[Dreadhead]

A while ago I asked Justin at Headamp to let me try out the Pico and he graciously arranged for me to borrow one from Recstar24. I want to thank both of them for giving me the opportunity and also curse them because now I really want to buy one.

IF you look at my signature I have a rather high end rig at home with a GS-X sourced by a Bel Canto DAC3, HD800s and Qualias. Also for portable listening I use a Creative Zen Vision M, Headamp AE2, and Etymotic ER-4s.

Amp Listening:
This amp is perfect for portable listening and also has the added benefit that when you arrive you can plug it into your computer and use it to play audio from you computer (usually lossless in my case, more on this later). The signature is that there is no signature and that's the way any amp should be in my opinion and is Justin's signature.

The noise floor is vanishingly low with my ER-4s or any other phones I have. I am afraid I don't have any other more sensitive IEMs to check for noise issues but if you read elsewhere it seems like the Pico is good/great in this area too.

DAC Listening:
I have not compared the Pico with my DAC3 but I have compared it to the M-Audio Transit USB. Even at first glance the Pico's relative drubbing of the transit on build quality alone is enough to justify the price difference. The Pico also adds a much easier to use driver (no having to switch for hi-rez) and less clunky mini-usb connection to boot.

Sound wise the to my ear the two are more similar than they are different (which is how DACs should be) but I think the Pico is more transparent and powerful than the Transit.

Summary:
Great Stuff (as usual) from Justin

Some Pics (please excuse my phone camera):

 

[aamefford]

I own two pieces of gear that will likely never go up for sale - my ESW10's and my Pico with DAC. The Pico is truly a wonderful piece.

 

[vkvedam]

Cool!

 

[Godziltw]

Pico w/DAC is currently my favorite amp

 

[zeckwsr]

sorry to revive a old thread
but would you mind elaborating a bit more on the SQ difference between the transit and pico
because i have the transit and would like to upgrade

and do you own other dac other besides these two?
how do you compare transit to them?

thanks a lot mate

 

[Booda]

Amp Listening:
This amp is perfect for portable listening and also has the added benefit that

Sound wise the to my ear the two are more similar than they are different (which is how DACs should be) but I think the Pico is more transparent and powerful than the Transit.

Hi, Do you mean other DACs also sound similar to each other? Or a amp is main diference between the AMP/DAC hybrid?

 

[Dreadhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeckwsr /img/forum/go_quote.gif sorry to revive a old thread but would you mind elaborating a bit more on the SQ difference between the transit and pico because i have the transit and would like to upgrade and do you own other dac other besides these two? how do you compare transit to them? thanks a lot mate

As I stated above I have a Bel Canto DAC3 in my home setup (though other things have changed since I've written this). I have also auditioned a Weiss DAC2 and Mytek Stereo96, and owned a Benchmark DAC1 USB. I also own a Behringer DEQ2496 which I listen to a lot as a DAC as well as for its many other features.

I'm not sure how I compare them to the Transit. To be honest to my ear (after exacting volume matching using a voltmeter and signal generator) the differences between DACs are usually pretty minor except for some where they are tube based or designed to do "something" to the sound (be that DSP, Phase delay, etc).

The Pico is not designed to do anything to the signal other than pass it along as recorded which it does very well. You also get amazing build quality of all HeadAmp products.

The Transit is designed to pass the signal along way though I bet not nearly as much thought and care went into the circuit design as the Pico nor does it have the same level of refinement in the parts and measured performance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Booda /img/forum/go_quote.gif Amp Listening: This amp is perfect for portable listening and also has the added benefit that Sound wise the to my ear the two are more similar than they are different (which is how DACs should be) but I think the Pico is more transparent and powerful than the Transit. Hi, Do you mean other DACs also sound similar to each other? Or a amp is main diference between the AMP/DAC hybrid?

The two dacs sound similar (as they should). The differentiator for DACs (to my ear) is when they are driven to distortion, how they deal with fast transients (cymbals etc) and other small details. These things need refinement and in my foggy memory I remember the Pico just seeming to have a little more power and refinement to control these elements.

 

[zeckwsr]

thanks for your comments dreadhead
and reading your comments makes me think the money spent for more expensive dac is not worth it

one more question
when using the transit to connect to a pair of active speakers, do you max out the volume on the pc or?

and i have always wanted to make sure about this, increasing the volume on the pc would increase the volume of the digital signals and wouldnt affect the SQ would it?
so wouldn't it be best to max the volume of digital signals rather than to use the amplifier to increase the volume of the music?