[nazrin313]

New toy for my modest stack

 

[erics75]

New toy for my modest stack

very nice! the rs-08 can easily be end game for many people, it's a stunning amp. i have one and the v280 and the differences are not dramatic at all. subtle nuance at most, at least to me. congrats!

 

[Sebastian.Athea]

I'm considering buying RS-08 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bat...refrence-systems-corda-vs-lake-people.891588/ , @erics75 and @nazrin313 do you have any other amps that you can compare RS-08 with?

 

[erics75]

I'm considering buying RS-08 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bat...refrence-systems-corda-vs-lake-people.891588/ , @erics75 and @nazrin313 do you have any other amps that you can compare RS-08 with?

if you want a lot of detail i'll have to wait until after work when i have more time, but here's some quick opinions i have from my amp quests:

schiit magni 3 and lyr 3 - both warmer than the rs by a small margin. smoother, but hazier, less resolving. the rs has noticeably better dynamic range and soundstage. the rs is a clear step up in performance.

schiit mjolnir 2 various tubes - same overall performance tier, just different presentations. the mj has a bit more bass slam, though it's not as tight/precise as the rs. it also has more treble extension, but that extra extension doesnt make it sound more resolving to me. it just sounds more metallic. i find the rs smoother AND slightly more resolving. but the differences are not huge at all.

grace m9xx - similar to the magni 3, smooth, not offensive in any way, but dull. the rs outclasses it in all regards.

little dot mk3 forgot what tubes i had - not fair to compare honestly. the dot just sounds like a murky muddy mess compared to any of the other amps listed haha. sorry dot fans, i did not like mine at all.

aurlic taurus mk2 - this imo is an almost identical sounding amp! i know, i know, blasphemy! my buddy has one, and i've logged at least 200 hours borrowing it or listening with him. both are neutral, resolving, and high dynamic range amps. they don't sound exactly the same, that's an exaggeration. but i dont think i could be able to pick which was which in a blind test. they're that close to me. my buddy disagrees, but he's protective of his gear. and he listens with an hd800 whereas i listen with an atticus. so maybe the hd800 is resolving things my atticus cant. that's not a stretch, i owned the hd800 but sold it before the rs.

eddie current black widow - another of my friend's amps, but one i dont listen to much - i honestly don't care for this amp much, it's too warm for me. i found it with the atticus overwhelmingly warm. on the hd800 it's ok, but i found my friend's tube amps to sound better. just not my cup of tea, sorry. what i do remember though is despite the warmth, resolution was quite good. dynamic range was good, that was a very engaging amp. bass could slam like a hammer, treble could wail like crazy, and still soft background sounds would resolve when most other amps would not pick it up. this is a case of me just not liking the tuning, vs any shortcomings of the amp itself. it's a fine amp, you just gotta like a lot of warmth.

violectric v100 - if listening to the single ended (se) output, they're essentially the same amp. the rs is two v100 amp sections in one box for balanced output, more or less. going balanced is where the magic lies! increase everything, resolution, dynamics, soundstage. it's just overall better sounding in every way. same exact neutral signature though. if you're looking for added warmth, etc, you'll be disappointed. how big is the difference? imo easily noticeable, but not dramatic. maybe another 5% better?

violectric v280 (vio from here on out) (just bought, only two days listening so far, used unit broken in, take with grain of salt) ......different! i cant say better, i honestly cant! i know others will disagree, but imo it's just different. the rs is tuned to be neutral, as a studio reference piece. the vio is not intended as studio kit, it's warmer and more musical. the midbass on the vio is slightly elevated, and the treble slightly rolled off compared to the rs. it's smoother and more refined sounding though. though the treble sounds rolled off on the vio, it still seems to outresolve the rs by a hair. and even though the bass is slightly elevated on the vio, it still sounds more precise and better separated than the rs. but the gap is small. i mean SMALL. I am still not sure which i like more. i find the rs slightly more engaging because of it's better treble extension. and my headphone, the atticus, is WARM, which i feel pairs better with very neutral gear. the warm atticus and warm vio is almost too much. but i'm not sure yet, so give me a few weeks and i might think the opposite. i also have a dac upgrade coming in the mail (ayre codex), so i'm curious how they'll react to that dac, which is incredibly resolving. can the rs scale with it and still maintain such a close margin compared to the vio? we'll see!

imo the rs08 is a totl amp when using the balanced output. at this level, you're more chasing your preferred sound signature than you are chasing dramatic performance upgrades. the only way i could see someone not loving the rs is if they just don't like neutral solid state amps in general. hope that helps. no experience with the corda, sorry.

 

[Sebastian.Athea]

if you want a lot of detail i'll have to wait until after work when i have more time, but here's some quick opinions i have from my amp quests:

schiit magni 3 and lyr 3 - both warmer than the rs by a small margin. smoother, but hazier, less resolving. the rs has noticeably better dynamic range and soundstage. the rs is a clear step up in performance.

schiit mjolnir 2 various tubes - same overall performance tier, just different presentations. the mj has a bit more bass slam, though it's not as tight/precise as the rs. it also has more treble extension, but that extra extension doesnt make it sound more resolving to me. it just sounds more metallic. i find the rs smoother AND slightly more resolving. but the differences are not huge at all.

grace m9xx - similar to the magni 3, smooth, not offensive in any way, but dull. the rs outclasses it in all regards.

little dot mk3 forgot what tubes i had - not fair to compare honestly. the dot just sounds like a murky muddy mess compared to any of the other amps listed haha. sorry dot fans, i did not like mine at all.

aurlic taurus mk2 - this imo is an almost identical sounding amp! i know, i know, blasphemy! my buddy has one, and i've logged at least 200 hours borrowing it or listening with him. both are neutral, resolving, and high dynamic range amps. they don't sound exactly the same, that's an exaggeration. but i dont think i could be able to pick which was which in a blind test. they're that close to me. my buddy disagrees, but he's protective of his gear. and he listens with an hd800 whereas i listen with an atticus. so maybe the hd800 is resolving things my atticus cant. that's not a stretch, i owned the hd800 but sold it before the rs.

eddie current black widow - another of my friend's amps, but one i dont listen to much - i honestly don't care for this amp much, it's too warm for me. i found it with the atticus overwhelmingly warm. on the hd800 it's ok, but i found my friend's tube amps to sound better. just not my cup of tea, sorry. what i do remember though is despite the warmth, resolution was quite good. dynamic range was good, that was a very engaging amp. bass could slam like a hammer, treble could wail like crazy, and still soft background sounds would resolve when most other amps would not pick it up. this is a case of me just not liking the tuning, vs any shortcomings of the amp itself. it's a fine amp, you just gotta like a lot of warmth.

violectric v100 - if listening to the single ended (se) output, they're essentially the same amp. the rs is two v100 amp sections in one box for balanced output, more or less. going balanced is where the magic lies! increase everything, resolution, dynamics, soundstage. it's just overall better sounding in every way. same exact neutral signature though. if you're looking for added warmth, etc, you'll be disappointed. how big is the difference? imo easily noticeable, but not dramatic. maybe another 5% better?

violectric v280 (vio from here on out) (just bought, only two days listening so far, used unit broken in, take with grain of salt) ......different! i cant say better, i honestly cant! i know others will disagree, but imo it's just different. the rs is tuned to be neutral, as a studio reference piece. the vio is not intended as studio kit, it's warmer and more musical. the midbass on the vio is slightly elevated, and the treble slightly rolled off compared to the rs. it's smoother and more refined sounding though. though the treble sounds rolled off on the vio, it still seems to outresolve the rs by a hair. and even though the bass is slightly elevated on the vio, it still sounds more precise and better separated than the rs. but the gap is small. i mean SMALL. I am still not sure which i like more. i find the rs slightly more engaging because of it's better treble extension. and my headphone, the atticus, is WARM, which i feel pairs better with very neutral gear. the warm atticus and warm vio is almost too much. but i'm not sure yet, so give me a few weeks and i might think the opposite. i also have a dac upgrade coming in the mail (ayre codex), so i'm curious how they'll react to that dac, which is incredibly resolving. can the rs scale with it and still maintain such a close margin compared to the vio? we'll see!

imo the rs08 is a totl amp when using the balanced output. at this level, you're more chasing your preferred sound signature than you are chasing dramatic performance upgrades. the only way i could see someone not loving the rs is if they just don't like neutral solid state amps in general. hope that helps. no experience with the corda, sorry.

I would appreciate more info, but what you have written so far is already plenty and really helpful, thank you very much!
Most other RS-08 reviews suck, they just say that it's good without comparing it to anything.

 

[nazrin313]

The reason I bought the RS8 was simple really, I need a SS Balanced Desk amp (primarily to drive planars i have and in the future) and from reviews and this thread, it ticks much of the right boxes. I cant say much in terms of comparisons as the only desk top amp I have is the LDmkIV(special edition) and it is a glorious tube amp (IMHO), albeit being only single ended. However, Tube amps and Planars dont really play well together.

But from early impressions, this thing is hella powerful, at 0 preamp settings it drives my Paradox slants easily similarly to the LDmkIVse, in high gain settings, in terms of power. What I can say is that, the RS08 is very neutral. It's clean and precise. Another pro is that its very silent, no background noise at all even thou im connecting as an active pass through to all the other things I have on the pic.

I have it set up as follows, Laptop>Concero HD>RS8>(active passthrough no volume settings)>SRM252s>LDMKIVSE. Glorious!!!

 

[nazrin313]

if you want a lot of detail i'll have to wait until after work when i have more time, but here's some quick opinions i have from my amp quests:

schiit magni 3 and lyr 3 - both warmer than the rs by a small margin. smoother, but hazier, less resolving. the rs has noticeably better dynamic range and soundstage. the rs is a clear step up in performance.

schiit mjolnir 2 various tubes - same overall performance tier, just different presentations. the mj has a bit more bass slam, though it's not as tight/precise as the rs. it also has more treble extension, but that extra extension doesnt make it sound more resolving to me. it just sounds more metallic. i find the rs smoother AND slightly more resolving. but the differences are not huge at all.

grace m9xx - similar to the magni 3, smooth, not offensive in any way, but dull. the rs outclasses it in all regards.

little dot mk3 forgot what tubes i had - not fair to compare honestly. the dot just sounds like a murky muddy mess compared to any of the other amps listed haha. sorry dot fans, i did not like mine at all.

aurlic taurus mk2 - this imo is an almost identical sounding amp! i know, i know, blasphemy! my buddy has one, and i've logged at least 200 hours borrowing it or listening with him. both are neutral, resolving, and high dynamic range amps. they don't sound exactly the same, that's an exaggeration. but i dont think i could be able to pick which was which in a blind test. they're that close to me. my buddy disagrees, but he's protective of his gear. and he listens with an hd800 whereas i listen with an atticus. so maybe the hd800 is resolving things my atticus cant. that's not a stretch, i owned the hd800 but sold it before the rs.

eddie current black widow - another of my friend's amps, but one i dont listen to much - i honestly don't care for this amp much, it's too warm for me. i found it with the atticus overwhelmingly warm. on the hd800 it's ok, but i found my friend's tube amps to sound better. just not my cup of tea, sorry. what i do remember though is despite the warmth, resolution was quite good. dynamic range was good, that was a very engaging amp. bass could slam like a hammer, treble could wail like crazy, and still soft background sounds would resolve when most other amps would not pick it up. this is a case of me just not liking the tuning, vs any shortcomings of the amp itself. it's a fine amp, you just gotta like a lot of warmth.

violectric v100 - if listening to the single ended (se) output, they're essentially the same amp. the rs is two v100 amp sections in one box for balanced output, more or less. going balanced is where the magic lies! increase everything, resolution, dynamics, soundstage. it's just overall better sounding in every way. same exact neutral signature though. if you're looking for added warmth, etc, you'll be disappointed. how big is the difference? imo easily noticeable, but not dramatic. maybe another 5% better?

violectric v280 (vio from here on out) (just bought, only two days listening so far, used unit broken in, take with grain of salt) ......different! i cant say better, i honestly cant! i know others will disagree, but imo it's just different. the rs is tuned to be neutral, as a studio reference piece. the vio is not intended as studio kit, it's warmer and more musical. the midbass on the vio is slightly elevated, and the treble slightly rolled off compared to the rs. it's smoother and more refined sounding though. though the treble sounds rolled off on the vio, it still seems to outresolve the rs by a hair. and even though the bass is slightly elevated on the vio, it still sounds more precise and better separated than the rs. but the gap is small. i mean SMALL. I am still not sure which i like more. i find the rs slightly more engaging because of it's better treble extension. and my headphone, the atticus, is WARM, which i feel pairs better with very neutral gear. the warm atticus and warm vio is almost too much. but i'm not sure yet, so give me a few weeks and i might think the opposite. i also have a dac upgrade coming in the mail (ayre codex), so i'm curious how they'll react to that dac, which is incredibly resolving. can the rs scale with it and still maintain such a close margin compared to the vio? we'll see!

imo the rs08 is a totl amp when using the balanced output. at this level, you're more chasing your preferred sound signature than you are chasing dramatic performance upgrades. the only way i could see someone not loving the rs is if they just don't like neutral solid state amps in general. hope that helps. no experience with the corda, sorry.

Wow great!! Didnt know I had just bought a gem. Appreciate this post.

 

[Sebastian.Athea]

Wow great!! Didnt know I had just bought a gem. Appreciate this post.

How does the volume scale on different headphones without changing the gain settings? I'm leaning more towards the Corda, not because the audio quality, but because it looks like it would be easier to live with the gain switch on the front panel, I have phones ranging from 20 to 600 ohm.

 

[nazrin313]

I currently just own the Paradox Slants and its pretty hard to drive properly (being a T50rp mod).

at 0 gain settings, I need the pot to be at 1-2 o clock (60%). My LDMKIVSE at highest gain settings needed 60-70% (But mind you tubes dont play well with planars)
at +6db (3rd switch turned on), the pot was freaking loud at 45%
at +12db (4th Switch), 25% was freaking loud.

This was all on balanced thou.

 

[Sebastian.Athea]

This was all on balanced thou.

Why would you use RS-08 any other way

 

[nazrin313]

Why would you use RS-08 any other way

lol, thats the main reason I bought...single ended sounded meh to me (nothing special). Mind you this amp sounds dead neutral. No colouration at all. Basically you get an amplification of your upstream sound and of course your headphones.

 

[nazrin313]

 

[Ichos]

Any thoughts about the RS08 vs Mjolnir 2 for the HD800s?

 

[erics75]

Any thoughts about the RS08 vs Mjolnir 2 for the HD800s?

pretty similar actually. the mj with warm tubes can better soften the treble of the hd800. the rs is pretty much dead neutral, and wont be doing the treble any favors. if the hd800 was the only set you'll use, i'd personally go mj and tweak the sound with tube rolling. as far as straight technicalities go, the rs is a hair more resolving and dynamic sounding, but the differences are not dramatic. the biggest difference between them is the tube rolling option on the mj, which is why i give it the win. now if you don't care about tempering the 800's treble, then i'd go rs with a balanced cable.

 

[Ichos]

Thank you.
I already own mj2 and I am very pleased.
I was just thinking for solid state options just wandering about the differences.
Any comments about the lisst tubes vs the rs08?
Or the jot vs lisst vs rs08?
I only have HD800s and listen to classical music.