[MoNelly]

Has anybody compared these two low-priced amps? I'm looking to get something more portable--and with better batter life--than my HR 06 Micro amp for mobile use (the Micro will remain my desktop amp).

I'd like to keep the price under $200. I will be using the amp mostly with Senn 280 Pros (travel), and Koss Porta Pros (exercise), and maybe some Grado SR60s or 80s down the road (just cause I want a pair,

). I don't plan to use the amp with my AGK K701s.

I'd pull the trigger on the Meier in a heartbeat, despite its higher cost, but I'm afraid I'd miss the crossfeed I've grown accustomed to on the HR Micro. However, if I move up to the Move2, which has the crossfeed (and a DAC I don't really need), the price goes up and the unit gets bigger. Meanwhile the AH is less expensive and offers a crossfeed, but obviously looks less slick. The question is, how does it sound compared to the Meier?

Opinions please?

 

[MoNelly]

Really, no opinion on this topic?

 

[MoNelly]

Nothing?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoNelly /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anybody compared these two low-priced amps? I'm looking to get something more portable--and with better batter life--than my HR 06 Micro amp for mobile use (the Micro will remain my desktop amp). I'd like to keep the price under $200. I will be using the amp mostly with Senn 280 Pros (travel), and Koss Porta Pros (exercise), and maybe some Grado SR60s or 80s down the road (just cause I want a pair, ). I don't plan to use the amp with my AGK K701s. I'd pull the trigger on the Meier in a heartbeat, despite its higher cost, but I'm afraid I'd miss the crossfeed I've grown accustomed to on the HR Micro. However, if I move up to the Move2, which has the crossfeed (and a DAC I don't really need), the price goes up and the unit gets bigger. Meanwhile the AH is less expensive and offers a crossfeed, but obviously looks less slick. The question is, how does it sound compared to the Meier? Opinions please?

I would recommend "re-thinking" the 2MOVE and putting it back on the list. I have heard Skylab's 2MOVE vs my HeadSix and the 2MOVE is a great amp with crossfeed. The Headsix is really nice, but it's like the difference between the Ray Samuels Hornet and the Tomahawk. I didn't think the Meier crossfeed had as much effect as my HR Micro Amp crossfeed, or even the crossfeed on my HeadFive, but it is there. Haven't heard the airhead/bithead, just the Micro Amp.

The weight issue still remains, and to retain the crossfeed and have something light to exercise with, then the AirHead gains some points there. But the way I look at it is that anything bigger than an iPod nano driving Portapros out of the headphone jack is too big for exercise.

There are other amps out there with crossfeed, but the Xin Super Macro is still pretty heavy (8xAAA battery), the XM5 looks big too. The minibox E+ at head-direct has the SFOR switch for sound-field enhancement but I don't know if that is more like SRS 3D or crossfeed or both - reviews don't make it clear. The Headstage Lyrix Pro has crossfeed, and it is also a subtle effect that is heard to hear until the unit is burned in, but I don't like the Headstage or Xin crossfeed as much as Meier and HeadRoom version.

Hope this helps.

 

[tfarney]

These are all good quality amps in the same basic range for the same basic purpose. They will have different house sounds, but the real quality differences, I suspect, will be somewhere between miniscule and "I think I hear something." You like the HR sound (warm for SS). You like the crossfeed. I'd just order a Total Airhead and go, myself. It doesn't look as slick. That means you won't notice as much when it gets scratched (personally, I think plastic and rubber are beautiful in a portable). And if for some reason you don't like the sound, you can always send it back. Put the money you save on another set of cans. That will have a much bigger impact on, and add much more variety to, your listening experience than the difference between one portable amp and the next.

Tim

 

[xFih2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoNelly /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd pull the trigger on the Meier in a heartbeat, despite its higher cost, but I'm afraid I'd miss the crossfeed I've grown accustomed to on the HR Micro.

FWIW, the crossfeed is less pronounced on the airhead than on the Micro. I have the airhead and used to have the ultra micro. I can barely tell a difference using crossfeed on the airhead, but with the ultra micro it made quite the difference.