phara0hseye
100+ Head-Fier
Hi! My name is Fabian Blache III, and I live in Baton Rouge, LA. Some may consider this review a bit late to the game; however, I would say that the results of having purchased and listened to a Ray Samuels The Shadow portable amplifier more than merits an entirely new discussion.
Last year, my son Fabian IV convinced me to consider purchasing a Fiio Mont Blanc portable headphone amplifier. Based on my tastes in audiophile equipment he felt it would be a good suggestion for me. And I daresay that he was right. Understand, previously I had only been listening to my music files via my iPhone music application. The Sony PSP at home served as my Blu-ray player, CD player and Super Audio CD player. Lots of delicious high-resolution SACD material was ripped to the hard drive of the Sony. The Parasound Halo configuration driving the system a pure delight, even to his ears-in-training. So, the Mount Blanc simply made sense. And at the price point (sub-$120) was one helluva bargain and entry point.
Let me be clear, I didn't spend a tremendous amount of time listening to portable rigs. Nevertheless, after purchasing the Mont Blanc I began to spend a lot more quality time listening to the music stored on my iPod and iPhone. The Mont Blanc rekindled the feeling I had in the 70s when I purchased my first Sony Walkman that had selenoid buttons on top, and then quickly moved to the highly venerated Walkman Pro.
Suddenly, all those yesteryears of riding the bus and train into NYC, while drowning out the screeching metal wheels careening across the tracks by listening to In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins literally hundreds of times, flooded back into my forgetful consciousness. Yes, I was a kid again. And my iPod and Fiio Mont Blanc became a new but familiar portable playground.
My love affair with the Fiio fizzled rather fast. It simply wasn't as musical and engaging as I'd hoped. More gain...sure. But more greatness, like that which occurs simply by spending a few bucks on real interconnects for the home stereo, that was lost on the Fiio completely. And I knew it rather quickly. Several pairs of moderate to expensive in ears later, and I was convinced it was the amp that was loosing my attention span. A decision had to be made; the Fiio must go. And go it did. eBay is a remarkable FLEA market (Found . Lost . Exchnaged & Acquired). "One man's trash is another man's come-up" (Macklemore, 2013).
For a brief bit, I went without an amp, but admittedly missed it. The trick was going to be to find the right thing for me. My son had only moved on to the ALO National, and was enjoying the new found love affair with his beloved new chunky black box. During his brief lifespan with the National, he went through several pairs of headphones in a very short period of time. I suspected that the amplifier was the real issue and not so much the headphones. Of course we would likely disagree on this so I never broached the subject in that way with him, which proved a wise choice. That is until he purchased yet another amplifier within approximately seven months of the ALO National.
In came the ALO Rx Mk3-B+. I admittedly had been coveting his National for quite some time, so I was certainly game to take it off of his hands. And so I did, and once again began anew my love affair with portable audio. So let me now get into my impressions of the Fiio Mont Blanc and the ALO National as a proper segue into my brief but hopefully compelling review of the RS Shadow.
Mont Blanc - Sleek, solidly crafted, reasonably quiet, fast, solid state sounding, but lacking that emotional connection.
It's sort of (in my head) like running your thumb across bead blasted stainless and satin stainless (even against the grain). One feels pedestrian; the other feels regal.
The sound of the Fiio is what I'm referring to. It's sound is bead blasted. Competent but a bit doldrum for my tastes. Not that it isn't quick and dynamic in a technical sense, but fast delivery of Domino's does not a great pizza make. Catch my drift? The Fiio is a great device if your only need and concern is compensating for a lack of gain. It will most certainly get that job done competently.
ALO The National - Hunky, even brawny by comparison to the Fiio Mont Blanc. Dynamic, smoother, more powerful, less grain, more musical. A more engaging sound signature than the Fiio, but loose on channel balance at lower volumes, especially so with revealing headphones of any type.
Construction is top notch, and really makes you feel like you've gotten something substantive for you $300 hard earned dollars. Drawbacks of the National coming from a Fiio Mont Blanc are the bulk, weight and overall hit to the former's true portability factor. Aesthetically cut from two different cloths.
Overall the ALO National is an adequately priced and positioned product for people like you who are actually reading this treatise of mine.
Now this will shock you, but, I fell out of love with the ALO National even faster than the Fiio. Why is the stuff of an entirely different rant. Suffice it to say that, now that I had my portable audio sea legs under me, I knew what I wanted but was certain I couldn't get it. What I wanted was a highly portable headphone amp, preferably made in America by a real knowledgable geek who understood that if you're ponying up hundreds of dollars for this kind of gear it better look slick and sound ultra damn good!
Enter Ray Samuels and The Shadow
It's interesting to know that many debates waged between my son and I before I ever had the courage to actually plunk down $550 for another amplifier and cable. Just because he's 30 years my junior, doesn't mean that I can't outshine him on both depth of research and reason. And that's precisely what I set out to do, and that is precisely how I landed in Ray Samuels wheelhouse. The fact that Ray answers the phone and talks buyers through the decision making process is really...special. The experience is tangible and very organic. Much like the product's rendering of music.
The RSA Shadow - Hyper-portable, precise, lush, impeccable imaging, depth galore, competent and resolute across the audio spectrum. Beautiful straight out of the box, even before the Raycommended 100 hours of burn-in.
It arrived one day early. I grabbed it from FedEx yesterday and thought to myself "crap, they just shipped me a box." I couldn't feel it in threre. Hmmm...the National was bulky enough to disrobe my pants. Good thing I'm 50 and don't sag my pants. But I digress.
Let me get into what the RSA Shadow does that the previous two amps failed to do. That is, make me listen to them from end of full charge at 10:30 PM until 5:48 AM the next morning at which time I passed out albeit quite gleefully.
As God is my witness, I couldn't put the damn thing down. I spent the next seven (7) hours re-exploring my music collection. Couple that to the amount of time I had it rolling at work and I've completed 11% of the required burn-in during one day of actual listening. Folks, this thing is simply a marvel, and Ray is a genuine mad scientist.
Using my Yamaha EPH-100s, I ran through Yo-Yo Ma, Phaeleh, Sade, Sara K (Chesky), Sting, Eagles, Journey, Earth Wind & Fire, Dire Straits, Govinda and scads of other beloved artists. I never saw the time passing. Why? Because this amp is analytical and highly musical for such a small form factor. It makes music bloom. Daft Punk's Doin It Right was done RIGHT! Michael Murray's Tocatta and Fugue was ominous and spine-tingly resonant—the Telarc version of course. I threw everything from Aaron Goldberg to Zedd, Zero 7 and Zucchero at this tiny amp and it devoured it all with aplomb.
I will add that it is so revealing that poorly recorded or mastered tracks will have nowhere to hide. People say this in reviews often, but it is entirely true. As a buff, I have no issues with "real" equipment obviating the need to hold onto un-remastered tracks. That's why I work. To procure new ones!
Point being, this amplifier is resonating with me on so many levels. Small to the point of continuous disbelief, solidly built, and super high quality sound to match the impeccable build quality. As is certainly well-documented by now, likely from years ago, this amp has a digital volume control that keeps channel balance integrity constant at all levels of gain. Add to that 72 hours of use on a single charge, and you end up with arguably one of the most compelling portable amps since the inception of the trend. But this amp isn't trendy, it's transformational. Hearing it solves all pending questions for me about the brand and it's ambassador. I can firmly say now that Ray Samuels Audio is perfectly legit. The build what they know, and it all translates in the follow through.
Sure the Pico Slim is another noteworthy entry into the smaller slimmer genre, but after hearing that amplifier too, it's the RSA sound signature that makes my ears sing with glee. No doubt I'm keeping this amp and will start deciding which amp from RSA will become its bigger sibling.
Fabian Blache III
Baton Rouge, LA
Last year, my son Fabian IV convinced me to consider purchasing a Fiio Mont Blanc portable headphone amplifier. Based on my tastes in audiophile equipment he felt it would be a good suggestion for me. And I daresay that he was right. Understand, previously I had only been listening to my music files via my iPhone music application. The Sony PSP at home served as my Blu-ray player, CD player and Super Audio CD player. Lots of delicious high-resolution SACD material was ripped to the hard drive of the Sony. The Parasound Halo configuration driving the system a pure delight, even to his ears-in-training. So, the Mount Blanc simply made sense. And at the price point (sub-$120) was one helluva bargain and entry point.
Let me be clear, I didn't spend a tremendous amount of time listening to portable rigs. Nevertheless, after purchasing the Mont Blanc I began to spend a lot more quality time listening to the music stored on my iPod and iPhone. The Mont Blanc rekindled the feeling I had in the 70s when I purchased my first Sony Walkman that had selenoid buttons on top, and then quickly moved to the highly venerated Walkman Pro.
Suddenly, all those yesteryears of riding the bus and train into NYC, while drowning out the screeching metal wheels careening across the tracks by listening to In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins literally hundreds of times, flooded back into my forgetful consciousness. Yes, I was a kid again. And my iPod and Fiio Mont Blanc became a new but familiar portable playground.
My love affair with the Fiio fizzled rather fast. It simply wasn't as musical and engaging as I'd hoped. More gain...sure. But more greatness, like that which occurs simply by spending a few bucks on real interconnects for the home stereo, that was lost on the Fiio completely. And I knew it rather quickly. Several pairs of moderate to expensive in ears later, and I was convinced it was the amp that was loosing my attention span. A decision had to be made; the Fiio must go. And go it did. eBay is a remarkable FLEA market (Found . Lost . Exchnaged & Acquired). "One man's trash is another man's come-up" (Macklemore, 2013).
For a brief bit, I went without an amp, but admittedly missed it. The trick was going to be to find the right thing for me. My son had only moved on to the ALO National, and was enjoying the new found love affair with his beloved new chunky black box. During his brief lifespan with the National, he went through several pairs of headphones in a very short period of time. I suspected that the amplifier was the real issue and not so much the headphones. Of course we would likely disagree on this so I never broached the subject in that way with him, which proved a wise choice. That is until he purchased yet another amplifier within approximately seven months of the ALO National.
In came the ALO Rx Mk3-B+. I admittedly had been coveting his National for quite some time, so I was certainly game to take it off of his hands. And so I did, and once again began anew my love affair with portable audio. So let me now get into my impressions of the Fiio Mont Blanc and the ALO National as a proper segue into my brief but hopefully compelling review of the RS Shadow.
Mont Blanc - Sleek, solidly crafted, reasonably quiet, fast, solid state sounding, but lacking that emotional connection.
It's sort of (in my head) like running your thumb across bead blasted stainless and satin stainless (even against the grain). One feels pedestrian; the other feels regal.
The sound of the Fiio is what I'm referring to. It's sound is bead blasted. Competent but a bit doldrum for my tastes. Not that it isn't quick and dynamic in a technical sense, but fast delivery of Domino's does not a great pizza make. Catch my drift? The Fiio is a great device if your only need and concern is compensating for a lack of gain. It will most certainly get that job done competently.
ALO The National - Hunky, even brawny by comparison to the Fiio Mont Blanc. Dynamic, smoother, more powerful, less grain, more musical. A more engaging sound signature than the Fiio, but loose on channel balance at lower volumes, especially so with revealing headphones of any type.
Construction is top notch, and really makes you feel like you've gotten something substantive for you $300 hard earned dollars. Drawbacks of the National coming from a Fiio Mont Blanc are the bulk, weight and overall hit to the former's true portability factor. Aesthetically cut from two different cloths.
Overall the ALO National is an adequately priced and positioned product for people like you who are actually reading this treatise of mine.
Now this will shock you, but, I fell out of love with the ALO National even faster than the Fiio. Why is the stuff of an entirely different rant. Suffice it to say that, now that I had my portable audio sea legs under me, I knew what I wanted but was certain I couldn't get it. What I wanted was a highly portable headphone amp, preferably made in America by a real knowledgable geek who understood that if you're ponying up hundreds of dollars for this kind of gear it better look slick and sound ultra damn good!
Enter Ray Samuels and The Shadow
It's interesting to know that many debates waged between my son and I before I ever had the courage to actually plunk down $550 for another amplifier and cable. Just because he's 30 years my junior, doesn't mean that I can't outshine him on both depth of research and reason. And that's precisely what I set out to do, and that is precisely how I landed in Ray Samuels wheelhouse. The fact that Ray answers the phone and talks buyers through the decision making process is really...special. The experience is tangible and very organic. Much like the product's rendering of music.
The RSA Shadow - Hyper-portable, precise, lush, impeccable imaging, depth galore, competent and resolute across the audio spectrum. Beautiful straight out of the box, even before the Raycommended 100 hours of burn-in.
It arrived one day early. I grabbed it from FedEx yesterday and thought to myself "crap, they just shipped me a box." I couldn't feel it in threre. Hmmm...the National was bulky enough to disrobe my pants. Good thing I'm 50 and don't sag my pants. But I digress.
Let me get into what the RSA Shadow does that the previous two amps failed to do. That is, make me listen to them from end of full charge at 10:30 PM until 5:48 AM the next morning at which time I passed out albeit quite gleefully.
As God is my witness, I couldn't put the damn thing down. I spent the next seven (7) hours re-exploring my music collection. Couple that to the amount of time I had it rolling at work and I've completed 11% of the required burn-in during one day of actual listening. Folks, this thing is simply a marvel, and Ray is a genuine mad scientist.
Using my Yamaha EPH-100s, I ran through Yo-Yo Ma, Phaeleh, Sade, Sara K (Chesky), Sting, Eagles, Journey, Earth Wind & Fire, Dire Straits, Govinda and scads of other beloved artists. I never saw the time passing. Why? Because this amp is analytical and highly musical for such a small form factor. It makes music bloom. Daft Punk's Doin It Right was done RIGHT! Michael Murray's Tocatta and Fugue was ominous and spine-tingly resonant—the Telarc version of course. I threw everything from Aaron Goldberg to Zedd, Zero 7 and Zucchero at this tiny amp and it devoured it all with aplomb.
I will add that it is so revealing that poorly recorded or mastered tracks will have nowhere to hide. People say this in reviews often, but it is entirely true. As a buff, I have no issues with "real" equipment obviating the need to hold onto un-remastered tracks. That's why I work. To procure new ones!
Point being, this amplifier is resonating with me on so many levels. Small to the point of continuous disbelief, solidly built, and super high quality sound to match the impeccable build quality. As is certainly well-documented by now, likely from years ago, this amp has a digital volume control that keeps channel balance integrity constant at all levels of gain. Add to that 72 hours of use on a single charge, and you end up with arguably one of the most compelling portable amps since the inception of the trend. But this amp isn't trendy, it's transformational. Hearing it solves all pending questions for me about the brand and it's ambassador. I can firmly say now that Ray Samuels Audio is perfectly legit. The build what they know, and it all translates in the follow through.
Sure the Pico Slim is another noteworthy entry into the smaller slimmer genre, but after hearing that amplifier too, it's the RSA sound signature that makes my ears sing with glee. No doubt I'm keeping this amp and will start deciding which amp from RSA will become its bigger sibling.
Fabian Blache III
Baton Rouge, LA
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