[pretzelb]

I've been lurking about and reading a few old-ish threads on the TH and Hornet and I'm kind of confused as to why a person would buy one over the other. I even read a review that had included both but I still wasn't sure what the difference was between the two, besides size. Is the size really the main selling point for the Hornet? It's probably a dumb question but it seems like the two are so similar it's hard for me to see what draws a buyer to one over the other.

 

[Morph201]

Yeah!! What's the answer?!? I purchased a Hornet because I no longer owned IEMs, and figured the Hornet would be better for me in case I wanted to use harder to drive full sized cans.... TH was approximately 319; the Hornet was approximately 395! So, I had the choice of getting the TH and more money towards better cans (prolly HIGHER impedence) OOOOR the Hornet and lower end cans... Not sure if I made the right decision.. but anyway, the Hornet, with about 200 hours on it, is sounding NICE!

 

[chris_ah1]

the TH is slightly smaller and the gain is better for IEMs and headphones up to about 100ohms.
The hornet has an extra gain setting for up to big 300Ohm headsets.

Battery life on tomahawk is massive.

If you need it mostly as a portable IEM device to get rid of hiss then TH is your best bet. If you want a jack of all trades then go for the bigger hornet.

 

[Morph201]

I thought the Hornet handled up to 600ohm???

 

[wakeride74]

There is no hiss with the Hornet either, I use it with very sensitive customs and no hiss!

I have not heard the TH but from what I've read they both have their forte's. I'm very happy with the Hornet so I don't see a need for the TH.

 

[JLai]

Hornet:
- Rechargeable w/ power supply
- 3 gain switch
- Punchier bass
- Alot of color options
- Can drive fullsized cans, no problem
- A tad bigger

Tomahawk:
- Smaller
- Only 2 gain switch
- Made for IEMs, but I hear it also works with some full sized cans
- No recharge option
- Not many color options (black or white)

Personally, recharge ability, gain switch, and better sound (according to people who own both) made me lean towards the Hornet M over the Tomahawk.

 

[JLai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris_ah1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you need it mostly as a portable IEM device to get rid of hiss then TH is your best bet.

I used the Hornet with several IEMs...all of which produced an extremely quiet noise floor. No hiss what-so-ever.

 

[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morph201 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah!! What's the answer?!? I purchased a Hornet because I no longer owned IEMs, and figured the Hornet would be better for me in case I wanted to use harder to drive full sized cans.... TH was approximately 319; the Hornet was approximately 395! So, I had the choice of getting the TH and more money towards better cans (prolly HIGHER impedence) OOOOR the Hornet and lower end cans... Not sure if I made the right decision.. but anyway, the Hornet, with about 200 hours on it, is sounding NICE!

When the Hornet passes about 350 hours you'll begin to hear the really big sound it will achieve -- and it should continue to clean up and improve more through about 400 hours … if it follows the same curve that I, and other owners, have experienced.

After the lengthy "burn in" periods (Tomahawk takes even longer!) the Hornet and TH do sound somewhat different. The Hornet has more bass energy, warmer mids, sweeter top end, more overall "weight" and a bigger, lusher, punchier presentation.

The TH seems a bit wider, more detailed and prominent top end, "smoother" more relaxed signature, a bit airier presentation.

Both are very small, but the TH is really tiny - with craftsmanship equal to the Hornet. Of course the TH also has staggeringly long battery life. During "burn in" I got 16 days of nearly 24/7 play from 2 Eveready Alkaline Max AAAs (a few interruptions from iPod battery depletion in-transit) — close to 400 hours of almost non-stop play.

More detailed comparisons could be offered, but I don't have time and this teaser should give you some idea.

Let us know how your Hornet develops.

 

[jinp6301]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romanee /img/forum/go_quote.gif When the Hornet passes about 350 hours you'll begin to hear the really big sound it will achieve -- and it should continue to clean up and improve more through about 400 hours … if it follows the same curve that I, and other owners, have experienced. After the lengthy "burn in" periods (Tomahawk takes even longer!) the Hornet and TH do sound somewhat different. The Hornet has more bass energy, warmer mids, sweeter top end, more overall "weight" and a bigger, lusher, punchier presentation. The TH seems a bit wider, more detailed and prominent top end, "smoother" more relaxed signature, a bit airier presentation. Both are very small, but the TH is really tiny - with craftsmanship equal to the Hornet. Of course the TH also has staggeringly long battery life. During "burn in" I got 16 days of nearly 24/7 play from 2 Eveready Alkaline Max AAAs (a few interruptions from iPod battery depletion in-transit) — close to 400 hours of almost non-stop play. More detailed comparisons could be offered, but I don't have time and this teaser should give you some idea. Let us know how your Hornet develops.

we definatly need a dap that can keep up with the battery life with the TH. Thats like 400 hours of battery life!

 

[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinp6301 /img/forum/go_quote.gif we definatly need a dap that can keep up with the battery life with the TH. Thats like 400 hours of battery life!

Tell me about it! My 4G 40GB iPod only gets about 4.5hours of play!!!!! I guess I'll have to at least get a replacement battery -- maybe a 1200mAh job.

Let me know when you find a 400-hour DAP!

 

[raif]

I got my tomahawk in the very beginning of January. I am still running the same batteries. Ridiculous.

 

[nickknutson]

I owned a TH for about a month. I loved with my E500's at the time...but that was until I tried the Hornet. In my experiences, the Hornet just has a little extra "fun" behind it. The music sounds livelier and the bass is excellent. But, when it comes to full sized cans, that's when they start to seperate themselves from each other. The Hornet didn't stop, it kept kickin' butt! The TH on the other hand, was trying to be like it's bigger brother The Hornet, but wasn't quite there.
But, here comes the confusing statement, if I would have just stuck with the TH I would have been very happy still. It's a great amp.
Get this, the reason I sold it was because it was TOO small!

 

[pretzelb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLai /img/forum/go_quote.gif Personally, recharge ability, gain switch, and better sound (according to people who own both) made me lean towards the Hornet M over the Tomahawk.

From what I've read, the differences in sound do exist but both seem to get excellent reviews. In fact, I almost assume that given a choice between the two, people are picking based on the features you listed (recharge, extra gain setting) and maybe the slight size difference.

What confuses me is that those differences seem minimal, or, I've yet see anyone say they were important enough to make the decision for them. To make it even more confusing, both are from RSA so I assume they're designed to meet the needs of different consumers. I just can't figure out the target consumer for each.

Then again, I shouldn't be looking at either in the first place.

 

[JLai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pretzelb /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just can't figure out the target consumer for each.

If you're planning to use the amp as a desk amp and have only minimal use traveling, or plan on driving higher ohm fullsized cans...Get the Hornet. Having it plugged in = never worry about batteries...ever.

If you're only planning on using it to travel and never use it with fullsized cans, get the Tomahawk strictly for portability and long battery life.

 

[Spookykinkajou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLai /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you're planning to use the amp as a desk amp and have only minimal use traveling, or plan on driving higher ohm fullsized cans...Get the Hornet. Having it plugged in = never worry about batteries...ever. If you're only planning on using it to travel and never use it with fullsized cans, get the Tomahawk strictly for portability and long battery life.

I somewhat disagree, but I don't own a hornet. With the TH, even at home, you basically do not have to think about the battery. It just always works. And on those rare occasions it does stop working AAA's are easy to acquire.

I use my TH for commuting with the e500 and at home with dt990 '05. with the dt990's 250ohm I have the TH set at high gain and the volume is not even turned up to 10 oclock. For those that don't know the volume control on the TH, that is LESS than 50% of the max volume.

The sound is great. the hornet is probably better. I look forward to hearing it in a few weeks at the NYC meet. I have a corda aria arriving shortly so I'm really hoping I'll see it kick the TH's butt. But I'm skeptical.

For me, never having to even think about charging the TH is a great bonus. Morph has complained to me numerous times re: having to think about charging the hornet.

I guess you need to weigh whether you value having a 'set me and forget about it' type amp or something, like the ipod, you constantly have to think about to make sure you don't lose your juice half way through your commute.

Playing lossless files on my ipod has forced me to charge the thing every single day...

When will I be able to buy a line out only DAP with a 300gb HDD and a ~20 hour battery life playing lossless files??