[estreeter]

Quote:

Sound great! But will they get on well with a neutral and analytical iem such as ck10?

I dont know how if ljokerl still posts in the IEM forum. but I suspect that his review of the CK10 boosted AudioTechnicas profits considerably. If I remember correctly, he had the Practical Devices XM4 and the iBasso T4 for many of his 160+ IEM reviews - you might be better off posting in the IEM forum. My suspicion, and thats all it is right now, is that the D4 wasnt designed for sensitive IEMs - happy to hear otherwise - in any case, Leckerton make a slimline amp for considerably less than $245.

 

[Blasto_Brandino]

I just ordered the Leckerton slimline amp, eagerly awaiting it.... A lot of people seem to forget, the Lisa III has an optional power supply, the LLP, with it, you've got a BEAST, if only all portable amps offered such an option. that is what pushed me over the edge, it is portable, and it is stationary.


 

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

A lot of people seem to forget, the Lisa III has an optional power supply, the LLP, with it, you've got a BEAST, if only all portable amps offered such an option. that is what pushed me over the edge, it is portable, and it is stationary.


 

If only all portable amps came with said power supply for about half of what Triad charge for the Lisa III+PSU ......
 
Mike from Headfonia is adamant that the PB2 is more powerful than the Lisa III:
 
The PB-2 currently holds the trophy for the most powerful portable headphone amplifier, as it is able to drive the Hifiman HE-6 Orthodynamic headphone to good levels without breaking up. This is done with the high bandwith BUF634 that is shipped with the PB-2. The PB-1 can’t output this kind of power, and so you’ll need to get the PB-2 for the Hifiman headphones. To Lisa 3 and RSA SR-71A owners: yes, the PB-2 is more powerful than your current amplifier.
 
To be fair, he didnt stipulate whether that is with or without the PSU. He claims to own the Lisa III, so its not just a case of glancing at a spec sheet and deeming the PB-2 to be the 'winner'. For those of us who have no interest in driving the HiFiMan orthos, this is all academic.
 
 
 
 
 

 

[Dobrescu George]

so the most very powerful amps are for orthodynamic and not for normal.... huh.... and for sennheiser hd 650, what amp should do it's job well?...

 

[ianmedium]

Just want to add into the power debate here folks. For a very modest price (around $100,and that is modest in comparison to the cost of the Lisa and SR) one can have twenty four hours of battery life and 30v power for the Stepdance! (remember the Stepdance has a balanced ground effectively doubling the power it is being fed!). I really would love to see someone who has either of the other amps compare them to the Stepdance in that mode!

It becomes a whole new amp with this power supply, effortless, smooth and refined but wonderful detail and transparency. Can't wait for my LCD2's to arrive on Friday to see how they fare with it!

 

[Ray Samuels]

Hi Buddy...
I do not know where you got your info regarding the SR-71Bs voltage swing capability or the current handling, but as far as I know there is no portable amp with higher battery voltage
& current that can do what the SR-71B does, specially in balanced mode, when you take the size of the amp into consideration.
Ray Samuels
 
Quote:

If only all portable amps came with said power supply for about half of what Triad charge for the Lisa III+PSU ......
 
Mike from Headfonia is adamant that the PB2 is more powerful than the Lisa III:
 
The PB-2 currently holds the trophy for the most powerful portable headphone amplifier, as it is able to drive the Hifiman HE-6 Orthodynamic headphone to good levels without breaking up. This is done with the high bandwith BUF634 that is shipped with the PB-2. The PB-1 can’t output this kind of power, and so you’ll need to get the PB-2 for the Hifiman headphones. To Lisa 3 and RSA SR-71A owners: yes, the PB-2 is more powerful than your current amplifier.
 
To be fair, he didnt stipulate whether that is with or without the PSU. He claims to own the Lisa III, so its not just a case of glancing at a spec sheet and deeming the PB-2 to be the 'winner'. For those of us who have no interest in driving the HiFiMan orthos, this is all academic.
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

[estreeter]

Hi Ray,
 
      Not sure why you have chosen to respond to this out of countless threads discussing the power output of various amps, but I am a little surprised by the way you have phrased your response. I dont have your electronics knowledge, and I accept that you have put a lot of time, money and effort in to the development of the 71B *but* I attributed the quote, complete with italics, to Mike at Headfonia. Please take it up with Mike if you dispute his claim. This is the review I pulled the quote from:
 
http://www.headfonia.com/the-usual-suspects-12-portable-amps-compared/
 
      Ray, I just want to make one request - can you please publish output power ratings for all of your amps, preferably the rating under load @32ohms ? Many of your product pages contain an extensive marketing rant and no specs - perhaps I've missed them somewhere. For those who know more about electronics than I do, the iBasso specs may seem over-stated or even meaningless - I dont know - but I'd like to be able to compare those numbers even if they have no bearing on the sound signature of the finished product. I would note that Mike has given all off your amps, including several that barely get a mention here, very favourable reviews - if he has his wires crossed on the power output issue, I expect that he would be willing to post a correction.
 
Regards,
 
estreeter
 
Quote:

Hi Buddy...
I do not know where you got your info regarding the SR-71Bs voltage swing capability or the current handling, but as far as I know there is no portable amp with higher battery voltage
& current that can do what the SR-71B does, specially in balanced mode, when you take the size of the amp into consideration.
Ray Samuels
 


 

 

 

[Blasto_Brandino]

I am pretty happy with the Lisa III, especially when used with my HD650's. It wasnt power I was after when I bought the Lisa, it was quality.
In fact in the 12 'usual suspects' shootout the reviewer says this: "the PB-2 takes a small step back in terms of refinement and resolution, though improving tremendously in power output." I'm sorry, but I don't need power THAT badly!
as I said before the fact i could use it as a stationary amp pushed me over the edge, I just adjusted the LLP's output to 24 volts, its quite awesome.                                                            
Mr  Samuels, I plan on buying one of your fine SR71B amps when i get further into IEMs, I was wondering do you know of any straight balanced connectors available for it? The 90 degree ones would make it difficult to use a 3.5mm plug adapter so that balanced plug modified phones could be used with other sources. thank you
Also Mr. Samuels, in the 12 amp shootout, the reviewer said this: "To Lisa 3 and RSA SR-71A owners: yes, the PB-2 is more powerful than your current amplifier."
 He mentioned the SR-71A, not the 71B

 

[dadab12]

I'm leaning toward the Just Audio uHA-120U/A. a fellow member of this site tested both the stepdance and the Just audio uHA-120U with the Ultrasone pro 900 and the Just Audio was way ahead of the stepdance in terms of soundstage , mid-range and clarity.
I myself an owner of the Pro 900 and the uHA-120 really fascinates me.
 
At the same price there's the Ibasso PB2, Wonder how it fares with the just audio, The PB2 is a balanced amp so it might come in handy in the future when I decide to go balanced.
 
Anyone here had an experience with both? or with the PB2 and has impressions on this one?
 
Thanks.

 

[Ray Samuels]

Mr. Estreeter...
My bad, & I do apologize for the mistake I have made. Sorry for the mess I did write, I need stronger glasses, some how I though my brain saw SR-71B in the high lighted line in your post. But I read it again & I see it is SR-71A which is a SE amp.
In that case the quete is correct. Why in the hell I, some how, thought it was SR-71B? I think I am loosing it. Thanks Mr. Blasto Brandino for the help.
Sorry my friend.
Ray Samuels
 
 
Quote:

Hi Ray,
 
      Not sure why you have chosen to respond to this out of countless threads discussing the power output of various amps, but I am a little surprised by the way you have phrased your response. I dont have your electronics knowledge, and I accept that you have put a lot of time, money and effort in to the development of the 71B *but* I attributed the quote, complete with italics, to Mike at Headfonia. Please take it up with Mike if you dispute his claim. This is the review I pulled the quote from:
 
http://www.headfonia.com/the-usual-suspects-12-portable-amps-compared/
 
      Ray, I just want to make one request - can you please publish output power ratings for all of your amps, preferably the rating under load @32ohms ? Many of your product pages contain an extensive marketing rant and no specs - perhaps I've missed them somewhere. For those who know more about electronics than I do, the iBasso specs may seem over-stated or even meaningless - I dont know - but I'd like to be able to compare those numbers even if they have no bearing on the sound signature of the finished product. I would note that Mike has given all off your amps, including several that barely get a mention here, very favourable reviews - if he has his wires crossed on the power output issue, I expect that he would be willing to post a correction.
 
Regards,
 
estreeter
 


 

 

 

[estreeter]

No problems Ray - I completely understand that you put a lot of time into your amps : this is your livelihood and I respect that.
 
Like most Head-Fiers, I only have the reviews posted here and elsewhere to go by - if I am misinformed, at least I can usually trace that back to the source.
 
Peace
 
estreeter
 
 

 

[Canadian411]

Am I audiophile newbie or what ?
 
Last night I received ALO balanced cable for my LCD2 to SR-71b.
And this was first time I was able to use SR-71b and I hear no differences in sound quality other then increase in the volume.
 
Do I suppose to hear bass, treble or mid improvement ? or just the higher volume ?
 
puzzled...
 

 

[Dobrescu George]

you were supposed to hear some differences with sr71b... i mean, from this thread i understood that it is the strongest portable amp....
 
this may be because you could need an tube amplifier to run lcd 2 at their potential.....

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Am I audiophile newbie or what ?
 
Last night I received ALO balanced cable for my LCD2 to SR-71b.
And this was first time I was able to use SR-71b and I hear no differences in sound quality other then increase in the volume.
 
Do I suppose to hear bass, treble or mid improvement ? or just the higher volume ?
 
puzzled...
 

You wanted 'Shazam !' straight from the box, right ? Have you spoken to Ray re his estimate for the length of time it takes for this amp to start showing you what its got ? Have you read the posts about amps being the greatest single cause of crushed expectations in head-fi ?
 
Personally, the 'big' moments for me tend to happen when I've given up on trying to listen 'critically', when I'm relaxed/unstressed and I just kick back and let my favorite music play on kit that has a few hours on it. For example, I found the out-of-the-box sound of the E9 to be dreadful, spent a lot of time trying to 'burn it in', then just gave up and started using it as an amp - expectations removed, I could begin to understand what my $140 had bought me and it all made sense. I also realised that it needs more time to warm up at the beginning of each listening session than my portables did, and I am now very happy with the bang-for-buck the E9 gives me.
 
I then wondered how I would feel if I had spent $1000+ on a huge tube amp from Woo and had a similar initial experience - would I want to send it back immediately in the hope of getting my money back ? I dont buy into all the hoopla about burn-in, but something organic has to come to terms with something synthetic, and that doesnt happen in the first few days, at least in my experience. YMMV.
 
Long story short, try to contact Ray.
 

 

[Dobrescu George]

that means, use it for 3-4 days, and then see the resoults...