[Spankypoo]

This thing really sounds good...funny thing is, I went back to my iPod and GoVibe (w/OPA2227) a few days ago after a 2-3 week hiatus (been using the home rig primarily - not stuck in a library studying frees a guy up for such luxuries), and after coming back to it I was actually a bit disappointed.

The 2227 does work out to be quite harsh with the Etys, and switching back to the AD823 was the plan to fix that, but I haven't gotten around to it.

This thing was quite the cure for that. Such a good sound, and it's amazingly detailed sound. The bass of the 2227 was a bit bloated and lacked texture, but this has quite fixed that. And the crossfeed, on some stuff, is almost a revelation...

 

[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AboveBeyond Thanks for the info Romanee. I saw their list price but it didn't give the shipping cost so I was indecesive of it. How many days did it take to arrive? I'm in Boston, so it'll probably be +1day to how many days it took for you.

Allied has a weird policy that they don't tell you the shipping costs until after you've ordered, unless you contact customer service and ask estimate or whatever modes of shipping interest you. Even reviewing my web order on their site only showed the basic unit price.

Including order processing and Priority Mail shipping (about $6) it took about 4 business days (around busy New Year weekend) to reach me in NYC. Priority mail is supposed to take about 3 business days, so I don't see why it should take longer to reach you. [They did not provide the USPS tracking number so I couldn't check its progress.] Priority mail is the most cost-effective and practical ship method for me. Their other shipping modes can get very costly.

I had previously e-mailed customer service with a lead-time quote for 3 modes of UPS and got a quick reply with the following info -- you'll probably have your own local rep -- shockingly expensive compared to $6 for Priority Mail:

"Item is stock in Texas,

UPS RED Next Day 40 dollars
UPS BLUE 2 day 35 dollars
UPS Orange 3 day 30 dollars.

Plus all Taxes.

Kenneth Noga
Account Representative
Allied Electronics
305 Northern Blvd., Suite 301
Great Neck, NY 11021
phone : 516-487-5211

fax : 516-487-5251

Toll Free in 5 Boroughs and Nassau 1-800-433-5700"

 

[Romanee]

So far, I've found that although subtle, crossfeed has positive benefits on recordings that have very pronounced deficiencies and very wide soundstage. The best example thus far is Bill Evans Trio Live "Waltz For Debby" -- "Milestones", where without crossfeed the string bass is placed low and behind my left ear (weird!) and the piano behind my right ear with a huge gap between and the cymbals splashed all over the place. Crossfeed puts the bass in front of my left ear at a logical vertical position, the same for the piano on the right side, and the cymbal much more focused towards the left/back of the stage, and it creates a more realistic onstage picture that is so much less disturbing and more fun to listen to. Of course this is only through my AKG K501s/Zu Pivot, etc. I got the same result from via iPod 4G 40GB and via Sonica USB (mod).

Obviously, on other recordings without such pronounced anomalies the crossfeed effect was virtually nil.

 

[AboveBeyond]

I went ahead and ordered the Elpac via 1st Priority Mail. Lets see how long it'll take to get here. Thanks for the help Romanee.

 

[DCnphones]

My Elpac arrived from Allied here in Northern Il. pretty quick via standard shipping. (a day before my corda)

 

[AboveBeyond]

Does the plug fit or will it require the replacement that came with the amp?

 

[DCnphones]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AboveBeyond Does the plug fit or will it require the replacement that came with the amp?

You'll have to mod the replacement. I did it with great success yesterday, and had no solder experience prior

 

[walkman666]

EDIT: Got it this eve. Nice! Sorry for the false alarm.

- walkman66

 

[hassy500]

Just got mine in the mail today after a failed delivery notice from USPS via e-mail.

I can honestly say there is a sizable difference vs headphone out with Sharp MD-33's. With only a couple of hours burn-in, noticably deeper bass and things have a "smoother" (read less metallic) sound. Soundstage with the crossfeed is definately to my likeing; highs are a little rolled off, but it's awful early for conclusions. I've listened to everyting from Aerosmith/Zep to Miles/Coltrane to Brubeck/Schubert.

Mighty nice little combo for portable fun; now I can put together a small dynamic rig to try out against my little Stax 005 rig. May have to check out a nice mini-mini and some AKG's

Thanks again Jan and Jude for making so many people happy!

Edit- Just put the amp in class A mode. Not sure if I can tell a difference, but maybe I should have waited a bit. That's me, Mr. Self-Restraint.

 

[AboveBeyond]

For some reason, I get an "unknown object" error when trying to load up the pdf manual file. Nothing shows up on the first page. Can someone tell me whats on it?

 

[Velvet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AboveBeyond For some reason, I get an "unknown object" error when trying to load up the pdf manual file. Nothing shows up on the first page. Can someone tell me whats on it?

Some kind of corrupted file, try this one http://ipodstudio.com/cms/media/pcmkii_manual.doc

 

[AboveBeyond]

Thanks for the word manual Velvet.

I"ve been connecting my "headphone" socket to the amp's "input" socket. My iRiver doesn't have a "line-out" so I can't connect it throught that.

I've noticed that any when the amp is off, I can still hear music at very low volume. Is this normal?

What would be the optimal way to setup the amp with my iRiver (iFP-900s) player?

 

[ru4music]

RX'd my Corda today, nice little amp. No formal sonic impressions yet, because I have only been listening to laptop/internet audio steaming->Corda->HD490s.

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AboveBeyond Thanks for the word manual Velvet. I"ve been connecting my "headphone" socket to the amp's "input" socket. My iRiver doesn't have a "line-out" so I can't connect it throught that. I've noticed that any when the amp is off, I can still hear music at very low volume. Is this normal? What would be the optimal way to setup the amp with my iRiver (iFP-900s) player?

Good question. I have the same question with respect to my Rio Karma (I am also connecting to the headphone out), and haven't been able to get an answer on this thread or on a similar thread in the Portable Audio forum. It might make sense to start a separate thread here or in Portable Audio about what the volume setting on various MP3 players should be when using the headphone out and a portable amp. I know at least two others who have the same questions.

 

[Juergen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AboveBeyond I've noticed that any when the amp is off, I can still hear music at very low volume. Is this normal?

Once I forgot to turn on my preamp (which was feeding my headamp) and didn't know it. I could barely hear the music and it sounded awful. I thought there was something wrong with my amp. As soon as I noticed, I switched the preamp back on and all was well. I'm guessing that some of the signal makes it through the electronics in the amp even though it isn't powered up.