mrarroyo
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2005
- Posts
- 19,073
- Likes
- 43
For this comparison I used the following gear:
oApple iPod Classic 160 Gb filles w/ Apple Lossless Files
oALO Six Shooter line out (99.99% silver)
oSR71 w/ “lots of hours”
oSR71A w/ about 725 hours of burn-in
oYuin OK1 buds
For music I used:
oPaul Hardcastle – Jazzmasters V
oKeiko Matsui – Full Moon and The Shrine
First off I will say that I am a Ray’s fan-boy, there you have it. Up-front so no one has any doubts. To me it is easy to appreciate Ray’s work. His gear is built like a tank, he provides excellent customer service, and ships amps faster than fast.
In the beginning and for the first 200 or so hours of burn-in I was not very happy w/ the SR71A. The bass was sloppy and it had way too much, to the point that it masked the upper mids and the treble. If I had not had experience w/ other of Ray’s portable amps I would have sold it. However I remembered that both the Hornet “M” and the Tomahawk needed extensive burn-in (about 800+ hours) so I kept burning-in the SR71A, which as of today it has about 725 hours. I will probably keep burning it till it reaches 1,000 hours of burn in and post an update to this review.
On a side note, I really wish there was a way to accelerate the process since we are looking at 30 to 40 days of continuous use to achieve 720 or 950 hours of burn-in. Many will not be able to devote said time specially if the SR71A is the only amp they own.
But those who have the time they will be rewarded w/ an amp that drastically changes from 200 hours to 700+ hours of burn-in. It literally is like two different amps. Those who do not believe in burn-in, well I guess you are lucky and can enjoy it (or not) from day one.
I would like to point out that IMO the evolution of the SR71A is not subtle. You will notice that:
oThe bass stops being boomy and tightens up
oThe bass settles down, it will remain punchy and powerful but it will not adversely affect the upper mids or the treble
oThe “up-front personality” of the SR71A mellows, and although it retains some of its “in your face” presentation it is not harsh nor shrill
I am lucky in being able to make this comparison. The SR71 used is the same one I sold over a year ago to a fellow head-fier. Luckily for me he put it up for sale a couple of weeks ago and I grabbed it. The seller sent it to Ray to have the gain adjusted from 2 (he used the SR71 w/ iems) to “normal” the gain of 6.
In sumary he two amps are close, yet each has enough differences that I would consider them to be two different amps. Thus they can be used for different purposes with the original SR71:
oBeing more relaxed and with an slightly mellower presentation
oHaving a wider soundstage
oDisplaying more air between the notes, possibly because it is more extended in the upper mids and treble (minor but discernible)
On the other hand the SR71A has:
oDeeper and punchier bass
oMore of an in your face presentation
oCuts through and demands attention
So if I was going on a trip (airplane, bus, etc.) or if I was going to be in place w/ a lot of things going on around me I would take the SR71A. Its attention grabbing and a more in your face presentation would allow me to tune the outside world and enjoy the music.
On the other hand if I was sitting down w/ a cup of coffee to read the newspaper, or if I was going to be studying at a library I would choose the SR71.
Since I believe in burn-in I will continue the process until the SR71A reaches about 1,000 hours. I will also be ordering a pair of Tysonic 9Volt batteries as recommended by Jamato8 to try. Will keep you posted.
November 8, 2008: Update
Today I spent a bit of time comparing them again. Now the SR71A has about 875 hours of burn-in. Furthermore I am using the Tysonic 200 mAh low discharge and low internal resistance 9 Volt rehargeable batteries. It is my opinion that the Tysonic batteries do make a slight difference in openness and in better extension. All four Tysonic batteries used were on their initial charge. Have no idea if they need burn-in or not, jamato8 will probably chime in and let us know.
For headphones I once again used the Ultrasone PROline 2500 and the Yuin OK1. For line out I used two by ALO: Six Shooter and SXC. The source used was as expected my 160 Gb iPod Classic w/ apple lossless files. For music I used Rachel Ferrel’s album Rachel Ferrel. The song was “Waiting”.
Below is a picture of the gear used today, and of the Tysonic batteries.
In a nutshell all of my findings from a week ago remain. The difference is that the amps are now much closer. At this rate by the time I reach 1,000 hours of burn in on the SR71A the only difference that may be left is an slightly deeper bass, a tad less extension, and a bit narrower soundstage. Or in other words the amps will be more alike than different.
An interst note is that w/ the full size cans both amps sounded better when I used the ALO Six Shooter. However when I switched to the Yuin OK1 then both amps sounded better w/ the ALO SXC. The differences were very noticable, to the point that IMO the Yuin OK1 sounded a bit “congested” with the ALO Six Shooter. This was very peculiar (dare I say weird?), as a norm the Six Shooter has shown to be the better of the two when you compare clarity, detail, and extension.
More to come at the 1,000 hour mark.
oApple iPod Classic 160 Gb filles w/ Apple Lossless Files
oALO Six Shooter line out (99.99% silver)
oSR71 w/ “lots of hours”
oSR71A w/ about 725 hours of burn-in
oYuin OK1 buds
For music I used:
oPaul Hardcastle – Jazzmasters V
oKeiko Matsui – Full Moon and The Shrine
First off I will say that I am a Ray’s fan-boy, there you have it. Up-front so no one has any doubts. To me it is easy to appreciate Ray’s work. His gear is built like a tank, he provides excellent customer service, and ships amps faster than fast.
In the beginning and for the first 200 or so hours of burn-in I was not very happy w/ the SR71A. The bass was sloppy and it had way too much, to the point that it masked the upper mids and the treble. If I had not had experience w/ other of Ray’s portable amps I would have sold it. However I remembered that both the Hornet “M” and the Tomahawk needed extensive burn-in (about 800+ hours) so I kept burning-in the SR71A, which as of today it has about 725 hours. I will probably keep burning it till it reaches 1,000 hours of burn in and post an update to this review.
On a side note, I really wish there was a way to accelerate the process since we are looking at 30 to 40 days of continuous use to achieve 720 or 950 hours of burn-in. Many will not be able to devote said time specially if the SR71A is the only amp they own.
But those who have the time they will be rewarded w/ an amp that drastically changes from 200 hours to 700+ hours of burn-in. It literally is like two different amps. Those who do not believe in burn-in, well I guess you are lucky and can enjoy it (or not) from day one.
I would like to point out that IMO the evolution of the SR71A is not subtle. You will notice that:
oThe bass stops being boomy and tightens up
oThe bass settles down, it will remain punchy and powerful but it will not adversely affect the upper mids or the treble
oThe “up-front personality” of the SR71A mellows, and although it retains some of its “in your face” presentation it is not harsh nor shrill
I am lucky in being able to make this comparison. The SR71 used is the same one I sold over a year ago to a fellow head-fier. Luckily for me he put it up for sale a couple of weeks ago and I grabbed it. The seller sent it to Ray to have the gain adjusted from 2 (he used the SR71 w/ iems) to “normal” the gain of 6.
In sumary he two amps are close, yet each has enough differences that I would consider them to be two different amps. Thus they can be used for different purposes with the original SR71:
oBeing more relaxed and with an slightly mellower presentation
oHaving a wider soundstage
oDisplaying more air between the notes, possibly because it is more extended in the upper mids and treble (minor but discernible)
On the other hand the SR71A has:
oDeeper and punchier bass
oMore of an in your face presentation
oCuts through and demands attention
So if I was going on a trip (airplane, bus, etc.) or if I was going to be in place w/ a lot of things going on around me I would take the SR71A. Its attention grabbing and a more in your face presentation would allow me to tune the outside world and enjoy the music.
On the other hand if I was sitting down w/ a cup of coffee to read the newspaper, or if I was going to be studying at a library I would choose the SR71.
Since I believe in burn-in I will continue the process until the SR71A reaches about 1,000 hours. I will also be ordering a pair of Tysonic 9Volt batteries as recommended by Jamato8 to try. Will keep you posted.
November 8, 2008: Update
Today I spent a bit of time comparing them again. Now the SR71A has about 875 hours of burn-in. Furthermore I am using the Tysonic 200 mAh low discharge and low internal resistance 9 Volt rehargeable batteries. It is my opinion that the Tysonic batteries do make a slight difference in openness and in better extension. All four Tysonic batteries used were on their initial charge. Have no idea if they need burn-in or not, jamato8 will probably chime in and let us know.
For headphones I once again used the Ultrasone PROline 2500 and the Yuin OK1. For line out I used two by ALO: Six Shooter and SXC. The source used was as expected my 160 Gb iPod Classic w/ apple lossless files. For music I used Rachel Ferrel’s album Rachel Ferrel. The song was “Waiting”.
Below is a picture of the gear used today, and of the Tysonic batteries.
In a nutshell all of my findings from a week ago remain. The difference is that the amps are now much closer. At this rate by the time I reach 1,000 hours of burn in on the SR71A the only difference that may be left is an slightly deeper bass, a tad less extension, and a bit narrower soundstage. Or in other words the amps will be more alike than different.
An interst note is that w/ the full size cans both amps sounded better when I used the ALO Six Shooter. However when I switched to the Yuin OK1 then both amps sounded better w/ the ALO SXC. The differences were very noticable, to the point that IMO the Yuin OK1 sounded a bit “congested” with the ALO Six Shooter. This was very peculiar (dare I say weird?), as a norm the Six Shooter has shown to be the better of the two when you compare clarity, detail, and extension.
More to come at the 1,000 hour mark.
