audionewbi
Headphoneus Supremus
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- Jan 24, 2010
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I posted this in the other thread, I will do so here as well:
Linkhttp://www.head-fi.org/t/198149/the-upcoming-portaphile-shohin#post_11708317
I am not just bumping an old thread for no reason , some of you might have noticed that Cesar has announced the future release of his Shohin amp back in may. Specwise I have no idea what is inside it and I have not opened it yet. I will leave those information for later as I want to first listen to this unit without any part bias.
The model I currently have is not the final product, i am just listening to this unit for give a final feedback on the unit. Size and how the model looks is infact the same as the Portaphile micro.
The picture above looks identical to the model I currently have in my possession, I will take some pictures during the weekend.
Early sound impression:
When I get a new gear I take 6 IEMS out, I will mention why later in my longer proper review (if it comes to that stage): Kaede II, K3003, EX1000, Ortofon eQ-8, IM04, Dita Truth.
First thing that stands out is it has a particular strong emphasis on treble and higher frequency yet the lower end remains very compact and never suffering from any midbass bloat. The soundstage is not vast and remains more inline of 627x. It really depends on what IEM you are using, paired with Kaede II the classical music had a larger enough soundstage but on its own this amp remains neutral when it comes to soundstage. Unlike Wagnus Epsilon S which just has a larger 3D sound that just tries to show itself regardless of what IEM we are using.
It feels like this amp maintains the bass quality of 627x but the quantity has increased a few db with bass but the treble energy is considerably more. I will not consider this a V shaped sounding amp as the midrang is inline with bass, it has a very forward sound due to the more treble emphasis.It makes 627x sound dull. I have never heard my Kaede II and IM04 sound this good, in particular IM04 which is an IEM that I disliked for how its lacks treble spark.
IEM pairing:
I just disliked the pairing with K3003, the tuning is off.
Dita Truth, I always complained that with the wrong source/amp the wondering decay of Dita can come across as woolly, just very loose bass but with Shohin it just sounds right but brighter recording sound bright/sibilant.
Kaede II: Too soon to call it but I am willing to say it, this is the best amp that I have heard for Kaede II. Treble detail and extension is out of the scale (will not really but you get my excitement). I try to make it sound sibilant but it doesnt, this is the magic of Kaede II engineering, it will sound bright but not sibilant (at least not for me).
ATH IM04: I always complained about the lack of treble extension, lack of proper sub-bass, despite the BA no speed, instrument separation average but with Shohin all that changes. The treble gained the extension that I never managed to get no matter how hard I tried. I even tried to change cable for IM04 and out of my Chord HUGO with the new cable IM04 sound remained the same. Different story with Shohin. IM04 transformed to a much more expensive IEM sound. Part of the treble reminds me of the EX-1000 (without the harsh 5 khz peak)
I could not listen to the other IEM as battery ran out, more to come later.
What I wish for: lower low gain setting.
The gain at low setting produce no hissing noise at all while I turn the volume knob, also no hissing is produced when I turn the knob however I feel the gain might be high for sources where the lineout is loud . The high gain just produce hissing at the lowest setting and I really don't know what that high gain is aimed for as I do not see anyone to use an amp of this size with harder to drive IEM. Perhaps it is wiser to reduce lower gain and just add 2 db to the current lower gain setting of Shohin, That is my wish but I don't know if that might alter the sound.
Will I say this is an amp for treble head, maybe, yes maybe but I rather would describe is as a revealing amp and for most cases anything which is classed as revealing. Revealing of what? For now I will say the song itself. Quick listening of the same song from both my NWZ A16 walkman and Lotoo PAW Gold produce the same microdetail however LPG produced a better dynamic ranger but that is just better dynamic ranger, I was able to pick up the same faint breathing that I hear in the track (eyes shut-Nocturne in C minor from the album The chopin project ).
I guess at its current status it will not offer the same universal performance as something like the objective 2 amp or better the Meier Audio Quickstep (which is the same size and has the wider soundstage).
Linkhttp://www.head-fi.org/t/198149/the-upcoming-portaphile-shohin#post_11708317
I am not just bumping an old thread for no reason , some of you might have noticed that Cesar has announced the future release of his Shohin amp back in may. Specwise I have no idea what is inside it and I have not opened it yet. I will leave those information for later as I want to first listen to this unit without any part bias.
The model I currently have is not the final product, i am just listening to this unit for give a final feedback on the unit. Size and how the model looks is infact the same as the Portaphile micro.
The picture above looks identical to the model I currently have in my possession, I will take some pictures during the weekend.
Early sound impression:
When I get a new gear I take 6 IEMS out, I will mention why later in my longer proper review (if it comes to that stage): Kaede II, K3003, EX1000, Ortofon eQ-8, IM04, Dita Truth.
First thing that stands out is it has a particular strong emphasis on treble and higher frequency yet the lower end remains very compact and never suffering from any midbass bloat. The soundstage is not vast and remains more inline of 627x. It really depends on what IEM you are using, paired with Kaede II the classical music had a larger enough soundstage but on its own this amp remains neutral when it comes to soundstage. Unlike Wagnus Epsilon S which just has a larger 3D sound that just tries to show itself regardless of what IEM we are using.
It feels like this amp maintains the bass quality of 627x but the quantity has increased a few db with bass but the treble energy is considerably more. I will not consider this a V shaped sounding amp as the midrang is inline with bass, it has a very forward sound due to the more treble emphasis.It makes 627x sound dull. I have never heard my Kaede II and IM04 sound this good, in particular IM04 which is an IEM that I disliked for how its lacks treble spark.
IEM pairing:
I just disliked the pairing with K3003, the tuning is off.
Dita Truth, I always complained that with the wrong source/amp the wondering decay of Dita can come across as woolly, just very loose bass but with Shohin it just sounds right but brighter recording sound bright/sibilant.
Kaede II: Too soon to call it but I am willing to say it, this is the best amp that I have heard for Kaede II. Treble detail and extension is out of the scale (will not really but you get my excitement). I try to make it sound sibilant but it doesnt, this is the magic of Kaede II engineering, it will sound bright but not sibilant (at least not for me).
ATH IM04: I always complained about the lack of treble extension, lack of proper sub-bass, despite the BA no speed, instrument separation average but with Shohin all that changes. The treble gained the extension that I never managed to get no matter how hard I tried. I even tried to change cable for IM04 and out of my Chord HUGO with the new cable IM04 sound remained the same. Different story with Shohin. IM04 transformed to a much more expensive IEM sound. Part of the treble reminds me of the EX-1000 (without the harsh 5 khz peak)
I could not listen to the other IEM as battery ran out, more to come later.
What I wish for: lower low gain setting.
The gain at low setting produce no hissing noise at all while I turn the volume knob, also no hissing is produced when I turn the knob however I feel the gain might be high for sources where the lineout is loud . The high gain just produce hissing at the lowest setting and I really don't know what that high gain is aimed for as I do not see anyone to use an amp of this size with harder to drive IEM. Perhaps it is wiser to reduce lower gain and just add 2 db to the current lower gain setting of Shohin, That is my wish but I don't know if that might alter the sound.
Will I say this is an amp for treble head, maybe, yes maybe but I rather would describe is as a revealing amp and for most cases anything which is classed as revealing. Revealing of what? For now I will say the song itself. Quick listening of the same song from both my NWZ A16 walkman and Lotoo PAW Gold produce the same microdetail however LPG produced a better dynamic ranger but that is just better dynamic ranger, I was able to pick up the same faint breathing that I hear in the track (eyes shut-Nocturne in C minor from the album The chopin project ).
I guess at its current status it will not offer the same universal performance as something like the objective 2 amp or better the Meier Audio Quickstep (which is the same size and has the wider soundstage).
