[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would love to have something like my iRiver H120 with a USB out. Now that would be a match made in audio heaven but using the Predator with the line out of the iRiver is still very good and greatly transportable and portable.

The H1xx isn't really the problem. What we need is a Pico/Predator type product (small size/great quality) that will accept an Optical in.

I'm getting tired of lugging around my SR71 and MicroDAC.....even though they sound great.

One double-edged sword with the equipment I have now is that they run on 9 volt batteries. I know 20 years from now they'll still be kicking. Nine volts cost more, but what happens with all of these new amp/DAC combos that use proprietary lithium ion cells? Will they be replaceable years from now? Just food for thought.

 

[jamato8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfen68 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The H1xx isn't really the problem. What we need is a Pico/Predator type product (small size/great quality) that will accept an Optical in. I'm getting tired of lugging around my SR71 and MicroDAC.....even though they sound great. One double-edged sword with the equipment I have now is that they run on 9 volt batteries. I know 20 years from now they'll still be kicking. Nine volts cost more, but what happens with all of these new amp/DAC combos that use proprietary lithium ion cells? Will they be replaceable years from now? Just food for thought.

I have wondered about the batteries. I would doubt though that these amps will be in use by then as there will be a whole new system in place. There are batteries that should hit the market in about two years, maybe a little longer, that will have a new technology that will last ten times longer per charge. It would be nice to have an optical in but it is the small battery in either unit and the extra current that the optical receiver requires, and the additional size, that puts this off. With higher current capability batteries it would be more feasible. Who knows. I do like optical in though.

 

[NoiseGUI]

This comes from my post in the imod vs Pico DAC thread, but belongs here. Going against the grain with my impressions....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aurven /img/forum/go_quote.gif Would you agree with me that the Pico has a lusher, wider and fuller sound while the Predator is somewhat sharper and clearer? Sorry for the imprecise descriptions but I am trying my best here...

I disagree. I feel the Predator (360 hrs) has a lusher, fuller sound, similar soundstage, and predator is also a bit sharper/clearer. When the predator was new, I remember it being duller than my Tomahawk, but the Predator has matured to become a clear winner. Given the similar Pico v Predator sound now, I therefore conclude that the Pico likely sounded much better than the fresh predator.

I do not feel the Pico is livelier as talked about in the initial impressions from early meets and suspect that was because the Predator at that meet was not burnt in. That said, both are fine amps, and while I feel a preference for the predator’s amp, I would not say it is a large margin.

Now the Pico DAC definitely wins with me, but I was after the best DAC and Amp in one. Jamato’s forecast of an improving predator amp does not help in this regard.

 

[Aurven]

RightMark Audio Analyzer test: comparison

Would anyone care to comment on the results above?

 

[DLeeWebb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aurven /img/forum/go_quote.gif RightMark Audio Analyzer test: comparison Would anyone care to comment on the results above?

I'm sorry...I should understand the above but I don't. Could you explain what it means?

 

[Aurven]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DLeeWebb /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm sorry...I should understand the above but I don't. Could you explain what it means?

I am sorry DLeeWebb, I happened to stumble upon this and was hoping that someone could shed light on it... Haha.

 

[Sieg9198]

OMG

The pico's test result is very impressive!!

 

[IvanBarista]

From My Limited Knowledge of Graphs,
The Predator is a 90% compare to the Pico a 94% of IDEAL. Ideal being impossibe perfect Flat response with IDEAL measuring instruments.

So, I Guess they Are both Great, No Great Faults anywhere. if your headphones & Sound Sources are audiophile grade ( $1000s +) The Pico maybe able to Translate it to the equipment. however most of us are using iPod and PC , & Maybe HD6XX or K7xx or DTxx0, The difference will be in flavour of Great Quality, synergy with a Particular headphone.

My two cents worth of Option.

 

[donunus]

I'm curious about the dacs on the pico and predator. I'm wondering if they do their upsampling correctly even when using itunes as a player. Itunes because sometimes i hook up my ipod to my pc via usb and using itunes is usually the default way of playing my ipod music while used on my pc

 

[grawk]

the pico upsamples everything. AFAIK the predator doesn't upsample at all.

 

[donunus]

so the software used is irrelevant to sound quality of the picos dac?

 

[donunus]

assuming there are no sound processing switched on, etc...?

 

[grawk]

lots of things impact te sound before it gets to the pico. But no matter what you do, it iwll be upsampled to 96khz. I don't use windows, so I can't say what specific things you do there will impact.

On the mac, set it to 44.1/16 and you're golden.

 

[Jammin72]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif so the software used is irrelevant to sound quality of the picos dac?

Fairly interesting question. AFAIK there's no way to get bit perfect output from iTunes, it's why so many folks use Foobar with ASIO or Kernel Streaming. Personally I use MediaMonkey for this reason. Not completely related to the thread at hand but may help folks getting digital data out of their computer for the first time with one of these two amps.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jammin72 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Fairly interesting question. AFAIK there's no way to get bit perfect output from iTunes, it's why so many folks use Foobar with ASIO or Kernel Streaming. Personally I use MediaMonkey for this reason. Not completely related to the thread at hand but may help folks getting digital data out of their computer for the first time with one of these two amps.

That's not true, according to everything coming out of the Benchmark DAC1 thread.