[atx]

Quote:

Great comment! (but, umm, doesn't that mean you might stop spending money?)

Thanks, and hopefully yeah, unless Cesar makes a Portaphile V3

 

[goto2003]

Just got my SM V2.0, sounds so much better than SM V1.0 even right out of the box.

 

[bobeau]

I gotta say I feel like a deer in headlights with no other point of reference. Reviewing is not easy stuff - thx for those impressions atx. At only 30 hours it should still improve quite a bit I think.

After having it burn in another 9 hours (bringing it to 40+), listening to it a good 4-5 today, I dunno if it's my ears adjusting to the sound or the burn in, but it definitely seems there's more weight/dimension to the sound. In fact I would say there's a certain magic that's beginning to reveal itself. Pulling the amp out of the loop the EMU now is ridiculously thin to my ears, to a degree I really hadn't noticed before, esp. when AB'ing this morning. Also the buzz in the left driver has gotten worse. Arghh! I'll hold onto the Etys for another week to ensure proper burn-in.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by atx Now comes the SR71. Is it a better amp? In the fact that it has more detail and air, most definitely it's a better amp!

Well... different people have different definition of "better" but to me more detail and air is not necessarily the only factor. There's so much more to sound since it's complex.

 

[bobeau]

Wow, I just checked out some Dave Clark 5 stuff... not great recordings by any means (great music though

), they're now taking on an entirely new organic quality, as if the sound is leaping out at you. It's hard to describe except it sounds as if there's a dsp effect added to the mix, like a surround sound which doesn't actually degrade the signal.

 

[atx]

Quote:

Just got my SM V2.0, sounds so much better than SM V1.0 even right out of the box

I'll keep an eye out for this amp, but for now, I'm a portaphile convert !!

I don't know, with 8 batteries, I think the form factor of the supermacro may be its own limitation. There's no way the supermacro can use the same capacitors as the Portaphile.

Quote:

It's hard to describe except it sounds as if there's a dsp effect added to the mix, like a surround sound which doesn't actually degrade the signal.

Exactly. That "surround" sound is the dimensional effect I was referring to.

It's missing from the sr71 and the supermacro.

 

[Seijang]

I did not see any references thus far (probably a bit premature) to using the Portaphile v2 with Shure earbuds.

I was wondering if any review including the Shure earbuds (either e3 or e5, I guess) with the Portaphile v2 was upcoming. I am very interested in an amp. ^^

Thanks in advance for any responses,

best regards
Seij

 

[bobeau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by atx Exactly. That "surround" sound is the dimensional effect I was referring to. It's missing from the sr71 and the supermacro.

Yeah reading over your most recent impressions it does sound like we're on the same page - you much more eloquently stated what I'm just beginning to hear.

I was zoning out from the music toward the last few hours busily trying to get a build of my app out, and when done and I was able to focus on the music again. Earlier I was playing around with eq settings a bunch, and I thought "hmm, how much bass boost did I leave it at?". Checked foobar and saw _none_. I was listening to Belle and Sebastian at that moment and I guess those are very light, crystalline recordings by nature, so it was hard to realize at first before I started to sample other things. For instance, I was listening to Zepellin in the morning and thought it lacked punch without eqing in at least 8 dBs at the bottom, but tonight with no boost it had pretty good impact, and then there's that very sweet effect which gave it a certain sheen that was lacking, some of the midrange honkiness was gone, etc.

 

[Oski]

Thanks for the wonderfully written reviews atx and Bobeau...well I've just ordered one myself from the second batch, which gets sent out next Friday. Look forward to sharing my impressions as well.

 

[rab10]

ATX, Thanks for your excellent reviews on the Portaphile V2. I haven't
made the decision if I want to upgrade my portable amp (SuperMacro
V1, powered by 627 OPAMP) to a SR-71, or go with the Portaphile V2 to
compare and roll OPAMPS between the SuperMacro and Portaphile V2
to see which sound satisfies my needs, and current equipment, the most.

Quote:

Originally Posted by atx Now, I've heard the supermacro with 637s loaded... When all is said and done, the supermacro produces a re-interpretation of the sound, but it doesn't add anything essential to it-- at least, not the way the Portaphile does.

This is in reference to the SuperMacro V1. Correct? The SuperMacro V2
would most be comparable (or better?) to the Portaphile V2, and I don't
think a head-to-head comparison has been posted yet.

So in keeping with the title of this thread "Portaphile V2 Owners" please
post your impressions on the Portaphile V2 (and post pics!) If you can
compare the Portaphile V2 with the SR-71 and SuperMacro (any versions
please state, but preferably V2) that would help a lot of Head-Fi ers out.

Thanks!

 

[bobeau]

Both V2s of the Portaphile and Supermacro just came out, I imagine it's gonna be tough to find people with both, at least for awhile. Best bet is to watch the meet impressions forum. I'm sure Romanee will get his hands on both sooner or later.

I'll gladly bring my amp to the next SoCal meet, but that's at least a half year away...

 

[bobeau]

I have an idea - since the Portaphile and SuperMacro have trial windows, how about some of you fence sitters order both, then keep the one which better meets your needs? Might be a good idea to be upfront with Cesar/Xin about it, but all in all I think they would encourage these comparisons making their way into the public domain. Regardless of circuit similarities I have a feeling it's not going to come down to one clearly being better than another, more like different. And regardless the Portaphile will hold an edge with the lower price/simplicity as will the SM with the extra convenience/configurability, so they're still not really heads-on competition anyway. It should be healthy publicity for both builders.

 

[atx]

Quote:

This is in reference to the SuperMacro V1. Correct? .... If you can compare the Portaphile V2 with the SR-71 and SuperMacro (any versions please state, but preferably V2) that would help a lot of Head-Fi ers out

Yes, I was referring to the SM V1. I think it will be hard to find an "objective" review of SM V2 vs PPhile V2 unless the person own both amps (or neither). I find that people tend to favor the amps they own, or at least, find more positives than negatives.

I do own the sr71, so at least, with regards to that, my opinion between the sr71 and portaphile isn't biased.

 

[Romanee]

A Portaphile V2 is on its way to me. I've been planning to do something about getting a maxed-out SM so perhaps I'll explore that soon with the SMV2, but at this time I only have the use of an older SM V1 with 2x8610 & 2xBUF634 onboard -- and it's getting a course of additional burnin to hear if that will clear up some of its apparent anomalies. The highs may actually have cleared up a little. That particular SM is well below the Portaphile V2's enjoyment level -- even based on an early Portaphile V2 beta unit. Who knows -- I might feel differently with a current, optimized SM. Time will tell. I always remain a skeptic, albeit an open-minded one (highly opinionated, though).

As Bobeau says, each has its own niche and don't really compete head-to-head. That said, there will certainly be those who are convinced that one or the other is sonically better. How boring 'twould be without different perspectives and perceptions.

BTW - It seems that Cesar hasn't yet been able to get knurled thumbscrews with posts short enough for his needs, and so the differences in lengths would appear to the result of manually sizing them. I don't know if or when that will change.

 

[bobeau]

Well that same sweetness that developed last night certainly wasn't a dream, I've been having a very nice morning listening to my music. I don't believe the bass got appreciably heavier, maybe tighter in such a way that it seems to have more body. A flat eq suits me just fine, any boost above 5 dB seems to give too much weight to the bottom. Perhaps also the crystalline sound signature that's developed is better suited without it. Really happy with the thing it has going on.

Nexus9, Pleconin, any comments? Others from the first batch?