[volcomjerk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luidge Wow this thread is realy interesting! I just bought a MisterX portable Pimeta, i don't know the op-amp specification and all but i would like to know how do they compare, i have the clear blue cased p Pimeta. BTW the Pint look good as hell!

Give him a PM and he should tell you. He doesn't bite

 

[Jahn]

hey now! that Blackdiamond IC looks like the one I'm waiting on! nice!

 

[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ichiro

That looks very nicely finished and worth investigating.

 

[MASantos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover Compared to the hornet .... the PINT has a bigger and more precise soundstage, better dynamics, better bass and a much greater degree of coherency and refinement. The sound of the PINT is very seamless compared to the hornet .... which seemed alternately congested in the lower mids and to harsh in the lower/ mid treble during my audition. I believe if someone started producing the PINT as a commercial product the prices of the other portables would have to drop .... or they would simply not make any sales. My PINT cost $110 shipped, including the wall wart power supply and a rechargeable battery .... and totally outperformed the $350 hornet. I truly hope someone revives or refines this design for commercial sale.

SACDlover, if the PINT was produced comercially, it would cost at least 1.5 more thatn that. I think that if a conercial product was available it would need a custom front panel, R&D and marketing costs, and probably a larger profit margin for the builder.



Regarding the PINT, it is a great amplifier, and although I never heard the hornet, AE-1, Xin's amp and other +300$, it sound like it is as good as, or even better than those. I have been building PINTS for the last 3 months and it is just amazing how good it sounds.

It is really sad that Tangent pulled this project because the price/performance ratio is probably one of the best in Head-fi.

ps: I am in no way trying to advertise myself as PINT builder. I don't have any more boards left.

 

[socrates63]

I demand this thread be closed!!

It's making me lust after an unavailable product which only means the price will go up. Tangent needs to make the parts available again. I'm sure this thread has significantly heightened interest in the PINT. I know I'd order one right now if I could.

Anyone in Seattle have one? I'd love to do a comparison with my SR-71 and Hornet.

 

[sacd lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MASantos SACDlover, if the PINT was produced comercially, it would cost at least 1.5 more thatn that. I think that if a conercial product was available it would need a custom front panel, R&D and marketing costs, and probably a larger profit margin for the builder. Regarding the PINT, it is a great amplifier, and although I never heard the hornet, AE-1, Xin's amp and other +300$, it sound like it is as good as, or even better than those. I have been building PINTS for the last 3 months and it is just amazing how good it sounds.

Even if the PINT cost the same as a hornet the PINT sounds much better to these ears. At 1.5x the cost that I paid, thats less than $175. If this amp sold for $229-249 the cost to performance is still way beyond the other commercial portables we read about. Hopefully someone will produce this amp commercially.

 

[luidge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by volcomjerk Give him a PM and he should tell you. He doesn't bite

Great idea my friend, ill do this right away.

 

[volcomjerk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by socrates63 I demand this thread be closed!! It's making me lust after an unavailable product which only means the price will go up. Tangent needs to make the parts available again. I'm sure this thread has significantly heightened interest in the PINT. I know I'd order one right now if I could. Anyone in Seattle have one? I'd love to do a comparison with my SR-71 and Hornet.

I'd send you mine just so you can listen to it but I'm feeling greedy right now and I don't feel like sharing my PINT at the moment. Perhaps when I take a vacation from work I'll let you borrow it for a week

 

[luidge]

Wow look at the answer of MisterX to my question!

Quote:
Originally Posted by luidge
Hi, i just bought one of your Portable Pimeta over the FS forum and then i saw a great thread praising your PINT, so i was wondering if there was a big difference between the two, i don't know wich opamp i got in my PPimeta but i think it is the basic one. Do you think the difference between the two would blow me away or is it similar? Thank you for your time.

Luidge

Assuming there was a limitless supply of Pints I would take a Pimeta over a PINT any day of the week


And i tought that the PINT was better

Look like ill hold on to my Pimeta
Wonder if the case is the only thing that boost the price of the PINT, or maybe cause it is smaller, who know.

 

[tomb]

What's really amazing is that the PINT could be built for $20-$30. So can the AlienDAC.

Tangent has committed to designing a similar replacement, I believe. The AlienDAC is an active project by Alf, with the second Group Buy for boards just recently completed.

You all should read the other sections of the forum every once in awhile. 'Course, a few of these guys are being modest as some of the trail-blazing builders of the PINT (Filbert, DieInaFire, MASantos, etc.).

EDIT: I'm glad to hear of MisterX's assessment of the PIMETA, though, since I built two of those - another Tangent design, BTW.

 

[volcomjerk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover Even if the PINT cost the same as a hornet the PINT sounds much better to these ears. At 1.5x the cost that I paid, thats less than $175. If this amp sold for $229-249 the cost to performance is still way beyond the other commercial portables we read about. Hopefully someone will produce this amp commercially.

Hell I'd pay $350 for this amp obviously. Lets just say hypothetically speaking the Hornet sounded like a Pint I'd probably would have kept it but you know what I don't think the Pint would ever go commercial people would just buy it from DIY builders for cheaper.

 

[azncookiecutter]

All this talk is getting me excited. Just bought a HPDAC from MisterX, and it has a PINT design in the amp section. Along with the DAC, it should be a nice combo that should last me until the end of the year (hopefully).

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by volcomjerk Definitely agree, but if this "black cloud" is what I think it is and lets just say this thread is buried to protect other competitors then yes I would call it robbery because that's like taking money from someone who doesn't know any better. If no one were to know that there are amps that can indeed be had for cheap and sound just as good or better, then this forum isn't what I thought it was.

Welcome to my world. I abstain from posting a variety of comments here because a significant portion of what I'd normally give to someone as advice is considered inappropriate to post here, particularly over certain manufacters' devices. I don't particularly enjoy this nor do I feel it benefits consumers to have a policy like this, but it seems to be something I and others have to live with if we want to post here. I'm not even talking about exotic information here; This sort of stuff is discussed on other boards and some of it can be gleaned from the pictures posted on the net, even on some manufacters' sites.

There is a lot of nice stuff out there in DIY-land and the PINT is one example. cetoole has an interesting portable project coming that I'm probably going to build. I still like the PINT quite a bit, though, and it seems to be well suited for certain types of op-amps. It's nice to see that word did spread about the 6172, as I think it's really a nice chip; very high detail I found. The 6171 has turned out to be really nice as well (it's the single channel version, though it is faster and has more output power as well).

Between the PINT and PIMETA, I'd rather have the PINT, but I think that's probably a matter of preference. Unfortunately, my favourite op-amps are all bipolar input, which the PIMETA doesn't take kindly to. One of the weaknesses of an unbuffered design, though, is that many op-amps are not really designed to drive low impedance loads and so use of a buffer is a good way to get much better linearity. That said, what ultimately probably matters is how it sounds, so an unbuffered design like the PINT may work out better for you depending on a variety of factors.

It would have been nice if the PINT project hadn't been discontinued. I had hoped over time we could build a basic FAQ on how to build it, and its price/performance ratio would encourage more people to get into DIY. Oh well, maybe someone else will do a run of the boards or tangent will bring us his next project soon ;D

I'm thinking about trying some other op-amps as I've found some new ones I really like, although I don't have any spare boards so I'm not sure what I'll do

 

[agile_one]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Filburt Welcome to my world. I abstain from posting a variety of comments here because a significant portion of what I'd normally give to someone as advice is considered inappropriate to post here, particularly over certain manufacters' devices. I don't particularly enjoy this nor do I feel it benefits consumers to have a policy like this, but it seems to be something I and others have to live with if we want to post here. ...

Filburt and all other diy designers, builders, and interested parties (like, everyone on Head-Fi who appreciates bang for the buck, and is willing to take a chance or two to get it), it is my sincere hope that the dark cloud you refer to has been lifted, and once again, we can all speak of the value/performance advantage that public domain design from a talented builder can offer.

In other posts it has been explained that diy folks are not necessarily in it for profit - if they cover costs, they are happy. otoh, they may be gone tomorrow, so buyer beware vs commercial builders who must make a profit to put "bott" (bread on the table), but will be there tomorrow to offer support and warranty assurance. Additionally, commercial products are typically better built with regard to casing and design.

I've gone both ways, and been happy with each. It's just a matter of understanding the world you are in and deciding realistically.

 

[dhp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by socrates63 I demand this thread be closed!! It's making me lust after an unavailable product which only means the price will go up. Tangent needs to make the parts available again. I'm sure this thread has significantly heightened interest in the PINT. I know I'd order one right now if I could. Anyone in Seattle have one? I'd love to do a comparison with my SR-71 and Hornet.

hehe, hugs my PINT

anyways, give misterx a pm and see if he has one available, his buildwork is second to none