[pretzelb]

I wanted to get some thoughts on trying to decide between an RSA Hornet and a Glimore Lite. I hate asking such an over asked question, especially since there's a similar Gilmore Lite and TH post, but it's driving me crazy.

I will be for my father who just started listening to music again since he got a Nano for Christmas. I've upgraded him to some Grado SR60s and feel that he's ready for an amp. He's said there are a few songs he's tried to find the details he remembers from long ago but he can't get that detail - I think an amp will help with that (better source would help too I'm sure). Now, knowing that we're probably going to experiment with other headphones too (as everyone does) I'm trying to get him an amp that will last.

His music tastes are mostly for the oldies that he's familiar with. Glenn Miller and the Dorsey's get a lot play, along with Bing Crosby and a tenor collection he has. But he also loves classical and really adores opera. He likes to hear the details when he can like bow strings on violins. He does have double hearing aids so he can't hear all that well but he's been loving the Nano to Grado setup so far.

I don't think portability is necessary. He usually just sits and listens. I thought the Hornet mostly for it's great reviews and because it would drive most anything. I didn't realize until recently that for near the same price something as good as the Gilmore Lite would also do the job. I had thought getting something like the Gilmore Lite would cost around twice as much but recent threads indicate it's a very nice amp at a great price.

Having not heard either myself I'm a bit at a loss as to which to pick. I think either would be fine but I'm not sure if I'm considering all the right angles since we're really starting at the ground floor of the hobby. I suppose resale is always an option with both but I'm separated by many miles from my folks so it's kind of hard to arrange stuff like that.

Any thoughts you might have would be appreciated.

 

[PFKMan23]

Honestly, given he's using SR-60s, I really think that both of those choices are overkill. If we were talking SR-225s or so, that would be different, but at this point I think that if you wanted to get him an amp, something like the Go Vibe 6 would be fine and to just use the rest to buy him some more music.

 

[JLai]

Having both the Hornet M and the Gilmore Lite LE...I'd usually recommend the G-Lite w/ DPS if you can forego the portablity. Given the fact that they're only SR-60s, I think either would be perfectly fine and the difference would be negligable. Personally I'd choose the Hornet since he's running from an iPod...aka he can have the option of moving around. Also, one thing to take into account is the fact that the Hornet costs more than the G-Lite sans DPS. My Blue Hornet ended up being ~$405 shipped.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

If you're looking for a Hornet, keep checking the FS forum for amps. Great luck tends to befall many; it seems that whenever I think hard enough about something, I find it soon in the FS forums.

 

[pretzelb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLai /img/forum/go_quote.gif Having both the Hornet M and the Gilmore Lite LE...I'd usually recommend the G-Lite w/ DPS if you can forego the portablity. Given the fact that they're only SR-60s, I think either would be perfectly fine and the difference would be negligable. Personally I'd choose the Hornet since he's running from an iPod...aka he can have the option of moving around. Also, one thing to take into account is the fact that the Hornet costs more than the G-Lite sans DPS. My Blue Hornet ended up being ~$405 shipped.

I agree that with the SR60s both are a bit of overkill but I was hoping to avoid multiple upgrades. But not knowing what headphones he may wish to try next makes it near impossible to predict what will work down the road.

I was surprised by the cost of the G-Lite, and was thinking it was the way to go, but then I started pricing connectors to go from the iPod. Seems like the dock to RCA options are pricey compared to the dock to mini-jack options.

 

[laxx]

You can always have someone like AKZip or Cantsleep make one and I'm sure the prices will be fine. It shouldn't be much more than a dock with a mini termination.

 

[JLai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pretzelb /img/forum/go_quote.gif Seems like the dock to RCA options are pricey compared to the dock to mini-jack options.

Monster cable makes some good price/performance ratio mini-->RCA cables. I'd look into those. They can be had for under $30 for 6 ft. Blue Jeans may even be cheaper. Just couple that to something like a Turbo dock connector and you have spend ~$50...which is reasonable.