"The Lab"

[Podster]

   
Arrow - best portable amp I've ever tried.

Uh huh, yo ho ho Headstage

You can just hold that slim Arrow in your hand and feel the quality in it's heft but plug in my Havi's and at that point I always ask myself why do I keep buying more amps

Strapped to my 30GB U2 Pod in the black Yo-Tank and not only is it one of my best sounding rigs it could be held inside my fist for an extra 3 pounds of punch

LOL
 
Well Twin, at least you did not say PINK pair

 

[Mr Trev]

 
In regards to your previous post to Tamal I personally love the Topping NX1 and think it's far better than it's price suggest

 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I too disliked the Altoids can Mr. T and googled Mint Tins to get my Newman's, had to buy a half dozen boxes and clean them out but I love my Newman's and the Happy Dragon

 

I have 3 or 4 of those left if you want to pm me an address I'd be more than happy to send you one. John (JDS) had no problem building mine in the case I sent them

I totally agree about the NX1. Its a fantabulous piece of kits for what it costs. Which is why the pseudo-absurdity of using it with the x7 would be so awesome.
 
 
I don't care for the mint tins period. Rather have a proper case. Maybe if I could find a vintage cigarette tin in "new" condition, I'd consider it just for the sake of political incorrectness

 

  If we are just talking Head-Fi related here goes:

 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Trinity BF:
1 X Delta's
2 X Techne's
 
FiiO:
3 X M3
1 X Q1
1 X EX1
 
AliEx iem's: Because 7 new iem's during the 11/11 sale was not enough

KZ HDS2
KZ ED3 "ACME"
Fidue A31s
Huawei Honor's (Original)
Puro IM500
 

I did relatively well as I put a $500 cap on myself before the gate opened

 
 
Amazon:
Carot One TITTA's (That damn Twin AC strikes again)

Awesome. who can't resist a pair of TITTA's
 
Didn't find any audio deals that jumped out for me. I was hoping that Shanling/Cayin would have a sale on their DAPs, but no dice. Actually, the only DAP deal I seen (in Canada anyhow) was an X5ii with free shure 215s.
If its anything like last year, we'll get better sales closer to Xmas, and of course Boxing Week

 

[Light - Man]

 

Podster after 200 Hours of burn in followed by an 8 Hour listening session I only have this to say:
 
You are going to really like those TITTAS. Personally, to my ears they are better EQ'd than the Puros.
 
After all who doesn't like a great pair?
 
 
(I should be punished)
 
 

TWIN

 

[RedJohn456]

 
In regards to your previous post to Tamal I personally love the Topping NX1 and think it's far better than it's price suggest

 
I too disliked the Altoids can Mr. T and googled Mint Tins to get my Newman's, had to buy a half dozen boxes and clean them out but I love my Newman's and the Happy Dragon

 

I have 3 or 4 of those left if you want to pm me an address I'd be more than happy to send you one. John (JDS) had no problem building mine in the case I sent them

I was curious about the Topping NX-1 but I dont know how it stacks up against the X7 amp. But I am hoping the NX3 is received well

 

[peter123]

I was curious about the Topping NX-1 but I dont know how it stacks up against the X7 amp. But I am hoping the NX3 is received well

http://penonaudio.com/Blue-Bird-U6

 

[x RELIC x]

.........

Haha nice one Craig  The Mojo can't do analog audio in however right?  However I will be testing the heck out of it and my question may very well be worded differently after haha

That's precisely why I said you'll probably be wording the question differently. :tongue_smile:

I just plugged in to the X5ii/ALO Rx stack with the Angie again after being away from it for a while. Still loving the combination.

 

[Podster]

  I totally agree about the NX1. Its a fantabulous piece of kits for what it costs. Which is why the pseudo-absurdity of using it with the x7 would be so awesome.
 
 
I don't care for the mint tins period. Rather have a proper case. Maybe if I could find a vintage cigarette tin in "new" condition, I'd consider it just for the sake of political incorrectness

 
Awesome. who can't resist a pair of TITTA's
 
Didn't find any audio deals that jumped out for me. I was hoping that Shanling/Cayin would have a sale on their DAPs, but no dice. Actually, the only DAP deal I seen (in Canada anyhow) was an X5ii with free shure 215s.
If its anything like last year, we'll get better sales closer to Xmas, and of course Boxing Week

Well we all have different hearing for sure but for me it's about that synergy, I have more expensive systems but my go to rig it seems is my X3ii/Topping NX2 on my Havi's! Of course on my tour run with the Cayin N5 I had my C421 and Trinity Delta's in a neck and neck with the X3ii rig

I love this hobby because you never know what combo is going to sound sweet until you hear it

 
Just like I don't know who wouldn't like that X5ii/Rx/Angie setup, I mean

 
Peter, the Blue-Bird? Tell more, tell more

It is $39 more than I paid for my NX1 but falls right in there with a bunch of amps at $65.
 
Me too Tamal, it looks to be even a little larger than the NX2 but with NX1 features

 
 
Oh Mr. T, almost forgot or did forget to add one to the Black Friday shopping spree reply. I also bought the Superlux 668B's off MassDrop

Quick nurse, get this man to ICU

His brain (or lack there of) and wallet are hemorrhaging

 

[peter123]

Well we all have different hearing for sure but for me it's about that synergy, I have more expensive systems but my go to rig it seems is my X3ii/Topping NX2 on my Havi's! Of course on my tour run with the Cayin N5 I had my C421 and Trinity Delta's in a neck and neck with the X3ii rig:rolleyes: I love this hobby because you never know what combo is going to sound sweet until you hear it

Just like I don't know who wouldn't like that X5ii/Rx/Angie setup, I mean:tongue_smile:

Peter, the Blue-Bird? Tell more, tell more:bigsmile_face: It is $39 more than I paid for my NX1 but falls right in there with a bunch of amps at $65.

I agree with you on the synergy being a big part of the magic. It also happens to be a great excuse for having a lot of stuff

Speaking of synergy I really love the Bluebird U6/FiiO X3 combo.

My journey with the U6 have been long and troublesome. First time I charged it it wasn't turned off properly (neither did it say anywhere that it should be) and because of this something inside it got fried. The seller eas great though and mailed me replacement parts to solder in place instead of those who might have been damged. It did eventually get it to work again but with a lot of distortion so I put it away occasionally. Months later I brought it out again and re-did all the soldering and voila, it worked properly. It still had channel imbalance at low volume, was to powerful for easy to drive IEM's and distoreted with heavy loads. Despite of all this it sounded great and I've used it a lot. Not long ago I learned from some friendly Labsters (are there any other kind) ) that activating the eq on the X3 lowered the gain on the line out and voila (again ) gone was the distortion, it was more usable with easy to drive IEM's and channel imbalance is only available at low enough volumes not to be an issue really.

It sound amazing and I many times prefer it over the Cayin C5 for its more neutral presentation while still offering the same sense of space and amazing timbre.

Only negative I can think of now is that the gain switch is a joke since low gain just sounds weird and that the volume knob could do with a little more resistance.

Well, long story but a nice one. It also has user swappable op amps and although I've tried quite a few I always come back to the stock NA5532 again.

 

[Podster]

I agree with you on the synergy being a big part of the magic. It also happens to be a great excuse for having a lot of stuff

Speaking of synergy I really love the Bluebird U6/FiiO X3 combo.

My journey with the U6 have been long and troublesome. First time I charged it it wasn't turned off properly (neither did it say anywhere that it should be) and because of this something inside it got fried. The seller eas great though and mailed me replacement parts to solder in place instead of those who might have been damged. It did eventually get it to work again but with a lot of distortion so I put it away occasionally. Months later I brought it out again and re-did all the soldering and voila, it worked properly. It still had channel imbalance at low volume, was to powerful for easy to drive IEM's and distoreted with heavy loads. Despite of all this it sounded great and I've used it a lot. Not long ago I learned from some friendly Labsters (are there any other kind) ) that activating the eq on the X3 lowered the gain on the line out and voila (again

) gone was the distortion, it was more usable with easy to drive IEM's and channel imbalance is only available at low enough volumes not to be an issue really.

It sound amazing and I many times prefer it over the Cayin C5 for its more neutral presentation while still offering the same sense of space and amazing timbre.

Only negative I can think of now is that the gain switch is a joke since low gain just sounds weird and that the volume knob could do with a little more resistance.

Well, long story but a nice one. It also has user swappable op amps and although I've tried quite a few I always come back to the stock NA5532 again.

Well for $65 I can see Penon getting a little more business and I'll be sure to remember the first time charging issue thanks to you

Plus, can one have too many red amps

LOL Speaking of Blue-Birds I can't wait to get Martin's hybrid valve amp, got mine in blue if it ever gets done but like many other manufacturers out here Martin listened to the masses (and Paul) and I'm sure we are going to be some happy campers

 

[Baycode]

Oh gee Bay, I've never heard the word slim form factor and 9V in the same sentence before:blink: It's like a power sub station:bigsmile_face: Could be worse I have 2 9V's in this baby:rolleyes:



It's slim I guess, compared to a shoebox:eek: LOL

Podster, I always liked the retro look of these tin amps. But 2×9V, OMG

Tonight I am running X7 through the LO with my SA MH Signature and trying blind test using the same tracks in FLAC and DSD format. Its too bad that I have just discovered that I can differantiate FLAC and DSD :/

X7 lineout is a different animal....

 

[Hisoundfi]

RedJohn456, if you want neutral and looooong battery life go with Topping NX1

 

[peter123]

Well for $65 I can see Penon getting a little more business and I'll be sure to remember the first time charging issue thanks to you:wink_face: Plus, can one have too many red amps:rolleyes: LOL Speaking of Blue-Birds I can't wait to get Martin's hybrid valve amp, got mine in blue if it ever gets done but like many other manufacturers out here Martin listened to the masses (and Paul) and I'm sure we are going to be some happy campers

Yes as long as you remember to keep it disconnected from everything when you charge it it's a gret amp and not only for the money

Edit: when is that little tube amp expected?

 

[Podster]

Yes as long as you remember to keep it disconnected from everything when you charge it it's a gret amp and not only for the money

Edit: when is that little tube amp expected?

This is the new website Peter, http://www.ims-nz.com/
 
Well if all goes right we can hope by Christmas but with KS projects you never know until you know! Not sure that the push for the additional funds on the modular DAC was met but Martin's is offering the module along with your KS amp for $89 more.
 
These are the last comments on KS and I quote:
 
"The DAC will be a very straight forward manufacturing process as there's no complex case hardware to build. All the prototyping is completed and fully functioning. Once Backers have placed their orders the assembler will go ahead and produce a few sample and then the full production run. This will mean the DAC will ship before Xmas. I've kept the shipping cost down to a low US$8 so Backers may want to receive there Valve Amplifier first and then fit the DAC themselves when this arrives a couple of weeks later. It's very fast and easy to fit the DAC, we even supply the screwdriver to open the case."
 
What Vince said Tamal. I find the NX1 to be very neutral, it basically (at least for me) boost the signal it's being fed without a lot of coloration

 

[Mr Trev]

   
What Vince said Tamal. I find the NX1 to be very neutral, it basically (at least for me) boost the signal it's being fed without a lot of coloration

In fact, the nx1 is soooo neutral, it doesn't even have bass boost

 
Besides, its like $40. Just get one. You know you want to. All the cool kids have em.
 
 
Forgot to add, works great with the 'ol ipod

 

[twister6]

Labsters, I'm absolutely obsessed with this new PSY - Daddy tune!!!  And apparently I'm not the only one since it was released yesterday and already got 10 million views.  This song is like an infectious decease lol!!!  LOVE IT!!!
 
 
 
@Wokei , I guess Hyuna is no longer "It" girl since this time PSY featured CL in his video?