[ford2]

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Hello, I can add to the list my current amp Audio-gd Roc Sa (but I think this is now discontinued) and the Cec hd53n.
 
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/ROCSA/ROCSAEN.htm
 
My experience with this amp is very good. My source is a real balanced one (yamaha cd-s2000) as well.
 
 
 

 It is good that you mention Audio GD as they have a couple of balanced DAC/Amps that come in under $1000.
 
 Their site is well worth a look around.
 
 

 

[ford2]

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And for those that do not know me ,I actually use one of the above amps.Pictures tell a thousand words.
 
 

I am surprised that you use MK VII to drive K1000. Is it powerful enough to K1000? 

More than enough.
 

I think this specification comes from English site of LD. Actually LD has other Chinese forum. The specification of MK VII in that forum is different. Its output at 120ohm is only 0.5W. I asked the boss of LD why. He said they were keeping fine tuning their products, so the specifications also keep update. The data on their Chinese forum is the most updated. I think the new version may have problem to drive K1000.
 

I should have mentioned that my amp is not the current + version.
 
However the + version is still a very good combo for most phones and would have much better volume control with low impedance phones than the previous version.
 

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

I didn't mean to imply that there weren't any reviews out there, just that this would be a good place for users to share their experiences/views, so that the information is consolidated in one place. I would note, however, that the Audio-Gd NFB-10 is really only starting to trickle out to users, so I'm not aware of a really comprehensive review from a respected authority. I'm only aware of two "official" reviews of the Einar, both of which are positive, but scattered user reports seem to paint a different picture. As for the Blossom, I'm not aware of any reviews whatsoever.
 
Regards,
Adam

Skylab had posted positive impressions of the Blossom a while back, you might want to try asking him about it. Edit: I'm pretty sure it goes for well over $1000 though.

 

[Wedge]

My PS Audio GCHA has balanced inputs, I paid $399.00 for it.  I don't believe it is a fully balanced amplifier topology internally though.

 

[amcananey]

grokit,
 
Thanks, but I believe Skylab reviewed a different (more expensive) Blossom amp.
 
Best regards,
Adam

 

[grokit]

I don't think there's a cheaper Blossom balanced amp than that one, do you have a reference?

 

[amcananey]

It's called the [size=small]Blossom BLO-0169[/size].
 
Official Product Page
eBay listing from exporter (showing both Blossom amps to give a sense of price difference)
Head-Fi thread (no additional information included)
 
Best regards,
Adam

 

[grokit]

Thanks for the links Adam, it's hard to find anything on Blossom's product line without the model number.

 

[Poetik]

I find it interesting that on the Audio GD NFB-10, Kingwa has stated that in balanced mode it would sound better than his single ended dac19 ($640) and c2 amp ($365) combination.  Would something like still be considered an amp not to buy? Or is it just considered that because it isn't a stand alone amp?

 

[amcananey]

Poetik,
 
Given the history of this thread, I don't know if your question was serious or not. Since your question could be interpreted two different ways in this context...
 
1) I wasn't actually advising against any of the amps listed in my original post. This thread originally just started as a list of balanced amps under $1,000, but given the counter-productive initial reactions, I changed the title in a fit of sarcasm. So don't read anything into that.
 
2) On the other hand, as various posters have made very clear, they believe it should be fairly easy to come up with an unbalanced amp at any given price point below $1,000 that would be "better" than the balanced equivalent.
 
Regards,
Adam

 

[Poetik]

Quote:

Poetik,
 
Given the history of this thread, I don't know if your question was serious or not. Since your question could be interpreted two different ways in this context...
 
1) I wasn't actually advising against any of the amps listed in my original post. This thread originally just started as a list of balanced amps under $1,000, but given the counter-productive initial reactions, I changed the title in a fit of sarcasm. So don't read anything into that.
 
2) On the other hand, as various posters have made very clear, they believe it should be fairly easy to come up with an unbalanced amp at any given price point below $1,000 that would be "better" than the balanced equivalent.
 
Regards,
Adam

Oh I didn't know it was sarcasm so I figured I'd ask an honest question to see where you were at with that statement.  It makes sense now as I see the but I mean if you have someone of kingwa's caliber (someone who actually builds the dacs and amps) saying that his $900 balanced amp will sound better than his $900 single ended combo then I guess the logic of everyone on here isn't that sound. 
 
I don't think the NFB-10 is a joke for a balanced amp but then again I've never owned a balanced setup.  I'm sure it wouldn't be as good as balanced separates do but for someone like me who was really considering his DAC19/C2 single ended combo I'd much rather go with the NFB-10 balanced for around the same price.
 

 

[amcananey]

Poetik,
 
I don't think the NFB-10 is a joke by any stretch of the imagination. When I was trying to decide on a DAC/amp, I was trying to decide between the Burson HA-160D, the Meier Audio StageDAC + Concerto combo, and the Audio-gd NFB-10ES. I initially ordered the NFB-10ES, then cancelled and bought the Burson HA-160D. Was it the right decision? No idea. But I have no doubt that the NFB-10 is a fine unit and offers excellent value.
 
Best regards,
Adam

 

[AVU]

Is this amp really balanced?
 
http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=822&sid=8e2619b229c5bf6f9a812f9a67a3e391
 
What about the RSA and the iBasso portables?  I'd like to hear from someone, unlike me, who actually knows the technical details of the engineering here...
 
http://www.ibasso.com/en/products/show.asp?ID=70
 
thanks!

 

[El_Doug]

afaik: 
 
- the mkvii is truly balanced
- the rsa protector is not, but the sr71b is
 
hope this helps your search a bit

 

[AVU]

thanks!  Still wondering about the ibasso..., but moreover, about whether any of these high-power portable amps come close to similarly priced desktop amps.