I already have a tube amp but would like a solid state and am trying to decide between the M9, Rag, and this.
I am leaning toward the M9 because though I think I would prefer the Rags layering abilities the single ended socket is worthless. Plus I already have a tube amp that is here to stay. In a couple of months I will be ready so I am researching the heck out of gear everyday. So far the Master 9 is winning.
I really want an official review from some noteworthy folks. When you launch a product its best to get it into the hands of someone who can post decent and detailed impressions of its sound. The only one I have read about this doesn't get much into its sound or provide any decent point of reference. Actually it was a pretty worthless review in my opinion.
Guess you are referring to my review. Thanks for the flowers
I wrote in this review what I feel comfortable sharing with others. Let me explain why I didn't go into details about sound description in my review:
ifi didn't give it to me to review - I happened to know a distributor who sells it and I borrowed the demo unit from him to listen to it for my own pleasure - I am not a professional reviewer, I don't get paid and don't get free stuff from ifi or the distributor and I only write reviews about stuff I really like. I happen to have really like a lot of ifi products.
My reference points are: Burson Conductor, Cavalli Audio Liquid Carbon, Bottlehead Crack, iDSD micro, iDSD Nano, various DAPs and other stuff in my profile.
In which setting would you want to have a comparison?
solid state mode, tube mode, hybrid mode? (3)
output balanced or single ended? (2)
with which headphone? (unlimited)
with which of the 3D (4)
or XBass settings (4)
with which gain settings (3)
balanced input or RCA/single ended (2)
= 576 combinations that all affect the sound to a certain extend.
Am sorry but I decided that I am not going too much into the sound description with flowery explanations about this amp. I leave this to other reviewers that have a better command over the English language than I have and have better terminology to describe the sound they hear. There are too many variables for me to deal with and as mentioned, I might lack the right vocabulary in any case. Having said that, this amp can be the cleanest, flattest, amp with a precision, I find simply breathtaking, with blackness that sucks you into a black hole or a musical and emotional one that is not as precise but coherent and "wholesome", with the most engaging sound and body to it. It also depends which headphones you use, some work better in the solid state mode (Hifiman), some work wonders in the tube mode (Audeze), some better in hybrid mode (Sennheiser). It can have a normal soundstage or a terrific enhanced one. It can do so much, since it's so customizable with it's switches.
And as you know - tube amps can change quite dramatically depending on the tubes you use, so even if I compare to the Bottlehead Crack - it means nothing if you don't use the exact same tubes like I do.
So - I simply gave up - this amp can do it all - I heard the Ragnarok and liked it a lot, I heard Master 9 but not long enough to allow a proper comparison and I didn't A/B with of these with the Pro iCan. I spend some time with a WA-5LE and to be honest: I would go with the Pro iCan just because you can tune it to make your headphones sound amazing. And I would not miss a thing (compared to the others mentioned) in my opinion and to my ears.
Every headphone I own and that I tried on this amp sounded better than with the amps I have. The LCD-2 for example - never sounded that good before. I was floored.
That thing is the real deal. For its price - its unbeatable. I don't have one yet, hope to get one this year.
Cheers!
