New Meier Arietta

[ahamric]

I received my first headphone amp ever today - a Meier Arietta. Jan said it was going to ship on 10/4/07 and I received it in Chicago on 10/9/07. Shoot, I don't get stuff from Amazon that fast!

I'm noticing some definite differences between my Technics SA-DA8 receiver and the Arietta for driving my Koss Pro4AAT. Initial impressions are that it is more crisp, bass has more impact, sound is a bit smoother.

I will say that I was expecting more of a difference between receiver headphone out and the Arietta; the differences are subtle, to be sure.

From my PCDP's, the difference is significant; however, I am noticing that my Sony SACD changer is a significantly better piece of hardware than the Aiwa XP-33 and the Panasonic SX-400 I just bought off eBay. I guess that's not really a surprise.

My cans are pretty well burned in, I put over 100 hours on them over the weekend (probably did about that much when I first bought them a couple years ago). Does anyone notice differences after burning in their amps? I guess that's a dumb question, some will and some won't. Any comments on Arietta burn-in specifically?

Thanks all!

 

[flargosa]

I got my Arietta from Skylab w/ 200 hrs of burn-in, I added an additional 240 hrs of burn-in w/ straight pink noise. I don't know if it's just my brain getting used to the amp but I hear a difference in increase clarity, better bass definition, and a tad less warmth( a little less tubey compared to when I first heard it). Good sounding amp.

 

[kamal007]

maybe your phone is not that good enough to show the power of the arietta?

 

[ahamric]

Ah, so you're the lucky person! I PM'ed him about it but you beat me to the punch!

What cans are you using?

 

[dw6928]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamal007 /img/forum/go_quote.gif maybe your phone is not that good enough to show the power of the arietta?

I think you need to address your headphones. They appear to be the weak link in your chain and will not allow Jan's amp to shine.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dw6928 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think you need to address your headphones. They appear to be the weak link in your chain and will not allow Jan's amp to shine.

Yeah, I think that is a big part of the reason.

On the A900s I had I could tell a difference between the Headfive and the Onkyo reciever I was using. The amp had a clearly smoother and cleaner sound. For some music (such as 80s Metallica) I actually preferred the reciever as it had a more raw energetic sound. Most, if not all, music was better through the amp.

I'm actually trying to figure out what I'm going to do for an amp for my DT770/250s. I thought the headphone out of my Sony player was pretty good, but the headphone out on the cheap Sherwood reciever I have now seems to be better (more clear). I've been considering the Arietta as I had a great experience with Jan before on the Headfive (and the sound should go well with the 770s). I had been holding off for the iBasso D1, but it sounds like it'll be a while before I'd get it. I'd kinda like a DAC/amp combo that I could use to compare to the CD player and also with my laptop. Someone is selling a JMT made Pimeta in the FS forum that I'm kinda interested in. In a way I want an amp that would pair well with these, but in a way I don't because I would like to try other headphones too. The bass through the Sony jack seems to be a bit too much with these, but I think with just about any other headphone I would want the amp to help up the bass some. I haven't worked out my source completely (and so another reason I was wanting the D1 since it has USB, optical, and coax). I had been going to buy a Musiland MD-10, but the seller had to move it sooner than he expected. I'm actually kinda glad I didn't get it as I don't like the headphone jack on it (and have no amp to pair with it).

Sorry for the threadjacking and lifestory.