[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sum1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe i'm better off to get a MKIII tube amp since they will have different sound sig

Definitely go for a tube amp

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrew jc /img/forum/go_quote.gif Larry do you feel the White is superior to the Nuforce Icon? Thanks.....

As a headphone amp and DAC, White is slightly better than the icon, but the difference is not dramatic. All of my tube amps I like better, but none have a DAC in them.

 

[sum1]

I'm just wondering how the WHITE compares to 2Move since the DAC chip is about the same. Meier amp seems to have warm mids and judging from this review it seems like the WHITE one might be similar. Anyone care to comment on this?

 

[spickerish]

Larry, which of the these wil fit my needs best, you think. My source is a laptop (stationary). And my phones are Senn HD600's.
I have narrowed it down to the D2 Boa, the NuForce Icon, the White and the Green. (can you please rank them from 1 to 4)
Thanks

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sum1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm just wondering how the WHITE compares to 2Move since the DAC chip is about the same. Meier amp seems to have warm mids and judging from this review it seems like the WHITE one might be similar. Anyone care to comment on this?

I was hoping Skylab would chime in because he has a White and a 2MOVE. I only had his 2MOVE for a few days to review it, but I wasn't comparing desktops to portables.

From what I recall, the White is more powerful, and a little more transparent and neutral. Both are excellent amps, but if you are driving hard to drive phones like AKG K701 or AKG240 600 ohm, the White may be a better choice.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spickerish /img/forum/go_quote.gif Larry, which of the these wil fit my needs best, you think. My source is a laptop (stationary). And my phones are Senn HD600's. I have narrowed it down to the D2 Boa, the NuForce Icon, the White and the Green. (can you please rank them from 1 to 4) Thanks

Sometimes it's hard to rank things because one will do some things better than others, but the other amp will excel in the areas that the other amp didn't. The D2 Boa is still burning in and is at 175 hours, but I haven't listened much at all since last weekend. 5 days from now, at 300 hours, I plan start my review on it; and I wanted to not get too accustomed to the sound of the D2 Boa until it was done cooking. From what I have heard in brief spots of listening, the Boa is very good sounding, but it is not as powerful as some of the other amps out there.

The D2 viper with LM6172 main/THS4032 ground sounds similar to the Boa, but is more powerful. Those opamps were better with the full size headphones I tried, but for IEM's they were a bit forward. I recently had to swap the opamps into the opposite sockets for IEM (see my portable amp synergy review, linked in my sig). Configured that way it becomes less forward and the power goes down, but it sounds better with IEM (and still sounds good with full size phones except a little bright with RS-1). I left the D2 Viper set up that way for now, and I compared it to the Nuforce set up this way.

SOUND: The Nuforce sounds very much like my D2 Viper (with the more recent opamps), but it does handle the RS-1 better than the Viper (with the IEM opamps). I felt the Nuforce sounded nice with everything, and is very detailed through both the DAC and analog inputs, just like the D2 viper and the White, from the limited listening I have done. The White seems to be slightly more transparent than the other two. The Green is just as enjoyable, but the DAC seems to hold it back more than the others, in terms of less micro-detail and ambience than from the DAC in the others.

POWER: Using the analog inputs and feeding the Nuforce from my Apogee mini-DAC high level line-out, the Nuforce is much more powerful than my portables, and closer to the White in power. If your source does not put out a strong signal like the Apogee, then the Nuforce is less powerful than the white but still more powerful than many portables. The Nuforce internal DAC does not have as high of a line level signal as the Apogee, and thus is not as loud as when using the Apogee mini-DAC (the iMod/Vcap dock is also not as loud as the Apogee as source). With those quieter sources the Nuforce will still play pretty loud, without running out of juice or straining, but not as loudly as the White.

For your HD600, I think the White or the Nuforce make more sense than the portables, and they both sound similar. If you can build a soldered-on pair of OPA627AU onto a small 2:1 adapter, the White can sound better than the Nuforce. But stock the White is good enough, and may be somewhat more transparent than the others. Because the White was not available at the time, I previously compared headphone/speaker amps and I have some comparisons of the Nuforce and Red with AD743 posted here: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/nuf...ml#post4413457

All of these sound good, and the choice comes down to what features you need, and whether you need the extra power of a desktop amp. For me, amps are like Lays potato chips - you can't have just one.

 

[spickerish]

^ Thanks, I think that I'll be getting the Nuforce, since it is a bit cheaper.

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was hoping Skylab would chime in because he has a White and a 2MOVE. I only had his 2MOVE for a few days to review it, but I wasn't comparing desktops to portables. From what I recall, the White is more powerful, and a little more transparent and neutral. Both are excellent amps, but if you are driving hard to drive phones like AKG K701 or AKG240 600 ohm, the White may be a better choice.

The White is definitely a more powerful amp than the 2Move, and would be a better choice for driving headphones such as these unless a portable amp is required. The 2Move is an excellent portable amp, but the White, being a home amp with a more significant power supply, is definitely a step up in sound quality.

 

[spickerish]

I read somewhere that Travagan offers worldwide free shipping, is this true?

 

[Eldo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spickerish /img/forum/go_quote.gif I read somewhere that Travagan offers worldwide free shipping, is this true?

It was definitely free to the U.S. a couple weeks ago

It doesn't say anything about free shipping until you are part way through the ordering process.

 

[DemonicLemming]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spickerish /img/forum/go_quote.gif I read somewhere that Travagan offers worldwide free shipping, is this true?

Not 100% sure about world-wide, but shipping on mine was free when I got it about a month ago.

 

[spickerish]

^ Where do you live then DemonicLemming?

 

[DemonicLemming]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spickerish /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ Where do you live then DemonicLemming?

Kansas (unfortunately), USA.

 

[arirug]

I paid for a Travagan`s Red today. I got an email back, that said I had paid too much. Shipping is free the email stated. So 190 US dollar for a travagan`s Red brought to Norway isn`t bad. Though it may be that I have to pay customs charge when it arrives here, but it will still be a good price. OPA627BP with a 2:1 adapter is allready paid for from tube_buyer.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by arirug /img/forum/go_quote.gif I paid for a Travagan`s Red today. I got an email back, that said I had paid too much. Shipping is free the email stated. So 190 US dollar for a travagan`s Red brought to Norway isn`t bad. Though it may be that I have to pay customs charge when it arrives here, but it will still be a good price. OPA627BP with a 2:1 adapter is allready paid for from tube_buyer.

I'll look at my box tonight and see if he marked the value down to help with customs.

Even if there are duties and taxes it is worth it, especially with the OPA627 it sounds like an amp twice it's cost.

Larry