[chiman]

Yup that's what I meant nk77, it's not a problem. Just thought maybe my unit had a small fault. Thanks.

 

[basementdweller]

Just want anyone who read my post to know that the included USB cord was the source of my problem.  Tried using another cord and, while not exactly a tight fit, it worked the way it should.  After reading about the amp's extremely low output impedance I am starting to wonder if the T1 has a 'fun' coloration in the lows or if that is simply the way my miracles are supposed to sound...either way it has made electronic/industrial rock interesting.
 

 

[nk77]

I was under the impression the lower output impedance would yield a flatter response (otherwise known as 'less fun'). I think the miracles might be doing the trick while the amp is supplying it the magic.

 

[basementdweller]

Well that's what I mean.  Unless I am mistaken a low output impedance can't make a headphone, that does not have a flat sound curve, flat.  It just allows the particular headphone to sound the way it was designed to sound.  I know the Miracle is supposed to have a slight boost down low but I never really noticed it in the same way that I do with the T1.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Well that's what I mean.  Unless I am mistaken a low output impedance can't make a headphone, that does not have a flat sound curve, flat.  It just allows the particular headphone to sound the way it was designed to sound.  I know the Miracle is supposed to have a slight boost down low but I never really noticed it in the same way that I do with the T1.

Yeah the T1 brings all my IEMs to life and brings great balance to the sound stage (from bassy IEMs to neutral/balanced). I noticed my T1 amp was a bit warmer before burn in and it settled down a bit yet still kept that very nice bass emphasis although it's still neutral. I find it to really excel in all 3 areas but for me bass and treble were the first to come to mind. But they all compliment each-other so well. So the mids are also fleshed out due to the balance brought within the sound staging. You have great width and depth. Something I am generally not accustomed to in amps in general. Normally an amp goes overboard or is lacking in one of those areas, but not the T1.

 

[Loquah]

Quote:

Well that's what I mean.  Unless I am mistaken a low output impedance can't make a headphone, that does not have a flat sound curve, flat.  It just allows the particular headphone to sound the way it was designed to sound.  I know the Miracle is supposed to have a slight boost down low but I never really noticed it in the same way that I do with the T1.

It's going back a while to my days in car audio so I'm a little foggy, but my understanding is this:
 
Low impedance makes controlling the drivers very difficult (i.e. it can result in excess, unwanted movement which creates sound that shouldn't be there / isn't in the recording). The larger the difference between output impedance and transducer impedance (i.e. IEM impedance), the more control the amplifier will have over the drivers.
 
In the case of the T1, it has an output impedance of 80-160 times less than the Miracles (15.9 ohms) meaning that the T1 can exert excellent control over the Miracles. The result is clean, punchy sound which is accurate and textured. It won't increase the amount of bass, but it will increase the quality. A less-controlled setup will yield more bloated sounding bass which may sound fuller, but generally not as exciting due to lost texture and accuracy.
 
I used to design high impedance (8 - 16 ohm) audio systems in cars for the same reason. Car audio amps could safely drive down to 1 ohm in many cases, but the result was all boom and bloat without the clarity and texture that should be present because there wasn't enough difference between output impedance and speaker impedance. My car would never win SPL comps (not that I ever entered one), but plenty of people were shocked by the sound produced from my relatively simple setup - all because of great driver control.
 
A bit off track, but hopefully this illustrates the importance of low output impedance to create the control that gives clarity, life and excitement to music.

 

[lee730]

1/8 rule all the way but consider multi BA drivers don't necessarily adhere to this (it is better to use as low of an output impedance as possible). This is due to not all BA drivers in an IEM having the exact same impedance rating to begin with. Thus you can't really go by the 1/8 rule (more so applicable to dynamics) as this will vary depending on application. Tomcy filled me in on this and it makes a lot of sense. The Fit Ear 334 has 43 to 45 ohms impedance. But the bass and treble drivers are around 16 ohms so that is a big difference between the mids drivers which are rated quite a bit higher. So in reality you are less likely to alter the mids on them but very much the treble and bass with above 2 ohms output impedance ratings.
 

 

[Loquah]

1/8 rule all the way but consider multi BA drivers don't necessarily adhere to this (it is better to use as low of an output impedance as possible). This is due to not all BA drivers in an IEM having the exact same impedance to begin rating.  Thus you can't really go by the 1/8 rule (more so applicable to dynamics) as this will vary depending on application. Tomcy filled me in on this and it makes a lot of sense. The Fit Ear 334 has 43 to 45 ohms impedance. But the bass and treble drivers are around 16 ohms now so that is a big difference between the mids which are rated quite a bit higher. So in reality you are less likely to alter the mids on them but very much the treble and bass with above 2 ohms output impedance ratings.

 

Interesting. I would have thought that the overall resistance of the circuit was what mattered, but I guess each individual BA will "talk" back into the circuit based on its own impedance.

In the end you're right, the lower the output impedance, the more range of impedance you'll have control over.

 

[zeinharis]

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I've been looking small sized amp for using it at the office and i've been told that the T1 can take both dynamic (Dt880/600 ohm) and ortho (HE-500) into different teritory. I'm skiping the magni since it only sale on the US, and the T1 might be enough for me until i can get the M8

Currently i'm using the Dacport LX to drive all my cans, and the result is pretty good especially with the HE-500, i never find my HE-500's is being underpowered with the Dacport LX, it's pretty weird huh since the Dacport LX is only a DAC. I believe the Dacport LX can give more power to the T1 so that my HE-500's will become a different "beast"

 

[Loquah]

I think you'll be very happy with the T1.

 

[basementdweller]

Quote:

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I've been looking small sized amp for using it at the office and i've been told that the T1 can take both dynamic (Dt880/600 ohm) and ortho (HE-500) into different teritory. I'm skiping the magni since it only sale on the US, and the T1 might be enough for me until i can get the M8

Currently i'm using the Dacport LX to drive all my cans, and the result is pretty good especially with the HE-500, i never find my HE-500's is being underpowered with the Dacport LX, it's pretty weird huh since the Dacport LX is only a DAC. I believe the Dacport LX can give more power to the T1 so that my HE-500's will become a different "beast"

 
I seriously doubt the T1 will power 600 ohm DT880s to anything approaching a normal listening levels.  I've plugged all of my phones into the T1: Miracle, HE400, LCD2, and T1.  Really I think it was designed with IEMs in mind first and foremost, but it works with all my phones....except the 600ohm Beyers.  I can't even comment on sound quality here because I had to max the volume pot to hear what I normally hear well left of 11 o' clock on my other amps.  I knew it has a pretty low gain and does not have the voltage swing for high impedance phones but I tried it anyway just for fun.

 

[Toe Tag]

Does anyone know what the op amp is inside the Tralucent T1?

 

[Loquah]

I seriously doubt the T1 will power 600 ohm DT880s to anything approaching a normal listening levels.  I've plugged all of my phones into the T1: Miracle, HE400, LCD2, and T1.  Really I think it was designed with IEMs in mind first and foremost, but it works with all my phones....except the 600ohm Beyers.  I can't even comment on sound quality here because I had to max the volume pot to hear what I normally hear well left of 11 o' clock on my other amps.  I knew it has a pretty low gain and does not have the voltage swing for high impedance phones but I tried it anyway just for fun.

Really? What was your source? I easily drove my HD650s with the T1 at only 50-60% volume. Maybe your source line-out is low voltage.

It doesn't quite match a desktop amp, but is still very good.

 

[basementdweller]

Quote:

Really? What was your source? I easily drove my HD650s with the T1 at only 50-60% volume. Maybe your source line-out is low voltage.
It doesn't quite match a desktop amp, but is still very good.

Good point.  It was straight out of the ipod.  I will run it through a 2v DAC in the morning to see what happens.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Good point.  It was straight out of the ipod.  I will run it through a 2v DAC in the morning to see what happens.

Yep that will do it for sure. Ipods really aren't that powerful while others will disagree with me. 30mW is nothing compared to the DX100s 245mW of power lol. Same for the Studio Vs 85mW of power. I actually found the T1 amp to be too powerful when using it with my DACport LX in bit for bit due to the DACport LX also being very powerful lol. Basically I'd run into channel imbalance before reaching an acceptable volume level (so having to listen at  too loud of a volume). But powering a full size headphone should be sufficient I would think. We'll see .