[Combat Audio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philslade /img/forum/go_quote.gif SECOND AMP... Just PM'd member denisavu about the Hornet that just went up for sale. Yup, I'm playing it very safe so the two amps can drive most HPs or IEMs without too many issues. This forum is dangerous.

Yes it is....amazing how much it all makes sense the more time you spend here. You start looking for one good set of headphones and you end up with a travel rig, home/destop set up with one for more of a warm sound and another for analytical listening....you end up spending more on ICs than you planned on spending in the first place....and are happy about it.

A good thread with information and links for the new RWA Imod for 5/5.5 Gen Ipod and the various ALO Imod cable offerings: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=240110.

If I am not mistaken the Hornet has a variable gain switch for both a low gain for IEMs and low impedence cans and then a high gain switch for higher impedence cans....the feeling from what I have been reading is that it is better to just leave it on high gain setting but everyone has their personal preferences. I would suggest that you ensure that it is the Hornet "M" though if it is not Ray will upgrade it for you (for free minus the shipping). All the currently produced Hornets though they may not say it, use the M Hornet components.

 

[philslade]

Quote:

Yes it is....amazing how much it all makes sense the more time you spend here. You start looking for one good set of headphones and you end up with a travel rig, home/destop set up with one for more of a warm sound and another for analytical listening....you end up spending more on ICs than you planned on spending in the first place....and are happy about it. A good thread with information and links for the new RWA Imod for 5/5.5 Gen Ipod and the various ALO Imod cable offerings: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=240110. If I am not mistaken the Hornet has a variable gain switch for both a low gain for IEMs and low impedence cans and then a high gain switch for higher impedence cans....the feeling from what I have been reading is that it is better to just leave it on high gain setting but everyone has their personal preferences. I would suggest that you ensure that it is the Hornet "M" though if it is not Ray will upgrade it for you (for free minus the shipping). All the currently produced Hornets though they may not say it, use the M Hornet components.

Again, thanks for your guidance - it's a pleasure reading reasoned assessments from seasoned HeadFiers

.

I will definitely check it's the M upgrade, as he is selling for close to Ray's price new I think. OTOH, it's nice not to have to deal with burning it in... Variable gain is very, very nice too! Which reminds me the seller also has AKG 701s for sale. I'm vaguely tempted, though maybe not for use with the RSA amps unless the SR-71 can handle it.

Excellent point about seeking variations in the sonic signatures. I suspect we can achieve quite a bit with RSA amps by switching HPs or IEMs. OTOH, I'm planning to add a little rig to a computer setup in order to do basic voice recording and listen into specific film soundtracks. On that I'll definitely go linear-neutral-wide bandwidth-etc. for critical listening. I would favor a solution that allows me to get enough acoustic insulation from the HPs or IEMs as well, as I'm not planning to set up a room with acoustic treatments, but rather to use small devices to control what gets picked up by the mic. So much to learn...

 

[Combat Audio]

The SR-71 and I imagine the Hornet as well should be able to drive the AKG 701s without issue. I think that with your preference of music (atleast from what I have read) they would be a great can for you. I have been very tempted to jump on the 701 bandwagon....a used pair is probably a good call as well as they are reported to have some crazy long burn in time. I imagine that there is someone on this thread that has some experience with this set up.

If you do a search for Jahn's "Damn you headfi" thread I think that at one point he got some voice recording type equiment....though that is out of my experience. It is a super long thread but a good read and Jahn is quite the character! Jahn has had about every conceivable audio piece at one time or another...just look at his 20,000+ posts!

 

[philslade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Combat Audio /img/forum/go_quote.gif The SR-71 and I imagine the Hornet as well should be able to drive the AKG 701s without issue. I think that with your preference of music (atleast from what I have read) they would be a great can for you. I have been very tempted to jump on the 701 bandwagon....a used pair is probably a good call as well as they are reported to have some crazy long burn in time. I imagine that there is someone on this thread that has some experience with this set up. If you do a search for Jahn's "Damn you headfi" thread I think that at one point he got some voice recording type equiment....though that is out of my experience. It is a super long thread but a good read and Jahn is quite the character! Jahn has had about every conceivable audio piece at one time or another...just look at his 20,000+ posts!

20,000 posts? This is downright terrifying!

OK, I'll check the thread out - can't resist... I'm hoping the 701s won't give me the same impression of limited bass (cutoff below 40Hz) and limited resolution (short decays, slight lack of micro-detail like cymbal shimmer) that seem to summarize a featured review here.

I'll try to identify its strengths and then look for the second pair of cans as a complement. Then my wife and I can just swap rigs.

 

[philslade]

THE DAMAGE SO FAR...

Home rigs:
2 iMods 4G
1 RSA SR-71, 1 RSA Hornet
1 pair AKG K701s
TBD: ICs (will go w/ ALOs) and 2nd pair of cans
Tempted by: Yotank iMod 4G cases

Carry-around rigs:
2 refurb'd nanos 1G
2 iBasso T2s
2 Matias cases for nanos
1 Cardas mini>mini IC
TBD: dock line-out connector, 2nd dock line-out IC or combo dock line-out connector + min>min IC; IEMs

Yeah, HeadFi is dangerous organization...

 

[Combat Audio]

Well, I must say that you are off to a good start! I started out with an Ipod and my first step was the Shure e5c's. I moved from there to the SR-71 and decided I wanted a good set of cans as the IEMs in my situation can be negative as I need to be able to hear what is going on. My first set we the Senn HD-650s with the equinox cable after alot of reading on headfi and added the Imod as well. I then bought the e500s. I then sort of bought a warmer set up with the RS-1s and the Eddie Current....still tempted to move to the tube side of the house but am going to wait till I am stateside. I picked up the Ety ER-4Ps last as they were having the great sell off and it was just too tempting. They have super detail and though they can be a bit weak on the bass (its there just not as prominent) they are great for detailed listening and certain genres of music. I am thinking that I will get a home rig next....looking at the RSA Series 70 monoblocks pushing some Devore Fidelity Audio Gibbon Super 8s...they are a bit on the end of what I want to spend but I figure that if I run them with the Imod for a bit that I can save money on an "expensive" source/ power conditioners, etc. I have a young son but am looking to set up a "man room" and think that it will be a good retreat from the day to day and also a good place for the little man and I to enjoy some music. The AKG 701s are about as hotly debated as the "veil" of the HD 650s....so if you get a chance to go to a meet that woud be a good place to sample some different set ups...or in my case you sort have to read as much as you can and jump in.

 

[Combat Audio]

Jahn's thread is " CURSE YOU HEAD FI!" and here is the link....prepare to be amazed or very afraid!

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...t=curse+headfi

 

[philslade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Combat Audio /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I must say that you are off to a good start! I started out with an Ipod and my first step was the Shure e5c's. I moved from there to the SR-71 and decided I wanted a good set of cans as the IEMs in my situation can be negative as I need to be able to hear what is going on. My first set we the Senn HD-650s with the equinox cable after alot of reading on headfi and added the Imod as well. I then bought the e500s. I then sort of bought a warmer set up with the RS-1s and the Eddie Current....still tempted to move to the tube side of the house but am going to wait till I am stateside. I picked up the Ety ER-4Ps last as they were having the great sell off and it was just too tempting. They have super detail and though they can be a bit weak on the bass (its there just not as prominent) they are great for detailed listening and certain genres of music. I am thinking that I will get a home rig next....looking at the RSA Series 70 monoblocks pushing some Devore Fidelity Audio Gibbon Super 8s...they are a bit on the end of what I want to spend but I figure that if I run them with the Imod for a bit that I can save money on an "expensive" source/ power conditioners, etc. I have a young son but am looking to set up a "man room" and think that it will be a good retreat from the day to day and also a good place for the little man and I to enjoy some music. The AKG 701s are about as hotly debated as the "veil" of the HD 650s....so if you get a chance to go to a meet that woud be a good place to sample some different set ups...or in my case you sort have to read as much as you can and jump in.

Well, this is really thanks mostly to the wonderful advice on HeadFi including yours! As you point out, it's tough to separate the issue of assembling a full-size, speaker-based system from home construction and use. Immediately you're in another league, and the list of transducers explodes.

I sense a quest for refinement way beyond easy effects. And the Gibbons point it seems toward the threshold for great speakers - and a market segment that is saturated with choice (e.g. entry-level Sonus Faber, Lipinki, Gallo Reference 3x, Hyperion 938, Zu Druid, Green Mountain Audio, Spica, Focal, ATC, PMC, AVI, etc.).

This is never going to end, especially if you are not afraid of tubes... But definitely smart to use your iMod as the first source as that will save you a lot initially and make you concentrate on the speaker/amplifier interface. Just the sound of those monoblocks... and do I see a top-flight RSA preamp looming in the distance? Next, you'll be streaming high resolution PCM or even DSD into a top-flight DAC. That won't be a room: it will be the Bermuda Triangle (not another speaker name) and you might vanish in there for hours at a time...

I have to say you moved pretty fast getting started with DAPs. You must have good ears.

I'm making a note of your suggestion. First Austin meet, I'll try to show up.

 

[philslade]

Quote:

Link Jahn's thread is " CURSE YOU HEAD FI!" and here is the link....prepare to be amazed or very afraid! http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...t=curse+headfi

Thanks, I'm heading there!

 

[philslade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philslade /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks, I'm heading there!

Just came back, in a cold sweat. This is un-flippin'-believable. Like dementia with a high IQ and good ears.

" Darling! If you're looking for me, I'm at the other end of the headphone cable!

- Sweetie, WHICH headphones?"

I need to go watch a movie with my own wife while she still knows where I am. Stay safe...

 

[philslade]

PS - Regarding those De Vores, I found this reviewer's comment interesting:

"Surprisingly, this mix and matching experiment led me to find a unexpected strength of the SUPERs. I have had a 150-watt solid-state amplifier laying around here for a while. It was originally submitted for a review but the manufacturer pulled the product before it got too much press and left the review sample behind. It is built, if there were such a thing, like a Swiss tank; rugged and with meticulous attention to detail. Under the right circumstances the amplifier sounded wonderful — fast, clean, detailed, massive stage and without any real flaws. But at other times it was all bright, thin and metallic. But driving, or rather barely driving the remarkable easy load of the SUPERs, the amplifier opened up and sang with a pure, seamless voice. This led to me trying other, easy to drive loudspeakers with the amplifier and they too made it sound from very good to great. So, before any of you solid-state fans look at the specs of the gibbon SUPER 8 and write it off as a for tubed only loudspeaker, give them a try. The flat, high-impedance and high-sensitivity load allows any amplifier topology to work at its best."

There are some ultra-transparent solid-state amps out there, and the Lavardins may be worth asking about since Gibbons would not require major power to drive them. Only problem, $$$. But then there's RSA, and also RWA, among others.

 

[Combat Audio]

Sounds like I will have to send you some emails when I am running through my options for the home set up! I talked a bit with Vinnie on the Super 8's awhile back and the Signature 30 will drive them nicely...so that would save me some bucks versus the Signature 70s...I am trying to enter into the audiophile entry level for a home rig and you are right...makes looking for a headfi rig seem like multiple choice test compared to an essay exam. When it comes to the big guns I will have to play it safe on the home rig...I don't see a 50k rig any time soon...lol. I figure if I can keep it under the 10k mark that I will be happy and the wallet will survive. Looking a bit into a vinyl set up as well to quench the upgradiitis as I know virtually nothing about vinyl so that will give me some time to learn the ins and outs.

I didn't realize how long Jahn's thread had become....243 pages...wow. Thanks for the review on Devore, I actually found out about them from the RWA page....one of the speakers that Vinnie recommended. I have become a bit intrigued with them as they are right on the end of what I want to spend and from the reviews they sound about perfectly what I want in a rig...so I think that I will take the plunge in the next couple of months. I won't be able to hear them for some time but it will be nice to come home to them next year.

Checking out the Lavardins site now....

 

[velogreg]

Phil Slade/ Combat Audio since you are both in the shopping mode take a look at http://www.diycable.com/main/product...roducts_id=616
If you can stand some minimal diy work the amp is a cost effect entre to a well designed solid state amplifier. They use the Hypex design by Bruno Putzey. Channel Islands Audio uses the basic Hypex design and tweaks it a bit for one of their branded amplifiers. People seems to like the sound, I am one of them and will be purchasing their 400 HG at the end of the summer. DIY assembly skills required are minimal, which is perfect for me. Do a little background research on Bruno, that will keep you busy for a while.

 

[philslade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Combat Audio /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sounds like I will have to send you some emails when I am running through my options for the home set up! I talked a bit with Vinnie on the Super 8's awhile back and the Signature 30 will drive them nicely...so that would save me some bucks versus the Signature 70s...I am trying to enter into the audiophile entry level for a home rig and you are right...makes looking for a headfi rig seem like multiple choice test compared to an essay exam. When it comes to the big guns I will have to play it safe on the home rig...I don't see a 50k rig any time soon...lol. I figure if I can keep it under the 10k mark that I will be happy and the wallet will survive. Looking a bit into a vinyl set up as well to quench the upgradiitis as I know virtually nothing about vinyl so that will give me some time to learn the ins and outs. I didn't realize how long Jahn's thread had become....243 pages...wow. Thanks for the review on Devore, I actually found out about them from the RWA page....one of the speakers that Vinnie recommended. I have become a bit intrigued with them as they are right on the end of what I want to spend and from the reviews they sound about perfectly what I want in a rig...so I think that I will take the plunge in the next couple of months. I won't be able to hear them for some time but it will be nice to come home to them next year. Checking out the Lavardins site now....

By all means... My wife and I have been wondering about our next audio set-up for over a year now and I have to confess you're the one who put the De Vores on my radar screen despite my quick glance at a Stereophile review a year ago. It's exceptional to have so many reviewers who are clearly unrelated actually purchasing their review samples. There has to be a there there... The first speakers we've casually auditioned from our current list are the DYI Orions designed by Siegfried Linkwitz, thanks to a very nice owner here in Austin. Big advantages: bipolar design with crossovers before the amplifers, and with one amp per driver. Also have matching subs, and the recommended amps are very inexpensive (ATI). The casual listen - from a Squeezebox, using FLAC files and a DAC I did not make a note of - made it imediately apparent they brought small bands to life. Absolute barnstormers with blues. I started noticing shortened decay on classical recordings, but I suspect something other than the speakers was the reason. Well worth a listen too, if you can find someone to oblige in your area when you're stateside.

I think you're right about the 10K mark, and we're heading that way too. It seems a reasonable allocation of disposable income, and the impact will be huge in your life - and I hope your wife's and kid's too. For reasons best not explained here, I'm tempted to go back to my old training in English and French and revamp it all from the perspective of sound. We have great schools here that pretty much cover all the bases. So the whole exercise may not be just for a hobby/entertainment, although I do hope we get to spend a LOT more time listening to music! (BTW, don't you agree that classical and non-classical singers need better coaching when handling lyrics in another language? And we're not even talking about the specifics of operatic singing...

)

 

[philslade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by velogreg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Phil Slade/ Combat Audio since you are both in the shopping mode take a look at http://www.diycable.com/main/product...roducts_id=616 If you can stand some minimal diy work the amp is a cost effect entre to a well designed solid state amplifier. They use the Hypex design by Bruno Putzey. Channel Islands Audio uses the basic Hypex design and tweaks it a bit for one of their branded amplifiers. People seems to like the sound, I am one of them and will be purchasing their 400 HG at the end of the summer. DIY assembly skills required are minimal, which is perfect for me. Do a little background research on Bruno, that will keep you busy for a while.

Hi there, thanks for the tip, I'll enjoy looking. It's a shame I abandoned all attempts to solder in high school (excepting some unfortunate hard drive cases in recent years), but if I could set up a hobby workbench at home I'd certainly try again. CI do get excellent reviews AFAIK and that's an interesting connection. Another is the one I just mentioned to Combat Audio, about those ATI amps. If Dr. Linkwitz uses them, they must be really well designed.