[solvexyz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder YES! Congested sound is what I got. I don't think muddy was quite the right word. At over 500 hours now, mine is very very enjoyable indeed.

do you also noticed the soundstage changes a bit among 3 different gains in your fully burned in Hornet? I certainly noticed this even in an unburned-in Hornet. I like the high gain the most. The bass is strongest in this mode as well.

 

[PFKMan23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romanee Hi, Ray -- As I wrote long ago, the virgin Hornet with zero hours on it did sound to me to have a comressed sound stage, somewhat noisy upper end, less controlled bass, "congested" sound — lacking air and space around performers. All these issues cleared up beautifully past the 300 hour mark. It is interesting that some users hear at least some of these problems, and some don't!?!?

I think the difference in impressions simply confirms that we all hear things differently. Whether the impressions are positive or negative I think that it just shows that this hobby is more subjective than many would like to realize or admit.

For example I still find the Hornet after 400-500 of use. However I do feel that the bass has tightened up and become more articulate in certain songs. That said, I hthink that the more upfront is just an inherent trait of the presentation of the amp.

 

[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23 I think the difference in impressions simply confirms that we all hear things differently. Whether the impressions are positive or negative I think that it just shows that this hobby is more subjective than many would like to realize or admit. For example I still find the Hornet after 400-500 of use. However I do feel that the bass has tightened up and become more articulate in certain songs. That said, I hthink that the more upfront is just an inherent trait of the presentation of the amp.

Agreed -- of course. Besides having unique mind/sensor filters, we've each heard different ranges of equipment, recordings, live music and obviously have different tastes and preferences.

To be a bit repetitive, the character of The Hornet is ideal for noisy portable environments where you're less likely to hear a big, spacious sound space and more likely to lose the character and texture of the music that lives mostly in the mids and upper mids -- and The Hornet EXCELS in presenting a very complex, clean, and sweet harmonic structure that cuts through the noise cluttter to let you hear more of the unique sound of each recording and performer. I've said before that I believe it's this more complete representation of the musical information in the midrange that gives it the "forward" impression, and makes it possible to hear more of the space around, and shape of the space around performers -- even in noisy environments.

 

[ProleArtThreat]

Just to add another tidbit to this thread. I have about 120 hours on my Hornet and it is clear to me that the soundstage has definitely opened up and the bass thightened up considerably. In fact, over the past week I started listening to my Hornet almost exlusively with my HF-1 and Sensas and preferred it over the SR-71.

 

[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProleArtThreat Just to add another tidbit to this thread. I have about 120 hours on my Hornet and it is clear to me that the soundstage has definitely opened up and the bass thightened up considerably. In fact, over the past week I started listening to my Hornet almost exlusively with my HF-1 and Sensas and preferred it over the SR-71.

HF-1 and Hornet is a great combo!

Let us know your impressions at 200 hours and then again at 300-350 hours. I'd be interested to know if you hear further improvements and if so, how you describe them -- or not.

 

[vranswer]

Blast! I must have crap ears!! My Hornet has sounded absolutely awesome since day ONE, and after, what, maybe 100 hours still sounds incredible - really, exactly as it did before..which is awesome. I guess my hearing sucks -- but ignorance is bliss...

 

[solvexyz]

At 265 hours, I finally noticed my Hornet soundstage has opened up. I am now in love with it.

Just 40 hours more until reaching the peak performance of Hornet. I am so excited.

 

[Seijang]

The Hornet definitely felt compressed and congested when I first listened to it. Although no one else reported this, my ears actually hurt w/ the e3cs. To say the least I was fairly frantic and disappointed, as this was my first expensive amp. After the first really disappointing 5 minutes, I let the Hornet burn in for 5 hours or so, and had another small listening session. Still congested, but didn't hurt my ears as fast.

I am happy to say I have 400+ hours of music played with the Hornet so far, and it stopped hurting me around ~55 hours. I have written down some impressions, but suffice to say I love this amp, period, played from my DT880s.