[GeorgeGoodman]

I never said it was portable. I probably should and use the word transportable. Anyway, you can take one of the boxes out of the equation (the Boomslang) and it will still work. This is unless the Boomslang allows it to have much higher gain than otherwise. Anyway, its an option.

 

[mrarroyo]

Dave the T3 by iBasso is a great sounding amp that is the size of a Zippo lighter. I would send you mine but I shipped it to a few friends in Great Britain, they are passing it around and are very happy with its performance.
 
Currently I am driving a Senn HD580 using the iBasso Senn balanced cable. I do not need to raise the volume as much and for reference I am about 2 hours less than with the K1000 (8 o'clock to 9 o'clock depending on the song). Cheers.

 

[paulybatz]

The T3 is tiny and really profound what comes out of it!

 

[daveDerek]

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I do not have much time to post on the Toucan balanced amp nor the Boomslang balanced DAC by iBasso. I have had them for a while and today I received from iBasso their Hirose to 4-Pin Balance adapter cable. I am currently driving the AKG K1000 with the gain set on high (25.2 volts of swing) while using a modified iRiver H120 running RockBox software and feeding Apple Lossless files via a mini optical cable from SysConcepts in Canada.

wow! omg - a portable driving k1ks!?!  how well does it drive them?  who was that guy a few yrs back who was walking around in public with k1ks? he'd have appreciated this rig!

 
btw, do you have any experience with the ibasso P3? how good is that amp?

I think you can search youtube for neilpeart and find a video of that guy.

yeah that was him, lol

. thanks Larry

 
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I have used my balanced Boomslang/Toucan combo to successfully drive my HE6 planar phones.  They sound superb and I need about 12:00 on the volume control for a very satisfying volume level. 
Very amazing handful of performance!!!

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Ron, does yer T amp that you usually use for your k1ks work well with the he6s?

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No kidding is that impressive! In what ways does the sound differ from the HE-6s out of your Virtue?

Ron, interesting that you're using this with success on your HE6s. could you please comment on how it compares it your Virtue amp?
 


Quote:

Dave the T3 by iBasso is a great sounding amp that is the size of a Zippo lighter. I would send you mine but I shipped it to a few friends in Great Britain, they are passing it around and are very happy with its performance.
 
Currently I am driving a Senn HD580 using the iBasso Senn balanced cable. I do not need to raise the volume as much and for reference I am about 2 hours less than with the K1000 (8 o'clock to 9 o'clock depending on the song). Cheers.

thanks Miguel. that is interesting. has anyone here played with the P3 amp and if so could you please comment on it.

 

[trentino]

From what I have read it seems the Toucan/Boomslang with the balanced IC and balanced HD650 cables together with HD650/600 sounds better (more detail and control?) than Nuforce HDP and Sennheiser phones. Any comments from someone owning or having owned both setups?

 

[BebopMcJiggy]

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i did a short a/b listening session with the HDP vs the ibasso combo.  both using the USB to single ended t50p.
HDP bought used. seems like low hours.
ibasso mine. low hours.
 
ibasso pros:
better bass impact
more dynamic, fun sounding
brighter
full sound
better clarity
option for balanced
 
ibasso cons:
two separate units
cant be considered neutral vs the HDP
slightly inferior build quality
 
it really depends on the headphones and the person's personal sound signature preference.  the ibasso fits my signature better. i dont havve any other headphoen at the moment besides the T1 and i dont have a single ended adapter yet. its in the mail. 
 
HDP: build quality feels absolutely awesome.  decent weight to it, looks great, and works well.  the sound is more neutral. bass is good but less impact than the ibasso. overall the sound sounds balanced. 
 
overall, i dont feel the HDP performs as an amp above its price point as others may think.  not that i have a ton of experience or anything but i think it was just decent. for 449$ new its a nice 2 in 1 option but its not the signature i want.  but if i was on a budget and couldnt afford the ibasso combo, this would probably be the unit i would go for. *disclaimer: i havent tried many of the dac/amp combos like the pico, d10, etc.
 
if i could keep one, id keep the ibasso hands down.  im building my full sized system so i have to consider selling the ibasso combo even tho i dont want to.
 
these are my humble opinions.

 
Single ended vs single ended only though but I have not heard the HDP myself to be able to comment.  I have no use for a budget desktop device...  

 

[HiFlight]

 
Dave...
Yes, the Virtue 2.2 that I use for my K1000's sounds superb with my HE6.  I also use it to drive my K340's, K501's and SA5000's.  All are effortlessly driven directly from the speaker terminals. 
 
Roscoeiii...
The Virtue has considerably more headroom with 40wpc than the Toucan, thus low-frequency transients have more impact.  Like the hot-rodders say: "Nothing beats cubic inches except cubic feet!"
 
As all of my full-size cans are now balanced, I have sold all of my SE headphone amps and use only the Virtue 2.2 for my desktop amp.  Given that it is only the size of 2 soft drink cans front to back, I now have lots more desktop space.  I also no longer have any concerns about amp/headphone synergy or ability to drive notoriously hard-to-drive phones. 
 
 
 
 
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Very amazing handful of performance!!!

Quote:

Ron, does yer T amp that you usually use for your k1ks work well with the he6s?

Quote:

No kidding is that impressive! In what ways does the sound differ from the HE-6s out of your Virtue?

Ron, interesting that you're using this with success on your HE6s. could you please comment on how it compares it your Virtue amp?
 

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[kargi]

SE input to Balanced output is not a balanced setup right fellas?

 

[qusp]

thats correct, you will still inherit any noise that was in the signal from before the conversion.

 

[kargi]

But will there be less artifact? I mean one less single ended connection

thanks qusp.

 

[HiFlight]

You will realize the power advantage of the balanced output, as both the + and - are actively driven.  While any artifacts from the input not be cancelled with the SE input to the Toucan, you will also likely realize improvements in the accuracy of the imaging and a wider soundstage.

 
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But will there be less artifact? I mean one less single ended connection

thanks qusp.

 

[kargi]

thanks hiflight, yeah power gain is cool, but I will get a boomslang when I can afford it. I wish cowon comes up with optical out portable soon.

 

[Roscoeiii]

Yes, portables with digital outputs are few.

 

[jamato8]

I converted one of my iRiver H140's to coax digital out plus the optical. With the new 1300 fiber optical cable I find I prefer the optical over coax digital. 

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

So you did unnecessary work that you brought upon yourself to assuage the pain of boredom on the tropical island. Tough. 

 

I converted one of my iRiver H140's to coax digital out plus the optical. With the new 1300 fiber optical cable I find I prefer the optical over coax digital.