[Welly Wu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plonter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I always wanted to try one of his amps. I wonder how ray's sound differs from the headroom sound. can anyone comment about it? If i were to buy a new SS amp I would be looking for a warmer sound...fuller, and punchy, not super cold and analytical.

Try the HR-2. I reviewed it here; do a search.

 

[kentturbo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentamcolin /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd say if you have the money just go for the Raptor. Otherwise if your at all like me you'll just keep wondering how much better it would have sounded.

You don't sound satisfied at all. Ever thought of upgrading to the Raptor?

 

[dcpoor]

any particular reason you're only considering RSA amps? these amps you listed have been around for quite some time, there's tons of newer amps from other manufacturers on the market, many of them imho would be cheaper and better alternatives.

 

[not_sure]

...

 

[hifidk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentturbo /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you have experienced these amps, please share: Between the RSA XP-7, HR-2, and the Raptor. What would you choose? The three amps costs increments from $600 to $800 or $1100. Do you think it is worth it to jump from the HR-2 to the Raptor given only a three hundred dollar increment? What about the XP-7 to the HR-2?

I only had Raptor out of amps you mentioned. However, I read somewhere on this forum that Raptor and HR2 have very similar sound signature.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Covenant /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't know if this has been fixed with the current builds, but the Raptor I owned previously ran into hissing/humming issues that was audible through headphones. That was with the super-sensitive SA5000 though, so it may not be noticable with the likes of Sennheisers.

I had no hissing/humming with all the headphones I tried with (including SA5000). With IEMs, it produced some hiss but not that bad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcpoor /img/forum/go_quote.gif If i remember correctly the raptor is a OTL design, so it probably isn't the best option for lower impedance headphones.

IMO, they drive low impedance phones well regardless of the OTL design, but that is just MY opinion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentturbo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Solid state amplifiers do not have to worry about changing tubes, and tube matching. Regarding the RSA Raptor, does it it pose any problems? I know other companies have problems with hiss and hums with their equipments. This is practically why I've leaned to SS.

As same with the most of the tube amps, I think there is no problem about changing tubes and tube matching. Some SS amps hiss too and I think it really depends on the design of the amp instead of tube/SS issue.

 

[MikeW]

Don't mistake newer for better. As newer, is often just re-hashed older anyways. I'd bet Ray's offering's still stand toe to toe with the best available, in the same price range.

 

[Welly Wu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeW /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't mistake newer for better. As newer, is often just re-hashed older anyways. I'd bet Ray's offering's still stand toe to toe with the best available, in the same price range.

I agree with your opinion.

 

[kentturbo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcpoor /img/forum/go_quote.gif any particular reason you're only considering RSA amps? these amps you listed have been around for quite some time, there's tons of newer amps from other manufacturers on the market, many of them imho would be cheaper and better alternatives.

I started this thread because I'm new to the headphone audio so the best thing to do is to research names that were respectable and of course, Ray Samuel's name popped up all of the place. I've learned not to only believe in reviews but actually hear what forums like this has to say.

Yes, there are other brands too choose from as well, but...I don't know gotta start somewhere haha. RSA are really well built (and safe) unlike some other amps that look like a spider web when you look inside.

Plus, right now I own the Predator, and it sounds really really good! I'm trying to rack up the money to get the best amp that I can afford that I would be satisfied for a very long time. Might be selling the predator really soon =P

 

[minimus]

Before you consider shelling out $1175 for a Raptor, I would recommend you try to get yourself to a local meet. If you can't do that, I would go to the meet impressions forum section of Head-fi and read one of the longer threads of a meet that Ray attended for impressions from people who haven't necessarily purchased an amp from him already. When I went to a recent meet, I went in thinking RSA was the "state of the art" vendor of headphone amps, but when I listened to them, I was underwhelmed. Headroom's gear didn't knock my socks off either. I liked Meier's amps a lot better.

In any case, if you are looking at tube amps, I would put the Decware CSP-2 ($800) or the DNA Sonnett ($1200) on my short list. I don't think you can go wrong with a Woo, either.

For solid state, I think you get more bang for the buck from Meier (or Blue Circle. if you care more about sonics than aesthetics) than RSA.

 

[kentturbo]

I am interested in Solid State. I am new to this, and have not heard of Meier. Does anybody else agree with minimus?

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentturbo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am interested in Solid State. I am new to this, and have not heard of Meier. Does anybody else agree with minimus?

I do. Your own ears are always your best guide, of course, but I personally find RSA amps to be overhyped on these forums. All IMO and YMMV.

Were I in the market for a $1000-$1500 tube amp, I'd be looking at Woo Audio and Donald North Audio. A WA6SE that's been modded to accept 6FD7 drive tubes would be excellent, and I hear nothing but good things about the Donald North Sonnet.

If I was looking for a solid state amp in the same ballpark, I'd be either looking at a used Headamp GS-1 (to skip the really long build times), or a 3-channel Beta22.

 

[dcpoor]

wait, the HR-2 is in that price range? i thought it was priced much lower than that. if you're talking about $900-1000 amps, I would easily pick GS-1 or Beta22(2 or 3 channel), it's not even a contest.

 

[kentturbo]

I looked at the Beta22, who actually makes them?

Man, so many options, and not enough money....

 

[wharfrat1]

There are a ton of great options in regards to headphone amps right now, both ss and tube. It's like being a craft beer fan, we are probably at the peak of both selection and quality. There are lots of grea mfg out there, and being I was in the same place at one time, it's tough when you can't listen to every amp you'd like to consider. When you throw in the kind of dough were talking about it makes it even tougher.

From the SS perspective, I have been really happy with my HR amps. Tons of flexibility with super sound. Plus some of the best customer service you can get. Every time I call to buy something from them I end up on phone for 30-60 minutes just bs'ing about headphones.

To RSA, you will not find a better mfg on here. Now, everyone has their own sound preference when it comes to gear. I don't think that anyone would dispute that Ray builds high quality products. I own two, they both sound incredible, are built like tanks, and look damn good in the process. On top of that the guy answers his phone and returns every email in a timely manner,which is a lot more than you can say even for some of the more reputable mfg that are talked about here on head-fi.

When I made my decisions, being that we're talking about spending in the thousands of dollars here, reliability was a big, big thing in my decision making process. This really pushed me to both HR and RSA. The cherry on top was I didn't have to wait a decade and a half to get something I paid over $1K for. Just my $.02 here. Lots of great choices, so you really can't go wrong. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

 

[carledwards]

I own a Raptor and a Hornet. They are both excellent performers and Ray has been a pleasure to deal with. I sent him my Raptor for upgrading and he worked on it promptly and returned it right away. It's versatile and sounds good with a variety of low as well as high impedance cans. From a customer service standpoint, my experience with Ray has been very good and from a qualitative standpoint, I think his amps are worth every penny.