[rasmushorn]

I do not hear any warmth in the Concerto at all and I suppose it sounds almost the same as the Classic regarding sound characteristics. Neither does it sound cold at all. They are both what I would call perfectly neutral and they have the same weight and body as the Quickstep.
 
I do think that the Concerto is much better with T1 (600 Ohm) than the portable Quickstep and the two amplifiers cannot be compared when using high impedance headphones. Most of my listening these days are with the T5p and with other low impedance headphones the Quickstep (15V PSU) does a very good job and I am not sure I could tell the difference between the Concerto and the Quickstep driving the T5p in a blind test.

 

[zilch0md]

Quote:

"You might be wondering why I haven't tried the Meier Classic... It's because I've repeatedly heard that the Classic is warm"
 
????
 
The CLASSIC is not warmer than the QUICKSTEP. Just more powerfull and more resolving. And it has a very nice crossfeed!
 
Compared to most other solid-state amplifiers the CLASSIC is very "grainless". People may feel that as an increased warmth.
 
Cheers
 
Jan

 
 
Hi Jan,
 
I'm glad you jumped in on this one.  I don't doubt you for a minute when you say the Classic is neutral, not warm.  I should try the Classic myself instead of trusting other peoples' opinions.  
 
And, given my love for the Stepdance, I'm really pleased to put the Classic back on my list of "eligible candidates."
 

 
Apparently, the Classic does a very good job with the T1 (according to some posts I've read), but I sold my T1 after seven months of trying to find the right amp for it, without going to a tube amp, which is where most people seem to end up for the T1.)
 
Thanks for setting the record straight on the Classic.
 
Mike

 

[tsvo614]

Why not regulate the quickstep to 16 volts? Has anybody tried that?

 

[zilch0md]

I haven't, but I do recall Jan Meier saying once that it could handle up to 16V.  I'd rather leave a margin of error, myself.  And besides, if you check out the Texas Instruments datasheet for the OPA1611 (used in the Stepdance), it shows that THD + Noise are at their lowest with a 15V supply voltage, but begins to get worse again as the supply voltage goes higher than 15V, up to the absolute maximum that the op-amp can sustain - 18V.   I don't recall at what supply voltage the OPA209 (used in QuickStep and 2Stepdance) will enjoy the lowest THD + Noise, but it's pretty easy to interpret the charts in those datasheets (if you stare at them long enough.)   Keep in mind that just because an op-amp's absolute maximum supply voltage is 18V, that doesn't mean there aren't other circuits in the Stepdance that couldn't be damaged by 18V.  
 
I'm sticking with 15V as the maximum - just as is written near the power jack.
 
Mike

 

[cans4dessert]

I might be wrong, but when I opened up my Quickstep last time, i may have seen the capacitors to be rated at 16V.
just too lazy to open up again to check...

 

[tsvo614]

Okay. Great info! i ended up getting the xp8000a its upgraded version of xp8000. Supposedly has more power.

 

[tsvo614]

B@h has sale going on for 89 doller

 

[tsvo614]

Mike says noise gets worse if over 15 volts.. So why go higher.

 

[dryvadeum]

Dear Audionewbi,

most and for all CORDA amplifiers are ment to be very honest, but without any trace of harshness that so often is associated with solid-state electronics. Sound should be detailed and clean, without any artificial warmth or muddiness. Also background should be as silent as possible.

There are some differences between amplifiers though. The ROCK is an entry level amplifier and most likely will be combined with relatively cheap sources. Therefore its sound is slightly more forgiving than that of JAZZ or CLASSIC. But overall soundsignature of the CORDA range is pretty constant. The more expensive amplifiers simply provide more detail, more power and a more fluent sound.

Cheers

Jan

Hi Jan,

How many watts can the Concerto ouput into the LCD 2s 60ohm impedance compared to the Classic?

Thanks.

 

[audionewbi]

I am deciding between corda classic and quick step. I think quick step will pair great with Ak120 but than classic will be a much needed desktop am I need and it will pair great with style audio topaz. It seems like quickstep also needs to be hooked up with a PSU to sounds its best thus I feel the extra dollar is justified to pay in order to get Dr Meirs flagship. 
 
Decision, decision, decision. From an email I got from my friend no matter what I get it is a win-win situation but the desktop amp seems to be what he loves with his HD650 and his ATH lineup. 
 
Any IEM users of classic (sorry I know this is not a classic thread)? Would that amp be too powerful for IEMS?

 

[audionewbi]

Made my order to the quick step, looking forward to testing it. The original stepdance was the second amp I wanted to test after the minibox+ long time ago (wanting it for my ER4S), I guess it was kismet for me to get its younger brother many years later. 
 
Going to compare it directly against O2 and 627x. For source I will use VC DD socket 1 (muses01 edn), AK120 and ODAC and finally the style audio topaz which has amazing lineout. 

 

[vwinter]

Made my order to the quick step, looking forward to testing it. The original stepdance was the second amp I wanted to test after the minibox+ long time ago (wanting it for my ER4S), I guess it was kismet for me to get its younger brother many years later. 

Going to compare it directly against O2 and 627x. For source I will use VC DD socket 1 (muses01 edn), AK120 and ODAC and finally the style audio topaz which has amazing lineout. 

Cool, looking forward to it. In my experience the 15V vs 9V, will only become a factor with more power hungry stuff, YMMV. For IEMs I've tried, I hear little difference.

 

[audionewbi]

Quote:

Cool, looking forward to it. In my experience the 15V vs 9V, will only become a factor with more power hungry stuff, YMMV. For IEMs I've tried, I hear little difference.

Thanks, I will be doing a bit of battery testing as Mr Rudi seems to be a big believer of battery effect. I am crossing my fingers that T5p is a good pair for quickstep. 

 

[tsvo614]

15 and 9 volts is huge difference! I have shure iems and i feel the 15 volt sounds a lot Better than 9 volts!

 

[vwinter]

15 and 9 volts is huge difference! I have shure iems and i feel the 15 volt sounds a lot Better than 9 volts!

I hope you got the XP8000 then!

My philosophy is, if I don't think I can easily and consistently tell something apart in a blind test, I'm not making any claims of big audible changes. Hence my statement above, and a seemingly obligatory "YMMV."