Originally Posted by moonboy403 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The JH13 Pro sounds downright beautiful with the Protector driving it balanced. JH13's images are now bigger, ambiance retrieval's better, soundstage is now around your head for the most part, and there's a lot more punch to the bass.
Note: Admittedly, I have not tried that many amps with the JH13. I've only had a MiniMax, Qinpu Q2, DNA Sonett, and the amp that comes with my Peachtree Audio Nova DAC which Sherwood likens it to a Gilmore Lite.
Did it sound better with the protector than with the DNA Sonett?? cause that was definitely on my short list for desktop amps for my jh-13's.
Originally Posted by SoupRKnowva /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did it sound better with the protector than with the DNA Sonett?? cause that was definitely on my short list for desktop amps for my jh-13's.
I had the DNA Sonett a few months ago for a week. So telling you anything other than I don't know would be a blatant lie. But from my memory, none of the amps (paired with the JH13) I tried amazed me as much as the Protector. Perhaps there's something special about driving the JH13 balance.
One thing I can say about the DNA Sonett and the Protector is that the HD800 sounds much better out of the Sonett(SE) than the Protector(balanced).
The Protector and the HD650 make a very fine combination. The bass is solid and extremely well controlled. This is about as good as I have heard the 650's. Even on bass heavy music the sound remains transparent and dynamic with no smearing of the frequencies. The soundstage is enjoyable as it is wide and deep well recorded drums back where they should be and not in your face. Listen to some Leonard Cohen and you will know what I mean. The sound is huge on his recordings and this is portrayed with ease on the 650 and Protector combination.
Edit: For a torture test, maybe more for me than the amp, I put on the Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" and played Hotel California. The drum at the beginning takes a lot of juice if you turn the volume up and can clip an amp fairly easy. With the HD650 all that happened was that at way too loud a volume the drivers started to break up a little but the sound field never collapsed! It stayed put and I mercifully turned the volume down to a normal listening level.
Originally Posted by moonboy403 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The JH13 Pro sounds downright beautiful with the Protector driving it balanced. JH13's images are now bigger, ambiance retrieval's better, soundstage is now around your head for the most part, and there's a lot more punch to the bass.
Note: Admittedly, I have not tried that many amps with the JH13. I've only had a MiniMax, Qinpu Q2, DNA Sonett, and the amp that comes with my Peachtree Audio Nova DAC which Sherwood likens it to a Gilmore Lite.
So, JH13 balanced out of Protector beats all those?
And would you describe it as more of a musical, clinical, or somewhere in between sound?
Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Protector and the HD650 make a very fine combination. The bass is solid and extremely well controlled. This is about as good as I have heard the 650's. Even on bass heavy music the sound remains transparent and dynamic with no smearing of the frequencies. The soundstage is enjoyable as it is wide and deep well recorded drums back where they should be and not in your face. Listen to some Leonard Cohen and you will know what I mean. The sound is huge on his recordings and this is portrayed with ease on the 650 and Protector combination.
Edit: For a torture test, maybe more for me than the amp, I put on the Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" and played Hotel California. The drum at the beginning takes a lot of juice if you turn the volume up and can clip an amp fairly easy. With the HD650 all that happened was that at way too loud a volume the drivers started to break up a little but the sound field never collapsed! It stayed put and I mercifully turned the volume down to a normal listening level.
How do you compare the Protector to other RSA amp like Predator or Mustang or Shadow etc? Does it have the RSA house sound? It is warm like the other RSA amps? How about transparency? How about Balance versus SE? If you only compare the SE of the Protector to other RSA amp like Predator, Mustang or Shadow, how is the Protector holding up? I am very familiar with RSA amop as I have the SR71a, Predator and Mustang. I am just curious that if you only compare SE to SE, if there any improvement coming from the Protector? or is all the improvement come as a result of the balance setup? Thanks you so very much for lending your ears vicarously.
To my ear the balanced HD650's or in Ray's case, the HD600's, are made for this amp. I would guess that Ray did some voicing with the 600's. The HD650's come to life and any veiling or loss of dynamics or bass interplay is totally fleshed out.
To have a tiny portable that can power the HD6XX series like this and be balanced is a gift. I have kept the 650's just to be able to give people feedback that would ask how they sounded with certain amps but this amp brings them out of semiretirement. Human voice, both female and male, when well recorded, has a realism that brings you into the recording when using the 650's. Great fun.
I am still getting a handle on the Protector. I really take to heart giving out impressions as I do not want to lead anyone astray but again, is is my impression but I do have plenty to compare to. I am just listening to the Protector though and haven't really done the numbing comparisons yet.
I will note that the Protector at normal and high listening levels is dead quite and music comes from a black background. It also feels like the walls of your head enclosure with my IEM's, the JH13's in balanced, just fall away. On the Chieftains, Long Black Veil, the sound is so open, clean and dynamic, it really is a musical joy.
I am starting to think the Protector and JH13's were made for each other. I think you could hardwire the 13's to the Protector and be done. :^)
Don't want to bug you. But, could you clarify what you meant by this sentence, "It also feels like the walls of your head enclosure with my IEM's, the JH13's in balanced, just fall away." I think I understand, but I'm not certain, and until Ray drops the Protector, I'm kinda hanging on your every word. Already ordered the TWag cable from Craig. I got to say, it's going to be weird just having the cable for a couple weeks with nothing to plug it into.
Yeah, I though I was getting too poetic. There is a freedom to the music that no longer is encompassed by the feeling of the music being in your head. It is like finally becoming realized when you meditate. The music just flows in an open free space of the recording venue rather than being bound in a closed space. The HD650's behave like this as do the JH13 Pros with the Protector.
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