[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks to you . Price is the selling point of this package , and absolutely no brainer , and I wholeheartly raccomand this one on a casual heapdhone freak with no frills in mind but in search for somethin fast to get his music flowing from the laptop on his nice headphones but in a better and upgraded way . nevertheless the kinda compressed stage and the "big" attention given to the mids make up a bit plastic/80 presentation and a lil poppish sound tone which is not completely nice after lil listening . sorry if I'm that critic . just my ears probably , so demanding . Also I sometimes like to overexpress to render better the feelings . I think much depends on the dac part

I think we're still pretty much in agreement here. It's hard to beat in this price range as a dac/amp, and the small size is great. And the sound isn't bad as an ugrade to the iPod and laptop headphone out, but it's just not up to the level of the top ranked amps here. I'm hoping it will improve and open up with more hours, so I'm gonna burn it in for another week or two.

And to the next person below you - if a little extra weight and size does not concern you, and your budget allows you to get the 2MOVE, then that would make more sense as a laptop DAC amp. iBasso needs to bring the Viper back with the opamps that I selected, and then you have the light weight for iPod and the improved sound similar to the 2MOVE.

 

[bonkon]

Excellent review.
Any plans on adding the 2 Govibes to the review in the near future?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonkon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Excellent review. Any plans on adding the 2 Govibes to the review in the near future?

In my poor health I find doing these reviews tiring, so it will only be reviews of things that I find interesting.

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif In my poor health I find doing these reviews tiring, so it will only be reviews of things that I find interesting.

I hope you get better soon Larry!

Out of curiosity, how does the DAC of the Predator compare to that of the Pico? I know this is difficult to ascertain as the amps of both units will flavour the sound as they see fit, but I'm curious.

One of the reasons I chose the Pico was because Justin was so forthright about the technology used behind the DAC, and it seemed to cut no corners to try to achieve the best possible DAC for its form factor. It would be interesting to know how the Predator compares as a source.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Covenant /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hope you get better soon Larry! Out of curiosity, how does the DAC of the Predator compare to that of the Pico? I know this is difficult to ascertain as the amps of both units will flavour the sound as they see fit, but I'm curious. One of the reasons I chose the Pico was because Justin was so forthright about the technology used behind the DAC, and it seemed to cut no corners to try to achieve the best possible DAC for its form factor. It would be interesting to know how the Predator compares as a source.

Everything you want to know is somewhere in my first post. All the amps were reviewed using the DAC as the source, so if the DAC is not that good the amp's score will suffer (eg Lyrix).

 

[nsx_23]

Posted in wrong thread. Sorry.

 

[boodi]

haddict, you NEED to add the zero whit rolled opas to this review .
it is a need .

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi /img/forum/go_quote.gif haddict, you NEED to add the zero with rolled opamps to this review . it is a need .

Penchum and others have already filled that need.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/rev...re-amp-269458/

 

[boodi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Penchum and others have already filled that need. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/rev...re-amp-269458/

yep but I would have loved to read your opinion

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Well, I feared this may happen, but I am at close to 400 hours with the D2 boa, and it continues to open up and develop a little more air, ambience and space to the sound. I know my D1 didn't fully burn-in till 500 hours, and my Predator needed 1000-1200 hours, but the Viper only took about 300 hours, and the Headsix and Headstage took about 200 hours.

The Frequency Balance is not changing, but the air and ambience continues to develop - and as that happens it gets closer to moving into the top tier. Although I doubt it will overtake the Micro Stack, Pico, D2 Viper or Predator, it may actually end up joining their ranks. Maybe Jamato8 is right.

 

[Citizen86]

That's good to know HeadphoneAddict... everyone likes an airy soundstage

I'm strongly considering the D2 Boa as my laptop DAC/Amp because of its price and portability.

 

[neezee]

have to agree with your stock boa vs. stock viper... hopefully ill be able to agree with you on the predator when i get it

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have doing some more opamp rolling in the D2 viper and reported on it in the following thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/s...ess-up-338443/ The new opamps make it better with the Freq Show and q-JAYS IEM, but worse with my Grado RS-1 - seems there is often a trade off we have to live with.

FOLLOWUP ON OPAMP ROLLING IN D2 VIPER:

I have a new favorite opamp combination. LMH6622 in the main amp and THS4032 in the ground channel.

This is a good compromise between my previous full size headphone opamp selection (LM6172 main/THS4032 ground) and my IEM opamps (THS4032 main/LM6172 ground), and seems to fall right in the middle. Previously, the best full size headphone opamp set was too forward with some IEM (like q-JAYS, Klipsch Image and Freq Show). But with the opamps swapped for use with those IEM, then some full size phones were too thin (such as RS-1 and Proline 2500). The new setup with LMH6622 in the main socket and THS4032 in the ground fixes this issue of needing to switch between two opamp configurations when switching between full size headphones and IEMs. This also has the benefit of a more expanded soundstage with more of a 3rd row experience, and not on-stage or in the back row.

The ISL55002 and THS4032 that I reported on in previous opamp rolling tests are more neutral open opamps, and less warm than the LM6172, while the LMH6622 seems to be between them (unless you use two together). It actually seems like the 6622 is fuller when used in the main amp, and thinner sounding when used in the ground channel. With the LM6172 in the ground channel, it can sometimes be hard to tell the difference between the 4032 and 6622 in the main channel, and I like either of them. But I find using two LMH6622 in the D2 to be a little thinner sounding than I care for. Yet, the LMH6622 in the main (with THS4032 in the ground) is fuller sounding and improves on what i liked about the ISL55002 in the main (with THS4032 in the ground channel) in my previous notes.

As I said before, I also like the LM6172 in the ground channel with the LMH6622 in the main amp socket as this warms it up ever so slightly over the THS4032 in the ground. Basically, the LMH6622 in the main amp (and either the THS4032 or LM6172 in ground) is very good with both full size headphones and with IEM. Swapping the LM6172 into the main amp channel gives subtle changes and does bring the sound a little forward and more full in the mids, so it seems a little richer and more intimate. This is especially good with thin sounding headphones like the Proline 2500, and yet the mids are not too overpowering with any of my other full size headphones or IEMs. So, it is still possible to swap these two opamps for a different sound, and still use it with everything regardless.

Basically, anyone with a D2 Viper should have an LM6172, a THS4032, a LMH6622 and maybe an ISL55002. I don't think anyone needs two LMH6622 (a little thin/recessed) or two LM6172 (too full/forward) at the same time, as they take the Viper to 2 different extremes. Although it might be useful to double up two of the same opamps as an EQ with some headphones that are too much in one or the other direction.

HiFlight agrees with my assessment above, and has said the LMH6622 makes the D2 Viper sound like the iQube. I have had my Viper set up like this for about a week now, and plan to leave it like this for a while.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

The D2 Viper battery died while doing these comparisons to the 575 hour Boa, so I'm finding that the Boa with USB charging is definitely more convenient.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

FIRST POST IS UPDATED AT THE BOTTOM.

Here is the ranking - see comments included: Comments in Red were added 8/11/08

1. RSA Predator (good bass and soundstage, more body, organic, full. Seems to do well with all my headphones, and not bad with any).
2. D2 with rolled opamps (LM6172/THS4032 - balanced, not too forward, sweet/magical Saxophone, almost mesmerizing like Predator. With my IEM I found it sounded best with the LM6172 and THS4032 swapped. This second opamp configuration was good with all my IEM, and not bad with my full size phones, except the RS-1 seem a bit bright and the Proline 2500 lacked fullness in the mids.)
3. 2MOVE (sweet mids and saxophone, midbass hmmm, failed the bad mastering diana krall test, great detail and air, too large and heavy)
3. PICO (smooth and transparent without coloration, Great DAC, won the bad mastering Diana Krall test, but nothing special with piano and sax like the others, too neutral as an amp - how is that possible, maybe not because there is something around 2Khz that is not right with RS-1. It really seems to shine with my re-cabled Denon D2000, Klipsch Image, Freq Show customs, but doesn't sound bad with anything but my Proline 2500).
3. Headroom 2006 Micro Stack Portable (a twin to the Pico's sound but better with piano, too BIG and out of production, with crossfeed mids are richer/warmer but highs rolled off).
4. D2 Boa (Sonic signature slightly warmer than the Pico, and between the D2 Viper with LM6172 in the main amp (warmer) vs THS4032 in the main amp and LM6172 in the ground (cooler). Timbre and tone was good, and mids were slightly forward and rich, and highs had slightly less extension than the D2 Viper, Pico and Predator (in that order). The sense of space with live performances was superior with the D2 Viper, Pico and Predator (in that order), and LESS with the Boa at 300 hours of burn-in. However, the Boa did open up and gain more air and ambience on the level of the other top ranked amps by 575 hours of burn-in. Listening to Diana Krall "Girl in the Other Room" (Temptation and other songs) seemed to indicate more of a low mids hump than the other amps, which also caused problems with Pianos and realism on that CD. The problems reproducing this particular CD remained after 575 hours of burn-in, however with other CD's like Jazz at the Pawnshop, Handel Messiah and Tsuyoshi Yamamoto the D2 Boa demonstrated improved transparency and realism with the extra burn-in. And with other music it seems the bass extension is slightly less than the others in the top ranks, but by 575 hours of burn-in (with my RS-1) the 16Hz audio tones on Binks Audio Test CD were clearly audible, and the volume of the 20Hz tone caught me by surprise, while 25Hz was a little disorienting!
5. D1 with rolled opamps (AD797 main/LM6643 buffer/LT6234 DAC - powerful, punchy, energetic, alive - not as bright as AD743/6643/6241. The D2 Boa moved up a little with more burn-in, but it wasn't quite good enough to rise up to a 3rd place tie. So the modded D1 and everything else had to move down a slot. The D1 via USB isn't as good as via optical, which is why it is not tied with the D2 Boa once the Boa improved with extended burn-in.
6. D2 stock (thin in the middle, neutral with good bass - it was sound signature and not level of detail that held it back with the stock opamps.)
7. Lyrix (good frequency balance, DAC lacking details and air vs the others, but the amp is great)
8. D1 stock opamps (put AD823/NE5532/AD8616 back in right before I shipped it back for the 2-3db channel imbalance, too edgy and bright and distant. Very close to Lyrix as a DAC/Amp because the DAC is so good it makes up for the frequency response issues. Clearly in 8th if only using analog input. NOTE - my V1 opamps were from the initial run, and iBasso updated the opamps to V2 in November 07 to make it better than Lyrix.)