[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrew3199 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Larry. I wondered if you ever had a chance to listen to any of "Ray samuels" amps, I was wondering how the "Travagans Red" held up against maybe the SR71.

I have only heard RSA portables, but not the desktop amps. I prefer the Red with AD743 opamps and the P-51 Mustang over the Predator. I don't want to rank the P-51 vs Red with AD743 except to say that the Red has a bit more power for full size cans, while the P-51 is a better choice for IEM due to the channel imbalance at low volume levels in the Red's volume pot. They both have great sound. It is possible that I would prefer the P-51 over a Red with stock opamps, but I have not been willing to return the stock opamps to the Red for comparisons, as I just like it with the AD743 too much right now.

I have not heard the SR-71, but I did have a Tomahawk for a while. After I got the Predator burned-in fully the Predator bested the TH so I sold the TH. So the Red should beat the TH as well, and I think I would even prefer the stock red to the TH. (I felt the TH was not as smooth in the highs and the soundstage was not as big or realistic, nor was it as powerful)

 

[ksween93]

I'm thinking of buying the Green for my new AKG K601's. Seems like a pretty solid option.

 

[Barbarous]

I made a cable to connect the Firestone Supplier to the Travagan's Red unit, and it does work! (So far.) I used a RadioShack size M DC power plug for the Travagan's side, and size N for the Firestone side. I like products from both companies, so I'm not promoting one over the other; the idea might be useful for those, like me, who already have the Supplier and want to use it with a Travagan's amp. Try it, of course, at your own risk.

Given the pricing of the Travagan's Black it might be of interest to people in the other direction-- even after dropping a few bucks on making a cable it would be cheaper to buy a Black to power your Spitfire DAC (or whatever Firestone product) than the Supplier. This is theoretical, as I don't have a Black to try powering a Spitfire with. There are aesthetic differences to bear in mind also. Still, something for the fearlessly experimental to bear in mind.

I don't know how to post pictures but the boxes are about the same. The length and width of the Travagans enclosure is about a millimeter less than the Firestone, so they stack well. Side by side the Travagans is a bit higher (by the grooved part on the top).

 

[ksween93]

Just to clarify, all of the Travagan's amps use 3.5mm headphone outputs, correct?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ksween93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just to clarify, all of the Travagan's amps use 3.5mm headphone outputs, correct?

yes

 

[andrew3199]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbarous /img/forum/go_quote.gif I made a cable to connect the Firestone Supplier to the Travagan's Red unit, and it does work! (So far.) I used a RadioShack size M DC power plug for the Travagan's side, and size N for the Firestone side. I like products from both companies, so I'm not promoting one over the other; the idea might be useful for those, like me, who already have the Supplier and want to use it with a Travagan's amp. Try it, of course, at your own risk. Given the pricing of the Travagan's Black it might be of interest to people in the other direction-- even after dropping a few bucks on making a cable it would be cheaper to buy a Black to power your Spitfire DAC (or whatever Firestone product) than the Supplier. This is theoretical, as I don't have a Black to try powering a Spitfire with. There are aesthetic differences to bear in mind also. Still, something for the fearlessly experimental to bear in mind. I don't know how to post pictures but the boxes are about the same. The length and width of the Travagans enclosure is about a millimeter less than the Firestone, so they stack well. Side by side the Travagans is a bit higher (by the grooved part on the top).

I think this is what I'm going to do. How did you splice the cable together?

 

[Barbarous]

I didn't splice the cable, just made a new one, so I didn't have to worry about which wire was positive and which negative. Unsure whether it mattered what gauge wires I used, I took apart an Australian power cord someone sent me with something I bought, braided the three insulated wires I found inside, and soldered them to the plugs.

If you buy those RadioShack DC power plugs you just solder one wire between the live tabs and another between the grounds. Very easy to do.

If you are not a DIYer I made two of these mini interconnects-- the first one looks a little funky, I used a heat gun to shrink the heatshrink, left it too close and a bit of the shank shrank. Works fine-- the shank doesn't effect the function, and it still covers the solder tabs. PM me and you can have the funky IC at cost. If you do any DIY you can do it better yourself, but if not, you're welcome to it.

 

[Landis]

Hmm... I had made a post asking for suggestions on amps or amp/DAC combos, but I hadn't heard too much about any of these!

I was looking for a bit of a future proofing amp in the sense that I have limited space and plan on wanting to try a few more headphones with varying amp requirements; something like the K601, DT880, HD650 have been in my sights and since you mentioned these amps are good for driving needy headphones, they sound right up my alley.

Right now I'm running Beyer DT770/250 off a cheapo headphone amp built into my HT Omega Claro Halo sound card. I'm curious how using this sound card as my DAC paired with one of these as JUST amps would fair versus the DAC/amp combos of the White and Green.

All of these are in my price range, although not quite sure which I'd consider. I'll put it this way, I don't necessarily want to dig around inside the amp to swap out opamps, so right off the bat, which would you recommend stock for my case if any of them? My budget is around $400 USD, so if you have any other suggestions that might better fit my needs, please send me a PM!

And thanks for the wonderful review, Larry!

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Landis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm... I had made a post asking for suggestions on amps or amp/DAC combos, but I hadn't heard too much about any of these! I was looking for a bit of a future proofing amp in the sense that I have limited space and plan on wanting to try a few more headphones with varying amp requirements; something like the K601, DT880, HD650 have been in my sights and since you mentioned these amps are good for driving needy headphones, they sound right up my alley. Right now I'm running Beyer DT770/250 off a cheapo headphone amp built into my HT Omega Claro Halo sound card. I'm curious how using this sound card as my DAC paired with one of these as JUST amps would fair versus the DAC/amp combos of the White and Green. All of these are in my price range, although not quite sure which I'd consider. I'll put it this way, I don't necessarily want to dig around inside the amp to swap out opamps, so right off the bat, which would you recommend stock for my case if any of them? My budget is around $400 USD, so if you have any other suggestions that might better fit my needs, please send me a PM! And thanks for the wonderful review, Larry!

Your sound card should be sufficient sound quality as a source for the Travagans Red. And if the sound card's sound quality isn't good enough, the sound card opamps can be upgraded just like the Red's opamps. And later you could get a hi-end DAC with optical input and feed that from your soundcard's optical out.

Within your budget, you could get the Red (under $200) PLUS the AD743 on a 2:1 adapter from HiFlight ($65) and have money left over. HiFlight also now owns the Red and likes it a lot with the AD743 opamps, but he wasn't impressed with the stock opamps or OPA627 opamps.

 

[Landis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your sound card should be sufficient sound quality as a source for the Travagans Red. And if the sound card's sound quality isn't good enough, the sound card opamps can be upgraded just like the Red's opamps. And later you could get a hi-end DAC with optical input and feed that from your soundcard's optical out. Within your budget, you could get the Red (under $200) PLUS the AD743 on a 2:1 adapter from HiFlight ($65) and have money left over. HiFlight also now owns the Red and likes it a lot with the AD743 opamps, but he wasn't impressed with the stock opamps or OPA627 opamps.

Interesting!

I listen to a bit of everything when it comes to music; jazz, classical, contemporary, rock, metal and watch movies too; will I be seeing the performance of the AD743 lean specifically closer to one side of the music spectrum or is it just all around better than the stock opamps?

Also, how straight forward is swapping out opamps got the Red? Different generalized walkthroughs I've found have mentioned some soldering, while other ones mention just popping out and popping in; I'm a guy who doesn't like to mess around with sensitive materials, hell, building computers isn't comfortable for me and there are a lot of bigger parts to that, so dealing with tiny chips in tiny places with the chance of breaking something that the manufacturer won't take back if I break-- it scares the bejeebus outta me!

Thanks for the quick reply, I was worried you didn't hover around this thread any more after seeing when it was made!

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Landis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting! I listen to a bit of everything when it comes to music; jazz, classical, contemporary, rock, metal and watch movies too; will I be seeing the performance of the AD743 lean specifically closer to one side of the music spectrum or is it just all around better than the stock opamps? Also, how straight forward is swapping out opamps got the Red? Different generalized walkthroughs I've found have mentioned some soldering, while other ones mention just popping out and popping in; I'm a guy who doesn't like to mess around with sensitive materials, hell, building computers isn't comfortable for me and there are a lot of bigger parts to that, so dealing with tiny chips in tiny places with the chance of breaking something that the manufacturer won't take back if I break-- it scares the bejeebus outta me! Thanks for the quick reply, I was worried you didn't hover around this thread any more after seeing when it was made!

The AD743 are all around better for everything. HiFlight sells the two DIP8 opamps on a 2:1 adapter which plugs right into the Red - see the photo in my review of the amp partially open with the 2:1 inserted. No soldering. A 6 year old could change them out.

 

[Landis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif A 6 year old could change them out.

That was the answer I was hoping for!

I'm thinking I shall pick me up one of these fellas and quite possibly get in contact with this HiFlight fellow.

Thanks again, Larry!

 

[ksween93]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif OPA627 or AD743 - both are single channel opamps so you need two of them plus a 2:1 adapter. I may have a spare pair of OPA627 already on a 2:1 that came from a reputable dealer on eBay(tube_buyer) who has been found to be selling the real thing and not fake opamps. PM me if you are interested in buying.

Where might one find a 2:1 online, and would it work with the White? I'm kinda new to rolling opamps and such.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ksween93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Where might one find a 2:1 online, and would it work with the White? I'm kinda new to rolling opamps and such.

Go back through the thread - there should be more info on where to get them (hint - try eBay or PM HiFlight). And the eBay 2:1 with OPA627 that are stacked on an "over/under" and pre-soldered onto a 2:1 will fit the White. A side-by-side 2:1 will not fit the white.

I never opened the Green because the stock opamp was good for driving the Stax O2 Mk2 with SRD-7 Pro, and I have not used it for dynamic headphones, so no need to change. So I don't know what fits the green.

 

[Agent_Moler]

hey headphoneaddict, i know this might be kind of off of topic but what music player do u use on the mac? Do you ever run a usb directly to the amps your testing? Im asking cause i noticed you mentioned a DAC before you started the review so im wondering if mac > amp sound bad.