[audionewbi]

My balance cable arrived, sadly I am not impressed at all by the sound changes, or better to say my balance cable maybe terminated incorrectly. The sound degrades and the headroom shrinks.

 

[gr8soundz]

Did you order the cable or make it yourself?

I've yet to do either and was hoping to get impressions from you guys (like whether or not the output signal is stronger in full balanced).

 

[Dukebb13]

I'm still waiting for them to get back to me to order the balanced cable. That it degrades the sound is not good. Did you get the 2.5 and 3.5 ground cable, two prong to 6 pin balanced? If so I am scared to order mine.

I had to send in my Plenue 2 for repair so I have been using my Plenue 1 with the amp. The sound with the Vegas has improved dramatically. Bass is as it should be now. In all honesty I have just been enjoying the music and not evaluating anything. That is a good sign to me. I still need to check if the amp sounds better than just the P1. I use balanced out of the amp so I need to switch to the cable that came with the Vega. When I check later I will post my thoughts. Although the P2 is a big step up from the P1 to me, I will let you know how the P1, Pono, and AK Jr. compare with the amp. Back to listening.

Thanks for the heads up on the cable. Please let me know if it gets any better.

 

[kukkurovaca]

Oh, huh, I think this is new / has not been mentioned on this thread previously:

https://www.en.oriolus.jp/product-page/nt-1

Looks like a single-ended amp based on the Korg Nutube

 

[audionewbi]

Did you order the cable or make it yourself?

I've yet to do either and was hoping to get impressions from you guys (like whether or not the output signal is stronger in full balanced).

I asked PW audio to make it for me. He does Oriolus cables for them.
So far my worst impression has been balance in and balance out. Their is a loud humming and having my WM1A volume set to max I have to have my BA-10 to max to make it sound loud enough. Something is wrong for sure....

Oh, huh, I think this is new / has not been mentioned on this thread previously:

https://www.en.oriolus.jp/product-page/nt-1

Looks like a single-ended amp based on the Korg Nutube

I've seen it, few people said it sounds more amp like however design wise their might be something wrong, it is recommended to plug your IEM after the unit is turned on.
Sonicwise along my friend said it is the cheapest tube amp out their.

 

[gr8soundz]

Oh, huh, I think this is new / has not been mentioned on this thread previously:

https://www.en.oriolus.jp/product-page/nt-1

Looks like a single-ended amp based on the Korg Nutube

We've known the NT-1 was coming since early this year but good to finally see it available.

I saw it on their site this morning but the only purchase link was through Cyrus (guess they updated the site since I last checked). Thanks for the link.

So far my worst impression has been balance in and balance out. Their is a loud humming and having my WM1A volume set to max I have to have my BA-10 to max to make it sound loud enough. Something is wrong for sure....

I've seen it, few people said it sounds more amp like however design wise their might be something wrong, it is recommended to plug your IEM after the unit is turned on.
Sonicwise along my friend said it is the cheapest tube amp out their.

Hopefully it's something simple and you can get the balanced in working.

I sometimes max out the volume with my T1.2 but that's via the SE input and the balanced out. The BA-10 isn't really designed for 600 ohm headphones but the pairing is usable (imo). Plus, right now I need the portability and am still hopeful that balanced in and out might add a bit more headroom. Man, if this amp only had a gain switch.....

AFAIK, the NT-1 is supposed to be full tube and not a hybrid. Price is about the same as what I paid for my BA-10 (which appears to be $100 higher now). May be a while before I can place another order though.

 

[audionewbi]

LEFT:NT-1, RIGHT:BA-10 OAK
Not my picture
Source: https://twitter.com/kun_nakaji/status/908935036094656513

 

[Dukebb13]

I haven't had too much time to compare daps with the amp, but I snuck in time to compare the Pono.
For the money the Pono is a great dap. The ability to play in balanced sold me on it. I had it for over a year before I bought another dap. To be fair I only used SE for the comparison, I don't have a balanced cable to input for the oak.
The Pono by itself sounds good. The soundstage is of decent width. The overall sound to me is a bit soft. I do like that type of sound so it is ok with me. The bass is lean for me even with the Vega. Pace is good though. I can easily get into the music.
Adding the amp things clear up quite a bit. Everything comes into focus. There is less blur on voices and instruments. Another big plus is the depth of the soundstage increases by a large margin. By comparison the Pono by itself is flat, no depth to me. Much easier to relax and enjoy the music. Highs are smoother as well with the amp. It is less harsh because of less blur, so I can play louder without fatigue.
This is a no brainer for me. The amp definitely makes the Pono a better player. Is it worth $370 to make the Pono that much better? I would say invest the money into a newer dap instead. If you love your Pono and need more power and want better sound then the amp is money well spent. I will try to compare the P1 with the amp soon. hope this helps some of you. I'm still loving the amp and use is 90% of the time no matter which dap I am using.

 

[gr8soundz]

Is it worth $370 to make the Pono that much better? I would say invest the money into a newer dap instead.

Nice impression. I had a Pono player until a year ago and it was great especially balanced. It has one of the better line outs and the Oriolus amp makes every dap sound better.

However, the BA-10 will be hard to beat for the price. Don't think you'll find a better portable tube amp for under $400 and certainly not a balanced one.

 

[audionewbi]

BA-10 placed itself price wise so well that with a bit of marketing they can blow up crazy. I've finished the first draft of my BA-10 review, expecting to get the NT-1 tomorrow. I like to reduce the review down to two page and used the third page for NT-1.

I am feeling a little sick so reluctant to edit the review as I know I'll do a half hearted job. I personally looking forward to NT-1. BA-10 is a hybrid amp which only sounds like a true tube amp when only used in its balance input/output. I thought it is worth mentioning for those who are after a pure tube amp. NT-1 however is said to be a true amp using a new modern take of tube based on KORG NuTubes.

 

[gr8soundz]

Look forward to your review.

I think being hybrid is a plus for the BA-10. It's one of the best examples of solid-state speed and detail with some tube lushness that I've heard in a portable amp.

Wish I could order the NT-1 but have to wait. Been salivating over the Korg Nutube for while (just check my avatar) and full tube sound with low heat and decent battery life is enticing.

I know specs can't tell the whole story but the NT-1's SNR looks a bit worrisome to me.

NT-1: 92dB
BA-10: 118dB

 

[audionewbi]

NT-1 arrived, tonality I like it more than BD-10 OAK however I hear it loud pitch that comes and goes. I can't figure out what the cause of it is. Getting slightly annoyed to be honest.....

edit: After prolong use BA-10 sounds more tube sounding and I like it more than NT-1.

 

[gr8soundz]

NT-1 arrived, tonality I like it more than BD-10 OAK however I hear it loud pitch that comes and goes. I can't figure out what the cause of it is. Getting slightly annoyed to be honest.....

Everything I've read about the Nutube says it's still microphonic just like a regular tube if not more so.

Does the loud pitch happen even when the amp is completely still?

 

[Prabeer Patankar]

Any idea on what tubes are those on the BA10?

 

[audionewbi]

An update: Got the NT-1 and had burned it for well over 80 hours. I've written the BA-10 review, i will edit and released it Monday and than start the NT-1 review.

For those who want an update NT-1 in short very good to at times excellent sounding amp with super microphonic design. Now the microphonic isn't related to tube movement. I have successfully walked around fast with NT-1 in my bag, no issue. Issue with NT-1 is that any contact with its metallic body will resonant within the TUBE. Insertion of 3.5mm jack and USB plug causes micrphonic, removal of them also cause microphonic. Basically any tapping on any part of the housing 90% will cause microphonic. Thankfully the tube doesnt get hot so I wrapped the unit with microfibre cloth and this way I created a damping body around it.

Beside that the sound is full, not as lush as CDM or BA-10 however MUCH cleaner than them both, more engaging and with excellent fast mids that isn't dry like solid state amps. Basically this is an excellent hybrid in a much smaller format.