[seeteeyou]

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[FlySweep]

Originally Posted by seeteeyou /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Are any HD800 owners planning to get one?

 
..possibly.. I'm leaning that way.

 

[alejandro7]

Pico give the best customer service before the sale I've ever had. And judging from what I've read here he's done fine by other buyers after the sale as well. So I will be getting the V4 in about a month. I'm one of those mundane HD650 users...and I love their sound. Also have HD420s (still searching for replacements for sagging 30 yr old earpads on those). But the V4 will be quite a jump up for me with my cmoy altoid rig. The mail has my Voshkod tubes (6) on the way and two BB2107s to roll for my LD1+ and the cmoy. Looks like I'm developing a Jones for this fun if dangerous listening pursuit. Only mainstream Acoustic Jazz and very select Classical music need apply. Source is a Meridian 508.24 player but who knows I may just get the Music Server/DAC vein puncture. That part seems daunting. Pray your Rosary for me.
alejandro

 

[seeteeyou]

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[FlySweep]

I should have the V4 before the end of next week.
 
I really liked how the ADA4627 opamp sounded in my Leckerton UHA-6S MKII (I found it quite a bit better than the OPA209).  So, I asked Neco if it was compatible w/ the V4.  He was kind enough to source the chips and extensively test them in the V4 it for me.. and found the results were great.  So, my V4 will be sporting the ADA4627.  Do note that, like the AD8610 & OPA627 opamp upgrades, the ADA4627 will cost extra if you choose it over the standard OPA134 opamp.
 
As usual.. Neco's customer service was top notch: he's very polite, expedient, and communicative.  It mirrors the exact buying experience I had when I ordered the V3.  I'll most likely start a separate thread dedicated to the V4, just to keep impressions organized and indexed if more HF'er order it.

 

[vkvedam]

^ Cool, do let us know your impressions and findings compared to your V3. I have got V3 right now.

 

[FlySweep]

Originally Posted by vkvedam /img/forum/go_quote.gif

^ Cool, do let us know your impressions and findings compared to your V3. I have got V3 right now.

 
I don't have the V3 anymore (sold it quite some time back), so, unfortunately, I can't provide comparisons w/ it.

 

[jgwtriode]

Quote:

I should have the V4 before the end of next week.
 
I really liked how the ADA4627 opamp sounded in my Leckerton UHA-6S MKII (I found it quite a bit better than the OPA209).  So, I asked Neco if it was compatible w/ the V4.  He was kind enough to source the chips and extensively test them in the V4 it for me.. and found the results were great.  So, my V4 will be sporting the ADA4627.  Do note that, like the AD8610 & OPA627 opamp upgrades, the ADA4627 will cost extra if you choose it over the standard OPA134 opamp.
 
As usual.. Neco's customer service was top notch: he's very polite, expedient, and communicative.  It mirrors the exact buying experience I had when I ordered the V3.  I'll most likely start a separate thread dedicated to the V4, just to keep impressions organized and indexed if more HF'er order it.

Go Flysweep...awesome,  still loving my V3.   Have 600's showing up with the tour pretty soon!  Will have to stay in touch... looking forward to hearing your impressions on the V4.   Have you compared a BossFet by any chance?
 
Things are way up in the air right now.... I will PM you this weekend about everything.   The mononprice's are blowing my mind but I have yet to find a wide bore triple flange to allow my final nozzle mods.
 
Happy Listening

 

[FlySweep]

@James: Hey bud!  Yeah, we've definitely gotta catch up via PM.  I haven't heard the BossFet, so I can't offer comparisons w/ the V4.. but, speaking of which..
 
..the V4 arrived today!  I'll fire up a separate thread with pics and other relevant info soon (tonight?).  Terrific build quality, as usual.  I got mine in the silver case.. and it matches perfectly with the Schiit Uber BiFrost... all the way down to the matte finish.
 
How does it sound?  Spectacular.  It's driving my Fischer Audio FA-002w "High Edition" right now.. and I'm flat out stunned.  Effortless dynamic swings, precise control across the entire bandwidth, and a wonderfully neutral signature presented in a smooth, vibrant manner.. it's thoroughly engaging.  The dual mono setup is clearly something special: I've never heard a portable that's this spacious & images with such precision.  It even tops the lovely QUICKSTEP in this regard.  Bottom line: the sound SQ absolutely belies the size of the unit.
 
As noted earlier, I had the ADA4627 in the UHA-6S MKII.. and loved it.. so I had it installed with the V4.. and I couldn't be happier with that choice.  With the ADA4627 in the V4, I definitely hear the same 'voice' of this opamp as I did when it was in the UHA: a testament to how transparent both amp designs are.  Compared to the UHA, the V4 has a larger soundstage, and more 'grunt' behind presentation... while sounding every bit as transparent as the UHA.  I'm reminded an awful lot of the Violectric V200's sound.. which is a very good thing as it's probably my favorite 'full sized' solid state amp, to date.  I remember the V3 (which had 8610 opamps) sounding a bit glossier (not as resolving) and not quite as articulate as the V4.. the ADA4627 sounds like an advancement of sorts.. and the V4 enjoys, from memory, a noticeably wider, deeper, and taller soundstage w/ even better note weight and smooth dynamics.
 
I had Neco lower the V4's gain to 1.5x/4.5x (standard gain is 2x/5.5x, I think) to make the low gain setting a little more IEM-friendly.. so I'll grab the the JH13 to see how it drives sensitive IEMs.. then hook it up to the Violectric V800.  More thoughts coming as I settle in with this wonderful amp.

 

[amcananey]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. If you start a new thread for the v4, please post a link to that thread here.

Best regards,
Adam

 

[imackler]

If you start a new thread for the v4, please post a link to that thread here.
 

 
Seriously! I almost bought one tonight. 

 

[jgwtriode]

My ears are all a flutter. Have to swap in some AD 4627's in my V3 and compare. But I'm saving up for a Bossfet now, Sounds like 4627's are the way to go

 

[FlySweep]

It's early.. I guess I'm still in the honeymoon stage (though, I've heard enough (good and bad) gear to pretty quickly know if I've got something worthwhile).. but I'm absolutely smitten with the V4.  The soundstage, is quite simply, amazing.  Stunning depth, width, and height.. unlike anything I've heard from a portable.. that's for damn sure.  In terms of sound quality.. the transparency is the first thing that jumps out at you (after the soundstage).  This is especially apparent with the ADA4627.. which makes this amp sound like a chameleon of sorts.  The sound can go from bright, open, airy, and crisp.. to warm, smooth, full, and intimate.. all in a whim.  It "gets out of the way," so to speak.. and gives you a very clear picture of what's up- & downstream the V4.  What the V4 offers is extremely precise control, stunning dynamic ability, a life like presentation, and crystal clear transparency.
 
I haven't had a chance to run IEMs w/ the V4 all that much.. cause I've been flat mesmerized by how well it drives full sized phones.  The HD800 is away getting tweaked to run off a speaker amp (will be back on Monday), so my full-sized can use has just been with the excellent FA-002w "High Edition."  On the V4 product page, Neco mentions how the V4 is particularly suited to drive full-sized headphones.  From my experience so far.. he's wholly delivered on that statement.  Aside from being able to 'go loud' with inefficient phones (which practically any amp can do), the V4 separates itself from it's portable peers in that its presentation possesses a robust elegance that one would expect to hear from a very HQ desktop amp.  The FA-002w-HE is fairly sensitive (but has ~160 ohm impedance).. though it's QUITE picky with amps and DACs..in much the same way the HD800 is.  The V800/V4 combo has the 002w HE sounding positively majestic.  The accurate timbre, terrific speed, clarity, and resolution makes me want to listen for hours and hours on end.
 
As I mentioned earlier, I had the gain lowered on my V4.  Even on low gain (which it comes set on, by default), this phone has more than enough power to drive full sized phones w/o breaking a sweat.  I have the V800 feeding ~2Vrms (6dB) gain to the V4.. and I don't need to go much past a quarter turn to reach my max listening volume.  The excellent quality (Alps) pot the V4 utilizes makes for very clear and smooth volume tracking.  W/ the JH13, I'm able to listen at low volumes with any channel imbalance.. and still have sufficient control over the pot.
 
More coming in a dedicated thread.  I've got no more than ten hours on this amp.. Neco recommends at least 100 hours of use before making any final assessments.. I can hardly imagine it getting too much better than this, though.. but I'll spend more time with it this weekend and report back.

 

[FlySweep]

 
Folks, the V4 sounds wonderful with the HD800.  Smooth, refined, organic, spacious, extremely transparent, and very dynamic.  Imaging is simply eye-popping & tonal accuracy is nothing short of breathtaking.  I've never heard a portable amp that enables the HD800 to sound this effortless.  Notes have very realistic weight.. there's precise control from sub bass to the uppermost frequencies.. and the stage is presented in a very natural manner.  Neco mentions the terrific stereo separation qualities the V4 possesses.. w/ the HD800's panoramic staging ability, the V4 is in full blown 'show-off' mode.  Something that needs to be heard to be appreciated.
 
Like other *great* amps, the V4 enables the HD800 to extract copious amounts of detail.. and serve it up in a way that doesn't feel clinical or harsh, in the slightest.  What I keep coming back to with this amp is not only the stage width & height.. but the excellent stage depth.  A lot of solid state amps (desktop or otherwise) that I've heard tend to struggle with this.. the V4 is not one of them.  As I've said before.. if I hid the V4 behind a cabinet (or another larger, desktop amp), you'd be hard pressed to believe me if I told you a "portable" amp is responsible for this kind of sound quality.
 
If anyone else has an HD800 (or practically any other headphone) and has an eye on this amp, I can't recommend it enough.  The fact that it drives the HD800 this well.. and is a portable (!) amp.. is reason enough to buy it.  I'd have no reservations keeping this thing parked with the V800 at my desktop.  The SQ is that elegant and refined.

 

[imackler]

I don't mean to be a downer but has anyone read about the batteries that Neco is using on these... From Amazon reviews, the ultrafire 3.7 V seem to be kind of unstable. Of course, I'm a worry wart. It seems like having the dual mono set up would lead to channel imbalance if one of the batteries started losing juice quicker than the other. 
 
I still wish there were an external gain switch.