Photos: HeadAmp Pico & RSA Predator
Sep 28, 2008 at 3:22 PM Post #91 of 112
Deliberately hiding information about the main components would add more of a negative bias towards this amp in my opinion. There has to be some transparency with regards to this essential information. Do bottled water companies hide the source of their water? No, it's on their labels. Some (e.g., Aquafina, Dasani) source their water from local tap reserves, not from the Alps, but that doesn't deter people from buying their product.

Lengthy descriptive paragraphs are written in the product description about the military grade board and types of resistors used, but when it comes to the meat and potatoes of the amp dac -- the op-amp and dac chips -- nothing is mentioned. I find this highly unusual, as other amp makers either provide this information or don't deliberately hide what's being used internally.
 
Sep 28, 2008 at 5:10 PM Post #92 of 112
Quote:

Originally Posted by user123456 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Deliberately hiding information about the main components would add more of a negative bias towards this amp in my opinion. There has to be some transparency with regards to this essential information. Do bottled water companies hide the source of their water? No, it's on their labels. Some (e.g., Aquafina, Dasani) source their water from local tap reserves, not from the Alps, but that doesn't deter people from buying their product.

Lengthy descriptive paragraphs are written in the product description about the military grade board and types of resistors used, but when it comes to the meat and potatoes of the amp dac -- the op-amp and dac chips -- nothing is mentioned. I find this highly unusual, as other amp makers either provide this information or don't deliberately hide what's being used internally.



We reserve the right for not disclosing the components used in our amps.
If it offends you please do not buy it.
Calling it deceptive in your post # 89 is a little harsh.
Many manufacturers in the electronic world including some of the best in military brds manufacturing that I worked with or those made by other firms do that. Some buy the chips & remove the chip # & install their own part # on it. ARE THEY DECEPTIVE????
Ray Samuels
 
Sep 28, 2008 at 5:21 PM Post #93 of 112
Quote:

Originally Posted by user123456 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Deliberately hiding information about the main components would add more of a negative bias towards this amp in my opinion. There has to be some transparency with regards to this essential information. Do bottled water companies hide the source of their water? No, it's on their labels. Some (e.g., Aquafina, Dasani) source their water from local tap reserves, not from the Alps, but that doesn't deter people from buying their product.

Lengthy descriptive paragraphs are written in the product description about the military grade board and types of resistors used, but when it comes to the meat and potatoes of the amp dac -- the op-amp and dac chips -- nothing is mentioned. I find this highly unusual, as other amp makers either provide this information or don't deliberately hide what's being used internally.


You aren't going to drink an amp. There is a reason for nutritional supplements, i.e. food, to list what ingredients are. Just like the milk products in China, you want to know what you are ingesting. A manufacture of an audio or other electronic device has no obligation to disclose what parts they are using unless they are considered to be a health hazard, which is not the case here. Are you buying a product to listen to or deconstruct? I was in the military and there are pieces of electronics that were not divulged unless you had clearance but that didn't keep the piece of equipment from working as it was supposed to. Why so serious. :^)
 
Sep 28, 2008 at 5:36 PM Post #94 of 112
Personally speaking, not disclosing some components used in the amps is a good idea. This can protect the amp manufacturer from being cloned by some companies illegally(esp those in China)to a certain extent. Also, the manufacturer has the rights to hide some secrets, right?
As an engineer, products being cloned without permission by others will greatly discourage the original creator from creating new products.
 
Sep 28, 2008 at 5:39 PM Post #95 of 112
Besides being a nurse I am also a photographer. People most always watermark there images when placed on the web so they can't be easily copied. This does cover part of the image but most of the time you still get to view the image. It is their right to do so. Buying the image does not mean you buy the right to the original digital file or negative unless the the originator chooses to give you that right and normally this will entail a considerably higher fee.
 
Sep 28, 2008 at 5:44 PM Post #96 of 112
Well, Let me return to the thread and show the picture~

2317959b5507ecf01d250dij1.jpg
 
Sep 28, 2008 at 6:50 PM Post #97 of 112
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Samuels /img/forum/go_quote.gif
We reserve the right for not disclosing the components used in our amps.


Okay, you can give yourself that right, but it would be a disservice to anyone looking to buy your products by withholding this information. I see this scenario similar to someone wanting to buy a computer from the Home Shopping Network but HSN hasn't provided any specific details (cpu speed, ram speed and size, etc.) to the viewer; the customer can only rely on the people who call in saying that it's "super fast and great," to make an informed decision. That isn't right.

I still haven't found the reason why you're doing this, though? This amp can't be compared to some highly classified military device or anything popular or lucrative enough to be cloned by other manufacturers, because it isn't. Name one other audio maker that deliberately wipes out or rebrands critical chips in their product. As far as I know, there are none.
 
Sep 28, 2008 at 7:29 PM Post #98 of 112
Quote:

Originally Posted by user123456 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
....This amp can't be compared to....anything popular or lucrative enough to be cloned by other manufacturers, because it isn't....


Actually, I've deleted posts in the past linking to a particular website that specializes in selling clone kits of a bunch of boutique audio gear (even going so far as to unabashedly state which pieces they're cloning). Headphone audio is becoming increasingly popular as an audiophile pursuit. Things like the Pico and Predator are likely selling in quantities of hundreds, and may one day reach into the thousands (I have no exact figures, but am estimating based on what I've observed). There's enough incentive to clone earphones, headphones, and, yes, to sell to our market, even headphone amps (it has happened here, at least once in a very public way, after a manufacturer discovered his identical circuitry being used in another's commercial offering).

While some might argue or be aggravated by the choice of manufacturers to pot ciruits, or obscure certain parts by other means, that's their prerogative. I believe Ray Samuels Audio posts photos of the insides of their amps with these obscured chips on their very own website, and in their ads here. It doesn't bother me, and I've purchased a few Ray Samuels Audio products myself, based on only on how they performed to my ears. I recently also picked up a Luxman P-1--I have no idea what the inside of my Luxman P-1 looks like (or what's in it), and, like the other audio gear I own, bought it based on what I heard. Of course, this might bother some, and those it does bother can choose not to buy certain products subject to the practice.

That being said, let's get the thread back on topic. As the original poster stated: Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Let's make this a pic-only thread, because who doesn't love looking at pics?
tongue.gif
Post more pics!...


 
Oct 26, 2008 at 12:41 PM Post #103 of 112
more pics
tongue.gif


Click to enlarge.
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Pico

1024*768 (143.2KB)

Pico - Li-Ion Battery

1280*1024 (222.2KB)

Predator

800*600 (113.8KB)

SR-71A

1200*800 (188.3KB)

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Pico - 120g

600*800 (96.6KB)

Predator - 98g

600*800 (97.4KB)

SR-71A - 206g

800*800 (103.8KB)

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Tomahawk, Pico, Predator

Top

1500*750 (240.7KB)

Front

1280*320 (112.2KB)

Rear

1280*320 (73.5KB)

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SR-71A, Hornet, Predator, Tomahawk

Front

1200*200 (78.4KB)

Rear

1200*200 (54.0KB)

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PRII-LE, SR-71A, Hornet, Tomahawk

Top

480*960 (121.6KB)

Front

1152*576 (122.4KB)
 
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