dougmwpsu
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 10, 2004
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Hi all, since I luuuve used equipment, I currently have in my possession the xin superdual and headsave classic, two interesting amps with two interesting histories. The headsave classic originally came out in June 2004 it was the 3’rd tier version of norms then new vibe design. It was especially suited to home use and had socketed opamps for rolling. The amps were getting quite a lot of talk as cheap and versatile unbuffered amps and enjoyed a few design upgrades, but their popularity was ultimately their downfall as norm started to get so many orders that he could no longer keep up supply, thus he discontinued his line of amps and the classic has been gone ever since.
The Xin Superdual was xin’s tiny feature switched wonder from back in Febuary of 2004. With design ascetics that would eventually become the supermacro, the superdual was especially tailored to etymotic iem’s with its 75ohm switch and bass boost. Hardly bigger than the 9 volt battery that powered it, it was one of the most impressive and inexpensive portable amps of its day. Sadly, tragedy struck. Xin had some sort of strange trademark dispute with whatever company he was selling the amps though, and because of this, discontinued their sale before many were ever sold.
Since I now have these two retro amps in my possession, I figured I might as well do a head to head comparison! For my tests I used a selection of rock and acoustic guitar music that was ripped to at least aps lame, sometimes flac lossless. I ran the amps out of a av-710 or ipod lineout and used either my grado hf-1’s or koss porta pros. I used both the opa2227 and ad8620’s in the classic, and since the 8620 is soldered to the board of the superdual, I obviously didn’t do any rolling with it
/history lesson over!
First I put the amps head to head, using the same opamp. The sound through both was vary similar and had nearly the same characteristic. The classic was able to edge out a win though, delivering more bass power and what I perceived to be a bit more realism. both were a clear improvement over the ipod headphone out which had some serious rolloff in the highs and lows…Yuck! Another thing to note is that the superdual has moderate hiss, especially at higher volumes. It tends not to be a problem with more sensitive phones and loud music, but put on a quiet classic piece and it starts to become noticeable. The classic on the other hand, had a completely black background; I couldn’t get a single hiss out of it, even with the pot turned to max.
Next I switched rolled the opamp in the classic to the 2227 and gave them another go. Wow! This IC really synergizes with the grados well, its dark smooth sound is just what the grados need, as they can be a bit jumpy and skreetchy, especially if you get a bad recording. Now against the superdual the classic was a clear winner. It could go louder and I could listen to it longer without fatigue. The details were a little smeared compared to the superdual though, so I’m now interested in finding a opa 627 that’ll fit in this amp as I hear it’s a more mature match. Once again, the ipod headphone out compared to the amps… was crappy. It sounded tinty and unnatural, and of course, you can’t forget the huge rolloffs.
In conclusion, the classic is a better amp overall. The ability to roll opamps gives you the powerful opportunity to more closely match the amp to your cans. The extra power that the classic has helps it best the portable superdual even when they were using the same opamp. it is also the first amp I’ve heard that has a completely black background. of course, if you need a tiny portable amp, the superdual is probably your bet. Also, if you happen to have a certain popular iem that requires a lot tweaks to get it to sound good, and you don’t have enough cash for a supermacro, the superdual is the amp for you.
I hope you guys enjoyed the history lesson and amp comparison. At this point I think I’m going to sell off the superdual and stick to the classic fulltime now. Also, if anyone has some 627’s socketed for the classic… you should totally give me a PM
The Xin Superdual was xin’s tiny feature switched wonder from back in Febuary of 2004. With design ascetics that would eventually become the supermacro, the superdual was especially tailored to etymotic iem’s with its 75ohm switch and bass boost. Hardly bigger than the 9 volt battery that powered it, it was one of the most impressive and inexpensive portable amps of its day. Sadly, tragedy struck. Xin had some sort of strange trademark dispute with whatever company he was selling the amps though, and because of this, discontinued their sale before many were ever sold.
Since I now have these two retro amps in my possession, I figured I might as well do a head to head comparison! For my tests I used a selection of rock and acoustic guitar music that was ripped to at least aps lame, sometimes flac lossless. I ran the amps out of a av-710 or ipod lineout and used either my grado hf-1’s or koss porta pros. I used both the opa2227 and ad8620’s in the classic, and since the 8620 is soldered to the board of the superdual, I obviously didn’t do any rolling with it
/history lesson over!
First I put the amps head to head, using the same opamp. The sound through both was vary similar and had nearly the same characteristic. The classic was able to edge out a win though, delivering more bass power and what I perceived to be a bit more realism. both were a clear improvement over the ipod headphone out which had some serious rolloff in the highs and lows…Yuck! Another thing to note is that the superdual has moderate hiss, especially at higher volumes. It tends not to be a problem with more sensitive phones and loud music, but put on a quiet classic piece and it starts to become noticeable. The classic on the other hand, had a completely black background; I couldn’t get a single hiss out of it, even with the pot turned to max.
Next I switched rolled the opamp in the classic to the 2227 and gave them another go. Wow! This IC really synergizes with the grados well, its dark smooth sound is just what the grados need, as they can be a bit jumpy and skreetchy, especially if you get a bad recording. Now against the superdual the classic was a clear winner. It could go louder and I could listen to it longer without fatigue. The details were a little smeared compared to the superdual though, so I’m now interested in finding a opa 627 that’ll fit in this amp as I hear it’s a more mature match. Once again, the ipod headphone out compared to the amps… was crappy. It sounded tinty and unnatural, and of course, you can’t forget the huge rolloffs.
In conclusion, the classic is a better amp overall. The ability to roll opamps gives you the powerful opportunity to more closely match the amp to your cans. The extra power that the classic has helps it best the portable superdual even when they were using the same opamp. it is also the first amp I’ve heard that has a completely black background. of course, if you need a tiny portable amp, the superdual is probably your bet. Also, if you happen to have a certain popular iem that requires a lot tweaks to get it to sound good, and you don’t have enough cash for a supermacro, the superdual is the amp for you.
I hope you guys enjoyed the history lesson and amp comparison. At this point I think I’m going to sell off the superdual and stick to the classic fulltime now. Also, if anyone has some 627’s socketed for the classic… you should totally give me a PM
