[Audio-Omega]

Production of SR-71B is at a furious level over at Ray's place.  

 

[jamato8]

Got the elves working overtime as their arms blur on the assembly line while they go into overdrive. 

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

Quote:

Quote:

Sky:  Normally you will just give the review of an amp.  But you are taking the " FUN Factor" of this incremental update to the n degree.  I really enjoying the way you are doing it.  No doubt it's more demanding but you are getting all of us crazy in waiting to find out what would be the next discovery, totally awesome.
 
PS:  I hope this process will make a convert out of you in balance amping, hehehe

And you guys are helping me to write the review by letting me know what you most want me to listen to/for

Hey Skylab,
 
Could you listen to some bass heavy songs and EQ the bass up on your source by 6-10db? Sometimes that is what it takes for some songs to sound good. Just run it through some Lacuna Coil or heavy electronic or dance and let me know what happens. When I listened to the combo of the HE6 and the SR71B it didn't seem to have a lot of bass. The HE-6 hooked up to Hifiman's EF5 didn't seem to have enough bass either, so it is probably just the headphones or my preference for bass. Let me know if it clips or muddies up anything.

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Hey Skylab,
 
Could you listen to some bass heavy songs and EQ the bass up on your source by 6-10db? Sometimes that is what it takes for some songs to sound good. Just run it through some Lacuna Coil or heavy electronic or dance and let me know what happens. When I listened to the combo of the HE6 and the SR71B it didn't seem to have a lot of bass. The HE-6 hooked up to Hifiman's EF5 didn't seem to have enough bass either, so it is probably just the headphones or my preference for bass. Let me know if it clips or muddies up anything.

I have no means to EQ my sources.  Sorry.  I do not use my computer as a source.

 

[r2ymond]

Hey,
 
I've a question, i'll be feeding the SR71-b from a Cowon J3, means i can only used the SE input through 3.5mm to 3.5mm interconnect.
 
Would like to know what difference would i get between the Balanced input and SE input?
 
And also, is there a Balanced to 3.5mm interconnect?
 
 
Thanks!

 

[Skylab]

Using my trust Rat Shack SPL meter, I measure the output of the HE-6 using the SR-71B in high gain, and with the volume maxed, with the iPad serving as the source, into the SE input of the SR-71B.  Using a song I consider to be somewhat quietly recorded ("Solid Ground" by The Radiators from Total Evaporation), I was able to get 94 dBA peaks.  On a recording at a hotter level ("Good Times Bad Times" from Led Zeppelin 1), I was able to get 100 dBA peaks.  At that level (which I will only listen to for a few seconds, lest I risk hearing damage), I could detect no audible distortion.  I really cannot say if the sound was "good" or not, as sound that loud bothers my ears.  But I can say it was "clean".
 
Next up will be to test the SE output of the SR-71B.

 

[Jalo]

SE input to SE output
SE input to Balance output
Balance input to balance output
Balance input to SE output
 
If use a less demanding phone like the ED8, then repeat the process for med and lo gain...
 
The mutation goes on.....

 

[warp08]

Quote:

Hey,
 
I've a question, i'll be feeding the SR71-b from a Cowon J3, means i can only used the SE input through 3.5mm to 3.5mm interconnect.
 
Would like to know what difference would i get between the Balanced input and SE input?
 
And also, is there a Balanced to 3.5mm interconnect?
 
 
Thanks!

 
According to Ray's intro on the SR71B webpage, because of the way the device does phase splitting, there would be no benefit in building a S/E to Balanced IC.  If you have a S/E source or S/E headphones or IEM, use the S/E connectors.
 
However, just like in the case of the Protector, there is benefit in using balanced IEMs or headphones when paired with S/E sources.
 

 

[tourneychamp23]

as previously stated i'm new to portable amps so bear with me, what kinds of sonic differences should I expect? I am currently using jh-16s (love them thanks guys). I am also looking to get a pair of full size headphones (possibly Ultrasone ed 8) Also, I don't know if I should ask this here but do the interconnect cables make that much of a sonic difference? 

 

[sherwino]

I am eagerly awaiting on how Skylab will review the Ed8 using SE with these amps. I have been looking for a better portable amp to replace the Hornet that has much better synergy with the Ed8 especially with its more agressive highs. 

 

[Audio-Omega]

Would unbalanced headphones benefit much from being driven by balanced output ?

 

[jamato8]

You can't drive them from the balanced if they aren't wired for balanced. They would have to be driven single ended. 

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

Quote:

as previously stated i'm new to portable amps so bear with me, what kinds of sonic differences should I expect? I am currently using jh-16s (love them thanks guys). I am also looking to get a pair of full size headphones (possibly Ultrasone ed 8) Also, I don't know if I should ask this here but do the interconnect cables make that much of a sonic difference? 

The SR-71B will definitely make your 16s sound better, especially if you get a balanced cable. As for fancy cables like TWag and stuff, many people on head-fi say they make a positive difference. One guy even put TWag on his JH5s and said they improved the sound. 

 

[nc8000]

I went from stock single ended to TWag balanced with my JH13 and Protector in one go so don't know which part did what but there was certainly clear improvements

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

Pellegrino110 went with TWag on his JH5s single ended and reported a very real difference. I would love to listen to some JH demos balanced with the SR71B. The amp definitely has a huge soundstage, and that would pair well with the inherent shortcomings of IEMs, mainly the in the head image. It is not necessarily a bad thing to hear the music from inside the head, but this amp has serious width.