[White Lotus]

I was at an AV expo on the weekend, and I found this:

 

 

 

 

 
Unfortunately I didn't get to listen to it, but I'm pretty keen to give it a whirl within the next few weeks.
 
Felt decent in the hand, the pot turned well, didn't feel "cheap", and my little camera phone didn't capture the wood entirely well - it looks great in person.
 
Some specs (from Noisy Motel):
 

   
The Australian RRP will be $219 and we'll be doing a Pre-Order Promo for $199 AUD with free shipping Australia-Wide.
 
Specs:
 
Battery life: 20Hr
THD @ 1kHz: < 0.0005%
SNR @ 1kHz: > 86dB
Voltage Gain: 2.5x
Output swing: > ±4V
Output current: 35mA
 

 

[lin0003]

Will be trying it soon.

 

[Loquah]

I spent 2 train trips with it and can definitely vouch for its "chops".
 
It has a very neutral sound with excellent mid-range clarity and presentation. It actually reminded me of the more expensive JDS Labs C5 which I think is still slightly better and stacked with features, but I love the wood finish of the Palaios amp.
 
I also compared it to the Tralucent T1 which was noticeably warmer, but also had better bass, staging and ambience (and costs nearly $100 more).
 
For the money and the styling with the wooden case, the Palaios is an awesome product!!

 

[Mooses9]

Nice and authentically pleasing.

 

[shotgunshane]

I just received one to put on a tour. It will be going around to carlsan, vwinter, eke2k6, flysweep and a few others.

Haven't listened yet. Need a 9v battery.

 

[lextek]

Looks interesting. Have a link?

 

[boleh7]

I have the Palaios in hand and any Singapore base member who interested to try the amp please feel free to contact me via PM or email me at : waewae@ymail.com

 

[Loquah]

I have the Palaios in hand and any Singapore base member who interested to try the amp please feel free to contact me via PM or email me at : waewae@ymail.com

 
Nice! What are your impressions?

 

[yh0438]

Palaios is  crazy light
 
Even it has better sound than other portable amps
 
Its Shape is "Attractive" and "Unique"
 
Everybody Try It

 

[shotgunshane]

I'm going to be sending the demo Palaios I received on a USA tour.  If you are interested in being a part of it, shoot me a PM. You will need to provide your own 9v battery to use the amp. Current members are:
carlsan
vwinter
eke2k6
flysweep
Idsynchrono_24
Lextek

The demo unit has wooden case identical to the pics posted earlier in the tread.  My understanding is that the finished product will have a clear coat and shinier finish.

The 3.5mm jacks are counterintuitive- the headphone out is next to the volume knob and the analog input is on the far side of the amp.  It's probably too late to change but, to me, it would be better to have the input in the center, next to the volume knob to accommodate most daps with LOD configurations.  Right angle headphone connectors tend to get in the way being placed next to the volume knob as well.

I haven't had a lot of time to gather in depth thoughts on the SQ but suffice to say, I think it sounds very nice.  It reminds me of the Ortofon MHd-Q7 in that it seems slightly mid focused but is fuller sounding than the Ortofon. The midrange sounds rich and analog (for lack of a better term).  Treble and bass take a slight back seat to the lush midrange.  Soundstage is spacious and open.

I actually like this amp with the JH13 more so than the Meier Quickstep.  With the QS, the JH13 has too much bass emphasis and the 10k treble peak is more prominent. On the Palaios the midrange is the focus with bass and treble sounding more neutral in presentation.  Conversely I prefer the QS with the ER-4S to the Palaios.  It has better low level detail retrieval, better dynamics and a more robust bottom end for the Ety.  All in all it is very nice sounding amp.

As posted early, here are the specs from the manufacturer:

[COLOR=323333]Battery life: 20Hr
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=323333]THD @ 1kHz: < 0.0005%
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=323333]SNR @ 1kHz: > 86dB
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=323333]Voltage Gain: 2.5x
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=323333]Output swing: > ±4V
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=323333]Output current: 35mA
[/COLOR]
 
I'll be sending the amp off to a member of the tour in the next couple of days.  

Here are some promotional pics from the manufacturer http://sqdtechhk.wix.com/palaios

 

[White Lotus]

I currently have one on tour as well. Was going to try to do some RMAA measurements and stuff if anyone is interested. 

 

[shotgunshane]

  I currently have one on tour as well. Was going to try to do some RMAA measurements and stuff if anyone is interested. 

 
Sure thing, please do.

 

[Loquah]

  I currently have one on tour as well. Was going to try to do some RMAA measurements and stuff if anyone is interested. 

 
I'd be really interested in both some measurements, but also your impressions.

 

[White Lotus]

A sneak peak at a few images I shot for my upcoming review of this product.
 

 

 

 

 

[lextek]

Looks like you like wood.  Like the skin on the iPod.