[scottcw]

I posted a comparison of the Predator's amp section to the Apex Glacier - http://www.head-fi.org/t/768091/a-noob-reviews-ray-samuels-and-apex-glacier-content

 

[Mmet]

now ... i am a new second owner of the Predator ^_^ ..... i bought it in a near mint condition from the respectful seller
@eeyssjr .... he is very respectful and helpful seller on head-fi .... he sold me the predator at a near mint condition .... he told me that the predator had approximately 50 hours of playback .

MY VERY FIRST AND INITIAL IMPRESSIONS :
First time i opened the box i saw the adapter and didn't see the amp !! it is very tiny ... really tiny ... the build quality is the best i've seen ( it is my first high end amp i had before a Fiio E11 ) and the color is awesome .. it is black but not that black ! ... under certain light condition it gives like a very dark purple color ! very elegant

now i am at home ... connected it through the mini USB cable to my PC ... installed and appeared immediately ... set it on high gain and connected it to my AKG K171 mkII .... VERY INEFFICIENT headphone with somewhat medicore sound quality and bright treble - most of time fatiguing with light bass and leaving it now burning in as i've red the full thread and know that burning in that amp is very important .....

from the first brief peak to the sound : i hear distortion and driver crackling ... compressed sound from that headphone with the amp .... BUT heard too a more definition for details ( like that background sounds jumped up and became more clear !! ) and first time i get a respectful bass from these headphones too ... it is about 30 seconds of listening only so .. don't bother.

i will hold for now .... and will write my full impression soon with my main iem that i use it all the time SE535 ....

 

[jamato8]

now ... i am a new second owner of the Predator ^_^ ..... i bought it in a near mint condition from the respectful seller
@eeyssjr .... he is very respectful and helpful seller on head-fi .... he sold me the predator at a near mint condition .... he told me that the predator had approximately 50 hours of playback .

MY VERY FIRST AND INITIAL IMPRESSIONS :
First time i opened the box i saw the adapter and didn't see the amp !!

it is very tiny ... really tiny ... the build quality is the best i've seen ( it is my first high end amp i had before a Fiio E11

) and the color is awesome .. it is black but not that black ! ... under certain light condition it gives like a very dark purple color ! very elegant

now i am at home ... connected it through the mini USB cable to my PC ... installed and appeared immediately ... set it on high gain and connected it to my AKG K171 mkII .... VERY INEFFICIENT headphone with somewhat medicore sound quality and bright treble - most of time fatiguing with light bass and leaving it now burning in as i've red the full thread and know that burning in that amp is very important .....

from the first brief peak to the sound : i hear distortion and driver crackling ... compressed sound from that headphone with the amp .... BUT heard too a more definition for details ( like that background sounds jumped up and became more clear !! ) and first time i get a respectful bass from these headphones too ... it is about 30 seconds of listening only so .. don't bother.

i will hold for now .... and will write my full impression soon with my main iem that i use it all the time SE535 ....

I look forward to your impressions. Needs more time on it for sure. It will open up more, etc. 

 

[Mmet]

I look forward to your impressions. Needs more time on it for sure. It will open up more, etc. 

Where is the bass now ??!! I left it burning in from yesterday and at work right now ... I found it a bot brighter than I played it for the first time!

 

[jamato8]

Where is the bass now ??!!

I left it burning in from yesterday and at work right now ... I found it a bot brighter than I played it for the first time!

If it only had 50 hours on it, it will take some time to even out. I didn't find the bass to really come back until around 300 hours and longer. It took some time for all of the frequencies to blend well. 

 

[Mmet]

DAMN !! .. DAMN !! ... it must be my brain playing tricks or so !!! .... this thing really make changes !! sometimes have a veil and slightly excessive warmer tone ... then it cleared up and the background reverb come clear immediately just right now !! .. in my ears ! .... was feeling sleepy with the iems in my ears .... what happen makes me awake again ... and started the list from the beginning to listen to it again with that new change !





side note : don't know what is wrong with head -fi right now .... want to post photos and use emoticons ... but there is no option for that right now !!! .... just plank replay window without any options !
EDIT : never mind ... just changed the browser

 

[Mmet]

charging the predator today and noticed strange thing ! ... the adapter light when put it in the wall wart is red ... the first time i charged the predator the light of the adapter was green !!

 

[jamato8]

  charging the predator today and noticed strange thing ! ... the adapter light when put it in the wall wart is red ... the first time i charged the predator the light of the adapter was green !!

It was green because it was already charged. It is now red because the battery was low enough to need a charge. it will turn green when charged. 

 

[Mmet]

 
It was green because it was already charged. It is now red because the battery was low enough to need a charge. it will turn green when charged. 

thanks a lot ... yes it already turned green when i saw it now .... this amp sounds marvelous already now ... my friend ( not involved in audio thing like me )  i told him to listen and he was skeptical about the difference he would perceive ....  puts the iems into his ears ... selected a track ... play ... then his jaw dropped literally !!

 

[Mmet]

about 3 days of burning in right now ... at high gain and mostly full volume !

here is my current source : sony walkman A 10


 


i have also as sources : Fiio X3 first gen and ipod touch 4g ( which i hate its sound but with the predator it is kinda bearable now even without the full burning in of the amp  ! )

 

[Mmet]

now about 150 hours ... well ... there is no special bass till now ... there is a fairly powerful impact yes but not extending very deep ... the sound is kinda bright ... the details are great and vocals are great too .... overly satisfied but not amazed .... i think i will hold for after 300 hours mark to post my full impressions 

EDIT : This thing is wild !

 

[Mmet]

today i find the mids are forward now .. in a good way ... the bass is good .. impact full but somewhat behind vocals now ... the real deal now is details i rediscover my old music right now  .. a new line of sounds in each song appear now

 
 
 
UPDATE : just before 300 hours by about 50 hours or so the trebles became really present .. i don't remember getting that treble from SE535 ! and most of female vocals became slightly sibilant !
 
 
UPDATE 2 : This thing sounds really fatiguing right now ! mostly light bass except for bass heavy tracks and it only have a good punch but nothing amazing ... burning in continues lets see how far this amp can go ........

 

[Mmet]

After 300 hours of burning in
 
don't know how does it happen ... i left the amp as usual playing and my last experience the the sound was piercing and fatiguing with almost no bass ... kinda messy sound and to be honest i kinda messed my previous Fiio E11 ! 

... decided to leave it playing and not listening to it again unless 400 hours pass as the sound was annoying  ... as it sounds that messy at about 250 hours or more and i was skeptical that will be a dramatic change in these few hours left around the 300 mark .
 
today back from work ... setting behind it and the in ears was playing loudly beside me.. so i could hear them and felt that the sound is strange somehow !! so decided to give it a try ......

The sound amazingly smoothed out .. like cream ! ... the piercing sound absolutely changed  and this is not a placebo thing  ... the difference is like it is not the same device that i was listening to the last time !!
 
the bass has now a bit of depth to it with very good impact ..not that superficial bass any more and blending well with different genera ... very smooth but not big bass .. now it is normal or above normal a little
 
 mids really smoothed out and not that forward any more ... the sibilance mostly gone ... still there but not jumping at my face now
 
although the device now feels very little warmness but the treble is just right for me it is not forward now nor very recessed
 
i don't detect any improvements in terms of sound stage or separation from the day i got it .... just the messy time it has the last two listening sessions then it back to normal again ... may be because i am using mainly an iem ? don't know
 
Long story short : i have difficulty now to put it down from my ears 

and i am very happy  ... just worry if i will face some critical periods after that awesome 300 mark  .....
 

 
 
 

 

[jamato8]

  After 300 hours of burning in
 
don't know how does it happen ... i left the amp as usual playing and my last experience the the sound was piercing and fatiguing with almost no bass ... kinda messy sound and to be honest i kinda messed my previous Fiio E11 ! 

... decided to leave it playing and not listening to it again unless 400 hours pass as the sound was annoying  ... as it sounds that messy at about 250 hours or more and i was skeptical that will be a dramatic change in these few hours left around the 300 mark .
 
today back from work ... setting behind it and the in ears was playing loudly beside me.. so i could hear them and felt that the sound is strange somehow !! so decided to give it a try ......

The sound amazingly smoothed out .. like cream ! ... the piercing sound absolutely changed  and this is not a placebo thing  ... the difference is like it is not the same device that i was listening to the last time !!
 
the bass has now a bit of depth to it with very good impact ..not that superficial bass any more and blending well with different genera ... very smooth but not big bass .. now it is normal or above normal a little
 
 mids really smoothed out and not that forward any more ... the sibilance mostly gone ... still there but not jumping at my face now
 
although the device now feels very little warmness but the treble is just right for me it is not forward now nor very recessed
 
i don't detect any improvements in terms of sound stage or separation from the day i got it .... just the messy time it has the last two listening sessions then it back to normal again ... may be because i am using mainly an iem ? don't know
 
Long story short : i have difficulty now to put it down from my ears 

and i am very happy  ... just worry if i will face some critical periods after that awesome 300 mark  .....
 

 
 
 
 

That is how it goes. :^)

 

[Mmet]

Now i am in the range of 500 -600 h ... the smoothness continues to increase ... the amp now has noticeably more dynamics and great clarity ... but the bass ... mmm ... well it has a slightly more punch and extension than without the amp... impressive with some songs .. not with others ... it is good but not that impressive in terms of quantity ( regarding that i was looking for a bass boost amp before )... may be i had an high expectations in that regard .... i hoped that that amp makes my shures fuller and heavier in bass ... don't know if continuing burning in would bring more bass or not   !!! 



Aside from the sound impressions and wishes ... i have a different opinion than @jamato8
 about the build quality of that amp .... the build quality is really good ... but not optimum for 2 reasons : 

1- a couple of days ago i had a really bad surprise .... the printing on the top of the amp slightly erased !!! that was shocking and hard to swallow from a 500 $ amp  ... and that was the first time i use the amp at a short travel ... and in its supplied protective pouch ! and the erasing of the printing was because .......... its protective pouch !!!! ... not kidding ... the pouch is very soft and smooth from the out side ... but the inner side was fairly rough to act as a sandpaper against the amp with the movements in my bag  :confused_face_2:  ... unfortunately my discovery came a bit late  .


don't know what is the method of printing on the body of an amp and i am not expert ... but i have a fiio x3 player which had really bad time with me for about a year and half now without any sign of erasing and it is about half of the price and had a Fiio E11 .. owned it for 2 years and sold it without a sign of fading on the printing ! and after searching a little it is a fairly common problem with RSA amps ..don't know why  ... may be some people don't care about that too much but i do .

2- the volume knob is making scratchy sounds when moving it ... some times don't ....
that one don't annoy me too much .. as it is a problem with nearly all analog pots out there and kinda expected ... and disappear once i stop turning the pot ......

By the way the channel balance of the volume knob is really great ... i don't have any channel imbalance with it at all with my iem at really low volumes ... tight and steady rotation with very firm feeling .. impressive .


i think this is enough for now 

Oh forgot to mention ... The sound stage is very spacious now and separation improved

UPDATE : 20 / 11

the amp come now to the real life .... now it has its own sound signature and it is unique .... dark sound with a beautiful bass ... the sound comes thick and full and very big ... VERY VERY BIG in my iems .... i put it in my ears about 7 hours today in my travel ....