Predator vs. Pico?

[909]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romanee /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a wonderful imagination. Nonetheless, the sudden change from Sparkly, bright, noisy and bass-lean to warm, Rich, deep, clean and soft -- well, I'd have to be on magic mushrooms to be imagining that. No I don't do -- well, my drugs of choice are Claritin and Aleve -- and Sleepytime Tea. Anyway, that shift was too drastic to be subjective. Well … I suppose you might call anything subjective, and in a way everything perceived and expressed is subjective -- including the allegedly scientific "psychoacoustic" chestnut -- and pretty much most if not all of this human experience.

belief is powerful & hearing is believing, but even a sober mind can play tricks.

what's changing?
listener perspective,
component,
or both... (plus other variables and factors)

i don't know, but i don't easily dismiss plausible explanations.

 

[czech09]

Predator

 

[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 909 /img/forum/go_quote.gif belief is powerful & hearing is believing, but even a sober mind can play tricks. what's changing? listener perspective, component, or both... (plus other variables and factors) i don't know, but i don't easily dismiss plausible explanations.

Location: Milky Way -- far out, man!

Sober mind? Ahhh -- so pedestrian. My mind's savoring a tot of Bowmore Dusk -- complex, smoky, delicious. Mmmmm. (My stomach can't handle it so well, but the imagining is so tasty.)

Don't ask me where this is going. Somehow you set me off on a tangent.

Actually, maybe I will head into kitchen for that tasting. No listening to do at this hour, so no worries about rolled of highs -- so to speak.

Night all.

edit ... Yep. A tiny taste really hit the spot. Rich on the nose with just a hint of orange and honey, too! Brought a smile to my weary bones. Maybe the Predator has a hint of honey, orange and peat, too? I keed, I keed -- though it is rich and complex.

We need Maxim the Insult Comic Dog to lighten things up -- but most of his shtick would be bleeped here.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Haha, Romanee sounds like he's having fun over at his place.

And this is, to my extent of knowledge, a first of somebody mentioning that the Pico goes through the burn-in wringer as well (just like the Predator).

I look forward to future observations and developments!

 

[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif Haha, Romanee sounds like he's having fun over at his place. And this is, to my extent of knowledge, a first of somebody mentioning that the Pico goes through the burn-in wringer as well (just like the Predator). I look forward to future observations and developments!

I really should suspend expectations and pre-judices, but if the Pico grows like its big AE-2 sibling, the course may well be much, much shorter than the Predator's Pilgrim's Progress-s-s-s-s.

The fun is in the finding.

BTW -- Ray's craft is rock solid and finely finished, as always -- but did I mention that the Pico's glossy piano-black finish is very sexy?

 

[uppis]

I said earlier in Pico-thread that to my ears, Pico's bass had evolved, but my comments were knocked out quickly..

But now I'm happy that at least someone agrees with me.

 

[Romanee]

Before I head home, here are a few terrible, lo-res, cell phone verite snapshots of the office audio lab for today (my old Samsung SCH-A870 -- sorry -- need one of those 5mpx phones). If you're prone to migraines -- look away!

 

[antonyfirst]

Romanee, can you give a comparison among the AE2 and Predator (and, when the Pico is fully burned in, add it too)? Thanks!

 

[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by antonyfirst /img/forum/go_quote.gif Romanee, can you give a comparison among the AE2 and Predator (and, when the Pico is fully burned in, add it too)? Thanks!

Sadly, the 2 AE-2 units I had were loaners and have been gone for a while. The AE-2 made a strong impression, tho', so I'll offer a few comments.

AE-2 has a unique sound and is really unlike the Pico or Predator, or any other amp that I've heard. I recall it having a lush, luxe, seductive sound with a good illusion of spatial dimension, layering of instruments (different and not quite as complex as my Portaphile), very liquid and musical presentation.

The Predator I have here (around 1300+ hours) is more neutral, more extended and "open", more inner detail/definition/articulation and faster leading edges. To my ears the Predator has better timbral recreation and more complete presentation of the full shape and texture of instruments (drums, cymbals, guitars, cellos, etc., etc.).

The Pico is still evolving, but at this point in its 'burn-in curve", switching to the Predator gives me some of the "Ahhh" sensation I get with the SR-71 -- great musicality, air (less than the SR-71), and a "je ne sais quoi" that makes its sound feel right to me.

The Pico's top end has begun to open up again (at around 100+ hours), but the balance is still not quite right

That said, the AE-2 is very musical and involving and hard to unplug. As with some other portables, it didn't sound wonderful out of the box. Asr had his new AE-2 next to his mature AE-1 at HeadFest 2007 and to my ears the two sounded nearly identical (which wasn't good for me since I always felt the AE-1 was upper-mid prominent, had a big mid-bass bump, a discontiguous spectrum, often unnatural sound with some instruments, etc.), whereas Justin's 2 AE-2 units at his table sounded super-luxe and delicious -- and nothing like the AE-1. After Asr had his AE-2 for a quite a while and obviously got a lot of hours on it, he suddenly the "wow" experience and found the love for it.

For my musical prefs, the Predator is still leading. At this point, the Pico's upper-bass-thru-mids warmth, and its great power reserves are attractive for many "aural palates" (sorry about that...) -- but I'm reserving any final comments until I feel it's really optimized, which I don't believe it is now.

More -- and probably different -- remarks to come as the evolution continues. Fun-Fun-Fun.

 

[antonyfirst]

Awesome, thank you very much. Can you make a size comparison between the AE-2 and SR-71?
About the Predator, would you say it's better or equal to the SR-71? I don't recall being any comparisons between these two.

 

[vcoheda]

that's a lot of portable power you got there.

it's nice to see someone enjoying both the predator and pico and not feeling the need to say one is great while the other sucks.

 

[mrarroyo]

Last Saturday I met with vorlon1 and we had the opportunity to test the following amps side by side.

- SR-71
- The Predator
- The Pico w/ DAC
- MiniBox-E
- MiniBox-E+

The newer MiniBox-E+ is certainly a better performer than the previous MiniBox-E. The main difference were the clearer, and more detailed presentation w/ more air in between the notes. IMO the bass was also deeper w/ more definition.

Then I compared the amp section of the Predator w/ the Pico. When used as an amp I definitely preferred the Predator's presentation. I found it thicker, deeper, and with more impact. The Pico in comparison was thin and un-involving. Then came the surprise!

When used as both a DAC and an Amp the Pico was my favorite!

gone was the dullness the Pico had and it was a very involving and fun amp. I can not explain what caused the 180 degree in the sound but it was there for me to hear.

I then compared the amp section of the Predator, the Pico, and the SR-71. To me with my ears and my gear (Ultrasone PROline 2500, iModded 4th Gen iPod Photo (60GB), and an interconnect by Revelation Audio the ranking would be:

1. SR-71
2. The Predator
3. The Pico

If I include the MiniBox-E+ on the amp section comparison then the ranking would be:

1. MiniBox-E+
2. SR-71
3. The Predator
4. The Pico

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1. SR-71 2. The Predator 3. The Pico

I'm very interested in the Predator amp vs. the SR71 amp. I've so far heard from one forum member that they are very similar, but the predator has a little more soundstage and more (deeper) bass. I'm going to compare them next week when I get my hands on a Predator.

 

[donunus]

mrarroyo just wondering. Since youve heard the CI amp. Where would it stack up as an amp against those portables soundwise? I'm interested in getting an amp and a dac in the future and want something that sounds great and dont care whether it is portable or not

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif mrarroyo just wondering. Since youve heard the CI amp. Where would it stack up as an amp against those portables soundwise? I'm interested in getting an amp and a dac in the future and want something that sounds great and dont care whether it is portable or not

Comparing portables w/ home amps is not a real nor a valid comparison. IMO the power supply plays one of the biggest part in the overall ability of an amp. This is even more important when weak sources or when high impedence or low efficiency headphones are used.

IMO the CI VHP-2 w/ its dedicated PSU sounds better than portable amps. But it is not rigth to compare them, both have different uses and purposes.

Good luck in your search.