DemonicLemming
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2008
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I'll make this disclaimer at the start - I'm in no way an expert in headphones or headphone amps, nor perfect at describing what I hear in audiophile terms. Anyway, to the review.
Got my Travagan's White in today, after ordering it about 2 weeks ago. Customs had it for a few days or I would have had it at the end of next week. The box the amp was rather nice, and everything inside was well-situated. USB cord, RCA lines, external power adapter, and some small plastic cards that you can place over the amp openings (the cards are cut to fit over the switches, so you really can't place them wrong) that point out what is what, just in case you can't figure out what's what.
USB and RCA input with a small switch for input selection, another small on/off switch, and a high/low gain switch on the front. Single 1/8" jack, non-balanced output on the front of the amp.
The amp itself is actually a lot smaller and lighter than I had expected. It's about as wide/long as a normal deck of cards, and as tall as the average cell phone turned on its side. All the selector switches are tight and precise - no wiggle on any of them. Volume knob is click-graduated, and again, tight and precise with no wiggle to it. There's a small, discrete white LED that lights up when the amp is on, and an even smaller green LED that lights up when the USB input is being used. Overall, a very attractive, quality little amp. It's also small enough to be portable (for me, at least) and works perfectly, as I take my headphones and now amp to and from work every day.
Sonic impressions - with stock 780s first. Wow. The 780s sounded pretty detailed to me at first, but now, I can hear the rasp of the pick on guitar strings - just about everything is much more precise. The bass, which I've seen people call bloated and overdone on the 780s, is curbed back quite a bit, while being more controlled and less "blobby". Listening to bands like Conjure One and Scar Symmetry, where before, the bass was quite evident - kind of like a great black shadow lurking in the background, fuzzing edges up - it's much more cleaned up and precise now. It's maybe a little bit on the light side as far as total bass output for me now, but I'm a basshead.
This amp, along with the 780s, to my little nooblet ears, bring out a LOT of details I had missed in songs, even songs I've been listening to for years - like Whiplash, by Metallica. The imaging and staging is intense, drums have an all new presence - much "thumpier" now, the way I'm used to drums sounding at things like metal concerts. There are bass passages I never knew existed in songs, lute strings seem to be little strings of light hanging in the air, and female vocals - from bands like Within Temptation, Delain, and The Gathering - are bloody perfect. There's also ungodly headroom on this thing with the 780s - volume 4 is about as much as I need, and that's on older, thinner recordings.
Now, to the White with 2500s. The 2500s have always stuck me as a bit bass deficient in the past, and paired with the White, are definitely missing some bottom end. Russian Circles - Station has less of a visceral feel to it, and the highs are a bit "sssss"-y and distant. Drums have less impact, and everything seems just a bit lacking. Going back to Conjure One - Tears from the Moon, the soundstage is MUCH opened up, there's more separation between instruments, although highs are a bit toned-down and seem just a tiny bit thin. Just for fun, I tossed on some Turisas - Rex Regi Rebellis, just for fun. Run away! Quick! The 2500s have never seemed to be able to handle anything approaching speed when it comes to metal, and the amp makes this even more clear. Fast passages turn into muddled messes. To my ears, the 2500s and the White just don't mesh. Conversely, RRR on the 780s was extremely nice.
However, as has been said before, there seemed to be a slight lack of mids with the White and the 780. Not sure if that's related to my 780s being stock right now, but most of the time, it's not noticeable, and not a huge deal for me. The added detail also makes it more apparent when a recording or copy of a song is low-quality. Only major gripe I have with the amp itself is that the volume knob isn't graduated quite fine enough - one click makes music a decent bit louder. Course, that can be adjusted using whatever music player is being used, but I personally like "non-click" smooth volume knob controls. Just a minor detail thing. I'm not huge on the recessed mids, but perhaps a recable will help that a bit, plus, I've only put about 5 hours on the amp. Who knows what time will do.
Sort of interested to see how the K501s I have in the mail sound with this amp. Overall though, I do rather like it, especially as it's the first amp I've picked up.
Some pictures to follow in a bit.
Got my Travagan's White in today, after ordering it about 2 weeks ago. Customs had it for a few days or I would have had it at the end of next week. The box the amp was rather nice, and everything inside was well-situated. USB cord, RCA lines, external power adapter, and some small plastic cards that you can place over the amp openings (the cards are cut to fit over the switches, so you really can't place them wrong) that point out what is what, just in case you can't figure out what's what.
USB and RCA input with a small switch for input selection, another small on/off switch, and a high/low gain switch on the front. Single 1/8" jack, non-balanced output on the front of the amp.
The amp itself is actually a lot smaller and lighter than I had expected. It's about as wide/long as a normal deck of cards, and as tall as the average cell phone turned on its side. All the selector switches are tight and precise - no wiggle on any of them. Volume knob is click-graduated, and again, tight and precise with no wiggle to it. There's a small, discrete white LED that lights up when the amp is on, and an even smaller green LED that lights up when the USB input is being used. Overall, a very attractive, quality little amp. It's also small enough to be portable (for me, at least) and works perfectly, as I take my headphones and now amp to and from work every day.
Sonic impressions - with stock 780s first. Wow. The 780s sounded pretty detailed to me at first, but now, I can hear the rasp of the pick on guitar strings - just about everything is much more precise. The bass, which I've seen people call bloated and overdone on the 780s, is curbed back quite a bit, while being more controlled and less "blobby". Listening to bands like Conjure One and Scar Symmetry, where before, the bass was quite evident - kind of like a great black shadow lurking in the background, fuzzing edges up - it's much more cleaned up and precise now. It's maybe a little bit on the light side as far as total bass output for me now, but I'm a basshead.
This amp, along with the 780s, to my little nooblet ears, bring out a LOT of details I had missed in songs, even songs I've been listening to for years - like Whiplash, by Metallica. The imaging and staging is intense, drums have an all new presence - much "thumpier" now, the way I'm used to drums sounding at things like metal concerts. There are bass passages I never knew existed in songs, lute strings seem to be little strings of light hanging in the air, and female vocals - from bands like Within Temptation, Delain, and The Gathering - are bloody perfect. There's also ungodly headroom on this thing with the 780s - volume 4 is about as much as I need, and that's on older, thinner recordings.
Now, to the White with 2500s. The 2500s have always stuck me as a bit bass deficient in the past, and paired with the White, are definitely missing some bottom end. Russian Circles - Station has less of a visceral feel to it, and the highs are a bit "sssss"-y and distant. Drums have less impact, and everything seems just a bit lacking. Going back to Conjure One - Tears from the Moon, the soundstage is MUCH opened up, there's more separation between instruments, although highs are a bit toned-down and seem just a tiny bit thin. Just for fun, I tossed on some Turisas - Rex Regi Rebellis, just for fun. Run away! Quick! The 2500s have never seemed to be able to handle anything approaching speed when it comes to metal, and the amp makes this even more clear. Fast passages turn into muddled messes. To my ears, the 2500s and the White just don't mesh. Conversely, RRR on the 780s was extremely nice.
However, as has been said before, there seemed to be a slight lack of mids with the White and the 780. Not sure if that's related to my 780s being stock right now, but most of the time, it's not noticeable, and not a huge deal for me. The added detail also makes it more apparent when a recording or copy of a song is low-quality. Only major gripe I have with the amp itself is that the volume knob isn't graduated quite fine enough - one click makes music a decent bit louder. Course, that can be adjusted using whatever music player is being used, but I personally like "non-click" smooth volume knob controls. Just a minor detail thing. I'm not huge on the recessed mids, but perhaps a recable will help that a bit, plus, I've only put about 5 hours on the amp. Who knows what time will do.
Sort of interested to see how the K501s I have in the mail sound with this amp. Overall though, I do rather like it, especially as it's the first amp I've picked up.
Some pictures to follow in a bit.
