[x3dnd3x]

Anyone requested the Stepdance to be shipped by DHL instead of the normal standard shipping ? I received an email from Jan with the given parcel serial number but i can't seem to track it tho .

 

[Woody469]

Skylab definitely knows his stuff. The Stepdance arrived today and even straight out of the box I'd have to say it's one of the best if not THE BEST amplifier (portable) I own.
 
Definitely a home run for genius Dr Jan Meier.

 

[Anaxilus]

 

[cooperpwc]

Nice, Woody. I am still waiting here is China.
 
Looking at the technical details and instruction manual now posted on Jan's Stepdance page, I like that the selection of the gain and current modes is switch-based from inside the battery compartment. No jumpers. (I like the gain switch being inside the battery compartment. Recessed switches are also okay. I don't understand some of the designs out there that where you can accidentally crank the volume through your IEMs by knocking an exposed switch.)
 
It is revealed: the Stepdance uses five (!) single OP1611 opamps. The technical details and photos all look great. Patience is a virtue, I tell myself...

 

[average_joe]

I am glad you have it Woody and am looking forward to comparing notes.  Mine will hopefully be here tomorrow or Saturday, but if I have to wait until Monday, I am used to waiting!  This amp does have me much more excited than the other amp I am waiting for!

 

[bigwoof]

mine just arrived today, but I'm saving the opening until tomorrow.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I am glad you have it Woody and am looking forward to comparing notes.  Mine will hopefully be here tomorrow or Saturday, but if I have to wait until Monday, I am used to waiting!  This amp does have me much more excited than the other amp I am waiting for!

You know of course what the expectations of you are.  I know I don't have to say it.  

 

[Woody469]

Quote:

  This amp does have me much more excited than the other amp I am waiting for!

Gee, I wonder what amp that could be............lol    This Stepdance sets the bar really high, higher than I expected. It's a real performer.
 
 One thing though, get your 9 volt rechargeables ready because the Stepdance will drain em fairly quickly. Luckily there are some really good batteries out there. I'd still appreciate hearing from experienced users to hopefully determine which brand is the undisputed best.

 

[average_joe]

What amp has kept people waiting the 2nd most?  Yes, Dr. Xin wins on not delivering amps, but geez, I did not expect this!
 
Thankfully other amp makers such as Jan are very good at customer service AND amp building!
 
But the real reason for my post was to ask about rechargeable 9V batteries.   It seems there are 2 types, 9.6V up to 260 mAh and 8.4V up to 500 mAh.  Which is better for this amp and run time?  Here are some I have looked at: 
[size=medium]IPOWER 9.6 VOLT 230MAH BATTERY - higher voltage, but the amp can run with a supply voltage of 15V, so should be OK, especially at the low current setting.[/size]

Card Tenergy 9V 250mAh NiMH high capacity rechargeable Battery - good price/performance?

9.6V 260mAh Titanium NiMH Battery
Rayovac Hybrid - no maH rating
[size=medium]

IPOWER 9V RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM POLYMER​

[/size]

- 500 mAh but runs at 8.4V max (down to 6.5V) - thinking about this and running the amp in high current mode​

 
Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated.  I guess I should shoot Jan an email asking...

 

[bigwoof]

okay. just opened up the packaging.
 
burning in the amp now, but it does sound different than the Corda Move (1st gen) that it is replacing.  in general, everything seems tighter but the old move's soundstage is better at the moment (probably because that is fully burnt in with the crossfeed on). Overall, I like the amp.
 
The new battery compartment does take a bit of getting used to. did not expect to have to use so much force to get it to close with a battery inside.
 
oh, and one "bonus" is that the stepdance is about 6cm shorter than the old move. did not expect that.

 

[Woody469]

I've had to "strip" a few batteries of their outside casing. (actually while I was trying to carefully insert the battery the "skin" came off) What's left is a black cube with + and - on the top. Three of my 6 Tenergys couldn't pass muster and wouldn't even turn the amp's power light to blue.
They were unceremoniously thrown in the circular file.
 
I think I am going to try the 9.6V type, as they are supposed to outperform the rest. Thank you average_joe for your research to date and links.
 
Battery consumption aside, this is an amazing amp

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

 
oh, and one "bonus" is that the stepdance is about 6cm shorter than the old move. did not expect that.

bigwoof, do you mean 6 mm ?

 

[nlhk]

With ES5 (a very sensitive iem) and the amp set at low gain, I only start hearing some hiss noise if I turn the volume past 2:00. However I probably only listen to volume level without passing 11:00 when using ES5.
 
For battery compartment, the main thing that I need to get used to is that the battery door does not attach to the amp after opening. This may be inconvenient if you want to change the battery while on the move.
Another point to note is that when switching off the amp, you may heard a modestly lound noise if you are using a sensitive earphone.
 
Other than the above two, StepDance is the best portable amp among others that I owned.
 

 

[Anaxilus]

Hope to hear a bit more detail once these are burned in other than 'best' or 'amazing' in the future.

 

[Woody469]

Quote:

Hope to hear a bit more detail once these are burned in other than 'best' or 'amazing' in the future.

I think Skylab articulated best the sonic characteristics and abilities of this amp.. It would be difficult to expound further on his assessment without being redundant.
 
As far as pairing with other equipment, one combination (of many), is especially enjoyable. That would be the usb out from my Dell XPS laptop into the Pico standalone DAC into the Stepdance out to the Grado GR8. This combination gives the GR8's better bass weight, extension and control as well as helping with it's retrieval of detail and especially instument seperation. Talk about an upgrade to that holographic presentation I've become addicted to !  So those things with that setup greatly improved the GR8. I knew the GR8 was good but the Stepdance pushes them to a whole new level.
 
Oh, and one more thing I find interesting. When the battery gets low, the sound does not just fade to silence right away. Nope. It emits a clickclickclickclickclick that at first had me  wondering if something was wrong. When the (2) 9 volt batteries on my SR-71A are exhausted, that amp just distorts for a few seconds and then fades to silence.