recstar24
Can Jam '10 Organizer
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2005
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Reposted below from portable source forum - mods feel free to delete the original one
Justin was nice enough to loan me a Pico USB DAC/Amp to listen and write up some impressions on. I am grateful for his generosity because I am such a newb when it comes to computer and USB audio, yet have always been curious and intrigued by what the technology can offer. You guys don’t need me or my review to confirm that Justin’s implementation has been successful and sonically excellent to numerous users; I am amazed at how strong his USB DAC/Amp thread is still going, and startled at how much interest the Pico USB DAC brought from head-fi. I have reviewed HeadAmp stuff before, the HeadAmp GS-1 for 6moons, which I found to be an excellent amp, and in general I find Justin to be a great person to deal with. You can read my recently posted review of the TTVJ FET-A amp at http://www.head-fi.org/forums/5623842-post1.html to get an idea of my listening biases and what I currently use. What I can tell you is that I am a total virgin/dummy when it comes to USB Audio, anything involving a computer and music, generally have a disdain for portable amps, and prefer my listening through a high quality source and tube amp, while I relax at home on my couch. I feel that despite my lack of experience with a product of this caliber, and the fact that I cannot offer you a 20 amp comparison or detailed rankings of what is the best-est, I think I offer a refreshing, genuine take on what the typically hi-end headphone/speaker person deals with when facing this USB computer audio thing.
The first thing I would like to comment on is the presentation of the product and overall professionalism that it exudes. The Pico arrives in a nice box, with the main chassis neatly wrapped in shipping foam, charger in its own box, instruction manual, and a sealed USB cable. It is refreshing to know that manufacturers out there take the time to ship and present the product to you in a simple, professional, non-frivolous way. Plugging the Pico into my laptop was way easier than I thought it would be; my laptop recognized it immediately, and after installing Foobar, loading up some music from my external hard-drive, and turning off all those random computer and windows noise, I was good to go. The Pico itself operated without a hitch. Nothing buggy occurred whatsoever. There is absolutely no noise with my shure se530’s regardless of gain level. I also can’t move forward without commenting on how freaking cute and well designed the Pico is. I am not the biggest stickler on looks, as I would be fine with a breadboard with wires coming out as long as it sounded good and had tubes on it, but I can honestly say that the Pico is really an attractive little bugger. This is the kind of thing that I feel you could sell to old rich folks at the local Tweeter, I am really impressed with the overall craftsmanship of the amp; from the panels, to the volume knobs, input and headphone output, gain switch, usb input, it all comes together in such an elegant way.
My first impression once I started listening to some music was, “Am I really listening to a computer right now”? The sound that came from my laptop through my shure se530’s was shocking. When I reviewed the PS Audio Headphone Amp, I briefly listened to the USB input, but was put off by its noise, and overall lackluster, flat, cardboard sound. I know that the USB on that one was more an afterthought, but first impressions can really damage the way you look at a certain technology, especially when you don’t hear it correctly. I guess the thing that startled me the most about the Pico was the overall gestalt and size of presentation that I was hearing. The one thing that I have found with portable amps is that they simply don’t offer the same size and scope of sound that a full fledged headphone amp can offer. The closest I have heard is the original RSA SR-71, which was the first real amp I ever owned, but even compared to the HR-2 which eventually replaced, it could not match its weight or dynamic quality. Considering that my most recently owned amps have all been tube amps in the $2000 above range, to even hear this little thing, from a laptop no less, present sound in such a big, yet effortless manner was nothing less than spectacular.
The bass weight, on the shure se530’s and Grado HP-1000’s, was really excellent. Very firm, solid, punchy, but with nice texture and detail, very similar to what I remember the HeadAmp GS-1 offered when I reviewed it for 6moons. Not a single ounce of glare in the treble region, a nice silky, feathery quality to it. No upper midrange shout, with the overall midrange having a nice presence to it, not overly forward or laidback. I would describe the overall presentation of the Pico as being very linear, neutral, lacking any obvious or severe colorations, with an elegant, simple presentation that does not draw attention to one specific aspect, or distract the listener from the overall musical flow.
Though I found the Pico not really competitive with my Moth and Meridian in presenting a realistic three dimensional image, sounding more flat-earthed and two dimensional, I did feel the Pico was quite excellent at portraying realistic size, scope, and weight of the various instruments and performers presented throughout my various recordings. This is what I alluded to previously as the gestalt, the flow, the idea that music carries real, actual weight that you would hear on the highest performing gear, conveying a sense of realism that is hard to emulate. I feel the bass weight helps with this a lot, and is the one aspect of the Pico’s performance that I find to be its biggest strength. Having a proper foundation to the music allows the listener to enjoy the overall presentation much easier, as it gives the rest of the spectrum that sense of lift and ease that allows the music just to flow and be enjoyed. Imaging is pinpoint accurate, with performers easily delineated within the soundscape, presented as separate, clean, discrete images. Low level detail retrieval is excellent, and the amp never strained or compressed when pushed hard, even into my tougher load that the Grado HP-1000’s can present. Where the Pico fell short of my Moth was the three dimensional soundscape that tubes can provide, a soundstage that is deep with layers of sound emanating front to back, engaging the listener to become absorbed from within the recording (though I don’t want to beat the Pico down too much because it offered so much sound in such a portable package, while getting the majority of my musical biases so right).
I finish this review by saying that the Pico is probably the most impressive piece of kit that I have ever been able to play with in quite a while. The idea that I can have hundreds of gigabytes of music at my disposal to play with at the click of a mouse, presented to my ears in such an elegant, sophisticated manner, without losing the overall dynamics, weight, and heft that my home amps offer, is nothing short of breath-taking. Though this review comes from someone who cannot offer the reader the massive comparisons and shootouts that head-fi typically offers, I feel this review can offer insight to first time USB DAC users that the drop-off from home to computer audio is not that much when done through a high quality product such as the HeadAmp Pico. The Pico has done a great thing for me, because it has opened up my mind and ears to what USB Audio can offer, and I believe this gift is something that headphone fidelity has benefited from in gathering positive exposure, especially from the good ole folks that traditionally dominate higher-end, home headphone and speaker listening. The HeadAmp Pico is a great example of what the 21st century has to provide for music and headphone lovers. Now I would be really curious to hearing the Pico USB stand-alone DAC paired up with my Moth si2a3/45H, as I didn’t have a chance to hear the Pico alone, and I think it would be a great opportunity to hear how truly the DAC portion of the Pico truly is.
Justin was nice enough to loan me a Pico USB DAC/Amp to listen and write up some impressions on. I am grateful for his generosity because I am such a newb when it comes to computer and USB audio, yet have always been curious and intrigued by what the technology can offer. You guys don’t need me or my review to confirm that Justin’s implementation has been successful and sonically excellent to numerous users; I am amazed at how strong his USB DAC/Amp thread is still going, and startled at how much interest the Pico USB DAC brought from head-fi. I have reviewed HeadAmp stuff before, the HeadAmp GS-1 for 6moons, which I found to be an excellent amp, and in general I find Justin to be a great person to deal with. You can read my recently posted review of the TTVJ FET-A amp at http://www.head-fi.org/forums/5623842-post1.html to get an idea of my listening biases and what I currently use. What I can tell you is that I am a total virgin/dummy when it comes to USB Audio, anything involving a computer and music, generally have a disdain for portable amps, and prefer my listening through a high quality source and tube amp, while I relax at home on my couch. I feel that despite my lack of experience with a product of this caliber, and the fact that I cannot offer you a 20 amp comparison or detailed rankings of what is the best-est, I think I offer a refreshing, genuine take on what the typically hi-end headphone/speaker person deals with when facing this USB computer audio thing.
The first thing I would like to comment on is the presentation of the product and overall professionalism that it exudes. The Pico arrives in a nice box, with the main chassis neatly wrapped in shipping foam, charger in its own box, instruction manual, and a sealed USB cable. It is refreshing to know that manufacturers out there take the time to ship and present the product to you in a simple, professional, non-frivolous way. Plugging the Pico into my laptop was way easier than I thought it would be; my laptop recognized it immediately, and after installing Foobar, loading up some music from my external hard-drive, and turning off all those random computer and windows noise, I was good to go. The Pico itself operated without a hitch. Nothing buggy occurred whatsoever. There is absolutely no noise with my shure se530’s regardless of gain level. I also can’t move forward without commenting on how freaking cute and well designed the Pico is. I am not the biggest stickler on looks, as I would be fine with a breadboard with wires coming out as long as it sounded good and had tubes on it, but I can honestly say that the Pico is really an attractive little bugger. This is the kind of thing that I feel you could sell to old rich folks at the local Tweeter, I am really impressed with the overall craftsmanship of the amp; from the panels, to the volume knobs, input and headphone output, gain switch, usb input, it all comes together in such an elegant way.
My first impression once I started listening to some music was, “Am I really listening to a computer right now”? The sound that came from my laptop through my shure se530’s was shocking. When I reviewed the PS Audio Headphone Amp, I briefly listened to the USB input, but was put off by its noise, and overall lackluster, flat, cardboard sound. I know that the USB on that one was more an afterthought, but first impressions can really damage the way you look at a certain technology, especially when you don’t hear it correctly. I guess the thing that startled me the most about the Pico was the overall gestalt and size of presentation that I was hearing. The one thing that I have found with portable amps is that they simply don’t offer the same size and scope of sound that a full fledged headphone amp can offer. The closest I have heard is the original RSA SR-71, which was the first real amp I ever owned, but even compared to the HR-2 which eventually replaced, it could not match its weight or dynamic quality. Considering that my most recently owned amps have all been tube amps in the $2000 above range, to even hear this little thing, from a laptop no less, present sound in such a big, yet effortless manner was nothing less than spectacular.
The bass weight, on the shure se530’s and Grado HP-1000’s, was really excellent. Very firm, solid, punchy, but with nice texture and detail, very similar to what I remember the HeadAmp GS-1 offered when I reviewed it for 6moons. Not a single ounce of glare in the treble region, a nice silky, feathery quality to it. No upper midrange shout, with the overall midrange having a nice presence to it, not overly forward or laidback. I would describe the overall presentation of the Pico as being very linear, neutral, lacking any obvious or severe colorations, with an elegant, simple presentation that does not draw attention to one specific aspect, or distract the listener from the overall musical flow.
Though I found the Pico not really competitive with my Moth and Meridian in presenting a realistic three dimensional image, sounding more flat-earthed and two dimensional, I did feel the Pico was quite excellent at portraying realistic size, scope, and weight of the various instruments and performers presented throughout my various recordings. This is what I alluded to previously as the gestalt, the flow, the idea that music carries real, actual weight that you would hear on the highest performing gear, conveying a sense of realism that is hard to emulate. I feel the bass weight helps with this a lot, and is the one aspect of the Pico’s performance that I find to be its biggest strength. Having a proper foundation to the music allows the listener to enjoy the overall presentation much easier, as it gives the rest of the spectrum that sense of lift and ease that allows the music just to flow and be enjoyed. Imaging is pinpoint accurate, with performers easily delineated within the soundscape, presented as separate, clean, discrete images. Low level detail retrieval is excellent, and the amp never strained or compressed when pushed hard, even into my tougher load that the Grado HP-1000’s can present. Where the Pico fell short of my Moth was the three dimensional soundscape that tubes can provide, a soundstage that is deep with layers of sound emanating front to back, engaging the listener to become absorbed from within the recording (though I don’t want to beat the Pico down too much because it offered so much sound in such a portable package, while getting the majority of my musical biases so right).
I finish this review by saying that the Pico is probably the most impressive piece of kit that I have ever been able to play with in quite a while. The idea that I can have hundreds of gigabytes of music at my disposal to play with at the click of a mouse, presented to my ears in such an elegant, sophisticated manner, without losing the overall dynamics, weight, and heft that my home amps offer, is nothing short of breath-taking. Though this review comes from someone who cannot offer the reader the massive comparisons and shootouts that head-fi typically offers, I feel this review can offer insight to first time USB DAC users that the drop-off from home to computer audio is not that much when done through a high quality product such as the HeadAmp Pico. The Pico has done a great thing for me, because it has opened up my mind and ears to what USB Audio can offer, and I believe this gift is something that headphone fidelity has benefited from in gathering positive exposure, especially from the good ole folks that traditionally dominate higher-end, home headphone and speaker listening. The HeadAmp Pico is a great example of what the 21st century has to provide for music and headphone lovers. Now I would be really curious to hearing the Pico USB stand-alone DAC paired up with my Moth si2a3/45H, as I didn’t have a chance to hear the Pico alone, and I think it would be a great opportunity to hear how truly the DAC portion of the Pico truly is.
