[Skylab]

I buy...I listen...I review...I sell (mostly). Yeah, I take a 20% hit for trying them out. But I enjoy that, so it's cool.

Although I really hope the C&C XO sounds good, because I can tell you my purple-colored one is gonna look bad as ****

 

[Morph201]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif I buy...I listen...I review...I sell (mostly). Yeah, I take a 20% hit for trying them out. But I enjoy that, so it's cool. Although I really hope the C&C XO sounds good, because I can tell you my purple-colored one is gonna look bad as ****

Hmmmm... denial is a river in Egypt, right? (kiddin),.. btw wanna send those 20% losses to Help Darren get a Meridian fund?

 

[Techno Rocker]

A...Week!?

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

You can't do this to me! (I know that you can and wll, but still!)

I really want that amp, but I want to know what you think of it first. Is it possible to burn it in while you're away? If not, oh well...I'll try to have some patience. *sigh* Thanks for what you're doing though.

Morph201:

I'll be your case study if you buy me tons of amps!

Might defeat the purpose though...

-T.R.

 

[Skylab]

LOL, sorry man, but I have a day job

 

[Techno Rocker]

No worries. Your family comes first. Its all good.

To quote Docto Who: "First things first, but not necessarily in that order."

-T.R.

 

[Biff Wellington]

Well, after emailing Ray Samuels (who advised me that he had some Hornets coming by the weekend), I decided to take the plunge and order a Hornet. However, after totaling up the price of the batteries, the shipping, and everything else, it came out to $395. Now I'm wondering if I should have just bought the SR-71 for the extra $20 or so.

Anyone want to refute that thought to make the newbie feel a little better? I wouldn't be opposed to a wagging finger as a lesson either, I suppose...

 

[Morph201]

Been there and done that!

SR-71

Edit: After reading Skylab's post, I'll be more descriptive with mine. As you know the SR-71 doesn't have a charger, is somewhat larger (that rhymed!

), and is not able to change gain on the fly, but the SR-71 with normal gain (6) is fine for both full sized cans or IEMs. Now, knowing all that! The SR-71 does have a better soundstage\imaging, more airy feel to the music, not as much PUNCH to the bass as the hornet, BUT bass is definitely there! And much better display of "microdetails".... Whereas the Hornet (as Sky mentioned) is more feature rich (variable gain setting,smaller,battery charger), and has a more in your face presentation (well that was my take). It also depends on what genre you prefer. I found the SR-71 better suited for classical\jazz (acoustical) whereas the Hornet seemed better for rock\r&b. Either way you won't go wrong, since they both contain the RSA sound sig. overall. But, keep in mind, especially with the 20 dollar difference, you're paying a premium for the size\charging ability. After hearing the two, I still think the SR-71 is slightly better class (soundwise) amp, if you don't mind swapping batteries every 50-70 hours!

Good luck!

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biff Wellington /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, after emailing Ray Samuels (who advised me that he had some Hornets coming by the weekend), I decided to take the plunge and order a Hornet. However, after totaling up the price of the batteries, the shipping, and everything else, it came out to $395. Now I'm wondering if I should have just bought the SR-71 for the extra $20 or so. Anyone want to refute that thought to make the newbie feel a little better? I wouldn't be opposed to a wagging finger as a lesson either, I suppose...

I *slightly* preferred the sound of the SR-71, but the Hornet is fuller featured, and the fact that the SR-71 doesn't charge batteries and the Horten does means that the RSA amp I use the most is my battery-sipping Tomahawk.

I think you will LOVE the Hornet.

 

[dipnorge]

Help me decide: Xenos 0HA-REP or iBasso T1? Ruggedness counts but not as much as SQ. Thanks.

 

[tnmike1]

Had the Hornet, moved "up" to the SR-71. Yeah, a little larger but still fits in my Headroom minibag with my Ipod. And battery life? Check the site. Some of us are getting hundred-plus hours off Ultralife Lithium disposables while I'm getting really good hours out of Ipower 300 mah NiMH. Don't let that stop you.

Or throw another amp in the mix--Portaphle maxxed??? Gotta be willing to change batteries every 4-7 hrs but with rechargeables maybe that's a non-issue too.

 

[koike]

just get a portable battery pack!
with the voltage above 12V it becomes a totally different beast.

 

[b7nguyen]

Aww man....what have I done!?!? I went loco and just ordered an M Hornet + ALO Cotton Dock. Its gonna be bread and water for awhile

This all started In Feb when I found the Grado 80s on Amazon, then I upgraded to the Senn HD580 a month later, then I got an AirHead, then I found this site, then this!!! Ok....gotta stop reading these sweet reviews from you guys, I dont deal with temptation very well

BTW, it was b/c of Skylab's review that I got the Hornet. Thanks buddy... I think...

 

[Morph201]

Quote:

Originally Posted by b7nguyen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Aww man....what have I done!?!? I went loco and just ordered an M Hornet + ALO Cotton Dock. Its gonna be bread and water for awhile This all started In Feb when I found the Grado 80s on Amazon, then I upgraded to the Senn HD580 a month later, then I got an AirHead, then I found this site, then this!!! Ok....gotta stop reading these sweet reviews from you guys, I dont deal with temptation very well BTW, it was b/c of Skylab's review that I got the Hornet. Thanks buddy... I think...

Welcome to the club! It doesn't stop there!

Stock up on Ramen noodles!!

 

[silverrain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morph201 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Welcome to the club! It doesn't stop there! Stock up on Ramen noodles!!

Dang! You beat me to it with the Ramen thing....

Joining Head-Fi is a guaranteed weight-loss diet for many.

 

[Nattydraddy]

Not only weight lost. My brain gets woozy. I bought a pair of Shure SE530. My Shure E1 got a cable break. And i don´t know if Shure will give me an exchange if i sent them in. ´Cause they are ~5 years old and the Shure E1 gets nowaday selled from Westone (as UM1-classic).

But for the Shure SE530 a need an amp that delivers me a black background. ´Cause i own a iRiver H340, that produce a lot of hiss. I already read from one member here, who also got these Shure´s and have even hiss than he put his Headroom MicroAmp between his Shure and his iRiver H340.

In the last two moth a read so much about headphone amplifiers, that i just got confused. And every week comes a new portable headphone amplifier out. Or they get updated. There are not only different kinds of Go-Vibe V6, you have also Go-Vibe V6 with AD6810/6820 of with AD8937 and...

As soon as a op-amp comes in fashion you get a headphone amplifiers offerd with them. But as soon i learned enough about an op-amp and the specific headphone amplifier, there are again better headphone amplifiers available.

For me are the amps from Ray Samuels best now. Cause he never updates them. And only comes out with a new portable in one or two years.

If i understand this review right, i can use a Tomahawk also for my AKG K-701. ´Cause the Tomahawk was nearly as good as the Hornet or the SR-71 for Skylab. And he made the test with full-size headphones.

I know for example one with an Emmerline Hornet, who likes the Hornet in the bassdepartment with this IEM. But he wants an amp with more pressure in the lows for use with his Sennheiser HD650.

For the Tomahawk states Ray Samuel:"The Tomahawk has a 2 position gain switch. The "low" gain of (1) which is dedicated to all IEMs and the "high" gain of (4) which is designed to drive the low impedance headphones."
And no gain-swith for high impedance headphones like skylabs DT 880 with 250 ohm.

Seems logically to me, ´cause a SR-71 has two 9V-Batteries, a Hormet has one 9V-Battery and a Tomahawk has only two AAA batteries. And they last forever.

So how can a Tomahawk deliver enough power for a full-size headphone like my AKG K-701? Or are my K-701 to much for a Tomahawk and it would be better to upgrade also my headphone-amp for my AKG K-701?