[Nqstv]

Well, I got my Portable META from JMT today. I've been playing with it all evening and I have to say, It's not what I expected.

I pretty much listen to a portable setup 100% of the time. My goal is to eventually have the best possible sounding portable rig.

I've been using the Total Airhead for about a year now, and honestly, I love it. I like the crossfeed, Headroom is 100% right about it cleaning up the blobs in my head. I like the sound, although I didn't notice a great difference between it and the headphone jack on my NJB3, aside from overall volume.

With that experience, I wasn't expecting a lot of difference between the TAH and the META. I figured, "AMP" must mean more volume. I even asked about having a crossfeed added to the portable META because I figured that that is where the difference in soundstage and quality would come from, but it wouldn't fit. What got me hooked was the overall consensus on this board that there is a difference. So I bought the META.

So, I plug in the TAH with the ETY4S's to get my ears used to the sound and listen to some John Williams and some Acappella Jazz for about 15 minutes...Stop...change plugs and start up on the META.

OH MY GOD!!! Everything was cleaner, broader, more dynamic,...for those home theater enthusiasts out there, it was like my first impression going from VHS to DVD. I'll never go back. The portable META doesn't even need the crossfeed, it accomplishes better sound quality all on it's own.

I finally found an upgrade that gave me a distinguishable boost in quality. I'd even go so far as to say that this portable is the PERFECT match for the ETYs.

Oh and JMT ROCKS!! He is officially, the nicest, most helpful guy I've ever bought anything from.

 

[Sol_Zhen]

Quote:

Originally posted by Nqstv Oh and JMT ROCKS!! He is officially, the nicest, most helpful guy I've ever bought anything from.

He made a CHA47 for me some months ago. It was my first amp and still gets frequent use. He's a good guy to deal with.

I just built my first Meta and it's a darn good amp design. Enjoy yours!

 

[Knocturnal]

It seems like the META is better than the TAH in every way.

 

[tangent]

Quote:

It seems like the META is better than the TAH in every way.

The TAH is smaller, you can buy it immediately, it fits in all of Headroom's bags, and it has a unique crossfeed circuit that doesn't sound like the Linkwitz or Meier circuits at all.

 

[Knocturnal]

Quote:

Originally posted by tangent The TAH is smaller, you can buy it immediately, it fits in all of Headroom's bags, and it has a unique crossfeed circuit that doesn't sound like the Linkwitz or Meier circuits at all.

Sorry, I didnt go into detail, I just meant that they sound better. The sound is better in every way no the components, which are better than the components on the TAH

 

[charlesb]

Could you give some details on the spec for you META? I did the same upgrade from a TAH to a KurtW META (AD8620, double buffers) and I was **astonished** by how much better it sounded. All my listening is via ER4P, except occasional use of the ER6.