[arion7273]

im excited too about this new (hornet) product. But why does it not appear in the ray samuels webpage? how can i order it. Right now, im trying to decide which one to buy because a friend is offering to sell his brand new Xcan v3 for 370 dollars. Can anybody comment on the sound between the XCAN V3 with the Hornet? the 30 dollars difference may not be significant, but what about the sound? I love jazz , acoustic and those with lots of vocals. They are different amps but let me know your thoughts on this comparison. thanks

 

[tyrion]

E-mail Ray at rsaudio@raysamuelsaudio.com or call his business phone number which is (847) 673-8739. I haven't heard the x-cans so I can't comment on sound quality as compared to the Hornet.

 

[Andrea]

I suppose the X-Can V3 by a long shot. Stereophile preferred the X-Can to the SR71, so...

 

[sacd lover]

I heard the X can v3 at the Ohio Meet and the amp was excellent with grados headphones. I especially liked the amp with the grado PS-1's. The v3 sounded much better than I ever remember the sr-71 sounding.

 

[meat01]

Quote:

Stereophile preferred the X-Can to the SR71, so...

Sooo....If Stereophile prefers it, everyone will also? Why didn't Stereophile compare the SR-71 with another with another portable amp?

 

[Ray Samuels]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea I suppose the X-Can V3 by a long shot. Stereophile preferred the X-Can to the SR71, so...

I have commented on this matter before but here it is again. I had a telephone conversation with Mr. Wes Philips regarding this matter, he explained to me that he thought that the other amp mentioned above drove the high impedance Sennhiesser with ease in comparison to the SR-71 when he wanted to push the envelope to much higher listening levels. He had no way of knowing that I have send him an SR-71 with the stock gain, that of 6, He had to turn the knob on the SR-71 to about 3 o'clock to get enough high level of sound, with that in mind he explained what we read in his review, which is very much correct. Had I known that he would push the SR-71 to that kind of sound levels, I would have send him a SR-71 with high gain of 11, where I can't go beyound 12 oclock in listening level. He was kind enough to ask me on the phone if I would like to send him one with high gain to check it out & write another add on comments, I declined saying I was very happy with his review.
Ray Samuels

 

[VR6ofpain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Samuels I have commented on this matter before but here it is again. I had a telephone conversation with Mr. Wes Philips regarding this matter, he explained to me that he thought that the other amp mentioned above drove the high impedance Sennhiesser with ease in comparison to the SR-71 when he wanted to push the envelope to much higher listening levels. He had no way of knowing that I have send him an SR-71 with the stock gain, that of 6, He had to turn the knob on the SR-71 to about 3 o'clock to get enough high level of sound, with that in mind he explained what we read in his review, which is very much correct. Had I known that he would push the SR-71 to that kind of sound levels, I would have send him a SR-71 with high gain of 11, where I can't go beyound 12 oclock in listening level. He was kind enough to ask me on the phone if I would like to send him one with high gain to check it out & write another add on comments, I declined saying I was very happy with his review. Ray Samuels

I think with Grado's this issue would not have even been noticeable right? Do you notice any change in the sound signature with them set to the gain of 11 (makes me think of This is Spinal Tap, "but this one goes to eleven")? Any grain or artifacts?
People have to accept that this review compared something running of 9V batteries to something with a power supply...so if 'all out power' was an issue, I think the battery powered one would be at a disadvantage.

Keep in mind I hold no opinion of either amp, seeing as I have not heard either!

 

[Ray Samuels]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VR6ofpain I think with Grado's this issue would not have even been noticeable right? Do you notice any change in the sound signature with them set to the gain of 11 (makes me think of This is Spinal Tap, "but this one goes to eleven")? Any grain or artifacts? People have to accept that this review compared something running of 9V batteries to something with a power supply...so if 'all out power' was an issue, I think the battery powered one would be at a disadvantage. Keep in mind I hold no opinion of either amp, seeing as I have not heard either!

With Grados or any low impedance headphones the gain of 6 is more than enough to bleed your ears. Gain of 11 is only needed for very loud listening experience with the higher impedance headphones like sennheiser or AKGs and the DT880.
Ray Samuels

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VR6ofpain People have to accept that this review compared something running of 9V batteries to something with a power supply...so if 'all out power' was an issue, I think the battery powered one would be at a disadvantage.

IMHO this is a misconception, and a common one. There's nothing written in stone that a given amp that plugs into the wall is going to sound better than a given amp that runs on batteries. It could possibly be the reverse. For solid state electronics, a high voltage is not needed for good sound. Headphones are not speakers and don't require tons of voltage/amperage to drive them well.

 

[devwild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Samuels He had no way of knowing that I have send him an SR-71 with the stock gain, that of 6, He had to turn the knob on the SR-71 to about 3 o'clock to get enough high level of sound, with that in mind he explained what we read in his review, which is very much correct.

I would honestly be a bit concerned about the validity of this guy's opinion on amps at all for two critcal reasons:

1) He either doesn't properly understand gain, one of the most basic elements of any amp, or didn't bother to ask the vendor about configuration options and instead assumed none. Not good traits for a reviewer in an "audiophile" magazine.
2) More importantly in my eyes, he most likely has a fair amount of hearing damage already if he is willing to push a headphone amp that loud.

Even on a gain of 5 I can't push 300ohm Senns to 12 o'clock usually (amp dependent of course) without pain. Granted my ears are sensitive, but still. Your ears are not to be taken lightly especially in head-fi - treat them kindly

The clarification is appreciated Ray.

 

[PinkFloyd]

I haven't heard any of Ray's amps but, from all accounts, they are very good indeed. I currently own an X-can V3 and have no hesitation recommending it, it's an absolutely superb amplifier for the money and can easily be tweaked by rolling different valves etc. sounds superb with any impedance and really does have a lot of grunt to it.... 10 / 10 for all round fun.

Mike.

 

[VR6ofpain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch IMHO this is a misconception, and a common one. There's nothing written in stone that a given amp that plugs into the wall is going to sound better than a given amp that runs on batteries.

You need to re-read what I wrote. What I said was:
Quote:

Originally Posted by VR6ofpain if 'all out power' was an issue, I think the battery powered one would be at a disadvantage.

I never said that a A/C'd amp would 'sound better' than a battery amp. I guessed that it would have more volume than a battery powered amp. More volume does not equal better sound quality.

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VR6ofpain I never said that a A/C'd amp would 'sound better' than a battery amp. I guessed that it would have more volume than a battery powered amp. More volume does not equal better sound quality.

Hey, one thing, power doesn't necessarily equate with volume levels either. Besides, you'd be surprised at the amount of volume (even on low gain with high impedance headphones!) that the Hornet can crank out, all clean sound too...

 

[Nicolaij R.]

This thread has moved from the Hornet vs X-Can V3 comparison to the SR-71 vs X-Can V3 comparison...
So the X-Can V3 sounds better than the SR-71, the SR-71 sounds better than the Hornet, THUS the X-Can V3 sounds better than the Hornet?
I may have misunderstood, but it seems to me that this speculation lies under the whole discussion...

Here comes my question: the Hornet has a gain switch, so may this fix the SR-71 "problem" with high impedance headphones?

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nicolaij R. Here comes my question: the Hornet has a gain switch, so may this fix the SR-71 "problem" with high impedance headphones?

Yeah, it does.

However, the Hornet can drive Senns even on low gain (depending on the output strength of your source). With an ipod, medium gain is sufficient. I'm not bold enough to use high gain