[Crazy*Carl]

Does anyone have any blind tests with the O2 they care to share?  If not can anyone conduct them?  I would be much more likely to get one if I could actually be shown it does something.  Peoples opinions and statements in the hi-fi world are meaningless.  Its an industry built on snake oil and BS, but there is some truth in good sound.  Plus its the Objective AMP!   Make audio objective - Blind tests guys!  I swear its like pulling teeth to get any useful information on audio on the internet.
 
In Voldemorts review of the HD650, he said a dedicated Amp may not be required.
 
"Generally you need about 2 volts RMS (5.7 volts peak-to-peak) for wide dynamic range music at realistic levels. PC and portable audio gear is typically limited to around 1 volt or less with many managing only about 0.5 volts. So you might need a headphone amp. While the 650 may deserve better, even the $20 FiiO E5 can manage about 1.3 volts which might be enough for many tastes."
 
I am pretty sure my PC has alot more than 1V, it gets the HD580s ridiculously loud.  I usually listen at 25%.  And if you listen at reasonable levels always on a decently powered computer, is an dedicated amp really gonna do much?
 
 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Does anyone have any blind tests with the O2 they care to share?  If not can anyone conduct them?  I would be much more likely to get one if I could actually be shown it does something.  Peoples opinions and statements in the hi-fi world are meaningless.  Its an industry built on snake oil and BS, but there is some truth in good sound.  Plus its the Objective AMP!   Make audio objective - Blind tests guys!  I swear its like pulling teeth to get any useful information on audio on the internet.
 
In Voldemorts review of the HD650, he said a dedicated Amp may not be required.
 
"Generally you need about 2 volts RMS (5.7 volts peak-to-peak) for wide dynamic range music at realistic levels. PC and portable audio gear is typically limited to around 1 volt or less with many managing only about 0.5 volts. So you might need a headphone amp. While the 650 may deserve better, even the $20 FiiO E5 can manage about 1.3 volts which might be enough for many tastes."
 
I am pretty sure my PC has alot more than 1V, it gets the HD580s ridiculously loud.  I usually listen at 25%.  And if you listen at reasonable levels always on a decently powered computer, is an dedicated amp really gonna do much?

An ABX won't demonstrate anything useful to you unless they use the same equipment as you.
 
I have an external DAC and amp because it takes the soundcard out of the equation.  It more convenient and its one less factor to consider when buying a new laptop or motherboard.  Once I add in some EQ for the LFE channel in movies I end up needing a lot of power too.
 
If none of those things, or the stuff I mentioned earlier applies to you then you don't need it.
 

 

[Crazy*Carl]

Quote:

An ABX won't demonstrate anything useful to you unless they use the same equipment as you.
 
I have an external DAC and amp because it takes the soundcard out of the equation.  It more convenient and its one less factor to consider when buying a new laptop or motherboard.  Once I add in some EQ for the LFE channel in movies I end up needing a lot of power too.
 
If none of those things, or the stuff I mentioned earlier applies to you then you don't need it.
 

Sure it will, all I am looking for is to see if someone can actually pass a blind test.  I gave results to head-fi showing that I could not with Audio gd hardware.  Other people raved on how impressive the gear was.
 
 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Sure it will, all I am looking for is to see if someone can actually pass a blind test.  I gave results to head-fi showing that I could not with Audio gd hardware.  Other people raved on how impressive the gear was.

You're missing the point.  What you're supposed to tell the O2 from makes all the difference.  I could ABX it from my OTL tube amp but that won't tell you anything useful because it has about as little in common with your soundcard as it possible for 2 audio amplifiers to have.
 
The O2 is designed to be transparent.  Its not supposed to sound like anything so obviously if you try and ABX it against something else that's supposed to be transparent then you probably won't be able to tell the difference.  That's the entire point of the O2.  Its transparent, can power a wide variety of 'phones, and most importantly is the cheapest thing on the market with those capabilities.
 
The O2 isn't supposed to magically make anything sound better.  Its supposed to amplify what you feed it and add as little else as possible.  If you need more power then buy it.  If you need less hiss for sensitive IEMs then buy it.  If you need a lower output impedance to increase the damping factor of low impedance headphones then buy it.  If you just want an amp that you don't have to worry about being a weak link in your signal chain then buy it.  If you don't need any of that then don't buy it.  That's all there is to it.

 

[Crazy*Carl]

I'm not missing the point.  I would love to see any results from blind tests.

 

[firev1]

maverick you are missing HIS point, the O2 is great amp but still to satisfy our curiosity, how would it fare against other more venerable amps like say the V200 or RSA Shadow in blind listening? (behind cloth cover, with no blindfold) Such a test would prove that going upgrading from an O2 may(or not) be justified.

 

[sphinxvc]

This has been covered before recently.  There have been no such blind tests, to my knowledge at least.

 

[mikeaj]

The only blind tests of the O2 vs. other amps, that I've heard reported, are by Voldemort himself and a couple other of his friends.  He claims not to hear differences between the Benchmark DAC1 Pre headphone out and the O2, using an A/B/X testing box IIRC.  I don't particularly think a negative result (couldn't tell the difference) means much from people who are expecting not to hear a difference, at least in general.  For reference, he does claim to hear issues with some other gear, where the distortion or noise or output impedance figures would imply potential problems.  Take that what you will.
 
The main issue is that people who believe more in blind tests don't bother because they don't believe they'd be hearing differences, or maybe they're more frugal and rational in purchases and don't own anything worth comparing the O2 to.  And then a lot of people don't really see the point in blind tests or don't think they're worthwhile for one reason or another.

 

[Naim.F.C]

If you guys bare with me I will do a full review and comparison of both the V200 and the O2. I can tell you now they do sound slightly different, picked up even in blind testing and naturally general A/B testing too. At first it was quite tricky, but once I knew the sig of each amp and knew what differences to look out for, it became much easier.
 
To the point where with certain tracks I'd actually swap amps just to get the desired sound. Ultimately, it's a tricky comparison because they don't aim to do the same thing. The O2 is near enough completely neutral, whereas the V200 is intentionally coloured, albeit subtly. There's pro's and cons to both really.
 
 
EDIT: Are we really not even allowed to mention his name? Because not being able to even do that seems just a tad draconian. Is there a thread somewhere where the rules on this are outlined? It's very difficult to keep up!

 

[arirug]

I have both the Denon d2000 and HD650, and the O2 does an excellent job driving them. I do not have the urge to try any other headphoneamplifier after having listened to the O2. And i have owned more than 20 headphoneamplifiers from various well known  manufacturers. For my ears it fullfills all my expectations from a headphoneaamplifier. 

 

[Digital-Pride]

I love that with its very low output impedance, you can confidently pair it with any low impedance headphone or iem.

 

[Crazy*Carl]

Quote:

If you guys bare with me I will do a full review and comparison of both the V200 and the O2. I can tell you now they do sound slightly different, picked up even in blind testing and naturally general A/B testing too. At first it was quite tricky, but once I knew the sig of each amp and knew what differences to look out for, it became much easier.
 
To the point where with certain tracks I'd actually swap amps just to get the desired sound. Ultimately, it's a tricky comparison because they don't aim to do the same thing. The O2 is near enough completely neutral, whereas the V200 is intentionally coloured, albeit subtly. There's pro's and cons to both really.
 
 
EDIT: Are we really not even allowed to mention his name? Because not being able to even do that seems just a tad draconian. Is there a thread somewhere where the rules on this are outlined? It's very difficult to keep up!

Could you just do your PC sound vs the O2.  I would like to see that one more.
 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

I'm not missing the point.  I would love to see any results from blind tests.

So any blind test will do...

 

[juman231]

Quote:

Could you just do your PC sound vs the O2.  I would like to see that one more.
 

Since all PCs are built so differently from each other to different specs, I doubt such comparison would help? =/

 

[firev1]

Its getting a little ridiculous. For me its no competition since my card has massive EMI issues anyway,,,,