[FreeBlues]

As many know, the Lisa III is considered one of the best, if not the best, portable/transportable amps. I cenrtainlly consider it the best. One "problem" is it was not designed nor intended to be used with ultra-sensitive IEMs. I think I've found the "ultimate" solution!

First, I've owned my Lisa III for almot 2 years. During this time I've had many of the newer, top level amps (Pico, IQube, P-51, SR-71 etc.), but the Lisa still bests them all. I listen exclusively with IEMs - UE11's - combined with an iMod and outboard caps. I also use my rig portably, all the time, at the gym, 2 to 3 hours per day. Yeah, this setup is big, bulky and heavy, but it sounds so good I mostly don't care.

Now the Lisa with IEMs is barely able to get much past 8:00 on the volume dial before it gets too loud. Minute twitches of the volume dial produce noticeable results, meaning a very steady hand is required in adjusting the levels. I initially contacted Brad at Triad and asked his advice. He directed me to Head-Fier "qusp" (Jeremy), said he was working with Triad and could help me out.

Well, help he did! The solution is large, not cheap, but the results are quite surprising.

With the attenuator in (it's also a quarter inch-to mini adapter) the Lisa III volume dial now runs around 10:00 to 11:00. It's far less sensitive to minute adjustments. I was not prepared for the sonic differences. In particular, the bass has been drastically modified. Before, the Lisa III and UE11 combo could be, and often was, quite bass heavy. This produced a warm, musically satisfying sound, but not quite true to the recording. Many songs I wished I could turn trhe bass down a notch or two.

No longer. Now I find I actually add bass to some songs, a wonderful feature. The Lisa seems like it has really opened up, detail is better, it sounds quicker, there in an added degree of clarity. As always, the treble is simply phenomenal, the best of any amp I've ever heard, by far.

Props to Jeremy, he's been great to deal with and does great work. If you own a Lisa, or are considering one, you owe it to yourself to check this thing out!

 

[Bolardito]

Hmm interesting.. I use an Apuresound attenuator 1/4 to mini (30 ohm resistance) which works wonders with the Lisa III and the JH13 (it still hisses a little with the UE11). How different would be qusp solution? is a regular attenuator or does it has something special to make me consider getting it?

 

[jamato8]

I don't understand. Is this an external attenuator or do you replace the existing one?

 

[Bolardito]

I'm almost positive is an external attenuator.. could you post some pictures of it or give us more description of product..i might be interested on getting one.

 

[jamato8]

If external, is the internal one bypassed or is this an in line attenuator? Seems like some resistor changes to do the trick.

 

[paulybatz]

Please quell my curiousity as well!!!!!
I was just talking to Brad today for quite a while, Im surprised this didnt come up in conversation!

 

[rasmushorn]

When I had the SE530 I used the included attenuator and it also worked allright. I do not think it made the sound better though - only took away the hiss and made listening levels tolerable.

 

[qusp]

^^ SE530 attenuator uses a cheap varistor or pot, not a set value audio resistor (100ohm S102 in this case)

 

[Remitrom]

The Lisa III was designed for hard to drive headphones & pass only the PURE signal,
giving the absolute best Sound Quality limited only by 18 volts!
For those that use easy to drive IEM's, adapting the aforementioned attenuator ,
would optimize use with IEM's !! and still be able to go back to the regular set-up.
This is a great adaptation !! I have asked Phil, and he concurs this should work as described.

 

[Bolardito]

Yes but we still lack info regarding the product. i have an Apuresound attenuatro, how different/better is this one? any pictures will be very appreciated

 

[qusp]

I cannot post pics in here; it would be against the MOT guidelines, if you wish info please PM me. my MAC power supply died a couple weeks ago and only just got back online, so the website is not far away, was nearing completion when this happened.

 

[idczar]

Would be interested in seeing how this Lisa Attenuator actually work.. is this just putting additional impedance essentially? wouldn't there be frequency response change because of that?

 

[qusp]

errrmmm all the info you need to know how it works is above. it works just like any other attenuator, it attenuates. it changes the output impedance of the amp, but with higher quality resistors, wire and connectors than normally used, simple as that.

and to add to your question, sure if heaps of added resistance was added you could risk changing the FR (depending on the headphones and possibly crossover), but the value used is quite low, just enough to get rid of hiss and give a little more control for adjusting the volume. ideally you would change the resistance before the pot, but this is about as close as we can get to that without doing it

 

[RockinCannoisseur]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif errrmmm all the info you need to know how it works is above. it works just like any other attenuator, it attenuates. it changes the output impedance of the amp, but with higher quality resistors, wire and connectors than normally used, simple as that. and to add to your question, sure if heaps of added resistance was added you could risk changing the FR (depending on the headphones and possibly crossover), but the value used is quite low, just enough to get rid of hiss and give a little more control for adjusting the volume. ideally you would change the resistance before the pot, but this is about as close as we can get to that without doing it

i know youlove takin your d10 on the go using toslink adapter, that is Boss!

but how is the synergy with the d10 and the lisa,, im planning on using my dac and feeding that to the lisa, what the best chord to use from a 1/4 inch jack from my dac? do you have the LLP, do u have to get that? what would be better and or cheaper?

thanks- you have excelent taste in gear