Pico Audio Origa SE Portable Amp

[Steranko]

What do people think about the Portable Pico Audio Origa SE customizable Tuba amp?

Recently playing with this and for the price it's not too bad and customizable tubes.

 

[eskamobob1]

What's pricing like on this and what tubes does it use? I currently have a phantasy ii that I love but this looks damn interesting. Is it OTL? Hybrid? What's going on here?

 

[Surf Monkey]

Here’s a video about it I found on YouTube. It looks pretty cool. Single ended only and very full featured.



I’ve been hunting for a good portable balanced analogue headphone amp (no DAC) and this is the closest I’ve seen so far but I have absolutely no idea how or where to order one. Web search was fruitless.

 

[eskamobob1]

Here’s a video about it I found on YouTube. It looks pretty cool. Single ended only and very full featured.



I’ve been hunting for a good portable balanced analogue headphone amp (no DAC) and this is the closest I’ve seen so far but I have absolutely no idea how or where to order one. Web search was fruitless.

Other options to look into are the allow CDM, WA8, phatlab phantasy ii and analogue squared paper TU-05/TUR-06. Tbh none of the great tube portable amps are balanced though. Just not enough room in a portable for balanced tubes tbh

 

[Surf Monkey]

Other options to look into are the allow CDM, WA8, phatlab phantasy ii and analogue squared paper TU-05/TUR-06. Tbh none of the great tube portable amps are balanced though. Just not enough room in a portable for balanced tubes tbh

Thanks. I’ll look into those. And yeah, I know balanced isn’t going to be an option on a tube portable, but it’s a nice trade off in a single ended amp, and that’s why I’d consider that rig. Thing is, with enough power I don’t *really* need balanced. I can run single ended just fine if the app can fully saturate the cans.

EDIT: the ALO CDM has been in my sights for some time. They only make up a few when they make them.

 

[Amadeo Nospherathu]

Other options to look into are the allow CDM, WA8, phatlab phantasy ii and analogue squared paper TU-05/TUR-06. Tbh none of the great tube portable amps are balanced though. Just not enough room in a portable for balanced tubes tbh

ALO CDM is balanced. It uses dual mono circuitry and can operate in amp mode.
It has balanced input and output, although it uses the now little obsolete 2.5 mm inputs for balanced connection.

 

[eskamobob1]

ALO CDM is balanced. It uses dual mono circuitry and can operate in amp mode.
It has balanced input and output, although it uses the now little obsolete 2.5 mm inputs for balanced connection.

CDM is hybrid, not pure tube like the others mentioned here. Just a note

 

[Amadeo Nospherathu]

CDM is hybrid, not pure tube like the others mentioned here. Just a note

Yes, it's true, its amp is a hybrid.
This is the traditional circuit used in such cases - a tube stage as a pre-amp and a transistor output stage for more power.

 

[eskamobob1]

Yes, it's true, its amp is a hybrid.
This is the traditional circuit used in such cases - a tube stage as a pre-amp and a transistor output stage for more power.

yah, not a knock on it at all. My favorite and main amp (AIC-10) is a hybrid. Just wanted to note it for future readers.

 

[RONJA MESCO]

Other options to look into are the allow CDM, WA8, phatlab phantasy ii and analogue squared paper TU-05/TUR-06. Tbh none of the great tube portable amps are balanced though. Just not enough room in a portable for balanced tubes tbh

and Oriolus BA300...of which I used to own

 

[slumberman]

I am thinking of selling my Pico Origa SE with extra accessories and tubes. Recently bought here on the forum, but have no time for it. Hit me up if interested!

 

[Amadeo Nospherathu]

and Oriolus BA300...of which I used to own

This is true, but I would like to point out something else in favor of things like ALO CDM or Pico Origa.
They allow you to change the tubes. This gives you a lot of room for research and also for upgrading.

I understand why stock tubes are often not very good. It's all about the availability of components. And when it's tubes that are several decades old, it can be difficult to achieve the right quality and batch quantity. Therefore, many equipment manufacturers use something very trivial and widely available as tubes.
However, amplifiers like Phatlab, Fostex, or Oriolus don't allow you to replace the tubes with something better. I understand why these tubes were used there, but when you inquire about their quality, it turns out that they are quite mediocre, so they are the bottleneck of the device.
Of course, you can resolder them, but it will be more like a modification than a simple replacement, as in the case of the above-mentioned devices.

 

[RONJA MESCO]

Other options to look into are the allow CDM, WA8, phatlab phantasy ii and analogue squared paper TU-05/TUR-06. Tbh none of the great tube portable amps are balanced though. Just not enough room in a portable for balanced tubes tbh

plus the new Cayin C9 and Ibasso tube amps

 

[Amadeo Nospherathu]

plus the new Cayin C9 and Ibasso tube amps

Yes, but these are not real portable tubes. They're Nutube.
If you start checking, they were designed to be signaling, not sound. So using them for sound is a bit of a side effect. Like, for example, using nixie tubes for sound. It will work, but not with the sound quality that can be achieved.
So personally, I easily prefer CDM with good tubes to C9. I'm interested in listening to the iBasso Taipan, but I don't expect anything extraordinary from it.