[fsrick]

I got the coax cable, as Kingwa said, it is just a RCA to RCA cable, not a good 75 ohm matched coax cable
Quote:

Originally Posted by ezzieyguywuf /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had the same question. Here is a copy of the email I got back:

 

[SoFGR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoFGR /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can't wait for the new earth hdam to arrive so i can see if my old one has been damaged or not,( hear hissing at max volume when using akg K601 while moon does not ) btw with the DT150 i can hear a little bit of noise while moving the volume knob between 12-3'o clock, no hissing no static just a little bit of noise everytime i move the volume knob even when there's no music playing, but that is considered normal with some pairs right ?

Yea i got a plain rca cable too 2 months ago with my compass, it seems they have cut down costs because of that " DHL bag " incident, anyway, i just got my earth hdam, this one has a red grounding wire instad of white, tried to seat it 3 times without the wire attached, FAIL, static hissing and volume knob noise.

I tried again this time with the ground wire attached, success ! no cracles / noises at all to speak of when using AKG K601 and DT150, now if only this thing could pump out a little more gain ..... for A700 there was plenty of power to drive them even at the low gain setting, dt770/80 pro needed 13dbs of gain instead of 6, but i don't think this unit is really suitable for any higher impedance cans ( akg k601 is 120ohms and dt150 is rated at 250ohms )

Don't get me wrong, detail and clarity is still there no matter the volume setting, i just had the impression that this could blow my eardrums at anything higher than 12' o'clock, guess i'll need a seperate headphone amp for that

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Was the compass supposed to come with a coax cable? I was wondering about that, as I did not get one. -Nkk

Mine came with a Radio-shack grade thing, but as Kingwa said (good on ezzieyguywuf for emailing him for the answer) something like a proper Blue Jeans digital cable would be better. Kingwa has the same quality Canare 75 Ohm cables too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Uam /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a question, how well do Grados sound on the Compass? For $300, would it be considered a good Amp/DAC Combo? I have a HF-2 coming and I bought a Compass a month back for it...

I've only tried HF-1's briefly with it. I felt they sounded better with the bass punch given by a better amp. However, I've seen people happy using with an Apogee Duet, which hardly has a strong headphone amp. Majkel (sp?) liked the Sun HDAM with his Grados. So you can tweak the sound somewhat if you ordered the other HDAMs. When my HF-2's turn up, I'll be playing around to find out what they work well with too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoFGR /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't get me wrong, detail and clarity is still there no matter the volume setting, i just had the impression that this could blow my eardrums at anything higher than 12' o'clock, guess i'll need a seperate headphone amp for that

After the test units, a gain switch was added and both the high and low gain settings were lowered, just FYI. Most mid-fi cans are low impedance, so this covers everything from IEMs to 600 Ohm Beyers.

 

[hessu_man]

Just received my Compass today (ordered on the 30th, just in time for promo price).

Really satisfied with the look and feel of the amp. Thanks for that to both Audio-gd and the guys here. Although not even registered at the time, I also voted on the designs - have to say it looks way better in flesh.

One thing surprised me though as I don't remember reading about it here. The input selector knob on mine has just the three positions as in, there's no fourth, unlabeled, position, where it would click. Has it been this way for long or is it a recent change?

All in all very satisfied, the order process went really smoothly and I was afraid there would've been even longer wait at the end of the introductory price.

-- Heikki

 

[fsrick]

did any one try to use compass to drive K240 sextett? is it good and what is your setting?
i use moon with neutral. but i feel like the mid and hi are kind of dry and cold. or maybe i just prefer the Sennheiser warm sound.

 

[squall343]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hessu_man /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just received my Compass today (ordered on the 30th, just in time for promo price). Really satisfied with the look and feel of the amp. Thanks for that to both Audio-gd and the guys here. Although not even registered at the time, I also voted on the designs - have to say it looks way better in flesh. One thing surprised me though as I don't remember reading about it here. The input selector knob on mine has just the three positions as in, there's no fourth, unlabeled, position, where it would click. Has it been this way for long or is it a recent change? All in all very satisfied, the order process went really smoothly and I was afraid there would've been even longer wait at the end of the introductory price. -- Heikki

I guess they have change it after feedback from head-fi

 

[moodyrn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fsrick /img/forum/go_quote.gif did any one try to use compass to drive K240 sextett? is it good and what is your setting? i use moon with neutral. but i feel like the mid and hi are kind of dry and cold. or maybe i just prefer the Sennheiser warm sound.

I used my compass with my sextett lp, and this was a pretty good combo. This was the first ss amp I have used that drove them to their full potential. There was also plenty of headroom. I still like my mingda better, but I could easily live with the compass sextett combo. I didn't like the moon at all with them. To me the earth in neutral setting is a much better pairing. I don't even have to go past twelve o'clock(with low gain setting). The bass with other ss amps I tried was almost non existant, but not with my compass. With it I can associate words that you don't normally hear with the lps, and thats punch, slam, and extension. Now keep in mind, I've always been a tube guy. I haven't owned really expensive ss amps. All of them have been in the 200-400 dollar range, but that's also the range of the compass. Nothing should sound this good for this price.

 

[fsrick]

Thanks moodyrn. maybe i need to do some work on my sextett since the earpad is old and kinda flat. my ears keep pressing the grill. i heard this will degrade the sound of sextett abit. it seems i need a earpad replacement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by moodyrn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I used my compass with my sextett lp, and this was a pretty good combo. This was the first ss amp I have used that drove them to their full potential. There was also plenty of headroom. I still like my mingda better, but I could easily live with the compass sextett combo. I didn't like the moon at all with them. To me the earth in neutral setting is a much better pairing. I don't even have to go past twelve o'clock(with low gain setting). The bass with other ss amps I tried was almost non existant, but not with my compass. With it I can associate words that you don't normally hear with the lps, and thats punch, slam, and extension. Now keep in mind, I've always been a tube guy. I haven't owned really expensive ss amps. All of them have been in the 200-400 dollar range, but that's also the range of the compass. Nothing should sound this good for this price.

 

[moodyrn]

Yeah, that will be a good idea. Replacing the pads has a significant effect on bass performance. Another good idea is to replace the elastics. They will also benefit from that. Every mod I've done on my sextetts have really paid off in a nice way.

 

[DoYouRight]

it is a great deal for what you get

 

[murphyb74]

My Compass arrived yesterday. As others have mentioned, I was impressed with how it looks and the build quality. Burn in started, sound quality impressions on my Denon AH-D2000 later.

I do have a question about the power source - I do not have a dedicated power line to the breaker box (not practical at this time), but I do have access to an APC Line-R 1200VA Automatic Voltage Regulator. Would this be useful to have in-line for the Compass, or would I be creating more problems (coloration, other effects?).

So - not having a dedicated line, would you recommend:

Plug direct to wall outlet?

Plug into surge protector?

Plug into voltage regulator?

 

[panxut2004]

My compass is still burn-in and I like it more every day. Earth HDAM soft-2 and HD650. I just want to ask you guys about something... When I power off the unit, the blue power led on my compass shuts down slowly, not immediately as I would expect of so many other electronic equipment.

Does your compass's led behaves the same or is it just mine? Could it mean anything?

 

[DoYouRight]

it is just dimming and powering down like a ps2 does? its due to the power supply type.

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panxut2004 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My compass is still burn-in and I like it more every day. Earth HDAM soft-2 and HD650. I just want to ask you guys about something... When I power off the unit, the blue power led on my compass shuts down slowly, not immediately as I would expect of so many other electronic equipment. Does your compass's led behaves the same or is it just mine? Could it mean anything?

You are watching the Power Supply Caps draining.

.

 

[Happybottle]

Hey guys, just got my Compass a few days ago. I'm wondering, which jumper settings are you guys using, if any? I put both channels on neutral and am wondering if there's a general consensus as to which jumper setting sounds best.