jamato8
Headphoneus Supremus
The Intruder is more powerful in balanced than many desktop amps. I really like it with all my phones including the HE-6, which are hard to drive.
I've decided to make my own balanced cables.
Eye popping prices have driven me to DIY and have found that it's a lot of fun and very satisfying. Probably going to order the bits and pieces this month sometime, I'll let you know how it goes. I'm also going to make a Balanced cable for my HD650 and try this out. Should be interesting!
On a side note, I am really satisfied with my Intruder, just from a SE point of view. I have been using it non stop for a couple of months now and I think it's great. I was a bit put off at first but I must say I am now a believer of burn in. Either my brain burnt in or the amp did either way I'm easy.
Small question: How does the DAC stack up for use with a laptop?
I think it works well for such use, but I don't do most my listening from a computer. Considering how much the clas sounds better, I would probably reconsider if I was to use it as my main setup. Truth be told, my usb cable is of horrid quality, so I could think less of it than it deserves. Anyway, if no dac is the option this is a sweet bonus.
You can hook it up to your computer and it sounds good! Go for the Intruder, I think you will be happy, having a dac as well as an amp is good stuff. The Intruders amp section is stunning.
I received my Intruder yesterday. Charged it up last night. Listening at work all morning while doing reports.
So far, I'm extremely happy. I found myself smiling at certain musical passages. (Caution: Random bouts of smiling can occur....)
Bass: The thing that has impressed me most is the depth and quality of the bass. I have been listening to some older music today (Deep Purple and Nantucket) and those don't normally have the best bass reproduction. But I have been hit with some "wow" moments where the music will make me focus on the sound more than my reports.
Soundstage: My other main objective for getting this amp was soundstage. I am happy there as well, but I haven't done an a/b with any other amps to confirm how much happier I am. I have taken a few moments to try and focus on depth and separation. And I would say "Yep. sounds good." At one point I was hit by something from the DPurple Fireball album that just sounded great. A guitar ringing or something in the left ear, that made me think.... Far left and slightly forward. Nice!
So far with two or three hours on it, I am enjoying the Intruder quite a bit. So take these initial impressions for what they are. Initial impressions. I have not yet gone to some of my favorite material and tried to critically listen. I'm just letting 'er rip and enjoy what comes out. And obviously there is no burn in yet either.
Build Quality: As for the build quality, It feels very well built. I feel like it has some heft to it for the size. It gets warm while it is running, but I assume that is all the powerful goodness oozing out everywhere.
More later...
My setup: iPod touch > Moon audio black dragon LOD (single ended) > RSA Intruder (medium power) > Grado RS1i (single ended). MP3 320 kbps (constant bit rate)
I received my Intruder yesterday. Charged it up last night. Listening at work all morning while doing reports.
So far, I'm extremely happy. I found myself smiling at certain musical passages. (Caution: Random bouts of smiling can occur....)
Bass: The thing that has impressed me most is the depth and quality of the bass. I have been listening to some older music today (Deep Purple and Nantucket) and those don't normally have the best bass reproduction. But I have been hit with some "wow" moments where the music will make me focus on the sound more than my reports.
Soundstage: My other main objective for getting this amp was soundstage. I am happy there as well, but I haven't done an a/b with any other amps to confirm how much happier I am. I have taken a few moments to try and focus on depth and separation. And I would say "Yep. sounds good." At one point I was hit by something from the DPurple Fireball album that just sounded great. A guitar ringing or something in the left ear, that made me think.... Far left and slightly forward. Nice!
So far with two or three hours on it, I am enjoying the Intruder quite a bit. So take these initial impressions for what they are. Initial impressions. I have not yet gone to some of my favorite material and tried to critically listen. I'm just letting 'er rip and enjoy what comes out. And obviously there is no burn in yet either.
Build Quality: As for the build quality, It feels very well built. I feel like it has some heft to it for the size. It gets warm while it is running, but I assume that is all the powerful goodness oozing out everywhere.
More later...
My setup: iPod touch > Moon audio black dragon LOD (single ended) > RSA Intruder (medium power) > Grado RS1i (single ended). MP3 320 kbps (constant bit rate)
You have not scratched the surface yet my friend.
You are in for a treat once you use the amp in balanced mode. But first you have to wire your phones, Grado & your IEMs in balanced, to get the best sound stage.
If you happen to purchase LCD3 with balanced cable terminated to my balanced connector then you will enjoy your Intruder way more.