[muckshot]

...and I'm floored. Granted I've only had the pleasure of about an hour's worth of listening time, not enough to convince the old timers around here, but I'm seriously thinking I may have come to the end of this little audio journey already. Paired with a decent source and my 770s which I wouldn't part with for the world, all my old reference tracks sound just fantastic. In fact, I think I prefer the combo over my stereo! Never thought I'd see the day...

I've been using a PA2V2 up to this point and although I feel quite strongly that it is an amazing little unit considering its price, the PINT with dual LM6172s evidently surpasses it every respect. Most noticeably, the bass is so much more impactful than before, a kind of impact I really didn't believe the 770 was capable of. The highs are also much improved, in the sense that I distinguish many different sounds clearly, even through a barrage of very heavy bass. And my god, the sound of trumpets is just stunning.

I will post some more comments when I've had a chance to put in some real listening time (waiting patiently for a power adapter that's in the mail) but I felt compelled to share these initial impressions. Thank you Tangent for the fantastic design! Thank you MisterX for the flawless build! Thank you Head-fi for all the insight and support! Thank you, you who furnished me with ears!

So is this the end?

 

[Fitz]

Congrats on finding your audio nirvana! I only wish I could've found something I liked so much far sooner

Do the smart thing and banish this website from your browser, because no matter how much you like the setup, somebody will manage to convince you it's not adequate, and that you need to spend much, much more money

 

[kramer5150]

The PINT with that OP amp is a silent killer. IMHO it thoroughly destroys many high $$$ porta-amps that are (IMHO) un-deservedly trendy on this forum.

I was absolutely floored when I heard another member's pints with my RS1.

Anyways.... enough of my rantings. Enjoy the amp!!

Garrett

 

[kugino]

glad you like it! my PINT is with the AD8397, which doesn't get as much love around here, but i really like it. the alien DAC/PINT combo out of my macbook is simply fantastic...

 

[Andrea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 The PINT with that OP amp is a silent killer. IMHO it thoroughly destroys many high $$$ porta-amps that are (IMHO) un-deservedly trendy on this forum. I was absolutely floored when I heard another member's pints with my RS1. Anyways.... enough of my rantings. Enjoy the amp!! Garrett

I don't know... the LM6172 doesn't look so nice to me anymore.

Both my Go-Vibe v5 and my PengAmp have it (actually the latter has two LM6171), and are not favorites in my collection. They somehow lack refinement (*), some timbral truthfulness, & some midbass->atmosphere.


(*) I could attribute this to the really low quiescent current of these op-amps relatively to their speed & output current -- around 2.5 mA.

 

[jimmyjames8]

Are you inferring by your post that Mister X still builds Pints and if so how much $ ?

 

[muckshot]

Thanks for the posts guys, still waiting on the power adapter so I haven't been able to put in any more listening time with the unit, but I sure will...

To fellow PINT owners or anyone else in the know, I'm still unclear on the specifics of charging the unit: the PINT I have here uses a single 9V rechargeable (ACCUPOWER 9V 270 mAh NiMH), and the AC adapter I have on the way can be found here . Can anyone tell me how long I ought to charge the unit, or perhaps the maximum amount of time it's safe to leave it charging? I'm assuming there is no 'auto-off' feature once the battery is full...

jimmyjames8: I think you'd be much better of addressing your questions to MisterX directly as I cannot speak for him

 

[kugino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by muckshot Thanks for the posts guys, still waiting on the power adapter so I haven't been able to put in any more listening time with the unit, but I sure will... To fellow PINT owners or anyone else in the know, I'm still unclear on the specifics of charging the unit: the PINT I have here uses a single 9V rechargeable (ACCUPOWER 9V 270 mAh NiMH), and the AC adapter I have on the way can be found here . Can anyone tell me how long I ought to charge the unit, or perhaps the maximum amount of time it's safe to leave it charging? I'm assuming there is no 'auto-off' feature once the battery is full... jimmyjames8: I think you'd be much better of addressing your questions to MisterX directly as I cannot speak for him

you can leave it plugged in and there should be no problem. the internal charger has a "smart" charge feature that goes to "maintain" once full charge has been reached.

 

[muckshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kugino you can leave it plugged in and there should be no problem. the internal charger has a "smart" charge feature that goes to "maintain" once full charge has been reached.

Smart indeed! Well that's even better than I thought, thanks Kugino!

 

[nysulli]

yep, that charger will be fine, it just has to be ~3v higher output then your battery to account for voltage drops in the charging circuit

glad to see another member who's found nirvana so quickly, after i built mine i began to wonder just how much better an amp could get, maybe i'll find out when i finally get around to building an m^3, but even thats gotten pushed back until i get my hands on a decent dac

 

[KenW]

MisterX told me(if I remember correctly) that about 6 hours to full charge. I've played with it a bit and found that I get almost as much play from the pint as I do with the ZVM! Pleasant surprise.

As for performance, it's done well with everything I've thrown at it but didn't really do the PS1 justice but was a killer with kramers RS1?

Oh well, I guess you can't have it all. Still for the $$, it's a nice little amp.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea I don't know... the LM6172 doesn't look so nice to me anymore. Both my Go-Vibe v5 and my PengAmp have it (actually the latter has two LM6171), and are not favorites in my collection. They somehow lack refinement (*), some timbral truthfulness, & some midbass->atmosphere. (*) I could attribute this to the really low quiescent current of these op-amps relatively to their speed & output current -- around 2.5 mA.

Im willing to bet a good part of it is synnergy with my RS1 and Grados. IMHO Grados already have PLENTY of midbass and a "stuff going on". If anything, IMHO Grados need help at the ends of the spectrum.

The "stock" PINT OP amp configuration I found to be too colored (with the RS1)... It was stunning on a first impression. Sounds JUMPED out of recordings and kick bass packed some whallop, but... I think it was too forward and artificially thrusting sound forward with the RS1. There were subtle music passages that should have mellowed out and receeded to the background.. yet I found them slightly dominating the spectrum.

Subtle difference, but IMHO one worth noting.

But the pint really is a nice amp IMHO.

Garrett

 

[Andrea]

So it seems confirmed that the LM6171/2 match very well with Grados...

But for me, it's a matter of tonality more than anything else. The LM6172 has this greenish dominant color that's hard to digest for me - besides a certain synthetic character in the midrange. Perhaps the Grados somehow counteract this, while my Senns underline it?

 

[MASantos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kugino you can leave it plugged in and there should be no problem. the internal charger has a "smart" charge feature that goes to "maintain" once full charge has been reached.

This is true and false. The internal charger uses a LM317 regulator to set the charge current, which is always constant. It has no "smart charger" features are other amplifiers (specially those which use Li-On batteries). It doesn't know when the battery is fully charged and it doesn't reduce charging when it is fully charged to maintain full charge.

It is designed however to use a small charge current that will not damage you battery if you leave it plugged in for a long time.