The Altmann Tera Player - Thread

[flymetothemoon]

Hi folks,

i bought a used Tera player,the price was reasonable and i give it a try, i still say that 10000 € is only for crazy people,but arround 1500/2000€ is a great music reproduction instrument...when i got it i said ...what is this...only works with koss...i am going to sell it again...them next day by morning i listen again with the ie800 and after that with sennheiser px100, and said "my God"...i asked a oficce friend "hear this"(with px100) and he says "Antonio zambujo (a portuguese singer) is here in the room ..." them the same music with the questyle Qp1r he said "his good but the other was much more real" he was blowed away...and me too...

IE800 was this hobby start up IEMs and the ownership only last for 2-1/2weeks and it told some stories.
 
You'd hear more from Tera with a better pair of IEM/headphone tool.

 

[tgdinamo]

How, my dear sir, can you find the price of $150 for a Sennheiser astronomical compared to $1500+ Tera player?! As if the modded koss doesn't sound good on another DAP. The Koss doesn't sound neutral too and even if it did, what does that have to do with Walkmans?

 
Sorry - I was not talking specifically about Sennheiser or any other specific phone - just making observation that $30 phones can sound great when paired with super expensive DAP like Tera - I happen to know since I own both. If the Koss does not sound neutral to you than you disagree iwith Tera's creator Chalres (and it's ok to disagree as far as I'm concerned - these are very personal choices). Anyhow, I'm pretty sure I remember correctly that Charles said he specifically picked those phones for and tuned the Tera specifically for Koss for that reason. In his opinion you could not do better with Tera then pair it with Koss. Walkmans were also mentioned because Koss design goes back to that era and Koss were commonly used with walkmans - back in the day when simpler designs without 'house' sounds were prevelant for both phones and players (Charles also talked about that in those old closed threads when he was making the argument for Koss).

 

[flymetothemoon]

@flymetothemoon-I read in one of the other threads that we both share about your return home, welcome back. Looks like you are enjoying your retirement (I believe you retired) and what better way than to spend time tinkering with audio equipment. I wish I still owned some of my older stuff, to appreciate it.

I remember when surround sound, and digital were really blowing up. All the different digital terminology, upsampling and all the crazy buzz words. I totally bought into newer being better... Now, in retrospect, I wish I kept my older stuff. Not that I dislike my Denon receivers, but would love to hear my old Onkyo or pioneer ones.

Great pics bro, you must have been ecstatic opening those boxes up. I can only imagine.

Last June, I flew back home to NY, (live in hell now, aka Florida) and visited with my Dad for Father's day. He took some of my baseball cards down from the attic, and that feeling of nostalgia was something else. Probably similar to yours, but yours is much better. I truly hope you enjoy and maybe one day, we as humans will learn to appreciate what we have.

@Warrior,
 
Seems like technologies go so far and so fast, you would never imagine how good those old stuff can perform in this digital era...they do not only matching but sometime exceeding what the latest could perform.
 
We've gone too far away from the Tera thread and let's PM to discuss the above topics.
 
Cheers

 

[flymetothemoon]

   
Why not if the combo sounds great? Or do we need astronomical prices for everyting we buy to validate the great SQ?
Tera creator Charles used those $30 phones for a reason - to him they were the best because they are simple and do not have 'house' sound like most expensive phones these days (they go way back to era of original walkmans where phones were much simpler design which he prefered because they did not color the sound - he talked about that quite a bit in those old closed Tera threads).
Having said this, while I do have modded Koss (drilled the holes myself) and agree they sound great, they are not as good SQ as very expensive Tralucent phones paired with Tera (if it even makes sense to compare them because Koss are open phones vs Tralucent are IEM's do different usage scenarios may apply - I mainly use Tera during commute to work so open phones are out of question).
Also, so far from all the phones I have tried only Tralucent's beat Koss in SQ when paired with Tera.

In life there are always choices and depends what you'd like to achieve.
 
I never audition the Porta Pro but from what I gathered over this forum and is safe to bet that it delivers only with some tricks (or mod for some label it)...this translates into distortion.  As you've proven that your Tralucent flare better and that represents you are listening to a less distorted reproduction of music via the Tralucent. 
 
Tera, even at its original price (some Euro 800/900) that I paid for over 3 years ago, it was not an inexpensive item and to all owners should demand the best out of it while we all know we can get a bit lesser via our own smart phone.  
 
My point is, once we started off to invest into this hobby, we are chasing the ultimate but not settling for less (independent from price).  I do not see the point of having the Porta Pro while you know there are better performance just a foot away (in yours and my case, the Tralucent).  I bet you can find hundred of thousands of cases here in the forum how one share their joy while finding the right combo one day after months/years of searching...it is a precious result as most would spend hundred of thousands of their hard earn money to arrive such destination.  While means that even spending a small amount on Porta does not make any sense as it does not deliver the ultimate from your Tera.  Good, good is not good enough!
 
It was the same reason I've sold my Tera while something better next to it.
 
Cheers

 

[denis1976]

IE800 was this hobby start up IEMs and the ownership only last for 2-1/2weeks and it told some stories.

You'd hear more from Tera with a better pair of IEM/headphone tool.

Of course I know that ie800 are not the ideal match for Tera player, neither they nor any IEM with 16 ohms impedance, now be a hobby, my friend you are talking about one of the best IEM the in current market, what surprised me was that they did not work with the tera as bad as I thought, was a pleasant surprise, that sound slightly v grew plan

 

[flymetothemoon]

Of course I know that ie800 are not the ideal match for Tera player, neither they nor any IEM with 16 ohms impedance, now be a hobby, my friend you are talking about one of the best IEM the in current market, what surprised me was that they did not work with the tera as bad as I thought, was a pleasant surprise, that sound slightly v grew plan

We never know how high you can get until you reached the summit my friend.
 
Still a lot for you to explore.  For sure you have a very good DAP on hand. Enjoy.

 

[musicday]

The fact is: if the Tera Player sounds perfect with only few earphones and headphones i am very happy with that.
After all we are all in the search for the most natural sound,aren't we?
Reading that Ref1 sounds so much better then Porta Pro modified in every aspect it is unbelievable.
Can't wait to hear it myself.

 

[flymetothemoon]

The fact is: if the Tera Player sounds perfect with only few earphones and headphones i am very happy with that.
After all we are all in the search for the most natural sound,aren't we?
Reading that Ref1 sounds so much better then Porta Pro modified in every aspect it is unbelievable.
Can't wait to hear it myself.

With a better performance transducer tool (IEM or headphone) you'd then able to explore the limit of various source (DAPs).  
 
For now, you should be happy with the Tera with the limited tools in possession.

 

[H20Fidelity]

I find it quite funny comparing the Koss to Ref.1, the Koss were quite veiled to me. The Terra player and this mod must transform Porta Pro into some special headphone indeed.

 

[flymetothemoon]

I find it quite funny comparing the Koss to Ref.1, the Koss were quite veiled to me. The Terra player and this mod must transform Porta Pro into some special headphone indeed.

I think so and is amazed by drilling a few hole can transform something into an extravagance performer...love to do this for my career too LOL.

 

[sonickarma]

  I think so and is amazed by drilling a few hole can transform something into an extravagance performer...love to do this with my career too LOL.

drilling the right hole can tranform a career also  

hehe - but lets not get too off topic

 

[musicday]

I didn't like the sound of Lotoo Paw Gold,AK240/380/380 Copper compared to the Tera Player.For the amount you pay for the AK380 it doesn't even come with an OLED screen ( i know that is not important for you,nor that changes the sound in any way but it is important for me).
The simplicity of the Tera Player and no GUI/ screen is just perfect operating in the dark,pocket..
And i am sure that Porta Pro with more modification can sound even better )
The new Plus5 should be even better then 1plus2,Ref1 Too.....so bright sunny days ahead.
Happy listening my friends.

 

[tgdinamo]

 
With a better performance transducer tool (IEM or headphone) you'd then able to explore the limit of various source (DAPs).  
 
For now, you should be happy with the Tera with the limited tools in possession.

 
It's only fair to point out that some of us Tera owners strongly disagree with this sentiment and have in fact tested quite a few other combos but continue to feel Tera is the best (it's not like we blindly stumbled into Tera and don't know what else is out there which 'limited tools' comment seems to suggest).
For example, I find Tera SQ substantially better than AK or HM offerings which are usually viewed as very high end in this space.

 

[musicday]

Tgdinamo- don't worry too much my friend. Is very simple: the more we like our Tera Players, the more they like thier other players.
I think the best to compare with the other guys who say that Tera lacks behind other high end portable music players,is to meet and do a side by side test with same song in various formats and the headphones, Porta Pro modified, Ref1, vs anything else they bring with their portable source gear.

 

[flymetothemoon]

   
It's only fair to point out that some of us Tera owners strongly disagree with this sentiment and have in fact tested quite a few other combos but continue to feel Tera is the best (it's not like we blindly stumbled into Tera and don't know what else is out there which 'limited tools' comment seems to suggest).
For example, I find Tera SQ substantially better than AK or HM offerings which are usually viewed as very high end in this space.

 
That is perfectly fine to maintain one's point-of-view as my comments in this thread never dispute one's preference.  Sound quality is a subjective aspect and we will create tons of disagreement over this topic should we keep on drilling on it.
 
The reality is that now the unit has been priced way above what I used to pay back 3 years ago (I have no problem with my Apple's shares inflation over the same period though), I, as a previous owner of Tera, would like to share some factuality with fellow headfiers who are looking into this plunge while even @1.5k Euros it is almost doubled the price previously listed.
 
Bearing in mind the high output impedance of Tera would eliminate a possible good pairing to someone's IEM/headphone collections and they would need to start off a clean sheet of paper to further invest in that area.  We have to be honest without coloured by our own preference and not compromising others' right to obtain the truth.  There is nothing without the pros and cons and that is only yourself to judge whether that is your cup of tea.
 
Hope that I've made myself clear.
 
Cheers