[rasmushorn]

I finally found a place here where there is no 3G coverage but only Edge and here there is still audible RF-noise in the Quickstep. 
 
Still it is much better in shielding the 3G / WiFi RF-noise I always hear on the iQube. But for old networks it is the same so the complete BLACK background I mentioned before is not the case if you are often in areas with low coverage. Saying this I am not sure where the noise is introduced - it might be into the LOD cable or the Lightning-->30-pin adapter in between? So whether the Quickstep can help this I do not know?

 

[Mediahound]

I have an older headsix that I'm very happy with, my question is do the 2stepdance or quickstep sound different/better?

 

[cooperpwc]

I have an older headsix that I'm very happy with, my question is do the 2stepdance or quickstep sound different/better?

I also own the Headsix. It's a nice little amp. And yes, the Stepdance/2Stepdance/Quickstep are a significant step up. I'm guessing that you will be happy with the upgrade.

 

[Mediahound]

Quote:

I also own the Headsix. It's a nice little amp. And yes, the Stepdance/2Stepdance/Quickstep are a significant step up. I'm guessing that you will be happy with the upgrade.

Would you be able to describe any sonic differences between all 3 amps? Does one drive over the ear headphones better than another?

 

[Mediahound]

Also, do these amps sound better when using a power supply or is it the same as when on battery?

 

[zilch0md]

Quote:

Would you be able to describe any sonic differences between all 3 amps? Does one drive over the ear headphones better than another?

 
I've never heard the 2Stepdance or the Quickstep, but I think the general consensus is that they they sound very similar to the original Stepdance.  Jan Meier has said that the 2Stepdance offers no improvement in sound quality over the Stepdance, only some added features (extended battery life, an external gain switch, a smaller flatter case).  The Quickstep is identical to the 2Stepdance but for adding RF shielding and more rugged TRS jacks.
 
If anyone discovers I've made any omissions or errors, here, please join in.
 
Quote:

Also, do these amps sound better when using a power supply or is it the same as when on battery?

 
It all depends on the efficiency of your headphones.  If you are using efficient IEMs, for example, any of the three amps you've mentioned will sound just as good using the 9V internal battery as using a 15V external battery or power supply.  As you go to less efficient headphones, like the LCD-2, you can readily hear an improvement in bass control and even more detail in the mids, with increased dynamics (more slam or punch when a signal demands lots of power.)  Increasing the supply voltage increases the Watts rms per channel.  
 
Mike

 

[Mediahound]

I've never heard the 2Stepdance or the Quickstep, but I think the general consensus is that they they sound very similar to the original Stepdance.  Jan Meier has said that the 2Stepdance offers no improvement in sound quality over the Stepdance, only some added features (extended battery life, an external gain switch, a smaller flatter case).  The Quickstep is identical to the 2Stepdance but for adding RF shielding and more rugged TRS jacks.

If anyone discovers I've made any omissions or errors, here, please join in.


It all depends on the efficiency of your headphones.  If you are using efficient IEMs, for example, any of the three amps you've mentioned will sound just as good using the 9V internal battery as using a 15V external battery or power supply.  As you go to less efficient headphones, like the LCD-2, you can readily hear an improvement in bass control and even more detail in the mids, with increased dynamics (more slam or punch when a signal demands lots of power.)  Increasing the supply voltage increases the Watts rms per channel.  

Mike

Thanks for the info. Interesting.

I was listening the other day to the Headsix on battery to my LCD2s and it sounded great. I will have to try with a power supply now!

 

[cooperpwc]

The Stepdance/2Stepdance/Quickstep are of the same class of amplifier. ( I have not heard the Quickstep yet but it is essentially a more robust 2Stepdance.) Compared with the Headsix, the neutral Meier sound signature is much the same. If you want a colored sound, look elsewhere. However the Stepdance/2Stepdance/Quickstep are crisper, faster and put out a lot more power which leads to a fuller sound. They are also utterly black even with sensitive IEMs at any listenable volume. That is the beauty of the active balanced ground. The stepped attenuator also means that they have perfect channel balance even at the lowest volumes.
 
It is a substantial upgrade in my view.

 

[zilch0md]

Quote:

[snip]
 
They are also utterly black even with sensitive IEMs at any listenable volume. That is the beauty of the active balanced ground. The stepped attenuator also means that they have perfect channel balance even at the lowest volumes.
 
It is a substantial upgrade in my view.

 
Yes!  The Stepdance is pitch black!  
 
Check this out...  I've really been enjoying my CEntrance DACmini CX (with the 1-Ohm impedance mod) into the LCD-2 - and have often said that CEntrance and Meier Audio seem to have similar design goals - neutral transparency. 
 
A while back, however, just for fun, I plugged my SE530 (IEM) into the DACmini CX and could hear a very, very faint hiss at normal volume levels - this is happening despite the fact that my DACmini CX has the 1-Ohm output impedance mod.  I paid an extra $100 for that mod, not for the purpose of listening to IEMs, but because their default 10-Ohm output impedance does not fit the 8:1 ratio rule-of-thumb for use with the LCD-2 rev.1, which presents a 50-Ohm load, and I didn't want the warmer, less neutral signature that people say the DACmini CX has with the default 10-Ohm output impedance.
 
I'm sharing all of this for the sake of comparison.
 
Back to the Stepdance:  It is absolutely pitch black with my SE530 - at any volume level.   But the little Meier amp's abilities in this regard, relative to the CEntrance DACMini CX, were made more obvious when I recently had a chance to borrow the Final Audio Design Piano Forte VIII, and an earlier FAD dc-1601, that's even more efficient.   Both of these 16-Ohm earphones were nearly unusable with the DACmini CX, again despite having ordered it with the 1-Ohm output impedance mod.  
 
Not only could I detect a much louder hiss with the FADs than with the SE530, for the first time ever, I could hear a hum coming from the 15V inline voltage regulator of the WI15 cable that I use in combination with an Energizer XP8000 to power the DACmini CX.   When I replaced the 15V XP8000 power source with the DACmini's own switch-mode power supply, that hum went away.  But here's the punchline:  I have never heard that hum when using the same 15V XP8000 rig to power the Stepdance, not with the LCD-2, not with the SE530, and not with these ultra-sensitive FADs!  
 
The Stepdance has an inky black noise floor that stays that way no matter what you throw at it.
 
Mike

 

[zilch0md]

While I'm gushing about the Stepdance, I'm compelled to point out that when Skylab reviewed and ranked 56 portables amps, the Meier Audio Stepdance was the least expensive of five amps that he felt deserving of his "Level 1" ranking (tied for first place, essentially):
 
 
Quoting Review: Portable amp roundup! 56 portable amps reviewed and compared - FINAL update 12-20-10...:
 

Level 1:
 
Triad Audio Lisa III @ $600.00; Power supply is $350 additional/ Trian Audio L3 (newer version) 
MST Fi.Quest, @ $450 
Meier Audio Stepdance @ $350 
Ray Samuels Audio SR-71B @ $600 
Ray Samuels Audio The Protector (in BALANCED mode only), @ $475 
 

 
 
Here is Skylab's review of the Meier Audio Stepdance, written over two years ago.
 
Now, have a look at Skylab's Headi-Fi Profile.  (Rob: If you see this, it may seem I'm making a spectacle of your gear choices, but a lot of us have come to greatly respect and trust your ears!)
 
 

 
Rob's list of amps will certainly change over time, but at this writing, I find it very impressive that Skylab currently owns a Meier Audio 2Stepdance!  
 
The 2Stepdance is certainly in good company with those other amps, isn't it?
 
 

 
It's one thing for a guy like me to keep and sing praises to his Stepdance, a guy who has seriously auditioned less than five headphone amps in his entire life (desktop or portable), but Skylab has been around the block and then some. It's all subjective, of course, just because he likes it doesn't mean you will like it, but his choices are noteworthy, just the same.
 
Mike

 

[Vlooienuker]

Should I get this amp or the TTVJ Slim or the Headstage Arrow 4G? I love fast tight bass, smooth mids and heaps of details from the highs without harshness. I also really love natural timbre... Thanks!

 

[zilch0md]

Hi,
 
Quote:

Should I get this amp or the TTVJ Slim or the Headstage Arrow 4G? I love fast tight bass, smooth mids and heaps of details from the highs without harshness. I also really love natural timbre... Thanks!

 
I have no experience with the either the Slim or the Arrow 4G, so I'm unable to make a comparison, but as long as you're not intending to use the 2Stepdance or the Quickstep with really difficult to drive headphones like the HE-6, then I feel comfortable in recommending these Meier amps.
 
Mike

 

[cooperpwc]

Meier and TTVJ both make very good portable amps. Meier is blacker and a bit crisper. The TTVJ Slim is a bit warmer.
 
As for the Arrow, my mom always taught me that if you have nothing nice to say...  Well, in fairness, some people really like that high-THD colored sound.  

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

 
Yes!  The Stepdance is pitch black!  
 
Check this out...  I've really been enjoying my CEntrance DACmini CX (with the 1-Ohm impedance mod) into the LCD-2 - and have often said that CEntrance and Meier Audio seem to have similar design goals - neutral transparency. 
 
A while back, however, just for fun, I plugged my SE530 (IEM) into the DACmini CX and could hear a very, very faint hiss at normal volume levels - this is happening despite the fact that my DACmini CX has the 1-Ohm output impedance mod.  I paid an extra $100 for that mod, not for the purpose of listening to IEMs, but because their default 10-Ohm output impedance does not fit the 8:1 ratio rule-of-thumb for use with the LCD-2 rev.1, which presents a 50-Ohm load, and I didn't want the warmer, less neutral signature that people say the DACmini CX has with the default 10-Ohm output impedance.
 
I'm sharing all of this for the sake of comparison.
 
Back to the Stepdance:  It is absolutely pitch black with my SE530 - at any volume level.   But the little Meier amp's abilities in this regard, relative to the CEntrance DACMini CX, were made more obvious when I recently had a chance to borrow the Final Audio Design Piano Forte VIII, and an earlier FAD dc-1601, that's even more efficient.   Both of these 16-Ohm earphones were nearly unusable with the DACmini CX, again despite having ordered it with the 1-Ohm output impedance mod.  
 
Not only could I detect a much louder hiss with the FADs than with the SE530, for the first time ever, I could hear a hum coming from the 15V inline voltage regulator of the WI15 cable that I use in combination with an Energizer XP8000 to power the DACmini CX.   When I replaced the 15V XP8000 power source with the DACmini's own switch-mode power supply, that hum went away.  But here's the punchline:  I have never heard that hum when using the same 15V XP8000 rig to power the Stepdance, not with the LCD-2, not with the SE530, and not with these ultra-sensitive FADs!  
 
The Stepdance has an inky black noise floor that stays that way no matter what you throw at it.
 
Mike

 
That tiny bit of hiss with very sensitive IEM on the DACmini is what you get when you combine the 1 ohm mod with a gain of 8 (which is close to the medium gain setting on an SR-71b).  As you know, most portable amps offer an option of a gain of 1 or 2 in "low gain" mode for IEM, which wont amplify the background hiss as much.

 

[zilch0md]

Larry,
 
Quote:

That tiny bit of hiss with very sensitive IEM on the DACmini is what you get when you combine the 1 ohm mod with a gain of 8 (which is close to the medium gain setting on an SR-71b).  As you know, most portable amps offer an option of a gain of 1 or 2 in "low gain" mode for IEM, which wont amplify the background hiss as much.

 
Thanks for pointing that out.  I suppose someone could order the DACmini with a lower gain setting, as I could barely get the DACmini's volume control off of zero, when using the Piano Fortes.  
 
But:  Even the Stepdance (which I leave set to low gain all the time, even for use with the LCD-2 rev.1) had me working with only the first two or three of 32 steps on its volume control.
 
Quoting a post I made five days ago on the Piano Forte thread:
 

I don't know for sure if your Piano Forte IX is as sensitive as the PF VIII, but James' older dc-1601 (stainless steel) was considerably more efficient (louder at any given volume setting) than the PF VIII.  When using the dc-1601 with the DACmini CX' DAC, line out to the Stepdance on Low Gain, I could barely move the Stepdance volume control beyond the off position.  I literally had a choice of about the first three steps using the Stepdance's digital volume control.
 
With the PF VIII, I could go another couple of steps, but I was still confined to the bottom of the range - and again, that's with the Stepdance set for Low Gain, but with a full 2.0 Vrms coming in from the DAC.  

 
And yet....  
 
From that same post:
 

One thing I can say about the Stepdance is that it delivers a completely black noise floor to the PF VIII, where the amp section of the DACmini CX, as well as my iBasso PB2 amp, both caused some hiss, even at low volumes, with the PF VIII.

 
So, it's not as if the Stepdance was operating at 50% of its total volume control range, while the DACmini CX was in the lower 10% of its range.  Both volume controls were operating in the bottom 5 to 10% of their respective ranges, but the Stepdance was (is)  absolutely pitch black with those same very efficient earphones that were hissed with the DACmini CX..
 
Mike