[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jan Meier /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dear Ray, > I never meant in any way to put your master work down. Don't worry. From our brief mail communications I always felt you're more a colleague-friend then a competitor! I think that in many aspects we have very similar ideas about how this business should be run. And next weekend will be very first time that I will have the opportunity to listen to one of your amps. There's a big headphone meeting in Germany and someone is taken his Tomahawk with him But you really should listen to that OPERA though! It is very different from all my other models. Cheers Jan

I of course agree with this 100% - I think the Opera is the finest headphone amp I have ever heard at any price and of any form. I have posted this elsewhere. I love the Aria, but the Opera is a considerable step above it.

And Ray was by the way in NO WAY trying to convince me his amps were better than everyone elses. He really wasn't - I was very impressed by that. He did repeatedly compliment the other amps. He was trying to show that a portable amp can sound as good as a home amp, and he succeeded in convincing me of that. Not that they all DO, but they CAN.

 

[john_jcb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redshifter /img/forum/go_quote.gif ray's sr-71 is a capable all-arounder that sounds good with almost any headphone you throw at it. i have not done the extensive comparisons that ray and the op have done, but the sr-71 sounded enough like the hr-2 with power supply ON MY GEAR that i really can not justify buying another amp right now..................

I have both the SR-71 and one of the first HR-2's that Ray made. It has been a long time since I have had the time to do any comparisons but each has a place in my setups. I have the HR-2 connected to a Phillips player in my home office and use the SR-71 on the road. Since I have lived out of a suitcase for most of the last year and a half the SR-71 has gotten a lot of use.

What pains me even more is the Stealth that I have hooked up as a preamp in my home system. The poor amp is suffering from non use. I think I have warmed up my system only a couple of time in the last 18 months. Well the end of my full time travels is in sight (August) and I think I will take some time off and vegetate with Norah Jones and Diana Krall for a while.

It seems so long ago that I did a comparison of Jan's amp and Ray's but I still remember listening to each for hours trying to her the subtle differences and coming to the same conclusion; I would be happy with either. One thing that I did find is that I liked crossfeed with a number of my late 60's recordings where they went a bit overboard with the headphone effects. So I picked up Corda Cross #2 and use it when I listen to some of the old stuff. With well recorded stuff I am happy with the amp alone.

 

[omendelovitz]

a point of important note (IMO); I think a good point of consideration is that although the TH, SR71 and Hornet are all great amps and sound highly impressive in their own rights, what we need to keep in mind here is that:

• portable amps do sound awesome if they are done right
• it's always the minor nuances and last "X%" of definition, detail, resolution, etc. that we get when critically listening to our systems that we pay the extra big $$$ for... e.g. - the hornet (non-M) not only sounded different from the SR-71, but I always heard more detail and refinement in the sound of the SR-71 than in the hornet; maybe it was placeebo, I can't be sure. Either way, the SR-71 stayed and the hornet went until upgraditis hit me again and I moved on to the next level.
• bottom line, this hobby is/shouldn't be something we take so seriously that we get into flame wars over right and wrong. In the end, let your brain be the experiment and your wallet the proof... if you can justify the cost and be happy with the sound power to you...

 

[BIG POPPA]

#3 is so on the money. If you can't get the enjoyment out of the money you spent, this hobby may not be for you. I plan, save, and scheme for my next new
amp and headphones. Please do ruin the excitement for everybody else.

 

[spiderjoe]

Excellent post by Skylab and was also impressed by posts by Ray and Jan complimenting each others products. A good read for newbies and also seasoned listeners. Keep it up guys!