Scotty757
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2006
- Posts
- 948
- Likes
- 15
I've been at this headphone game for a little while now...and I'm starting to really get the hang of how all this stuff works. I've heard and owned some of the really expensive equipment, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I'm really writing this post as a tribute to what has turned out to be the best Hi-Fi related purchase I've made to date: the Rockhopper M^3.
I've owned going on 8 amps now...and auditioned at least 5 more. Everything from a PA2V2 to a SinglePower MPX3 SLAM. While each had its own strengths and weaknesses (some more than others), the single biggest lesson all this has taught me is that your system is all about synergy, and YOUR ears. Now, I've heard amps that can do some things better with some cans, but I have yet to come across an amplification device that showed such massive versatility as the M^3. With other amps, I would throw a source or a set of ICs at them, and immediately turn it off as a case of bad synergy. Save some true budget sources, I have yet to find a combo that sounded less than good on this little rockhopper wonder.
I know far too little about the electronics inside the amp, but I know it doesn't seem to care about the impedance, sensitivity, or enclosure of my 'phones, it drives them with ease (note, I have not, as of yet, tried it with the K1000s. Soon...). I don't know how such a small circuit board can produce such massive amounts of pure current, but its there, and in spades. It has driven my K701s, DT990s, Senns of various models, and a host of IEMs with superhero-like authority (even on low-sens. phones like the 701, I cant remember ever turning the volume past noon....and I like music loud).
Sound
I hate to make such a generalized and unwarranted statement, but to me, the M^3 takes the best of tube and solid state sound, and makes them its own. If the Gilmore Light and the MPX3 were to somehow manage to procreate, I would imagine their offspring to sound somewhere in the neighborhood of my little friend. Sound is fast and detailed, yet simultaneously warm and emotional. Is it as transparent as the best of solid state? No, but its enough. Is it as warm as the SinglePower? Not hardly, but I never find myself emotionally uninvolved. For other amps, there are musical genres (i.e. metal) that I prefer solid state, and others (i.e. female vocal/ violin) that I very much prefer tubes. The M^3 skews those lines, producing a favorable euphony transcending genres. Once again, it doesn't outdo the others at their own game, but I find I can much more easily switch back and forth without any desire to change amps.
Conclusion
For my purposes, I think the M^3 might be the perfect piece of equipment. It shows synergy with almost everything I've thrown at it, and stands at the center of my revolving headphone rig. It spans musical genres better than any amp I've yet heard, and I can always rely on it to produce pleasing results. Plus, and this might be the best part, it was cheap. Price doesn't always denote performance, and this is truly a case of that ratio greatly skewed towards performance for price. I'm comparing it to amps costing upward of 5 and 6 times as much, and it holds its head up high. I don't mean to cause unrest, as I know Rockhopper is shut down, and I don't know if the boards are even available any more. All I can say is that my only regret is that I didn't buy two.
Disclaimer
The M^3 is my favorite amp, and I am unabashedly biased towards it (think Sovkiller and the CD3K...only I'm Texan...and you should get a general idea
). That's the main reason I didn't title this thread as a review, because it isn't one. This is just me gushing about a piece of equipment that I adore.
Phones Used:
AKG K701
BeyerDynamic DT990
Sony SA5K
Allesandro MS-1
AKG K81-DJ
ETY ER-4P
Shure E4c
UE S.F5P
Sources Used:
Onix XCD-99
Sony SCD-333ES
Fubar II DAC
Phillips DVP642
Musical Preferences:
Classical (particularly Violin Concertos)
Post-Rock (Sigur Ros/EITS/GY!BE, etc.)
IDM/Electronica (Aphex Twin/Orbital)
Classic Rock (Pink Floyd, The Beatles, LZ, etc. etc. etc.)
An Obligatory Picture of My Favorite Amp:
Scott.
I've owned going on 8 amps now...and auditioned at least 5 more. Everything from a PA2V2 to a SinglePower MPX3 SLAM. While each had its own strengths and weaknesses (some more than others), the single biggest lesson all this has taught me is that your system is all about synergy, and YOUR ears. Now, I've heard amps that can do some things better with some cans, but I have yet to come across an amplification device that showed such massive versatility as the M^3. With other amps, I would throw a source or a set of ICs at them, and immediately turn it off as a case of bad synergy. Save some true budget sources, I have yet to find a combo that sounded less than good on this little rockhopper wonder.
I know far too little about the electronics inside the amp, but I know it doesn't seem to care about the impedance, sensitivity, or enclosure of my 'phones, it drives them with ease (note, I have not, as of yet, tried it with the K1000s. Soon...). I don't know how such a small circuit board can produce such massive amounts of pure current, but its there, and in spades. It has driven my K701s, DT990s, Senns of various models, and a host of IEMs with superhero-like authority (even on low-sens. phones like the 701, I cant remember ever turning the volume past noon....and I like music loud).
Sound
I hate to make such a generalized and unwarranted statement, but to me, the M^3 takes the best of tube and solid state sound, and makes them its own. If the Gilmore Light and the MPX3 were to somehow manage to procreate, I would imagine their offspring to sound somewhere in the neighborhood of my little friend. Sound is fast and detailed, yet simultaneously warm and emotional. Is it as transparent as the best of solid state? No, but its enough. Is it as warm as the SinglePower? Not hardly, but I never find myself emotionally uninvolved. For other amps, there are musical genres (i.e. metal) that I prefer solid state, and others (i.e. female vocal/ violin) that I very much prefer tubes. The M^3 skews those lines, producing a favorable euphony transcending genres. Once again, it doesn't outdo the others at their own game, but I find I can much more easily switch back and forth without any desire to change amps.
Conclusion
For my purposes, I think the M^3 might be the perfect piece of equipment. It shows synergy with almost everything I've thrown at it, and stands at the center of my revolving headphone rig. It spans musical genres better than any amp I've yet heard, and I can always rely on it to produce pleasing results. Plus, and this might be the best part, it was cheap. Price doesn't always denote performance, and this is truly a case of that ratio greatly skewed towards performance for price. I'm comparing it to amps costing upward of 5 and 6 times as much, and it holds its head up high. I don't mean to cause unrest, as I know Rockhopper is shut down, and I don't know if the boards are even available any more. All I can say is that my only regret is that I didn't buy two.
Disclaimer
The M^3 is my favorite amp, and I am unabashedly biased towards it (think Sovkiller and the CD3K...only I'm Texan...and you should get a general idea
Phones Used:
AKG K701
BeyerDynamic DT990
Sony SA5K
Allesandro MS-1
AKG K81-DJ
ETY ER-4P
Shure E4c
UE S.F5P
Sources Used:
Onix XCD-99
Sony SCD-333ES
Fubar II DAC
Phillips DVP642
Musical Preferences:
Classical (particularly Violin Concertos)
Post-Rock (Sigur Ros/EITS/GY!BE, etc.)
IDM/Electronica (Aphex Twin/Orbital)
Classic Rock (Pink Floyd, The Beatles, LZ, etc. etc. etc.)
An Obligatory Picture of My Favorite Amp:
Scott.
