[mrarroyo]

Today Vorlon1 and I got together to go over a few portable amps. Specifically we had:

-PA2V2
-Go-Vibe 5
-LaRocco PRII
-Ray Sammuel SR71
-Ray Sammuel The Hornet "M" with about 225 hours of burn in
-Dr. Xin Supermini IV
-Dr. Xin Supermicro IV
-Xenos 0HA-REP
-Pint Amp made by DieInAFire
-Pint Amp made by MisterX (the one in the Hammond case)
-Practical Devices XM3

We also had at our disposal two home amps, these were:

-Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 (un-modded)
-LaRocco Home PPA

For sources we had:

-4th Generation 60 Gb iPod Photo with the iWine Mod
-5th Generation 60 Gb iPod Video
-4th Generation 60 Gb iPod Photo

For interconnects we had:

-ALO cotton mini to mini IC
-ALO cotton mini to rca IC
-Blue Jean Cable mini to rca IC
-Turbo mini to mini IC
-Pocket Dock

For headphones we had:

-2005 Beyer DT990
-2003 Beyer DT880
-A +/-15 year old Beyer DT990
-Westone UM2 with ear molds for Vorlon1
-Sennheiser HD600 with Headphile Senn V2 cable in Black Silver
-Etymotic ER4S

Here are some thumbnails taken, click on them to see the full size picture.







Vorlon1 and I will write a single impression which will get posted in an upcomming post. Hopefully it will help some prospective buyers or it may just confuse you further

. I can say I had a lot of fun listening to so much gear.

 

[Azure]

Ooh, that's a nice stack of portables there. I eagerly await for Go-Vibe vs. PINT impressions

 

[SK138]

Wow! That's some balancing act

Talk about a group (amp) pose.


Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo

 

[Romanee]

Too bad you couldn't include a PRII and a Portaphile Maxxed -- but that's a great cross section of portables for comparisons. Must have been a fun -- and intense -- micro-minis-meet!

I look forward to your personal conclusions.

EDIT: Yikes! Miguel just "woke me up". As I told him:

"Ha! I was wondering what that pretty blue amp [above the PPA] was. I'm so used to seeing them in silver that it didn't even register in my pea brain that it was a PRII!!!"

 

[devin_mm]

I am very interested in your opinions of my old amp (the Larocco Home PPA).

 

[Romanee]

Does the (blue) PRII have ppl's latest AD744 with comp pin mod in place? He has enthusiastically stated in no uncertain terms that, after having tried every possible (suitable) opamp in the PRII, the AD744 with comp pin mod (and Class-A biasing disabled) takes the amp to another level, and is the last opamp you'll ever need in the PRII, and will be using this new configuration in all new PRIIs.

If you haven't already followed it -- or others are curious -- here's the link to Phil's mod thread:
PRII>AD744 mod thread

 

[milkpowder]

How was the Larocco PRII vs Hornet "M"?

BTW, that's some pretty impressive gear for two people! I didn't realise the PRII was so massive!

 

[mrarroyo]

Guys I have to apologize. The ball was in my court and I was supposed to write a draft today and send it to Vorlon1 for his comments and corrections. However instead I went music shopping and spent today listening to it. I will do my best to write something and send it to Rob (Vorlon1) by tomorrow.

Although I promised Vorlon1 I would not disclose any outcome of the meet since we were doing a combined report I will go back on my word

IMO the best amp of all the portables was the: Dr. Xin Supermicro IV. Yes it is an incredible amp and for the volumes I listen at it drove my Senn HD600 and my Beyer DT990 to painful level if I went crazy with the volume knob. Of course this statement is made having had 2.5 hours to go over all the amps listed above. I can tell you that I can not wait to get my Supermicro IV.

Of course I will then do a full at home comparison with my Go-Vibe 5 and The Hornet "M" which should have 400 hours in about a week or so. Rob I apologize but I could not keep quite any longer! The Supermicro IV is such a great amp that IMO everyone should get one.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder How was the Larocco PRII vs Hornet "M"? BTW, that's some pretty impressive gear for two people! I didn't realise the PRII was so massive!

Indeed. Silly reason, but one of the reasons I didn't get into the PRII was because my bag fit the SR71 max - and as you can see the PRII was even bigger than that. Of course now my Hornet is swimming in the bag, but horses for courses!

 

[vorlon1]

That's ok, Miguel. I'm glad you liked it so much, and I'm sure yours will be arriving any day.
I was impressed with the Hornet M. I owned an original Hornet and eventually sold it, because I found it a bit harsh in the treble on many pieces of music. The Hornet M, on the other hand, was slightly warm, crisp, clear, and not harsh in the highs. The soundstage is larger and deeper than the original Hornet. It does sound more like an SR-71 in that aspect, but it is a bit more forward and has sharper attack than the SR-71 in my opinion. I like it very much and may have to buy one for myself.
The question about the Larocco PRII---no it doesn't have that mod, but I just emailed Larry to inquire about getting it.
Miguel and I will have more to say later on for sure.

 

[Asr]

I lol'd at that tower of portable amps. That is awesome!

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vorlon1 That's ok, Miguel. I'm glad you liked it so much, and I'm sure yours will be arriving any day. I was impressed with the Hornet M. I owned an original Hornet and eventually sold it, because I found it a bit harsh in the treble on many pieces of music. The Hornet M, on the other hand, was slightly warm, crisp, clear, and not harsh in the highs. The soundstage is larger and deeper than the original Hornet. It does sound more like an SR-71 in that aspect, but it is a bit more forward and has sharper attack than the SR-71 in my opinion. I like it very much and may have to buy one for myself. The question about the Larocco PRII---no it doesn't have that mod, but I just emailed Larry to inquire about getting it. Miguel and I will have more to say later on for sure.

nice comparo vorlon. yep, the SR71 is the king at home, but portably you need something to cut thru the mix, and the hornet serves that right up.

 

[Snacks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo Guys I have to apologize. The ball was in my court and I was supposed to write a draft today and send it to Vorlon1 for his comments and corrections. However instead I went music shopping and spent today listening to it. I will do my best to write something and send it to Rob (Vorlon1) by tomorrow. Although I promised Vorlon1 I would not disclose any outcome of the meet since we were doing a combined report I will go back on my word IMO the best amp of all the portables was the: Dr. Xin Supermicro IV. Yes it is an incredible amp and for the volumes I listen at it drove my Senn HD600 and my Beyer DT990 to painful level if I went crazy with the volume knob. Of course this statement is made having had 2.5 hours to go over all the amps listed above. I can tell you that I can not wait to get my Supermicro IV. Of course I will then do a full at home comparison with my Go-Vibe 5 and The Hornet "M" which should have 400 hours in about a week or so. Rob I apologize but I could not keep quite any longer! The Supermicro IV is such a great amp that IMO everyone should get one.

That's very surprising, considering the stiff competition! What OpAmp was in the Supermicro IV that was tested? I cannot wait, but I will for a detailed write-up/rewiew/comparison.

No matter the outcome, I wholeheartedly appreciate your guy's effort in all of this.

 

[Snacks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo -PA2V2 -Go-Vibe 5 -LaRocco PRII -Ray Sammuel SR71 -Ray Sammuel The Hornet "M" with about 225 hours of burn in -Dr. Xin Supermini IV -Dr. Xin Supermicro IV -Xenos 0HA-REP -Pint Amp made by DieInAFire -Pint Amp made by MisterX (the one in the Hammond case) -Practical Devices XM3 Vorlon1 and I will write a single impression which will get posted in an upcomming post. Hopefully it will help some prospective buyers or it may just confuse you further . I can say I had a lot of fun listening to so much gear.

Stacked in order of finish (j/k); kids don't try this at home.

IMO, the beauty contestant winners are the Hornet & LaRocco PRII

 

[mrarroyo]

Snacks, the OP Amp in the Supermicro IV is a "secret" and not being divulged by Dr. Xin. There are no options with the Supermicro IV.

I will also say that to my ears the differences in sound amongst the PRII, SR71, The Hornet, and the Go-Vibe 5 are very small to the point of not being significant. It is my opinion that if a double blind test was conducted the vast majority if not all could not tell identify the amp being used. Short of size, color, features, or biases any of those amps would fit the bill beautifully. I say this not as a way of criticizing a particular offering but for those who may not have the money at this point in time to afford one of the more expensive portable amps.

More to come.