[LawnGnome]

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Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was doing my best not going to post anymore on this thread, but what I perceive as your continued bashing of this amp has forced my hand. You state yet nowhere in my post or subsequent post have I made such an statement. However a fellow Head-Fier did post: Many here and in other forums do consider them to be well know parts and boutique as well. You have also stated twice: and to which I posted it is a Beta unit, a fact you have dismissed a second time. At the end of the day everything you have posted are opinions based on a picture and reading a few sentences. Although you have not commented on the sound (something you can not do since you do not have an unit to listen too) you have posted enough negative comments to dismiss an unit which you have not even held in your hands. Finally your condescending tone and sarcasm is not IMO needed, as stated in: But so be it, as others get their hands on this unit they will be able to comment on whether it sounds good or not. I hope any product ultimately sells based on its sound, features, and its durability. Note: various products have been sold for years using the same type of plastic case w/ no issues of durability. The case may not be the best looking one but it is very functional.

They don't claim to use boutique parts?

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Maybe the secret of its musical success is the use of specialised branded components developed for high resolution audio?

Also, Since when is AD boutique? Also, is a 1$ connector now considered boutique? The only part that can be considered boutique is the Muse.


I also noticed you failed to refute this part I mentioned on.

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Or the fact that it uses conventional through-hole components? No surface-mount that could slow the harmonic response through capacitive coupling of cramped packaged components?

This is a problem with Head-fi. You can't disagree with anyone because they take every comment like a personal attack. No wonder people laugh at us.

Suck up to every designer, and delete comments that speak bad about any of them. It's like a bought review site.


EDIT: but I don't think you should be commenting on many of my arguments, since by your own admission.

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[size=x-small]as you know I am not a technical kind of person[/size]

So I'm not even sure you know when I talk about the much better ground plane shielding you can implement with double layer PCB. Or even what cap brands are considered generic.

 

[Superpredator]

Thanks for posting your impressions on the beta Voyager, mrarroyo. Most of us appreciate it when members take the time to inform the community about new products, even if a belligerent minority (okay, pretty much one person) wants to drag the discussion down with sheer useless drivel packaged in tone and delivery as the commentary of an all-knowing genius.

I respect your experience and your perspective on how this unit sounds. Please continue posting your regularly scheduled impressions - I don't think anyone takes LawnGnome seriously anymore.

 

[LawnGnome]

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Originally Posted by Superpredator /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for posting your impressions on the beta Voyager, mrarroyo. Most of us appreciate it when members take the time to inform the community about new products, even if a belligerent minority (okay, pretty much one person) wants to drag the discussion down with sheer useless drivel packaged in tone and delivery as the commentary of an all-knowing genius. I respect your experience and your perspective on how this unit sounds. Please continue posting your regularly scheduled impressions - I don't think anyone takes LawnGnome seriously anymore.

I didn't know criticism on a design was such a bad thing here. Notice how many people before me made similiar comments on its design, but left once the people who take every piece of criticism as personal attacks, showed up.

I'll let you all get back to your praise fest for every new product with good marketing that comes about, and lynching of anyone who speaks against.

 

[TR909]

Trying to sift through all the posts by LawnGnome (over aesthetics and the manufacturer's purported claims) for real comments on actual sound by people who've *wait for it* actually heard them amp is a pain in the butt.

Seriously, you've made your points (several times now actually) and they've been heard. I check this thread daily for more impressions but keep running into your drivel. I could care less about marketing gimmicks in literature (every manufacturer uses them to a degree) and only want to hear 1st hand accounts by people who LISTEN to them.

Why do the posters who have nothing to contribute to a particular thread automatically assume martyr status when their views are opposed?

ps people left when this thread turned into one of self-aggrandizement for you.

 

[Superpredator]

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Originally Posted by LawnGnome /img/forum/go_quote.gif I didn't know criticism on a design was such a bad thing here. Notice how many people before me made similiar comments on its design, but left once the people who take every piece of criticism as personal attacks, showed up. I'll let you all get back to your praise fest for every new product with good marketing that comes about, and lynching of anyone who speaks against.

I personally think some criticism on design and aesthetics are perfectly at place here, and I would welcome your opinions if you threw in a microscopic amount of tact. But you don't. Notice that I singled you out. You may have also noticed that your presence often has a similar effect in other threads. Your mannerism is incredibly abrasive, and when you drop in on threads to tell people that the product they're putting time and energy into listening to is garbage or their experience is imaginary, expect them to lynch you. If you approached people a little more constructively you might start making a more positive contribution to Head-Fi. You obviously have a unique and probably worthwhile perspective - I think it would go over a lot better if you didn't try so hard to crack people over the head with it.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

EDIT: but I don't think you should be commenting on many of my arguments, since by your own admission. Quote: as you know I am not a technical kind of person So I'm not even sure you know when I talk about the much better ground plane shielding you can implement with double layer PCB. Or even what cap brands are considered generic.

Since my first post in this thread my idea has been to share a new amp w/ others, its general description, the sound I hear, and the way it evolves as it burns in. I hope some have benefit and it has sparked an interest in not just this amp but also other amps. Hope some are even considering doing their own reviews and posting them here. I did not start a technical discussion of boutique parts, double layer PCB, shielding, etc.

However in light of your statement quoted above I would like to add that I have a pair of ears and a brain which allows me to express an opinion of what I listen too. Unlike you sir who has not actually heard this amp and are trying to infer the sound qualities from “a parts list on a printed piece of paper.” While this may be visually stimulating to you it has the drawback of not containing any auditory information. As to me I rather trust what I hear not what I read, at least where music and its appreciation is concerned.

Note: I am not a technical person w/ regards to electronics. I could go on and talk about being a mechanical engineer w/ over 25 years experience managing and directing projects with over 1,350 employees and budgets well over 150 million dollars. But I would bore most!

Besides it is not needed to tell if what is heard sounds good or not.

 

[fkclo]

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Originally Posted by Superpredator /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think anyone takes LawnGnome seriously anymore.

"Ignore" may be the most constructive response in this case.

F. Lo

 

[saisunil]

Hi Mrarroyo,

How does it compare to Xin LE and or Ref. or headsix. Unfortunately I am waiting for my LE to return (sent for upgrades) and Ref to ship. I need something of Reference grade quality.

Let's continue to enjoy this glorious hobby and make use of our good given sense of hearing and sense of peception and imagination while we listen to music and feel ourselves transported to a higher plane.

Cheers
Sunil.

 

[facelvega]

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Originally Posted by fkclo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Apparently some fellow head-fiers are worried about the competitiveness of the Voyager against the crowd of portable amps which comes in beautiful metal case.

Personally, I can see the appeal of the durable and unpretentious case, it's just that I imagine it's a bit of a market liability in the sense that people seem to like buying glitzy cases. Naturally it's the maker's call.

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The Voyager is priced quite reasonably in GBP. Blame the weak US$ for the apparently inflated price in US$. I personally haven't heard one, but judging from those who have heard them, I do believe it is one of be better sounder portable amps on the market.

This is actually a great point in terms of my pricing comment above. Every time I get to England I'm shocked again at the cost of living.

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Originally Posted by LawnGnome /img/forum/go_quote.gif I didn't know criticism on a design was such a bad thing here. ... I'll let you all get back to your praise fest for every new product with good marketing that comes about, and lynching of anyone who speaks against.

Yes, unmitigated praise in a forum where some will praise every new product that comes down the pike is like free advertising, but when an "unbiased" reviewer feels the need to post all over about how bad a product is (and one that, as everyone keeps pointing out, he hasn't even heard), it amounts to negative marketing on the casual readers of the site. Maybe you're not in the pay of Slee's competitors and just have an argumentative streak, but nevertheless you're deliberately trying to make an impact on sales, which is quite likely more than the people who are praising it are trying to do.

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Originally Posted by DennyL /img/forum/go_quote.gif The tone of this is pretty negative, suggesting negativity without offering any substance. What it seems to me to be saying is that you don't like the Voyager because it is out of step with, or different from, the competition, and by implication you believe that out of stepness is bad; that you want competing products to be similar. I prefer diversity in the market place.

Don't let the comments of others mislead you about mine, and please don't attack me for lack of substance when I tried to take care about exactly what I was saying and not saying. The market is moving in one direction, and this amp is stepping in another, it doesn't have anything to do with what I want, and what I was saying in that part doesn't have anything to do with sound quality either, as I mentioned right below it.

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By the way, I don't think it's a Hammond case.

It looks very much like a slightly larger version of the one on my Go-Vibe V5.

 

[MrJoshua]

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By the way, I don't think it's a Hammond case.

I've had it apart and it is a Hammond case (stamped inside it along with the letters ABS).

 

[DennyL]

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Originally Posted by MrJoshua /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've had it apart and it is a Hammond case (stamped inside it along with the letters ABS).

Thanks for the clarification, Josh.

 

[mrarroyo]

I did a quick listen this morning to both versions of the Beta Voyager. The original had +/-440 hours of burn in and the lower gain one +/-108 hours. The lower gain is more extended in the high mids and the treble. The instruments are more easily place w/ the lower gain Voyager.

Saisunil, I sold my Supermacro LE a while back. From memory I prefer the Voyager low gain. The last time I listened to a Reference was in early September, it was HiFlight's and I would like to have them side by side since I can not recall. I hope to get together w/ Ron in the next few weeks and will post here. Note: My Reference is a 5 month old Beta and there have been various changes since.

 

[senny-ftw]

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The lowering of the gain has caused a secondary beneficial effect. IMO the amp is more open, with a more detailed and extended presentation

Agreed. I compared both the standard and beta low-gain at the UK meet and had the same experience.

About the cost - regardless of the exchange rate it's an expensive portable, but I believe the sound quality and effortless power from this amp makes it worth the money.

 

[LawnGnome]

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Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, unmitigated praise in a forum where some will praise every new product that comes down the pike is like free advertising, but when an "unbiased" reviewer feels the need to post all over about how bad a product is (and one that, as everyone keeps pointing out, he hasn't even heard), it amounts to negative marketing on the casual readers of the site. Maybe you're not in the pay of Slee's competitors and just have an argumentative streak, but nevertheless you're deliberately trying to make an impact on sales, which is quite likely more than the people who are praising it are trying to do.

One of the things that have really bitten me with this amp, is how they justify their choice of through-hole tech.

Through-hole isn't bad, and there is reasons to use it. However, they decided to completely fabricate lies to justify their choice.

What is even worse, is when people not only accept these lies, but when they decide to knowingly overlook them. Because of a manufacturers reputation.

 

[fkclo]

This is stated in the Voyager homepage :

"No surface-mount that could slow the harmonic response through capacitive coupling of cramped packaged components"

Honestly I do not know whether this is a lie or not, and would appreciate thoughts from anyone here.

More, I would be grateful if those more technically savvy minds can share with us the pros and cons of SMDs in audio application. That would be good education.

F. Lo