[LeeMark]

Many people asked about this comparison. I own both and have been listenting to them over the last few days extensively. I will try to elaborate more but wanted to start the thread and give some preliminary impressions.

First off, they are both excellent amps. I feel both are superior to the RSA shadow and predator. The TTVJ is slightly warmer and has great bass and articulation, the arrow appears to have a more up front midrange as compared to the TTVJ slim and is less neutral, to my ears than the TTVJ. Even when I increase the impedance of the arrow, the midrange still appears enhanced to my ears. I keep the bass at I, impedance at either 0 or I and gain at either I or II for these tests.

Each time I switch back and forth between the two, I find things I like with both. The neutrality and over all lush sound of the TTVJ and the articulation and headstage of the arrow, but it is not as if they lack that much for any of these attributes.

Bottom line, they are both great amps with subtle but distinct differences. TTVJ is more tube like (as others have said) and the arrow more midrange centric (but neither lack bass). If you like to fiddle about like Uncle Ernie, you can always adjust the sound of the Arrow with the switches, but in my mind that makes the sound even more colored and less neutral than the arrow already is.

One comment on form factor. The arrow is smaller and thinner and has in puts on both sides and an output on one. The TTVJ has the input and output on opposites sides and if you like to keep you kit in a bag, this setup makes it slightly more difficult to tote around as either the headphone in or the LOD needs to lie at the bottom of the bag. The TTVJ is likely 50% thicker and around 10% wider. They both fit on the back of an iPod or iPhone easily, but if you want to fit with the nano, the arrow would be better.

I listened using my iMod, all lossless files with the JH13 and all TWag wires. I used the following songs:
The Beat Goes OnPatricia Barber
Winter SongCrash Test Dummies
Handle With CareJenny Lewis With The Watson Twins
Army Of MeBjork
Personal Jesus Depeche Mode
F.M.Steely Dan
Forget MeBT
Pinball Wizard The Who
Won't Get Fooled AgainThe Who
Baba O'RileyThe Who
Mozart: Serenade #13 In G, K 525, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" - 1. Allegro
Herbert Von Karajan: Berlin Philharmonic OrchestraWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni, Op. 8/1, RV 269, "Primavera" - 1. Allegro
Anne-Sophie Mutter; Trondheim Soloists
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, op. 125Beethoven, Ludwig van
Beethoven 9 Symphonien (Karajan 1963) (Disc 5)
The Low Spark Of High Heeled BoysTraffic
Turn Me OnNorah Jones
Chasing PiratesNorah Jones
Don't Know WhyNorah Jones
ReckonerRadiohead
Kids With GunsGorillaz
LuckyRadiohead
The Healing SmokeJan Garbarek
NierikaDead Can Dance
Welcome HomeCoheed & Cambria
Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness
I've Seen All Good PeopleYes
Yours Is No DisgraceYes
RoundaboutYes
So WhatMiles Davis
Piano ManBilly Joel
Your SongElton John
Agent Of ChaosThe Dark Knight - Soundtrack


One point regarding the FOTM, the Pico slim, I have heard it briefly at the Boston meet and compared it to the TTVJ, and I thought it was a tossup, but others have favored one or the other. I did not get the slim because it has been a long time coming (the first fifty or so just came out) and I wanted a new amp to replace my shadow as I thought both the TTVJ slim or Pico slim were superior to the shadow (and the predator, as stated above).

I am not a reviewer and I am learning the vocab as best as I can, but as others have said "I am not sure it is art but I know what I like", I like both but give a little edge to the TTVJ slim. I hope that helps a little and will answer any questions I can.

 

[warp08]

Nice impressions! Never heard the Arrow, but I love the TTVJ Slim. Sometime mid-Summer when my Pico Slim arrives, I will write up my impressions as well on these. The form factor of the Pico appeals to me, but the TTVJ Slim works as well.

I think it sounds great with both JH13/16s. In fact, it seems to add a bit of welcome warmth to the neutral SQ of the JH13s, which is a win in my book.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Burma Jones]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeMark /img/forum/go_quote.gif Many people asked about this comparison. I own both and have been listenting to them over the last few days extensively. I will try to elaborate more but wanted to start the thread and give some preliminary impressions. First off, they are both excellent amps. I feel both are superior to the RSA shadow and predator. The TTVJ is slightly warmer and has great bass and articulation, the arrow appears to have a more up front midrange as compared to the TTVJ slim and is less neutral, to my ears than the TTVJ. Even when I increase the impedance of the arrow, the midrange still appears enhanced to my ears. I keep the bass at I, impedance at either 0 or I and gain at either I or II for these tests. Each time I switch back and forth between the two, I find things I like with both. The neutrality and over all lush sound of the TTVJ and the articulation and headstage of the arrow, but it is not as if they lack that much for any of these attributes. Bottom line, they are both great amps with subtle but distinct differences. TTVJ is more tube like (as others have said) and the arrow more midrange centric (but neither lack bass). If you like to fiddle about like Uncle Ernie, you can always adjust the sound of the Arrow with the switches, but in my mind that makes the sound even more colored and less neutral than the arrow already is. One comment on form factor. The arrow is smaller and thinner and has in puts on both sides and an output on one. The TTVJ has the input and output on opposites sides and if you like to keep you kit in a bag, this setup makes it slightly more difficult to tote around as either the headphone in or the LOD needs to lie at the bottom of the bag. The TTVJ is likely 50% thicker and around 10% wider. They both fit on the back of an iPod or iPhone easily, but if you want to fit with the nano, the arrow would be better. I listened using my iMod, all lossless files with the JH13 and all TWag wires. I used the following songs: The Beat Goes OnPatricia Barber Winter SongCrash Test Dummies Handle With CareJenny Lewis With The Watson Twins Army Of MeBjork Personal Jesus Depeche Mode F.M.Steely Dan Forget MeBT Pinball Wizard The Who Won't Get Fooled AgainThe Who Baba O'RileyThe Who Mozart: Serenade #13 In G, K 525, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" - 1. Allegro Herbert Von Karajan: Berlin Philharmonic OrchestraWolfgang Amadeus Mozart Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni, Op. 8/1, RV 269, "Primavera" - 1. Allegro Anne-Sophie Mutter; Trondheim Soloists Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, op. 125Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven 9 Symphonien (Karajan 1963) (Disc 5) The Low Spark Of High Heeled BoysTraffic Turn Me OnNorah Jones Chasing PiratesNorah Jones Don't Know WhyNorah Jones ReckonerRadiohead Kids With GunsGorillaz LuckyRadiohead The Healing SmokeJan Garbarek NierikaDead Can Dance Welcome HomeCoheed & Cambria Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness I've Seen All Good PeopleYes Yours Is No DisgraceYes RoundaboutYes So WhatMiles Davis Piano ManBilly Joel Your SongElton John Agent Of ChaosThe Dark Knight - Soundtrack One point regarding the FOTM, the Pico slim, I have heard it briefly at the Boston meet and compared it to the TTVJ, and I thought it was a tossup, but others have favored one or the other. I did not get the slim because it has been a long time coming (the first fifty or so just came out) and I wanted a new amp to replace my shadow as I thought both the TTVJ slim or Pico slim were superior to the shadow (and the predator, as stated above). I am not a reviewer and I am learning the vocab as best as I can, but as others have said "I am not sure it is art but I know what I like", I like both but give a little edge to the TTVJ slim. I hope that helps a little and will answer any questions I can.

Thanks for the nice review, I was considering one of these two amps for my next purchase. Can you tell me which one of these two sound more transparent ? Thanks in advance .

 

[LeeMark]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burma Jones /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the nice review, I was considering one of these two amps for my next purchase. Can you tell me which one of these two sound more transparent ? Thanks in advance .

The Arrow, but only slightly.

 

[warp08]

On a side note, as my TTVJ Slim approaches the 75-hour mark, I noticed it starting to open up a bit more. I wonder how much more will this process continue. It was impressive out of the box but it's getting even better. I also like the feature that the LED starts flashing when the amp enters a reserve power state instead of just blinking out like my RSA amp(s) used to do. Neat.

 

[jc9394]

Nice write up Lee. I see you are after a Protector, I can't wait for your comparison of TTVJ and Protector.

 

[adktitan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warp08 /img/forum/go_quote.gif On a side note, as my TTVJ Slim approaches the 75-hour mark, I noticed it starting to open up a bit more. I wonder how much more will this process continue. It was impressive out of the box but it's getting even better. I also like the feature that the LED starts flashing when the amp enters a reserve power state instead of just blinking out like my RSA amp(s) used to do. Neat.

When I was researching my amp choice I thought I read that Todd said 100 hours was about the mark for the ttvj slim to really start cooking....

 

[LeeMark]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jc9394 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice write up Lee. I see you are after a Protector, I can't wait for your comparison of TTVJ and Protector.

Upgraditis strikes again.

 

[jc9394]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeMark /img/forum/go_quote.gif Upgraditis strikes again.

I know what you meant... one of these days we should meet so I can try out your TTVJ.

 

[PopandLocke]

I just got a Leckerton UHA-4 in the hopes that it might drive my K701s on the go, but it doesn't quite have the power I'd like it to have.  It's better than plugging straight into my iDevice, but honestly, not by a huge amount.  I'm thinking about ordering the TTVJ Slim or the Arrow to compare and returning the UHA-4 if they drive it better.  Which would you recommend I try?  I'm not sure I can bring myself to order all three. 

 

[grokit]

The K701 really like juice, I even got them to clip out of my Arrow on high gain. I would consider a Toucan or SR71 type of amp to use the K701 portably.

 

[PopandLocke]

Quote:

The K701 really like juice, I even got them to clip out of my Arrow on high gain. I would consider a Toucan or SR71 type of amp to use the K701 portably.

What does it mean if you say the 701's "clipped out?"  I'm not prepared to spend the money for a Toucan or SR71 quite yet, so I've been looking at the iBasso D6.  It says it outputs 650 mW in to 32 Ω on each channel, but first, does that actually mean anything, and second, any idea how that compares to the two you mentioned?

 

[grokit]

When I played the K701 out of my Arrow at a high listening volume it distorted during busy passages like my HE-5 did. These are both pretty inefficient headphones and they need a more powerful amp. I don't have a more powerful portable amp, and I don't know the mW rating for the Arrow for comparison because unfortunately it's not published but that number does mean something. You asked about the combo and I shared my experience with it. I was using an iMod with ALAC as a source.

 

[Physther]

Great review! Thanks a bunch!