Hornet vs. SR-71...Help!

[roll-man]

Hey Everyone,

I've been away from this board for awhile and it seems that both of these Ray Samuels portable amps have created quite a stir. My current set up is an iRiver hp120, ety er4p w/4s converter cable and a 1st generation total bithead. Although I own a number of other cans & stuff, this is my primary portable rig. I own a first generation porta-corda which I never use and a JMT altoids cha-47, which is still my favorite. I've never really been happy with the total bithead. It adds little or nothing to my listening experience. I seem to remember paying a lot for it and I guess it's safe to say I'm basically dissapointed with it. So I'm now at the point of wanting to upgrade my main portable amp, which brings me back to my friends here at head-fi. Ok, so I read the original 40 page hornet thread, the 85 other hornet threads, and a bunch of stuff about the SR-71. I'm reaching out to get some input from you guys. The music I listen to is 99% instrumental. Jazz, fusion & classical. Some rock, but again essentially no vocals. I like detail, big soundstage and clean, crisp airy sound. I hate tinny highs and overpowering mids. What few components I own that have any tone controls (car stereo, home theater receiver) are kept at zero (flat). So do I go hornet, sr-71 or ??? (in that price range). The other threads on this subject have me leaning towards the SR-71. Size is not an issue, but the charging capabilities of the hornet is appealing. A good number of listening hours is on airplanes and others have said that the hornet does better in louder environments. Once I get to where I'm going, I do kick back (poolside) and it's generally not too noisy. But then there is the ety isolation factor...does that cancel out the noisy environ issue? Now it's mostly Jazz I'm listening to, but the majority is electric fusion. WHAT TO DO???? Thanks for the help...

 

[digihead]

"I like detail, big soundstage and clean, crisp airy sound."

Get the SR-71. You won't be disappointed.

 

[episiarch]

I listen to similar kinds of music (though a lot with vocals too), and usually with ER-4S, and I preferred the SR-71. The Hornet's sound just didn't quite seem right to me.

 

[warpdriver]

Ray designed the Hornet to have a forward (Grado like?) sound, the SR-71 would be the one to get for a more authentic presentation.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver Ray designed the Hornet to have a forward (Grado like?) sound, the SR-71 would be the one to get for a more authentic presentation.

true that yo

 

[gpalmer]

For the types of music you mention I reach for the SR-71. Not that the Hornet doesn't sound good, but the SR-71 is better, at least for what I want to hear. Usually I go for the Hornet more when I'm listening to rock.

 

[Jazz1]

I'm into Jazz. The SR71 does a great job with that musical genre. Using an iPod and HD-650's 10 or 11:00 O'clock on the vol. dial seems to work great in my relatively noisy office.

On a plane I'm sure it is much noisier environment though. But there seems to be plenty of vol. left to deal with a noisy environments. But, as you know the best bet there is to have a pair of Etys or the like.

Note when I hook up the SR-71 to my MF A5 CD player I can't use much beyond 8:00 O'clock on the vol. dial. This pretty much matches the vol. gain on my Raptor.

I've never heard the Hornet, so I can't say the SR-71 is superior. I don't know if size of the amp. is a factor for you when looking at the SR-71 and the Hornet. The Hornet of course in a mini-champ.

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roll-man I like detail, big soundstage and clean, crisp airy sound... A good number of listening hours is on airplanes and others have said that the hornet does better in louder environments.

I can't comment on the Hornet, but while the soundstage could be larger (it and AC are the really only significant traits I prefer about the HR2 over the smaller, cheaper cousin) the SR71 is airy and can be either a high or normal gain version - taking care of "louder" issue.

 

[mrarroyo]

I have listened to both the SR-71 and The Hornet. Both are fine amplifiers, in my case I prefer the SR-71 do to its bigger sound and detail.

 

[tyrion]

I maybe in the minority but I use my Hornet with mostly jazz and couldn't be happier. I also love the SR-71 but can't say, at this point, that I prefer one over the other in terms of sq. I kept the Hornet and sold the SR-71 because of size and feature, not sq. You can't go wrong with either amp.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyrion I maybe in the minority but I use my Hornet with mostly jazz and couldn't be happier. I also love the SR-71 but can't say, at this point, that I prefer one over the other in terms of sq. I kept the Hornet and sold the SR-71 because of size and feature, not sq. You can't go wrong with either amp.

You are correct, at the end of the day the size, battery charging, and gain setting would have a lot to do with the selection of one or the other. Either one will make an excellent choice.

 

[raisin]

For my purposes size and re-charging don't really matter. The Hornet is my #1 solution for classic rock, for everything else I still prefer the SR-71.

 

[surfboardz26]

sr-71 is better. sounds stronger period.