[Voltron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomana /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hah! That's funny, except Gene can party anyone under the table. Where the heck is he anyway? He hasn't posted.

 

[thrice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voltron /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I kept telling him not to take candy from that creepy guy at the bar:

 

[Voltron]

[size=medium]It places the lotion in the basket...[/size]

 

[polvodediamante]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif Now, for the new guys (besides "new guy" who himself is a wonderful host and friend that would do almost anything for anyone). -polvodediamante. We had now idea how to pronounce your username, so you should know that we all called you "PolyVinyl" throughout most of the meet. It was fun to share beers and music with you. -mfueger. Spelled Markus, not Marcus BTW. You are my new cool friend. It was a blast hanging out in the rain with you at Tavern 123 (or whatever the # was) watching Ray soak in some of that South Florida rain we hear so much of, and enjoying w/ Boomana, some of the best music of the weekend which was live latin acoustic guitar akin to "Friday Night in San Francisco" in the next door bar and checking out the ladies who were wearing outfits that should have been illegal walking down the strip. One day, I would like a ride, or to ride, your car, and have you as the photographer at my next major event. You and your digi were one, the whole weekend. For the future, standard fare for Head-Fi picture viewing is 800 X 600. It fits on most people's screens and is a little 56K friendly. The only thing that I will say (and this isn't fair because of the money involved) is that the best sounding rig, or better yet, the best I've ever heard the HE-90's sound, was Guss2's (Gary) rig which included a Sony SCD-1 2 channel SACD player into a HeadAmp Aristaeus electrostatic amp, a pair of Orpheus headphones linked together by a pair or Nordost’s Valkyrie IC's (one step under the Valhallas) and Steely Dan's "Gaucho". Babylon Sister never sounded so good.

Polyvinyl? That's actually like, a better name for this forum!

Yeah Markus was an awesome guy to meet indeed! I definitely lacked in the picture department when compared to him.

Guss2's rig was indeed one of my favorites as well! However, there is one bone which I must pick with Guss2...Coheed and Cambria? Really?

 

[polvodediamante]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrice /img/forum/go_quote.gif I kept telling him not to take candy from that creepy guy at the bar:

Ahahaha so true!

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by misterDX /img/forum/go_quote.gif nobody listened to pico through a k701????

I'm beta testing one so I *have* used my K701 with it quite a bit. I've found that it does a very good job with the K701 and compliments the DAC well.

 

[misterDX]

thanks for the impression, would you say it is a good home amp/dac for the k701 or would any other solid state amp/dac be better in that price range? thanks

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by misterDX /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks for the impression, would you say it is a good home amp/dac for the k701 or would any other solid state amp/dac be better in that price range? thanks

I can't think of any dac/amp combo I'd rather have in this price range; not even around it, really. The amp itself is solid, and the dac is fantastic. Both halves of the Pico are very K701-friendly I would say

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by misterDX /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks for the impression, would you say it is a good home amp/dac for the k701 or would any other solid state amp/dac be better in that price range? thanks

Have you seen this post? http://www.head-fi.org/forums/3376651-post308.html

The chips in the Pico are all state of the art! I've seen the WM8740 DAC in CD players up to $3K, the AD1896 upsampler in some DACs above $1K (and some other very expensive boutique CD players above $3K too), and the AD8397 has an output power higher than most op-amps (the trade-off is that it sucks battery life faster than other op-amps, but HeadAmp has spec'd the Pico at 20 hours which should be enough for most), and it also has a built-in buffer which is almost necessary to drive high-impedance headphones. Well the K701 isn't rated very high but as any owner will tell you it drives like a high-impedance headphone regardless. These parts definitely make the Pico adequate enough for the K701 - granted I've always been a proponent of AC-powered stuff (and recommend it for those who aren't limited to battery-powered amps) but when it comes to the portables, the Pico is one of the best yet on specs alone. You'll have a hard time finding another product as small as it with as good parts!

 

[immtbiker]

...and it's purty too. The case is a piece of art.

Although I feel I would want a bigger case for home use. Of course, the same amp/dac can be put in a larger chassis with some rocks and sell for $500 more

 

[Salt Peanuts]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...and it's purty too. The case is a piece of art. Although I feel I would want a bigger case for home use. Of course, the same amp/dac can be put in a larger chassis with some rocks and sell for $500 more

By some rocks, do you mean these?

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

More on the topic, I'd love one in gunmetal blue, though I must admit, I really have no need for one.

 

[tyrion]

Better late than never. I want to thank everyone that came from all over the States to share this weekend with us. Jp, Al, Aaron, Stephen, Ray, and Justin. You guys went above in beyond coming down here to support our meet. I want to welcome the new guys (no names until your second meet as we don't want to get too attached only to find out we scared you off ). This was another great weekend that I don't think could be duplicated anywhere but in Florida. As we say, these have gone well beyond meets. Rather, they are a gathering of friends who at one point during the gathering have a meet.

Let's get to some impressions. I spent a good 30 minutes with the Predator and Pico after connecting to Voltron's Macbook. I used a meter to volume match with my ED9 and played tracks from Sonny Rollins and Pink Floyd. Both these Amp/DAC combos are excellent. Which one you choose will be a function of what you are looking for in terms of a sound signature. The Predator is the more up front, punchy, aggressive amp, in the vein of the Hornet/Hornet M (I don't recall which it was closest to). If you like the Hornet you will like the Predator. I could easily use this amp in a portable setup if that was a focus for me. That job is occupied by my Rockhopper
Mini3 at the moment.

The Pico, as others have already said, does have a different sound than the Predator. It appears to have a wider soundstage and it is more laid back than the Predator. The sound is more refined. Another way to describe it might be more hifi sounding. My home amp for headphones and speakers is a Woo Audio WA5. It has WE 300b tubes and Ken Rad Black Glass 6SN7 (thanks to Voltron ). It has a more laid back, warm sound with a beautiful midrange. It is the sound signature that I prefer these days. There is also plenty of detail with the WA5 as there is with the Pico. In fact, on one of the tunes from Saxophone Colossus there is some noise from the strings of the bass that both the Predator and Pico picked up but with the Pico it was more palpable. The bass on both seemed to be just as deep but with the Pico it was better controlled at times. I am not saying that the Pico is tube like. The above comparison to the WA5 is for illustration only.

These amps are both going to do well but might appeal to different people for different reasons. They are clearly two different presentations and which you choose will depend a large part on what you are looking for. If I were to choose at this point, it would be the Pico. That doesn't mean the Predator isn't as good, it just means it's different.

I've had n_maher's Hertsens DAC and thoroughly enjoyed it. I will be sorry to see it go. I felt it easily rivaled the Transporter but would not replace my Cosecant. Nate did a great job with this DAC and should be applauded (as should Headroom).

thrice's Balanced Beta 22 was as good as I remembered it. I used it mostly with jp's balanced RS-1 and balanced HP-2. It was very well balanced and seemed to do everything right. For those waiting for one of these, you will be richly rewarded when yours arrives.

I listened to agile_one's TakeT H2 out of his Accuphase amp and the WA5. It was not fair as the WA5 was in a quiet room in my house and the Accuphase was in the living room with a lot of noise. I enjoyed them out of the Accuphase but preferred them with the WA5. I am certain that had the Accuphase been in the quiet room, there differences would not have been as pronounced. The Accuphase amp and cdp combo are just beautiful, by the way. I don't see the TakeT being a part of my collection. It doesn't seem to me to be a replacement for the K1000. I liked it, especially with the new pads, which gave somewhat of a seal compared to the original stock pads. Comfort was not an issue for me with the replacement pads. With the stock pads they feel as if they are going to fall off.

I agree with boomana regarding the PRII. I preferred it to the Diablo (which is not unexpected from what I remember reading about them both long before the Diablo made it's appearance). I don't see myself with a Diablo. I could see myself with a PRII as a desktop amp in my bedroom. The Xin Reference was nice but the SuperMini (little plasic one) that was supposed to be a giant killer was not very good, imo. There is no way I would consider it rivaling any of the other high end portables as some have said in the past that it does. I recognize it's a lot less expensive but I am commenting only relative to comments that it is as good as some of the higher end portables. While I am talking about the lower priced portables, the Rockhopper Mini 3 is a fantastic bargain. Thrice does a great job with this amp and should be selling like hot cakes.

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salt Peanuts /img/forum/go_quote.gif By some rocks, do you mean these?

Pebbles huh? Isn't that Fred and Wilma's daughter's name.

There must be at least 47 lbs. of those in our DV-50's because the damn thing is heavy

 

[SoFlaChris]

You are very observant, young Grasshopper.

First, the background noise. Unremarkable on both units. While I did not remove the sources, I did pause the music on both. There was no hiss or any noticeable artifact. Regretfully, I wish that I pulled the sources and turned up the amps into the IEMs, so that I can definitively state whether or not there was any hiss.

Next, the gain switches. While, I did try them on both, I spent more time with the Predator, so I'll comment on that one. There are 3 settings; 1, 4, and 11 (dB gain or attenuation, I assume). To the best of my recollection, the 4 sounded better, as I was allowed more flexibility in volume control and it was a tad warmer. The 1 was too "in my face" and 11 was a bit muted (provided that I was in the right mode... someone feel free to chime in). Anyway to answer your question, there was a very noticeable difference in the gain settings.

If I were to choose which amp/DAC I'd use with my IEMs, the choice would be the Predator, vis-a-vis the Pico. It was warmer and fuller.

If it was an amp only, I really liked the LaRocco Diablo.

Later Al...


Quote:

Originally Posted by Voltron /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey Tattoo Guy- Did you try out the Pico and/or Predator with your Super.Fi 5 Pros? Inquiring minds want to know -- such as, were they quiet in terms of background noise or did you hear any hiss?; how was the power/gain and did you try both Pico gain settings and all three Predator gain settings?; did one sound better to your ears and IEMs or did they have different strengths?; etc. I know you are still listening to your Berlitz tapes on speaking Audiophile, but you are the only one I can recall going around the meet with IEMs in. Simple, honest impressions are best anyway. Thanks Chris! Al

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoFlaChris /img/forum/go_quote.gif Right on, bro. The feeling's mutual. Geez, we never talked mountain bikes... Boy have I got some stories about riding on LI.

Rocky Point, Cathedral Pines or the Greenbelt.

At Rocky Point, there's still a tree with part of my wife's (BrownieLady) helmet stuck to it, when she did a "superman" and tree met Bell Snell 85 approved!