[i_djoel2000]

Quote:

Where do these clowns come from?

he got a point, though

 

[cooperpwc]

[size=10pt]In my view, the equation of LAME V0 in an excellent portable rig with 'cheap table wine in expensive crystal wine glasses’ is OTT.[/size]
 
[size=10pt]However, it's also the wrong thread for this discussion which is why I pulled back before and stop again.[/size]

 

[estreeter]

I'm willing to bet that more Head-Fiers were conceived as a result of cheap wine than anything from Donald Trump's cellar. I spent the first few years of my life convinced that 'Jack Daniels' was a family member - then I learnt to read. Its all been downhill from there. 

 

[b0wl1ng]

Quote:

I'm willing to bet that more Head-Fiers were conceived as a result of cheap wine than anything from Donald Trump's cellar. I spent the first few years of my life convinced that 'Jack Daniels' was a family member - then I learnt to read. Its all been downhill from there. 

LoL.
 
 

 

[googleli]

How can I get the full energizer 15V pack without shopping pieces here and there? I don't mind paying a small premium for an all-set-up Energizer 15V mod pack.

 

[pekingduck]

I don't think it's possible, unless someone here is kind enough to volunteer himself to do that 

 
Quote:

How can I get the full energizer 15V pack without shopping pieces here and there? I don't mind paying a small premium for an all-set-up Energizer 15V mod pack.

 

 

[cooperpwc]

Googlei, did GG succeed in selling the Energizer system that was FS?

 

[knowhatimean]

My apologies to all for interupting the discussion flow. I suppose I can be as "thin skinned" as anyone at times . One more comment though & then "back to our regularly scheduled programming"(watched way too much tv as a kid). Learning to read does'nt lead us to our downfall , believeing most of what we read is accurate is what does that. I'm a cynic, but a "subjective cynic" (I hear most of you groaning, so back to the 2Stepdance discussion) . If you are using the Energizer XP8000 w/ this amp is there an appreciable difference between running the amp at 12v rather than the full regulated 15v. One more; Does the Energizer XP8000 come w/ a cable that will allow you to run the 2Stepdance at a full 'regulated' 12v ?

 

[SpudHarris]

I can't vouch for the energizer pack but I can tell you there is a small improvement when using a regulated 15v linear PSU. Not massive but I am starting to notice a difference now my ears have burned in.
 
I bought the PSU in readiness for the arrival of my 2Stepdance and I'm glad I didn't shell out for the XP8000 also because the difference to my ears is marginal and most of my portable listening is on the go (walking etc..) so not critical listening. The difference for the original Stepdance may be bigger and it certainly seems that way judging by the comments here but for me it's a PP3 in the amp and a spare in my bag when I'm out and then 15v linear PSU when sat at home.
 
My 2Stepdance is maturing into the most beautiful sounding amp, I listened (critically) at length last night with my ES5's > CLAS (all lossless) and it was the best listening experience I've had for months. Everything was just perfect, perfect, perfect. I've never been so tuned in and in touch with music via that rig as I am since getting the 2Stepdance. Money very well spent

 

[b0wl1ng]

Quote:

I can't vouch for the energizer pack but I can tell you there is a small improvement when using a regulated 15v linear PSU. Not massive but I am starting to notice a difference now my ears have burned in.
 
I bought the PSU in readiness for the arrival of my 2Stepdance and I'm glad I didn't shell out for the XP8000 also because the difference to my ears is marginal and most of my portable listening is on the go (walking etc..) so not critical listening. The difference for the original Stepdance may be bigger and it certainly seems that way judging by the comments here but for me it's a PP3 in the amp and a spare in my bag when I'm out and then 15v linear PSU when sat at home.
 
My 2Stepdance is maturing into the most beautiful sounding amp, I listened (critically) at length last night with my ES5's > CLAS (all lossless) and it was the best listening experience I've had for months. Everything was just perfect, perfect, perfect. I've never been so tuned in and in touch with music via that rig as I am since getting the 2Stepdance. Money very well spent

Will be even better this time next week Spud as its still burning in, I felt quite a large improvement in depth and detail with the Mascot though especially with the Denons.
Do you have the gain setting on low or high ?, the mascot is a snip though, very cheap,improves sound quality and saves on battery charging.
Back to the energiser pack, quite a few people have the energiser set up and are very happy with the increase in sound quality, I,m sure they will fill in the blanks for you.  
 
 

 

[knowhatimean]

Quote:

Will be even better this time next week Spud as its still burning in, I felt quite a large improvement in depth and detail with the Mascot though especially with the Denons.
Do you have the gain setting on low or high ?, the mascot is a snip though, very cheap,improves sound quality and saves on battery charging.
Back to the energiser pack, quite a few people have the energiser set up and are very happy with the increase in sound quality, I,m sure they will fill in the blanks for you.  
 
 

In addition to my HE-4s I also have a set of Denon AH-D5000 , so I'm about 90% sure I'll also pick up the Enegizer pack & use it at all times. (I don't make the distinction between portable & transportable. It all becomes portable to me. I'm not much of a casual listener. I'll take my things w/ me for a walk only if I'm going to stop somewhere & spend some time tuning out my surrounding & concentrate on my music. At my quickly advancing age I try as hard as I can not to trivialize some of the things I enjoy the most to fit some time frame between  other things on my schedule(or 'shedjule' as the Brits. pronounce it) Critical listening ... hmm.. I like to think of it as critical enjoyment. This being said I'm looking foward to my retirement. ( I probably won't be able to retire, given my expeditures for enjoyment)

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

I don't make the distinction between portable & transportable. It all becomes portable to me. I'm not much of a casual listener. I'll take my things w/ me for a walk only if I'm going to stop somewhere & spend some time tuning out my surrounding & concentrate on my music.
 
...Critical listening ... hmm.. I like to think of it as critical enjoyment.

 
Now there's something that we can truly agree on. For me, it's often coffee shops and a cigar. And I want my main kit with me.

 

[zilch0md]

 
Goglei,
 
Quote:

Googlei, did GG succeed in selling the Energizer system that was FS?

Paul's right (as usual).  

 
From recent correspondence with Girls Generation, a.k.a. GG, I know that he (she?) is still trying to find a buyer for a complete 15V XP8000 setup. It's like new, unused. Try sending him (her?) a PM.  He (she?) is in Vancover, Canada, so shipping could be expensive, depending on your location.
 
Mike
 

 

[zilch0md]

 
Hi knowhatimean,
 
Quote:

My apologies to all for interupting the discussion flow. I suppose I can be as "thin skinned" as anyone at times . One more comment though & then "back to our regularly scheduled programming"(watched way too much tv as a kid). Learning to read does'nt lead us to our downfall , believeing most of what we read is accurate is what does that. I'm a cynic, but a "subjective cynic" (I hear most of you groaning, so back to the 2Stepdance discussion) . If you are using the Energizer XP8000 w/ this amp is there an appreciable difference between running the amp at 12v rather than the full regulated 15v. One more; Does the Energizer XP8000 come w/ a cable that will allow you to run the 2Stepdance at a full 'regulated' 12v ?

 
The only benefits had by going from 9V to 12V or from 12 to 15V are those directly related to an increase in Watts output by the Stepdance.  Thus, if you intend to use the Stepdance or 2Stepdance primarily with efficient IEMs (as SpudHarris does), you will likely find that even an internal, 8.4-Volt rechargeable battery sounds just as good as a 15-Volt external supply - because the 8.4-Volt powered Stepdance or 2Stepdance delivers plenty of Watts to handle an efficient IEM.
 
But if you will be using phones like the Audez'e LCD-2, or any relatively inefficient headphone, the difference in SQ with a Stepance powered at 12V vs. 9V is not subtle.  The difference between 15V and 12V is less so, but still readily noticeable.  This can be explained by the fact that, according to both the OPA1611 and OPA209 data sheets (Stepdance and 2Stepdance, respectively), an increase in supply voltage translates to a greater than linear increase to the output voltage sent to the phones.  In other words, if you increase the supply voltage by 50% you get more than a 50% increase in output voltage to the phones.
 
Quoting an earlier post I made to this thread:
 
 

Quote:

For example, you might assume that if you doubled the supply voltage, you would get double the output voltage to the headphones (and thus double the Watts for any given current that's being supplied at any particular instant in time).  But it's actually better than double! 

 

Let's go really deep...    I created an X-Y scatter chart in Microsoft Excel, plotting the three data points provided in Figure 4 for Supply Voltage (Vs)  vs. Maximum Output Voltage (Vpp), then applied a polynomial trendline to the resulting chart and queried the equation for that trendline.  Here it is:

 

      Max. Output Voltage (Vpp) = 0.1141*x^2 - 0.2816*x + 7.0561 

 
where x is the Supply Voltage (Vs) made available to the OPA1611   (and "x^2" means "x squared," for those unfamiliar with this syntax)
 

Here are the known data points taken from Figure 4 of the OPA1611 datasheet:

 

 

[size=inherit]

Actual
Vs (supply)	Vpp (output)
2.25	7.00
5.00	8.50
15.00	28.50

[/size]  

 

Here are the same data points with some additonal data points that were calculated using the above trendline equation, and a third column, that shows the % increase in output voltage enjoyed vs. an 8.4-Volt supply.

 

 

[size=inherit]

Estimated	% Vpp Improvement
Vs (supply)	Vpp (output)	Over 8.4V
2.25	7.00	n/a
3.00	7.24	n/a
4.00	7.76	n/a
5.00	8.50	n/a
6.00	9.47	n/a
7.00	10.68	n/a
8.00	12.11	n/a
8.40	12.74	n/a
9.00	13.76	8.0
10.00	15.65	22.8
11.00	17.76	39.4
12.00	20.11	57.8
12.60	21.62	69.7
13.00	22.68	78.0
13.80	24.90	95.4
14.00	25.48	100.0
15.00	28.50	123.7

[/size]  

In English, almost...

 

A   9.0-Volt battery (or PSU) will yield an   8.0% increase in Maximum Output Voltage (Vpp) to the headphones, relative to an 8.4-Volt LiPo rechargeable battery.

A 12.0-Volt battery (or PSU) will yield a   57.8% increase in Maximum Output Voltage (Vpp) to the headphones, relative to an 8.4-Volt LiPo rechargeable battery. 

A 12.6-Volt battery (or PSU) will yield a   69.7% increase in Maximum Output Voltage (Vpp) to the headphones, relative to an 8.4-Volt LiPo rechargeable battery. 

A 13.8-Volt battery (or PSU) will yield a   95.4% increase in Maximum Output Voltage (Vpp) to the headphones, relative to an 8.4-Volt LiPo rechargeable battery.  

A 15.0-Volt battery (or PSU) will yield a 123.7% increase in Maximum Output Voltage (Vpp) to the headphones, relative to an 8.4-Volt LiPo rechargeable battery. 

 

So... you can more than double the output voltage to your headphones (and thus, the Watts) by using a 15-Volt supply instead of an 8.4-Volt supply!

 

And a 15-Volt supply actually increases the output voltage (and Watts) by 41.8% over a 12-Volt power supply (even though the supply voltage has only increased by 25%, from 12 to 15)!  

 

 
To answer your second question:  Yes, an XP8000 comes with everything you need to power a Stepdance or 2Stepdance at 12 Volts, but unlike the 15-Volt setup, the 12-Volt supply will decay during use from 12 Volts down to 9 Volts.  You will only enjoy 12 Volts when it is operating on a fresh charge.  It's downhill from there.
 
With the 15-Volt setup, the XPAL Willy Cable WI15's inline voltage regulator will attenuate the 19-Volt output jack of the XP8000 to 15 Volts, holding it at a steady 15 Volts throughout the battery pack's discharge cycle.  So the input side of the voltage regulator will see the freshly charged pack fall during use from 19 Volts down to 15 Volts, but the output side of the regulator will yield a steady 15 Volts at all times.  In my opinion, this alone is a GREAT reason to get the WI15 cable and the Powerstream adapter needed to connect it to the Stepdance (or 2Stepdance) - IF you have inefficient phones that can take advantage of the extra power.
 
Mike
 
Edit:  Within the quoted section, above, I corrected a typo and enhanced the explanation of the equation    Max. Output Voltage (Vpp) = 0.1141*x^2 - 0.2816*x + 7.0561 
 
 

 

[tnmike1]

ZilchOmd: great chart for the battery'; now I wonder how the 9.6v battery would compare to the 8.4 v in your study.  My LiPo has an extremely long life in such eaters as the Portaphile and the Stepdance, but wondering if the additional power of the 9.6v would be worth considering as a minor "tweak"