[HeatFan12]

Hello head-ampers,
 
Well, as the title states, what are / have been your favorites?
 
First things first- For those not in the know- "FOTM" (Flavor Of The Month).
 
A term used very much here on head-fi.  What does it mean?
 
Well, in a nutshell-  An amp (or of course any product, for that matter) that comes out and many folks jump on it and they say it's the best thing since sliced bread and what they are hearing is just simply amazing.  A month later you check the for sale forum and the amp is up for sale by said individuals and there is no longer interest in the amp.  Hmmm...What is going on here?  The term has always perplexed me.
 
- Did the amp stop sounding good all of a sudden?
- Did it stop working?
- Was there an expiration date on the amp that would make it blow up?
- Was it not "cool" to own the amp anymore?
 
Don't know...
 
Well, I guess we just move on to bigger and better and maybe a new "FOTM" comes around and the cycle continues...Is it always that way?.....Good times for sure....
 
 
One of my favorite FOTMs is the LD I+. 
 
 
 

 
 
 Versatile, low cost little amp that can use three families of tubes, rollable op-amps and is geared to low impedance cans.
 
 
Quite frankly what prompted me to start this thread was that I recently posted in the "I+ tube rolling thread" and when I checked the date the thread was started it was two years ago and has over 50+ pages.....Imagine that.....IMO, my I+ is the FOT24M to me...lol
 
 
So, post your favorites that have "come and gone" OR "have come and stayed".
 
All-in-one boxes (Headphone amp/DAC/Pre-amp) are also welcome.
 
Hopefully if we get a couple of posts in here, we can look back and see all the changes as time goes by.
 
Cheers

 

[Uncle Erik]

One of the very few FOTMs I bought into was the HeadFive. It's a good little amp, but was sold to make way (IIRC) for the Zana Deux. No regrets.

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

One of the very few FOTMs I bought into was the HeadFive. It's a good little amp, but was sold to make way (IIRC) for the Zana Deux. No regrets.

Good one Uncle E....I remember that amp when I first joined.  A lot of head-fiers had it at the time and there must be some still floating around.  IIRC there were group buys with it also.
 
I think I'll regret it, if I ever part with the I+.  About nine months after I purchased my original amp, one went up for sale on the forum at a good price with some nice upgraded tubes and I snatched it up.  I did not mind switching the jumpers to roll the different families of tubes, but with it being low cost, I now have one setup with the EF91/92 tube family and the other with the 408a family.
 
Even though I currently own a couple of other amps, I still go to the I+ regularly....Good investment for me, IMO.
 

 

[HeatFan12]

"FOTM" count
 
[size=10pt]Audio-GD Sparrow (1)[/size]
[size=10pt][size=10pt][size=10pt]Headamp Pico[/size][/size] Amp/DAC (1)[/size]
[size=10pt][size=10pt]Headamp Pico DAC (1)[/size][/size]
[size=10pt]HeadRoom Ultra Desktop Amp/DAC (1)[/size]
[size=10pt]Heed CanAmp (2)[/size]
[size=10pt]iBasso D2 Boa (1)[/size]
[size=10pt]iBasso D4 Mamba (1)[/size]
[size=10pt][size=10pt]K.I.C.A.S. (2)[/size][/size]
[size=10pt]LD I+ (4)[/size]
[size=10pt]Matrix M-Stage (1)[/size]
[size=10pt]Meier Concerto (1)[/size]
[size=10pt]Meier HeadFive (1)[/size]
[size=10pt][size=10pt]NuForce HDP (1)[/size][/size]
[size=10pt][size=10pt]NuForce uDac (2)[/size][/size]
[size=10pt][size=10pt][size=10pt][size=10pt]RSA Tomahawk (1)[/size][/size][/size][/size]
[size=10pt][size=10pt][size=10pt][size=10pt]Schiit Asgard (1)[/size][/size][/size][/size]
[size=10pt][size=10pt][size=10pt]Singlepower Extreme (1)[/size][/size][/size]
 
[size=10pt][size=10pt][size=10pt]  [/size][/size][/size]
[size=10pt][size=10pt] [/size][/size]

 

[TobaccoRoad]

Not sure about FOTM amp but what I do know is that Carmelo is coming to NY and gonna whoop Miami's ass!

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

Not sure about FOTM amp but what I do know is that Carmelo is coming to NY and gonna whoop Miami's ass!

LOL....Sounds like a plan...I believe 12-17-10 is their first meeting.
 
I guess your post is somewhat appropriate to this thread and it does have some relevance to FOTM- Spend all your money on one player (AS) that does not know how many games are in an NBA season because he seldom plays half of them.....lol...JK of course.  I like Stoudie and it was a shame the way they (Suns) could not finish it off last year....I was pulling for them...Maybe it was just the weather in Phoenix and he'll shine in NYC.

 

[Geir]

D2 Boa(sold) and LD1+(kept)
Now looking to put some more money onto this, but the D2 first showed me what "hid behind the veil" and revealed, if not tons, quite a few more details of the music that I did not know existed.

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

D2 Boa(sold) and LD1+(kept)
Now looking to put some more money onto this, but the D2 first showed me what "hid behind the veil" and revealed, if not tons, quite a few more details of the music that I did not know existed.

Great example Geir.  iBasso came onto the scene and is still going strong.  Been reading about their portable balanced DAC & amp offerings. Good stuff.  Just hard to keep up with all the letters- D2...P3...D10...T4....lol

 

[Paganini Alfredo]

I'm voting for HeadRoom's Ultra Desktop Amp/DAC....
 
We all know how many people have fallen prey due to its FOTM status....

 

[FallenAngel]

Pico DAC, Audio-GD Sparrow, both very cool.

 

[vrln]

NuForce Icon HDP. Very satisfied with it... A fantastic swiss army knife for audio, and it got me interested in headphone hifi. One of the best things I ever bought.

 

[REDH0RN]

Although it will not drive my 601's the PA2V2 LOD'd to 4th gen iPod really improves the sound of the Koss Porta-Pro's. My entry point into ampdom. Now to get a LD I+ to see how it fares with 601's.

 

[krmathis]

The RSA Tomahawk

 

[roker]

Quote:

So, post your favorites that have "come and gone" OR "have come and stayed".
 

Come and gone:
 
uDac-1 - it didn't stand the test of time for me.  I felt it only sounded good with my Grados but since it needed a USB to work, I had virtually no use for it with my LDI+ sitting on my desk.
 
Have come and stayed:
 
The LDI+   I shouldn't be able to count this as a FOTM for me since I bought it a year after it was introduced thanks to the glowing reviews here on head-fi

 

[spartan123]

Meir Concerto -- wonderful SS amp!