone out and the line out?

 

[iamdone]

Quote:

Originally posted by markkr Do you hear a reasonable difference between the headphone out and the line out?

Yes you can hear a slight difference running the amp through the headphone out. It sounds kind of muffled through the headphone out. With line-out, the bass is deeper and precise, there is better seperation, and everything is cleaner. If you have a 3rd gen Ipod, I would definately recommend the line-out with this amp.

 

[iamdone]

One follow up. I do find the bass boost to be useful even with the etys. Most music doesn't need it but for the few that do, it is very helpful. And since I'm using an Ipod, the eq setting are useless so having a way to increase the bass without hurt the music is great.

 

[etys rule]

How do you all use the dock when your mobile? Do you lug it around, or is it specifically for when your stationary? Also, I read somewhere that one of the bag co's make a bag to accomodate the dock. Unfortunately, the guy didn't remember where he saw it. Any ideas?

I'm running 4S with the 3G and a META 42.

And I do agree, sound is considerably better out of the line out vs the headphone jack.

Just wish someone would come out with a line out mini. Apple, if your listening, PLEASE.

 

[markkr]

I know this ? fits better in the portable forum, but if you dont mind me asking, where did you get the line out cable? I dont see it on the apple site as an option.

Thanks again, markkr

 

[etys rule]

They don't make a line out cable yet. I think everyone just lugs around the dock?

 

[iamdone]

I have a bag from Crumpler bag. http://www.crumplerusa.com/index.html

I have the McBain's in a large - http://www.crumplerusa.com/products/...lovechild.html but I guess you could go with another laptop bag like the Very Busy Man. It is very padded, so I can place the PPA amp down in there, put the Ipod in the dock and just use 2 rubberbands to hold it in and insert it sideways with the cable facing the end of the bag, and then I have hat to protect the Ipod from the amp in between but anything would work. I also plug in the remote so I can stop it or skip songs. I use random a lot on the go. I didn't think it would fit but it actually works out better than when I was using the transit. The amp sits in there perfect and you can get to the volume very easy. The only hard part is getting to the on and off switch. I just turn it on before I put it in there and out when I take it out.

I don't think anyone makes a commercial line-out cable yet. Xin at fixup mentioned he was going to but then I saw in a recent talk back that he is not. Someone make a homemade one listed in www.ipodlounge.com

edit: That bag the is made to hold the dock is just for storage. You cannot actually have your Ipod plugged into it with that bag. I saw link to it also in ipodlounge.

 

[markkr]

Well I brought my cradle for the iPod into work today and hooked it up to my Headsave PPA.

WOW does it open things up!!

Thanks for the tip

 

[pingles]

Yeah I use two docks, I've got one here in the office next to my machine (awesomely found out mine has USB2 so I can copy stuff here also), and one at home for linking to my hi-fi and computer.

Can't wait to get the HD650s and PPA now, I'm hoping the 650s will have had a delivery attempt today so I can go take the card and pick them up tonight

 

[etys rule]

aren't you looking forward to getting home!!!!