[HiFlight]

Quote:

Thanks for all the input. As soon I have the funds, I am going to buy the Ultrasone Pro 900s or the Toucan amp or something like the Schiit Valhalla. I just have to figure out how much performance i would be sacrificing by getting the portable Toucan, which does not sound like a lot because it is balanced.

You really need to look beyond the "portable" when considering the Toucan, as it outperforms many desktop amplifiers of considerably higher price.  Its voltage swing also is greater than many large desktop amps. 

 

[HiFlight]

You really need to look beyond the "portable" when considering the Toucan, as it outperforms many desktop amplifiers costing considerably more money.  It also swings a higher output voltage than do many desktop amplifiers  regardless of price. 

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

Does anybody have any experience with the Pro 900 balanced and terminated to the Toucan? I would like to know who could do it for me and how much it would cost with an added SE adaptor. 

 

[tisb0b]

You may as well take advantage of haloxt's tirade against ultrasone and get him to balance your Pro900's for you: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/513899/doing-pro-2900-balancing-at-cost-for-head-fiers-need-startup-advice 
 
Quote:

Does anybody have any experience with the Pro 900 balanced and terminated to the Toucan? I would like to know who could do it for me and how much it would cost with an added SE adaptor. 

 

[warp08]

I already have a XLR3 to Hirose TWag adapter and tested all 3 of my Sennheiser cans with it.  I also plan to place an order for an XLR4 to Hirose TWag adapter so that I can try my AKG K1000, which I've read the Toucan can also drive, unbelievable as it may sound.
 
I can't use mini-XLRs because most of my balanced headphones are XLR3-terminated for my Apache.

 

[AVU]

HiFlight, 
 
I'm really inclined to respect your opinion, but I wanted to question this.  I haven't heard the Toucan, so I don't know.  But it seems like on the whole, there are no good portable amps that can outperform good desktop amps of even the same price, let alone those costing considerably more.  That's why people choose the inconvenience of desktop amps.  I do know for myself that I found the maxxed out ibasso D4, with your topkit and a 9.6v battery - which sounded fantastic - still slightly inferior to the Audio-Gd Sparrow that was about $75 cheaper.

Quote:

You really need to look beyond the "portable" when considering the Toucan, as it outperforms many desktop amplifiers costing considerably more money.  It also swings a higher output voltage than do many desktop amplifiers  regardless of price. 

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

I am definitely going to purchase the Toucan if I can figure out that its performance is comparable to a desktop amp around its price, or at similar. The size, portability, and battery power make it a very nice package. It is also balanced, giving it a feature that its similarly priced desktop counterparts do not have. This is not to say that that automatically makes it better, but 25.4 Volts of swing and up to 1400mw of power make it formidable on paper. You have to implement parts the right way of course, so in itself that does not mean much. However, it is from Ibasso, a reputable manufacturer, and some respected head-fiers have declared it to sound very good. Again, I am getting the idea that it sounds at the least fairly close to desktop components. After all, it is not the smallest thing in the world- definitely no RSA Shadow or Pico slim; this combined with the portability makes buying it an attractive proposition for me. (I dislike throwing money around uselessly as much as the next guy). Ron (Hiflight) is polite, informative, and a veteran Head-fier. he is also firmly in the Toucan's camp. 
 
Any comments or suggestions is welcome. Also, because I am getting an Iriver h120 with an optical out, would it sound better to run optical from that to the new Ibasso D12, which has a DAC in it? The D12 is single ended and most likely not as good of amp as the Toucan, but I am wondering if combined with the DAC this will result in better sound overall.
 
Edit: Sorry, I found and posted in the D12 thread.