[jmwaite]

Roger that. I'm at work now. I'll take some pictures and assemble particulars for you. It's simple and cheap--$25 for the power supply card. SLA batteries are cheap. Will get back to you soon.

 

[jmwaite]

OK, qafro, here it goes.....
 
' The UD 120 is powered by a 12v, 15ah SLA battery supplying a 5v power supply card for the UD-120. This stable DC power for the DAC does very nice things for the overall sound.'
With reference to the above quote - Please let me how you set it up SLA battery supplying a 5v power supply card  or brought it?
 
The card on the case for the Ruby is the USB isolator. It has a thruput for the digital signal (not sure if there is any digital filtering on this card). The black box with a orange light is a motorcycle battery (12v DC) and charger. The isolator card also has a 5v DC power supply for the UD-120. This power is much more stable than the 5 volts coming out of the Mac Book. This is a really nice sounding setup with the Ruby and my Heir Audio 4ai in ear monitors. Will try to find a source for this card, but there are numerous devices similar to this to produce the same result. This should probably go on the Stoner dac thread, but it's part of what I am using to audition the Ruby (great sounding little amp). 

 

[qafro]

  OK, qafro, here it goes.....
 
' The UD 120 is powered by a 12v, 15ah SLA battery supplying a 5v power supply card for the UD-120. This stable DC power for the DAC does very nice things for the overall sound.'
With reference to the above quote - Please let me how you set it up SLA battery supplying a 5v power supply card  or brought it?
 
The card on the case for the Ruby is the USB isolator. It has a thruput for the digital signal (not sure if there is any digital filtering on this card). The black box with a orange light is a motorcycle battery (12v DC) and charger. The isolator card also has a 5v DC power supply for the UD-120. This power is much more stable than the 5 volts coming out of the Mac Book. This is a really nice sounding setup with the Ruby and my Heir Audio 4ai in ear monitors. Will try to find a source for this card, but there are numerous devices similar to this to produce the same result. This should probably go on the Stoner dac thread, but it's part of what I am using to audition the Ruby (great sounding little amp). 

Thanks - I do understand the USB isolator but the motorcycle battery (12v DC) and charger ??? Can I use a portable mobile battery charger as replacement and portable use?   

 

[jmwaite]

  Thanks - I do understand the USB isolator but the motorcycle battery (12v DC) and charger ??? Can I use a portable mobile battery charger as replacement and portable use?   

Well, the 12v moto batt is certainly overkill. This batt/charger was re-purposed from another function. It has three 12v outputs and I use it to power two TA 2020 amps in dual mono plus the isolation card. I like the inky black quiet background this power supply provides. DC is the key. Having a large quantity of electrons is important, too. Get rid of the AC. The USB isolation card has a voltage range of 8-15v so it would be easy to fabricate a power supply from LiPo batteries to power the card for portable use. 14v I believe is optimum for this sort of device. You want as big a vat of electrons for your power supply as you are willing to carry around. All this being said, for portable use, the UD 120 sounds just fine plugged straight into my Mac Book. I'm sure that there are other creative power supply options out there. I'm still new to this area of audio.  

 

[PChoon]

anyone can provide a review of the amp? any comparison? very interested on how it will sound.

 

[jmwaite]

 
anyone can provide a review of the amp? any comparison? very interested on how it will sound.

The Stoner Facebook page has a picture of the back of the unit. On first impression, the Ruby sounds a little more forward and immediate with plenty of detail. In comparison, the Ray Samuels Shadow is laid back and more expansive in regards to the stereo stage. It has more ambient information. It's like comparing a jazz club to a concert hall. This being said, my Ruby is brand new and the presentation will no doubt change over time as I use it. Not really fair to make definitive comments at this point, but the Ruby at $100 is a lot easier to afford than the $400 Shadow. The Ruby's battery life is stated at around 8 hours, I think. The Shadow will last for days. Still, I find that the Ruby's battery life to be satisfactory and on par with many amplifiers. Construction of the Shadow is more polished than the Ruby, but the Ruby is still a solid unit that seems quite sturdy. I have not seen the inside of either amp. Channel to channel tracking with the volume control is spot on. Sorry to get off subject with my previous post. 

 

[PChoon]

 

  anyone can provide a review of the amp? any comparison? very interested on how it will sound.

  The Stoner Facebook page has a picture of the back of the unit. On first impression, the Ruby sounds a little more forward and immediate with plenty of detail. In comparison, the Ray Samuels Shadow is laid back and more expansive in regards to the stereo stage. It has more ambient information. It's like comparing a jazz club to a concert hall. This being said, my Ruby is brand new and the presentation will no doubt change over time as I use it. Not really fair to make definitive comments at this point, but the Ruby at $100 is a lot easier to afford than the $400 Shadow. The Ruby's battery life is stated at around 8 hours, I think. The Shadow will last for days. Still, I find that the Ruby's battery life to be satisfactory and on par with many amplifiers. Construction of the Shadow is more polished than the Ruby, but the Ruby is still a solid unit that seems quite sturdy. I have not seen the inside of either amp. Channel to channel tracking with the volume control is spot on. Sorry to get off subject with my previous post. 

 
@jmwaite thank you for providing insight to the sound sig.
 
How are the treble, mid and bass? it does seems like a handy unit. 
sorry as i'm not tat familiar with the characteristics of the opamp chosen for Ruby.

 

[jmwaite]

   
@jmwaite thank you for providing insight to the sound sig.
 
How are the treble, mid and bass? it does seems like a handy unit. 
sorry as i'm not tat familiar with the characteristics of the opamp chosen for Ruby.

The Ruby is a little raw and visceral compared to the RS Shadow. Treble and bass are slightly emphasized in the Ruby. I believe the Shadow to be fairly flat in frequency response so the Ruby is adding a little oomph high and low.  The effect is engaging with most types of music. Like I said before, think jazz club vs concert hall. It took a couple of hours of continuous A/B-ing to start to hear these differences so these units are close. The Ruby is a handy unit and it's cuter than a bug's ear. Is the Shadow worth 4X the price? Well, it has a far greater battery life and it has a more sophisticated and natural sound. What we have here is typical in audio--a trigonometric rise in price for a small increase in performance (audio wise). I do endorse the Ruby. Stoner has had good customer service as well. I am enjoying their products.

 

[Synthyss]

I didn't like the knob. Can it be removed?

 

[jmwaite]

  I didn't like the knob. Can it be removed?

Yes it can.

 

[EmpJ]

This is really cool. 

 

[Ultrainferno]

Ruby is cool indeed
 
I just published the Ruby review, it's a strange little amp
 
http://www.headfonia.com/review-stoner-acoustics-ruby-the-miniature-amp/

 

[TzeYang]

https://www.facebook.com/StonerAcoustics/posts/1197085356973008

Seems like they are having a sales for the holidays...