oicdn
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2006
- Posts
- 3,381
- Likes
- 11
*I originally posted this in the Computers as source section but thought to myself, it's primarily an amp review/thread, so I decided to post it here. please delete the other as you see fit..."
Didn't see many people had this, and it's a shame, because MANY MANY people are missing out. I can't comment on how it compares to a Pico or Predator, but I can't imagine it getting much better seeing as how this fairly surpasses the D1(modded) in both aspects.
I have around 30 hours on this, and the SQ hasn't changed much, if at all. Which is a good thing, as you're not forced to sit and wait 800 hours for your amp to blossom. Unkle Wilson, aka Jaben Audio has told me the little amp has been so popular it's sold out before they got the chance to see the effects of burn-in. Even the demo unit was shipped out the demand was strong. Wierd I haven't heard that much about this amp other than that one thread. Shame too, cause this amp is a BEAST.
The amp came in a padded pouch. Comes with a nice braided USB cable, mini-mini IC, a velvet pouch and what I thought a nice touch was, ALL the specs. From harmonic distortion on 32 ohm loads all the way up to 1K ohm loads, to SNR, to battery life, to USB SNR, EVERYTHING....and all of these in BOTH gain modes (9.5 high and 6 low). And to top it off, when you turn the paper over, it has GRAPHS of all figures done on an Audio Precision SYS-2722. Impressive and a nice treat for all you graph junkies.
Also, it has a good explanation of how the amp functions as well as approximate times for charging. Examples:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Well, here are some pics of the Petite:
Ergonomics and appearance.
This amp should look familiar. I'll let the pictures below speak for me:
Amp on top:
Yep, you see right. It has the same look as a Tomahawk. It's actually SMALLER, but it utilizes what appear to be the same pot and power switch, even same jacks. But aesthetically, it's the same, even with the faceplate being slightly larger than the body. The rear uses the same screws and plain flat plate with only cut-outs. Only differences in the casing is on the underside and side there are grooves, rather than it just being smooth and obviously the screen printing. It being so small also prohibits you from using the larger jacks, like the giant Canare F12s. My F12 BARELY fit but I couldn't use the volume knob. Neutriks fit rather nicely though.
Also, it uses 4AAA batteries for power. Which with Alkalines give over 100 hours and with 850mah rechargeables you get around 70. Pretty crazy.
Amp – When used as JUST an amp source was laptop Apple Lossless ->Keces 151 DAC -> **amp** There will be a review of the Keces DA-151 here shortly, but per manufacturers request, I not review it solely until about 800 hours. IMO it has pretty much flattened out as far as changes go, but to be 100% sure I'll just wait till 800 hours. I've got about 600 more to go, lol.
Anyways, back onto the review.
Treble – Slightly dryer but still fairly on the warm side. A little more forward than the D1, with it being a LITTLE sparkley-er, if not slightly brighter on -CH and -S words on vocals. Cymbals decay a little better, but subtley. Handles snare hits excellently. Not a hint of grain like a lot of newer amps. It's never fatiguing nor harsh, but can surely sparkle. Brings out the highs in UM2's VERY NICELY.
Mids – Definitely more forward and pronounced than the D1, making it the D1's looking recessed a little by comparison. Especially upper mids. This amp REALLY does well with it's midrange. Which makes this an AWESOME rock can. Listening to 30 seconds to Mars is nearly orgasmic. This amp makes the DT770's “recession” a lot less noticeable. Great synergy with those cans.
Bass – Heavier and weightier than the D1. Not necessarily more, or punchier, but the bass carried more weight on things like drum kicks and upright bass. It resonated bass lines better, but again, not necessarily “better” but it had more weight and seemed more organic. It seems like more of the newer amps are tailoring to the bassy side. Around the SR71 era, it was about neutrality and flat response, nowadays amps are more aggressive and punchy. This amp is NO EXCEPTION. It strays away from the prior GoVibes in that it's not as relaxed as the V6 and V5 that are more relaxed. This amp sounds REMARKABLY similar to a Move. Maybe a smidge more aggressive. It's like a smoother sounding non-M Hornet with weightier and heavier bass. Again, not necessarily more, but it carries the bass better. Very authoritative and organic.
Soundstage – It's a weird thing. The soundstage is very wide, but it's not TALL, almost like you're listening in a large wide studio, rather than in a Hall in an open field. Doesn't sound very live performance, rather like all the sound rushes at you fairly planar. Which isn't a bad thing. I'm more of a live performance kinda guy so it's not completely of my preference, but there is no smearing of instruments or anything. The amp doesn't seem challenged in representing fast paced music and allowing you to still separate everything. But it sounds like you're listening in a well acoustically set-up room, rather than in an open theater or concert, if that makes any sense.
As DAC – Same as above, but obviously, the Keces DAC is eliminated.
As a DAC/AMP all of the above qualities are as said. I did my best at A/Bing them, but since you have to restart the Foobar OR iTunes, as well as cycle (turn off then back on) the unit, you can't get an IMMEDIATE back to back like I could against the D1 by just unplugging cables and plugging them back in. But as much as my ears wanted to hear a difference in the SQ (ala Meier Move), there was no difference I could hear. In AFI – Love Like Winter, the footsteps at the very beginning of the song sound different when the D1 is used as a DAC/AMP or as just an amp, even subtley. It's very clear though, I was hard pressed to hear the difference and am writing it off as such, I can't hear a difference. Same goes for the heavy bass note in Aqualung – Brighter Than Sunshine...it carried the same weight and impact.
Very impressive. No change in SQ as a DAC was a HUGE surprise to me. Especially in a package as small as this. It has a fairly industrial look to it with just straightforward red text, but I dig it. It's like a low key Tomahawk, that sounds better, lol.
I haven't added the amp to my large review yet, as Jaben wanted to hear my impressions before my other pieces came in (Xin SMIV and Reference), as there really isn't a guarantee as to when those arrive other than "next week". Also, I want to do some more back to back listening before adding it to that review, as well as just for the sake of it, more burn-in and really, to see if how much battery life I get at about 1/3 max volume (I leave it playing all day and night).
But as I suspect, with out listening to the Xin offerings, I will say it would look like:
1. Graham Slee Voyager
2. Go Vibe Petite
2. Hornet non-m (original)
2. Meier Corda Move
3. Portaphile V2^2(maxxed)
4. MisterX XP w/8397
5. iBasso D1 (amp only with rolled opamps)
5. Tomahawk
6. Hornet M
7. LaRocco
8. Porta Corda9
9. SR71
10. Go-Vibe V6
11. TTVJ Millet
The only reason I can't tie it with the Voyager is the Voyager is a little better in all aspects and has a Countour switch. Also, as JUST AN AMP, the Voyager is infact a better amp. As a complete package though, the Petite is BETTER than the D1. Maybe it's just not as pretty
Like my review says, the only reason the D1 is as low on the lists as it is, is because it's so big, it's had it's opamps rolled (it's needs them to be rolled to sound awesome) and for anybody remotely nervous about opening up their amp and playing with the guts, it's just a turn-off. But with the Petite being so small and sounding so big, it's a CLEAR winner in a total package. I haven't heard the Pico or Predator, but again, I can't see them offering the same price : performance ratio as the Petite, let alone SQ. Especially since it sounds the same as both a DAC and as just an amp.
Didn't see many people had this, and it's a shame, because MANY MANY people are missing out. I can't comment on how it compares to a Pico or Predator, but I can't imagine it getting much better seeing as how this fairly surpasses the D1(modded) in both aspects.
I have around 30 hours on this, and the SQ hasn't changed much, if at all. Which is a good thing, as you're not forced to sit and wait 800 hours for your amp to blossom. Unkle Wilson, aka Jaben Audio has told me the little amp has been so popular it's sold out before they got the chance to see the effects of burn-in. Even the demo unit was shipped out the demand was strong. Wierd I haven't heard that much about this amp other than that one thread. Shame too, cause this amp is a BEAST.
The amp came in a padded pouch. Comes with a nice braided USB cable, mini-mini IC, a velvet pouch and what I thought a nice touch was, ALL the specs. From harmonic distortion on 32 ohm loads all the way up to 1K ohm loads, to SNR, to battery life, to USB SNR, EVERYTHING....and all of these in BOTH gain modes (9.5 high and 6 low). And to top it off, when you turn the paper over, it has GRAPHS of all figures done on an Audio Precision SYS-2722. Impressive and a nice treat for all you graph junkies.
Also, it has a good explanation of how the amp functions as well as approximate times for charging. Examples:
Quote:
| The amplifier uses plus minus power to get it's optimum status. Each channel has dual amps to provide current in order to assure the audio's separation performance and instantaneous output current. |
Quote:
| 4 AAA batteries provide power and has a USB charging circuit NI-MH and alkaline batteries if they don't have enough power. The batteries of charging 1 hour can provide 10 hours and those charging 10 hours can make them full enough. |
Quote:
| ...The DAC's chips analogue power is received from the batteries, which blocks noise from the USB power to interfere with the audio channel from the DAC. |
Well, here are some pics of the Petite:
Ergonomics and appearance.
This amp should look familiar. I'll let the pictures below speak for me:
Amp on top:
Yep, you see right. It has the same look as a Tomahawk. It's actually SMALLER, but it utilizes what appear to be the same pot and power switch, even same jacks. But aesthetically, it's the same, even with the faceplate being slightly larger than the body. The rear uses the same screws and plain flat plate with only cut-outs. Only differences in the casing is on the underside and side there are grooves, rather than it just being smooth and obviously the screen printing. It being so small also prohibits you from using the larger jacks, like the giant Canare F12s. My F12 BARELY fit but I couldn't use the volume knob. Neutriks fit rather nicely though.
Also, it uses 4AAA batteries for power. Which with Alkalines give over 100 hours and with 850mah rechargeables you get around 70. Pretty crazy.
Amp – When used as JUST an amp source was laptop Apple Lossless ->Keces 151 DAC -> **amp** There will be a review of the Keces DA-151 here shortly, but per manufacturers request, I not review it solely until about 800 hours. IMO it has pretty much flattened out as far as changes go, but to be 100% sure I'll just wait till 800 hours. I've got about 600 more to go, lol.
Anyways, back onto the review.
Treble – Slightly dryer but still fairly on the warm side. A little more forward than the D1, with it being a LITTLE sparkley-er, if not slightly brighter on -CH and -S words on vocals. Cymbals decay a little better, but subtley. Handles snare hits excellently. Not a hint of grain like a lot of newer amps. It's never fatiguing nor harsh, but can surely sparkle. Brings out the highs in UM2's VERY NICELY.
Mids – Definitely more forward and pronounced than the D1, making it the D1's looking recessed a little by comparison. Especially upper mids. This amp REALLY does well with it's midrange. Which makes this an AWESOME rock can. Listening to 30 seconds to Mars is nearly orgasmic. This amp makes the DT770's “recession” a lot less noticeable. Great synergy with those cans.
Bass – Heavier and weightier than the D1. Not necessarily more, or punchier, but the bass carried more weight on things like drum kicks and upright bass. It resonated bass lines better, but again, not necessarily “better” but it had more weight and seemed more organic. It seems like more of the newer amps are tailoring to the bassy side. Around the SR71 era, it was about neutrality and flat response, nowadays amps are more aggressive and punchy. This amp is NO EXCEPTION. It strays away from the prior GoVibes in that it's not as relaxed as the V6 and V5 that are more relaxed. This amp sounds REMARKABLY similar to a Move. Maybe a smidge more aggressive. It's like a smoother sounding non-M Hornet with weightier and heavier bass. Again, not necessarily more, but it carries the bass better. Very authoritative and organic.
Soundstage – It's a weird thing. The soundstage is very wide, but it's not TALL, almost like you're listening in a large wide studio, rather than in a Hall in an open field. Doesn't sound very live performance, rather like all the sound rushes at you fairly planar. Which isn't a bad thing. I'm more of a live performance kinda guy so it's not completely of my preference, but there is no smearing of instruments or anything. The amp doesn't seem challenged in representing fast paced music and allowing you to still separate everything. But it sounds like you're listening in a well acoustically set-up room, rather than in an open theater or concert, if that makes any sense.
As DAC – Same as above, but obviously, the Keces DAC is eliminated.
As a DAC/AMP all of the above qualities are as said. I did my best at A/Bing them, but since you have to restart the Foobar OR iTunes, as well as cycle (turn off then back on) the unit, you can't get an IMMEDIATE back to back like I could against the D1 by just unplugging cables and plugging them back in. But as much as my ears wanted to hear a difference in the SQ (ala Meier Move), there was no difference I could hear. In AFI – Love Like Winter, the footsteps at the very beginning of the song sound different when the D1 is used as a DAC/AMP or as just an amp, even subtley. It's very clear though, I was hard pressed to hear the difference and am writing it off as such, I can't hear a difference. Same goes for the heavy bass note in Aqualung – Brighter Than Sunshine...it carried the same weight and impact.
Very impressive. No change in SQ as a DAC was a HUGE surprise to me. Especially in a package as small as this. It has a fairly industrial look to it with just straightforward red text, but I dig it. It's like a low key Tomahawk, that sounds better, lol.
I haven't added the amp to my large review yet, as Jaben wanted to hear my impressions before my other pieces came in (Xin SMIV and Reference), as there really isn't a guarantee as to when those arrive other than "next week". Also, I want to do some more back to back listening before adding it to that review, as well as just for the sake of it, more burn-in and really, to see if how much battery life I get at about 1/3 max volume (I leave it playing all day and night).
But as I suspect, with out listening to the Xin offerings, I will say it would look like:
1. Graham Slee Voyager
2. Go Vibe Petite
2. Hornet non-m (original)
2. Meier Corda Move
3. Portaphile V2^2(maxxed)
4. MisterX XP w/8397
5. iBasso D1 (amp only with rolled opamps)
5. Tomahawk
6. Hornet M
7. LaRocco
8. Porta Corda9
9. SR71
10. Go-Vibe V6
11. TTVJ Millet
The only reason I can't tie it with the Voyager is the Voyager is a little better in all aspects and has a Countour switch. Also, as JUST AN AMP, the Voyager is infact a better amp. As a complete package though, the Petite is BETTER than the D1. Maybe it's just not as pretty
