KurtW
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2001
- Posts
- 971
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- 13
I was away on business for awhile, but now that I'm back I wanted to post my comments. First, thanks to Asr for organizing the event and providing lunch. I enjoyed seeing a lot of nice equipment and talking to the other attendees. Due to the limited time, I only listened to a few things and didn't get to hear a lot of stuff that I would have liked to hear. Jeff's prototype SOHA amp was one that I did hear and it sounded very nice, very neutral. Using HD600's we compared it to my ZOTL which is a much more expensive and complex all tube amp. They sounded very similar except for a bit more spaciousness from the ZOTL.
I also heard the AKG 240S, although not with source material that I was familiar with. I liked the sound, they were quite enjoyable.
Quote:
I unfortunately didn't get a chance to hear amb's, and although I also had prototypes there I don't think anyone listened to those either. The prototype boards have the output load resistor outside of the feedback loop, and since this causes problems amb moved it to inside the loop for the production board. I later modified mine by removing the resistor all together. This leaves it without output protection, but I am in the habit of stopping the source before unplugging the headphone and haven't had any problems with it. After the meet I compared my AD8397 version to a Hornet M and to a customized AD8655/AD8616 version with 3 AAA batteries. I used two different low impedance phones and an iMod with lossless files for the source. After closely matching levels with a signal generator and a meter, the first two sounded virtually identical, at least to me and one other person that heard them. Occasionally we thought we heard some differences but they were never repeatable. The one with the AD8616 didn't sound as fast as the other two, but had a very nice relaxed and spacious sound that was very musical. It also has a 100 hour battery life due to the lower current op amps and using AAA batteries instead of 9v. However this requires some modifications to the board and charging components.
I also heard the AKG 240S, although not with source material that I was familiar with. I liked the sound, they were quite enjoyable.
Quote:
| anyone have any impressions on the mini3? |
I unfortunately didn't get a chance to hear amb's, and although I also had prototypes there I don't think anyone listened to those either. The prototype boards have the output load resistor outside of the feedback loop, and since this causes problems amb moved it to inside the loop for the production board. I later modified mine by removing the resistor all together. This leaves it without output protection, but I am in the habit of stopping the source before unplugging the headphone and haven't had any problems with it. After the meet I compared my AD8397 version to a Hornet M and to a customized AD8655/AD8616 version with 3 AAA batteries. I used two different low impedance phones and an iMod with lossless files for the source. After closely matching levels with a signal generator and a meter, the first two sounded virtually identical, at least to me and one other person that heard them. Occasionally we thought we heard some differences but they were never repeatable. The one with the AD8616 didn't sound as fast as the other two, but had a very nice relaxed and spacious sound that was very musical. It also has a 100 hour battery life due to the lower current op amps and using AAA batteries instead of 9v. However this requires some modifications to the board and charging components.
