[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stratsrule335 as a Supermacro V1 owner, i'm actually kind of annoyed. as cool as it is to have new versions so often, i feel like i'm left in the dust... especially since i don't know whether or not i can upgrade mine w/o having to buy an entirely new amp.

I can sympathize with you. I went through the same thing with the SuperMini amp. I was fairly new to headphone hifi and bought SuperMini V3. Six months later V6.2 was out so I bought that. I thought I finally caught up with the R&D cycle, when then he decided he was going to release the SuperDual. I sort of lost interest in the Xin products after that, but got caught up in it again with the release of the SuperMacro.

Xin sold me one of the early V1 amps after lending it to me for a Head-Fi meet. I actually don't have it now as it is on extended loan to a friend of mine doing a massive portable amp comparison. He was disappointed in the sound and was thinking that it might be defective. I was planning on sending it back to Xin to have him check it out and possibly upgrade to V2, but now with the release of the V3, I guess I'm in the same boat as you.

How do you find the sound of the V1, anyway? Honestly, my friend has had it longer than I have and I can't accurately comment on its sound. Compared to similar portable amps he says that it is not as dynamic and has a rolled off high end - pretty surprising considering it has the AD8610s in it. That's why we thought it might be defective, but perhaps it operates as designed.

 

[jamato8]

I know you weren't posting this for me but I have the SR71, SMV1 and the V2 and in my many, many listening hours I would say the SM is slightly more extended on the top and the bass slightly tighter. The V2 goes a bit deeper and is very solid. With my HD650's I can feel the bass in my shoulders. It is not loose or flabby but tight and solid.

I am using the 627's in both SM's.

John

 

[bobeau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by erikzen Xin's product cycles are nothing like anything else I've ever seen. He is constantly working to improve his amps and I wouldn't be surprised if a year from now he was introducing the SuperMacro V6.2c. That is unless he stops working on the SuperMacro to develop the SuperDACro. One thing you have to remember about updates and upgrades is that they don't render previous versions useless. If it sounds good now, it will still sound good 5 years from now.

In all fairness it's somewhat aligned with the speed of progress in the computing industry as a whole, and if you subscribe to lean manufacturing/development principles it's the fastest way to improve the product. He gets much more feedback from little tweaks he makes here and there due to small release cycles, relying on the customer's judgement much more than his own.

 

[bobeau]

Sorry I have to say this, but I must - how come for most the SR-71 is the _only_ other contender here? Esp to those guys worried about the price increase - the Portaphile V2 is a true 3 channel/3 opamp amp, it's under $200, nearly same form factor as SM, and it sounds absolutely fantastic. I don't know how y'all missed it, there's a large thread in this very forum http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=109743. The couple of folks with SR-71s to compare against gave it a big thumbs up, with very detailed writeups to mark the differences, in some ways vaulting itself past the omnipresent bird.

And I have Etys too. It rocks. Please by no means take this as anti-Xin or anything, I love what he does, his work ethic, etc, and see myself owning his products further down the road - even the SM 3.0 could be a possibility. Though I'd rather put the money toward a PSP first, so... 4.0?

 

[goto2003]

It's also interesting to see how the SuperMini-3's going. This revised Supermini seems to have three seperated channel technology as well, same case as SM3, 8AAA rechargables, and price is very attractive, starting from $149.99. But so far, there's not so much information on that.

 

[atx]

Quote:

Sorry I have to say this, but I must - how come for most the SR-71 is the _only_ other contender here?

Probably because they are in the same price range. $350 v.s. $400. So the portaphile at half that price would definitely have an unfair advantage from a price standpoint.

Anyway, yep the Portaphile sounds fantastic! Maybe some people purposely overlook it precisely because it's cheaper (half price = half quality?), but they don't know what they're missing out.

 

[TooNice]

Lower price can be an disadvantage at time...

If you follow the "you get what you pay for +/- x dollars", then it would appear that the Portaphile isn't in the same class as those two.

Personally, I would love if the Portaphile is the one for me, especially at its price... Ah well... I don't have any idea what to do now, hence I'll just wait

(Batch two is sold out already anyway)

On a side note, what is meant by "Aggressive"?

 

[bobeau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TooNice If you follow the "you get what you pay for +/- x dollars", then it would appear that the Portaphile isn't in the same class as those two.

It depends on what you value... I think a good deal of the cost of the SM/SR-71 goes to things extrinsic to sound - ie. SR-71, superb build quality/custom case design, SM is a great feat in miniaturization and laden with features that maximize convenience and customization. I really do admire the SM bunches, just if cost is an issue or you're all about sound - remember the thing has big ass Black Gate caps - you have another (great!) option.

 

[atx]

Quote:

If you follow the "you get what you pay for +/- x dollars", then it would appear that the Portaphile isn't in the same class as those two.

Having heard SM V1, I agree with Romanee's review that the portaphile surpasses it (easily!!). Now, since SM V3 is significantly more expensive, if you're looking for the most value for your dollar, the portaphile is the only way to go.

From a newbie's perspective, given a choice between the SM V3 and SR-71, I would follow the old saying, "all those people can't be wrong!" In other words, the blackbird would be my pick.

 

[TooNice]

"Extrinsic" sound - please explain a lil

To be honest, I've no idea what Black Gate Caps are/do. All I know is that it did make the amp $10 more expensive, which, based on the you get what you pay for factor, I assume make the amp better

If it does come down to SR-71 vs SM V3, I would go the extra length of paying for the SR-71. Of course, I've been trying to convince myself that the Portaphile isn't a lesser choice, despite being cheaper

 

[Darwin022]

Has anyone heard back from Dr. Xin today? I know he's busy, but I'm just curious...

 

[Big Al]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darwin022 Has anyone heard back from Dr. Xin today? I know he's busy, but I'm just curious...

I haven't heard from Xin but he has a new price list for V3 and a migration path for V1 owners as well as a price list for the migration to V3:


http://www.fixup.net/products/macro/index.htm

 

[goto2003]

A reply from Xin. He's trying to test a new idea that may further improve the currently exceptional design of SM3. However, this new idea may take him one or two weeks. He said he can ship SM3 using the current design in three days , but he wants to give this new concept a chance.

Upgrading from SM1 to SM3 with 2XBUF634 for $49.99

 

[sr20dem0n]

Quote:

Originally Posted by goto2003 A reply from Xin. He's trying to test a new idea that may further improve the currently exceptional design of SM3. However, this new idea may take him one or two weeks. He said he can ship SM3 using the current design in three days , but he wants to give this new concept a chance.

V4 already!

 

[goto2003]

Still SM3. Xin wants to change his way to operate and wants to make SM3 perfect before it goes and keep it unchanged.