[Loquah]

Love my T1 too, but getting a bit curious about balanced out. So I'm looking at the PB2, anyone have any experiences with both?

I've started using balanced at home and can honestly say that it's a marginal improvement over a good unbalanced circuit.

Still, it's always interesting to try other gear so bring on the PB2 comparisons

 

[H20Fidelity]

Here's a shot I grabbed of T1 over the weekend. 

Running using Stoner Acoustics UD110 v2 from my laptop plugged into TF10.

 

[Loquah]

  Here's a shot I grabbed of T1 over the weekend. 

Running using Stoner Acoustics UD110 v2 from my laptop plugged into TF10.

 
Great photo!!!

 

[Gintaras]

Here's a shot I grabbed of T1 over the weekend. 


Running using Stoner Acoustics UD110 v2 from my laptop plugged into TF10.

someone gets addiction to this little great thing?

 

[soundbear]

Fantastic pic H20!!!
 
Has anyone found a player with the sound of the T1?  ( I'd love for Gavin to make a player with the T1 combined.)
 
Both my Studio V and V 3rd anniv has much improved SQ with the T1.   

 

[Loquah]

  Fantastic pic H20!!!
 
Has anyone found a player with the sound of the T1?  ( I'd love for Gavin to make a player with the T1 combined.)
 
Both my Studio V and V 3rd anniv has much improved SQ with the T1.   

The AK100 is the closest I've heard, but it still doesn't have the warmth and weight of the T1

 

[lee730]

The DX100 combined with the T1 was an amazing pairing. AK120 also paired good with it but not as good as the DX100 IMO.

 

[H20Fidelity]

I've come up with an idea. As members are aware there's always concerns and conversations brought up about the Tralucent T1 amp I have (on very very long loan) being faulty, as in not performing 100%. Yes it works but I don't hear what others do, nor do a few members I've sent the amp to borrow.

 Then it hit me this morning, lets sent this T1 amp to Loqauh and ask him to compare against his. This should surely put to rest any doubts or concerns we have.

Incoming msg to Loqauh.

 

[R Scott Ireland]

  The DX100 combined with the T1 was an amazing pairing. AK120 also paired good with it but not as good as the DX100 IMO.

 
The DX50 does very well with the T1 also. This is my portable rig for the 1plus2.  I stayed with the 1.1.6 firmware version on the DX50, but ONLY for the 1plus2. I use the latest 1.2.8 firmware with headphones (on a second DX50). I just think the 1plus2 sounds beautifully balanced across all frequencies with plenty of air using the 1.1.6 firmware - something that gets lost with the more contrasty later firmware versions.

 

[Loquah]

So @H20Fidelity sent me the T1 to compare with mine and see if it really does sound different. On first listen I instantly thought it did, but continued listening had me thinking that my first impression was a placebo effect and I was just hearing what I expected to hear. I now understand why it's been so difficult for people to decide if this amp is "normal" or not.
 
Upon extended listening I can confirm some very subtle differences between my T1 and H20's T1. The differences are in the upper minds and lower treble I think and would only be a matter of a few dB (going only by ear). The result is a very slightly veiled and closed-in presentation from H20's T1. It's just enough to kill the space and detail that the T1 is so good at creating despite its slight warmth. I can't stress how subtle the difference is - even A/Bing it's still tricky to put a finger on the issue. All I can confirm is that H20's T1 somehow just lacks a little bit of magic (that's a technical term

).
 
I asked H20's permission to open the T1 and compare with mine and found what might be the culprit. Interestingly, the serial numbers are only 7 units apart with my unit coming after H20's.
 
Loquah's T1 - notice the 2 tiny resistors (I think) nearest the battery - they're labelled 1001:
 

 
Here's H20's - notice the same components, this time labelled 102:
 

 
There's no other difference I can see so I have to assume that these components are the key to the difference in the sound. The only other possibility is that the op amps (which are not identifiable) are different, but there's no way for me to tell.
 
What would be great now would be for someone who has a "good sounding" T1 to open there's up and check those components to see if they're the 102 or the 1001 variety.
 
In the meantime, I might contact Gavin for his comments on the matter...

 

[H20Fidelity]

Thanks for the comparison mate, That's what hear when you say it sounds closed in and lacking detail, unless you lift the volume considerably high. Maybe Gavin might want to take a look at it.

 

[Loquah]

Chatting to Gavin now. It might be a battery thing so I'll try switching batteries and report back...

 

[H20Fidelity]

  Chatting to Gavin now. It might be a battery thing so I'll try switching batteries and report back...

Any progress yet?

 

[Loquah]

 
Any progress yet?

 
Yeah, the issue seems to be the battery, but it's really hard to confirm.
 
Gavin said they had some battery issues in the earlier models and the battery in mine is different so this would make sense. The only trouble is that it's really hard to A/B different batteries. I did try plugging your battery into my amp and I'm pretty sure it degraded the sound, plus I believe that I heard differences with your unit using different batteries, but I don't know if it was as noticeable on yours as it was on mine so perhaps those different components are also at play...
 
Not sure what to try next other than maybe some extended time with your battery in my amp and my battery in yours to see if I switch preference to whichever unit has the Yooxin battery (from mine) vs the Tralucent batter (from yours)

 

[H20Fidelity]

   
Yeah, the issue seems to be the battery, but it's really hard to confirm.
 
Gavin said they had some battery issues in the earlier models and the battery in mine is different so this would make sense. The only trouble is that it's really hard to A/B different batteries. I did try plugging your battery into my amp and I'm pretty sure it degraded the sound, plus I believe that I heard differences with your unit using different batteries, but I don't know if it was as noticeable on yours as it was on mine so perhaps those different components are also at play...
 
Not sure what to try next other than maybe some extended time with your battery in my amp and my battery in yours to see if I switch preference to whichever unit has the Yooxin battery (from mine) vs the Tralucent batter (from yours)

You know behind the scenes we always questioned the battery, because the symptoms that weren't lining up all pointed to a lack of power in some way, the way the stage is closed in and compressed, lacking air, or needing to pump the volume to get detail moving. I had meant to change the battery and I will go ahead and order another. I'm not saying it's a sure fix although it will be the first and logical thing to try. I will go ahead and order one now. 

We apprecaite your efforts, I understand the differences are probably sublte enough to play tricks on you.