The RSA Protector balanced portable: Images and impressions 1st page, Please post your impressions . .

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by midoo1990 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the impressions Larry.so until now,does the protector fit in the same class as home amps in driving the hd600 like others say?

It's just to early to say. At this point in the burn-in process I would say no, but it definitely bridges the gap between portable and desktop amps with HD600 better than most other portable amps I have heard, and is closer to desktop performance.

My ALO Amphora has this "kind" of performance but not quite as much power, but it is away on loan to another head-fi member who decided to by an Amphora after comparing it to his GS-1 and thinking it was the closest to a portable GS-1 that he could find. So, I have not compared that, or the WA6 and ZDT to the Protector.

 

[midoo1990]

Thanks,I appreciate it.looking forward to your comparison with WA6.

 

[Jalo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif What would be the point? The Protector does not have balanced inputs.

If you put a dac and amp inside the same enclosure. The Dac can then output true balance signal into the amp which will eliminate the phase spliter and therefore you have a true balance throughput.

 

[edwardsean]

Hi, I'm still going through the burn in process. I find myself going back and forth between the Protector/ balanced and the SE ALO Rx with the JH13s. Each seems to have things the other doesn't. Has anyone else compared the two?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I'm liking the Protector more and more with time. It's sound with my HD600 is really opening up by 100 hours now, and it's actually passing up my P-51 with at least 1000 hours. The P-51 has always been good, but the Protector is now more transparent and spacious with my HD600. I'm going from Protector with TWag 4-pin adapter, or from P-51 with APS v3 1/8" 4-pin adapter, and feeding both amps into a 4-pin balanced APS V3 cable.

I'm not BS'ing here. I almost forgot how much some of these amps improve as you put hours on them.

 

[hvu]

That sounds great I only got like 30hrs on mine, I can wait until 200hrs

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jalo /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you put a dac and amp inside the same enclosure. The Dac can then output true balance signal into the amp which will eliminate the phase spliter and therefore you have a true balance throughput.

Yes but you suggested Ray might be working on a separate balanced DAC, to which I said it would be pointless as it wouldn't work with the Protector.

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes but you suggested Ray might be working on a separate balanced DAC, to which I said it would be pointless as it wouldn't work with the Protector.

Um... Read his original post. He was unambiguously hoping that Ray would release a version of the Protector with a built-in DAC. The error Was yours in misreading his very clear English.
Cheers!

 

[jelt2359]

Tested the Protector single-ended with my TWag JH13s (sending in for recabling tomorrow). I can unambiguously say that this is the best I've ever heard any amp. Better than my D10, TTVJ Hybrid, iQube. It might be that I just prefer the RSA house sound more, but that was another reason I got this amp- to try out the RSA sound.

To my ears, the difference between this and my other amps is like the difference between my iPod and my Hifiman. The bass is very punchy and tight, and the mids and highs manage to be oh so sweet and refined. The combination of tight + smooth is unbelievably seductive. I might truly be at the end of my audio journey. I'm now perfectly satisfied.

(PS, because I travel a lot, I will never consider a home amp).

 

[YtseJamer]

Wait until your hear the amp in balanced mode with the TWag and the JH13s.

 

[jelt2359]

Do I need to burn in twice, for balanced and SE? I'm now burning in just the SE portion... Will that be sufficient if I later listen to it balanced?

 

[thread]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edwardsean /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, I'm still going through the burn in process. I find myself going back and forth between the Protector/ balanced and the SE ALO Rx with the JH13s. Each seems to have things the other doesn't. Has anyone else compared the two?

I'm also very interested to hear Rx/Protector comparisons! Thanks, guys.

 

[jc9394]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pfillion /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wait until your hear the amp in balanced mode with the TWag and the JH13s.

X2, this amp is very source dependent. My iMod have a faulty drive and I have been using my Nano as source last few days. But boy after I replaced my iMod to CF and play the same songs again, the improvement is not subtle.

 

[jamato8]

That is one thing I started noticing with this amp and mentioned earlier, what you have upstream from it, is very noticeable. The better you feed it, the better the sound. Not all amps can do this as the amp itself places limitations on what you end up hearing. Now you can upgrade your source and the sound will truly follow.

Since receiving a new Protector, having sent back the demo model, I am going through the burn-in process as well. The changes to my ear are not subtle and help me to validate the changes and reaffirm the openness this amp obtains as the time passes.

 

[jc9394]

I'm gonna try using my gamma2 tomorrow and see if I can tell the difference between iMod and gamma2.