[behwatch]

haha thanks! I tot it is a japanese company cos i am flying there in July hoping to grab some good amps.

 

[qusp]

BTW texas finally came through with the replacement R's last week (was 1 x 0.005% short) , adapter shipping before the weekend

 

[jamato8]

I have been listening to my maxxed fi.Q. Excellent sound. No I haven't changed out all the resistors but the signal path ones are the NOS tantalums that are much better than current production tants. Dynamic, dimensional, excellent bass control and layered, what more could one ask of a portable that can perform like a home amp? Smaller? Well smaller wouldn't allow for room to rework and change out caps and resistors. Not too many portables that have room for 1 and 2 watt tants, that to me, are the best sounding. 

 

[shigzeo]

The smaller prototype models perform well, but have a LOT less tinkering potential than the current FiQuest. That said, some op-amps that aren't 100% stable in the FiQuest (OPA2111KP) for instance are 100% stable in the prototype even at high volumes with mutli-voiced balanced armatures.
 
And conversely, some op-amps that aren't stable in the prototype are stable in the original. I will have a good comparison out in a few days.