[HELP] Amp for ~$230US (Meier or XIN or..)

[nismohks]

i am in the market for a new amp around the 230US mark and have been looking at the Meier products and the Xin supermicroIV

Meier seems to have quite a reputation and i am looking for posssibly the

XXS
Headsix
2Move

Those are relatively closely priced so i guess i can stretch a lil bit even though i may not make use of the DAC. However i heard the crossfeed??(explain??) is better for the 2MOVE? what is it? is it better?

alternatvely im looking at the Xin Supermicro IV. mainly because it looks funky, is small and apparently very good too.

So can anyone recommend me anything?

in the future i will be buying some proper headphones too, possibly AKG or beyer so a lil future proofing will be nice.

Thanks

 

[KTamas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nismohks /img/forum/go_quote.gif i am in the market for a new amp around the 230US mark and have been looking at the Meier products and the Xin supermicroIV Meier seems to have quite a reputation and i am looking for posssibly the XXS Headsix 2Move Those are relatively closely priced so i guess i can stretch a lil bit even though i may not make use of the DAC. However i heard the crossfeed??(explain??) is better for the 2MOVE? what is it? is it better? alternatvely im looking at the Xin Supermicro IV. mainly because it looks funky, is small and apparently very good too. So can anyone recommend me anything? in the future i will be buying some proper headphones too, possibly AKG or beyer so a lil future proofing will be nice. Thanks

Stay away from XIN amps (except if you get one used): there are people who ordered their amps months ago and didn't get anything so far.

As for Mr. Meier's stuff, the XXS and the Headsix are the same except if you but the Headsix, you support Head-Fi so if you go with it, obviously go with the Headsix.

The crossfeed in the 2Move is nice, but I seldom use it, while it does make some difference, it's definitely subtle. If you won't use the DAC, I suggest you go with the Headsix, the SQ is almost as good as the 2Move and it's definitely cheaper.

 

[MatthewK]

I'm selling my XM5 amp for $249 shipped (I'll also pay the PayPal fees). It has a USB DAC, bass AND treble boost, 75 ohm impedance switch, and adjustable crossfeed. It has monoblock opamp and buffer sockets that can be rolled.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f42/fs...e-drop-315357/

 

[nismohks]

i dont even know what a crossfeed is

can anyone explain?

also would the Meier amps be able to feed something like an AKGk701? because i am hoping to get something similar to that in the future and so i just want to get something which is slightly future proof

the reason i am looking at the Xin and Meier amps is because they both got such high scores in the 38 amp review here on head fi

any owners out there care to give some comments??

 

[fc911c]

Nix the Xin amp for sure, some people waiting a year or more with no reply's to emails. I am sure glad I cancelled mine 6 months ago I seen this coming.

Frank

 

[mark_h]

Also look at a SH Tomahawk the are great! they sometimes come up for sale on Headfi.

 

[nismohks]

so far everyone has been dissing the Xin because it is hard to get, but what if i were able to get hold of a 2nd hand one?

if thats the case, Xin or Meier?

btw. how long is shipping from Meier? i live in australia

 

[KTamas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nismohks /img/forum/go_quote.gif i dont even know what a crossfeed is can anyone explain? also would the Meier amps be able to feed something like an AKGk701? because i am hoping to get something similar to that in the future and so i just want to get something which is slightly future proof the reason i am looking at the Xin and Meier amps is because they both got such high scores in the 38 amp review here on head fi any owners out there care to give some comments??

Crossfeed basicly mixes a bit from the right channel into the left one and vice versa, creating a more "live" sound and making the channels sound less separated.

 

[nismohks]

hmm doesnt sound like i would use the crossover to be honest...

about the XXS and headsix, how much are they different in terms of size?

headsix is very appealing though. nice price and head-fi donation

 

[KTamas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nismohks /img/forum/go_quote.gif hmm doesnt sound like i would use the crossover to be honest... about the XXS and headsix, how much are they different in terms of size? headsix is very appealing though. nice price and head-fi donation

AFAIK, they are exactly the same.

 

[nismohks]

is the 2move worth that little bit extra than the XXS/Headsix?

the 2move ranks VERY high in Skylabs review.

i just thought that when i am spending that much already a little bit extra wont hurt too much to get a crossfeed and usb dac.

however i still fail to see the significance or benefits of this crossfeed.

suggestions?

ps. assuming i could get the supermicro and any of the meiers just as easily, which should i get?

 

[holland]

You're in the price range of the CKKIII.

rockhopperaudio.com builds them.

The design is @ The Cavalli-Kan Kumisa III Stereo Headphone Amplifier

This is a much better amp than the those you have listed. Unless you have a reason to compromise and go for something else, consider the CKKIII.

 

[nismohks]

omg is there no end to this... HAHAH

bad thing about that CKKIII is that it seems quite big. i still wish to be able to the amp when on the move, such as when i go to uni and such.

 

[holland]

I didn't realize you wanted portable only. The CKKIII is the cheapest amps I know of that is right there on the edge of portable vs. desktop. A Dynalo may be around that price, but I don't know anyone building them now. Size-wize it's not that big, but it requires AC power. You can use it in a dorm room. The picture is deceptive. It's one of the following cases (measurements are in the pdf).

http://www.hammondmfg.com/pdf/1455Q1601.pdf
http://www.hammondmfg.com/pdf/1455Q2201.pdf

None of the amps you mention strike me as something special.

I would tend to favor the Mini3 or a Pimeta build. There are other amps that people recommend. A number of members have started review threads, such as Skylab and mrarryo. I suggest you read the reviews, not for the rankings but for the description of each amp. There is overlap and you can get 2 different but detailed vantage points.

 

[nismohks]

yer i was going by Skylabs review.

being in australia really does not help my situation as there are simply no stores around where i am able to test.

as a result i am quite restricted to what i can buy.

can anyone give me suggestions to get a 2move or xxs? skylab seemed to prefer the 2move