[RAQemUP]

So whats your favorite opamp combo so far for the Image X10? The LTC6241HV/LMH6655 combo is tops now?

 

[lolhahaha]

So you haven't tried this one yet?:

 

[RAQemUP]

HeadphoneAddict is only reviewing Amp/DAC combos in this thread. That Decware Zen Head ZH1 is just an amp, no DAC.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAQemUP /img/forum/go_quote.gif So whats your favorite opamp combo so far for the Image X10? The LTC6241HV/LMH6655 combo is tops now?

Yes - so far I like these opamps with the Image X10, Livewires, KSC35, Grado RS-1, HD600, Edition 9 and D2000. I haven't tried other phones with this combo yet.

 

[evilmerlin]

So does this LTC6241HV/LMH6655 combo work better for the q-JAYS than the ISL55002/THS4032 combo?

Edit: Which LMH6655 does it use? There are quite a number of varients out there. Could you provide the last 2 (or 3) alphabets of the version?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by evilmerlin /img/forum/go_quote.gif So does this LTC6241HV/LMH6655 combo work better for the q-JAYS than the ISL55002/THS4032 combo? Edit: Which LMH6655 does it use? There are quite a number of varients out there. Could you provide the last 2 (or 3) alphabets of the version?

Sorry, I don't have the q-JAYS or Super.fi 5 pro anymore, as I replaced them with the Image. Howver, I think the opamps will work fine with the q-JAYS but possibly not as well as the ISL55002/THS4032. The q-JAYŠ are fairly forward like the Image, but if I recall had more coloration in the low mids made made them more picky about the amp. I can't check right now, but I would guess the D2 with 6241/6655 would tie with Predator for third best amp with q-JAYS, which still sounded pretty good. I believe the LM6172/THS4032 was too much mids for q-JAYS, as was the Headsix, but the other amps in my review were fine with them. I didn't have the Headsix when I had the loaner 2MOVE.

The opamp has printed on top:
MSAB
LMH66
55MA

 

[mastumoto5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have 82 hours on the Vivid Technology V1 USB DAC amp, so another 208 hours and I'll be ready to start reviewing it. No spoilers yet, sorry.

hi i'm waiting your review to choose between the d2 boa and the vivid v1, just tell me i have good reason to wait.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastumoto5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif hi i'm waiting your review to choose between the d2 boa and the vivid v1, just tell me i have good reason to wait.

I hit 164 hours last night burning in via DAC, and about 18 hours burning in with iPod so far.

The only spoiler I'll give is that it drives my HD600 better than the Boa - and Infected Mushroom "Dancing with the Kadafi" is a Wow! experience with HD600. It wasn't quite so good with Grado out of the box, but is improving with age. I've not listened much during burn-in...

 

[evilmerlin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry, I don't have the q-JAYS or Super.fi 5 pro anymore, as I replaced them with the Image. Howver, I think the opamps will work fine with the q-JAYS but possibly not as well as the ISL55002/THS4032. The q-JAYŠ are fairly forward like the Image, but if I recall had more coloration in the low mids made made them more picky about the amp. I can't check right now, but I would guess the D2 with 6241/6655 would tie with Predator for third best amp with q-JAYS, which still sounded pretty good. I believe the LM6172/THS4032 was too much mids for q-JAYS, as was the Headsix, but the other amps in my review were fine with them. I didn't have the Headsix when I had the loaner 2MOVE. The opamp has printed on top: MSAB LMH66 55MA

Thanks for the info Larry, will give those a try once I get my hands on a Viper and the opamps.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Had a PM asking me how to roll opamps in the D2 Viper.

This is just such a hard thing to do adequately via typing with no photos available. I've give you this bit of information, but I can't do better than this. I am not sure I can answer more questions, because everything is in here.

If you have the opamps soldered onto a DIP8 adpater or those that come ready to plug into the sockets, open your D2 viper. If you don't have them ready to install, you've got the wrong guy.

To start, turn off the amp and unplug it from everything before you start. I don't know what size tool it takes - I got a cheap one at home depot with a bunch of unlabeled tips, and tried them all till I found one that fits. With the amp laying flat, remove only the two top screws on the front panel and the rear panel, and the top half of the amp case can be lifted off.

With the front of the open amplifier facing you, you will see one LT1364 opamp plugged into a socket that lies between the volume knob and battery. Of the 8 pins securing the opamp to the socket on the circuit board, the pin on the left front corner is pin #1. You might want to take a photo of it, so if you have to put it back in you know which way it is facing. After you pry the glue off the edges of the opamp adapter (that is holding it in place), you can pop it out. Use your best judgement to get this opamp loose. Break the amp and it isn't my fault.

The new opamp when viewed from the top will clearly have two rows of 4 pins. If you have one that was soldered onto an adapter, ignore the pins that come right off the chip and only pay attention to the ones near the edges of the adapter. On the adapter, one of the 8 pins will have a square of solder toping it, instead of a circle like the other 7 pins. The one with the Square is pin #1.

If your opamp is not a smaller SOIC opamp soldered onto a bigger DIP adapter, but is actually a DIP8 opamp (like some LM6172), orient the chip so the notch on the top of the chip is on your left. Pin #1 will be the one closest to you on the left.

So, line it up with the empty socket and insert it with pin #1 on the front row, with pin #1 on the left. When you press to seat the opamp into the socket, press on the edges of the adapter not the center where the chip sits, or you may break the solder connections between the opamp and the adapter.

To do the opamp for the ground channel, you will find it to the left side of the battery closer to the rear of the amp (with the front of the amp still facing you). This opamp socket is rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise. So, instead of the rows of pins running left/right, they run front/back - so pin #1 is now on the front right (with the volume knob of the amp facing you). This means pin #1 will be closest to the battery. Remove and replace as before.

You might need to put a small piece of foam or something soft like styrofoam (but not flammable) on top of the opamp to keep it from unseating when the amp is bumped around or dropped. Or a small amount of blue-tack against the edge of the opamp where it meets the socket could hold it down.

Turn on the amp, plug in headphones and a source (ipod or USB cable), and test it. If it works you can re-install the lid. The amp can pick up RF interference with the lid removed, so if you hear noise like it's picking up the hard drive moving, try putting the lid on first. If that doesn't fix the noise, you may have a bad opamp or one with the wrong specs for the amp design. If it's making painfully loud squealing, or totally silent with music playing, then you did something wrong or you killed the opamp, or it isn't seated tightly, or is in backwards, or it isn't compatable with the amp.

Later,

Larry

 

[RAQemUP]

This thread is a great thread to read for opamp rolling with the D2 Viper.

The proper screw tip for the D2 screws is the torx T6 tip.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by evilmerlin /img/forum/go_quote.gif So does this LTC6241HV/LMH6655 combo work better for the q-JAYS than the ISL55002/THS4032 combo? Edit: Which LMH6655 does it use? There are quite a number of varients out there. Could you provide the last 2 (or 3) alphabets of the version?

Alert!

I slept for 9 hours with the Viper playing quiet music, and it was out of juice when I woke up. Yesterday it ran out in less than 7 hours.

So, the 6241/4032 opamps give half the play time of the stock Viper (<7 vs 15). Basically I would call this a desktop/office opamp set (or listen to music between classes opamp set). I need to decide what the best "go on vacation without charger" opamps are. Back to the drawing board.

Larry

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Newest Update 09/08/08: Added Vivid Technology V1 - long with pre-burn-in and post burn-in comments.

The Vivid Technology V1 USB DAC portable amp is an AD8397 opamp driven amp, with TL2426 railsplitter for ground, which is similar to the Headstage and Penguinamp choice. The DAC Chip is the PCM2704. The battery is 900mAH 3.6V, but the amplifier always runs off a boosted 5.5V supply. The Lithium Ion battery charger is a smart charger that stops charging when the battery is full. The amp always takes power from the battery in all cases (like the Pico), is trickle charged by the USB port, and can be charged 3x faster with the optional wall wart. I ran the V1 for 15-16 hours on battery via analog input and went to bed with it still running, and when I checked it after 22 hours the battery was dead. I get 15 hours from the stock D2 Viper (7-9 hours with various new opamps), over 20 hours with the Pico, over 24 hours with the Boa (never tried longer) and over 48 hours with the Predator (neck paid attention for longer).

The ABS case is 2.6"(66mm) x 2.6"(66mm) x 1.1"(28mm), so held next to the Predator and eyeballing it, it looks about 1cm deeper and taller, and about 1.5cm wider (still smaller than the Headstage). It fits under the 3G nano well, only sticking out about 4 mm on either side of the Nano when the nano is in a leather case. You can visit vividaudiotech.com - Headphone Amplifiers to read up on the specs and amp, and see pictures.

Here is the claimed power output of the V1 (using 1KHz tone, no THD specified) vs the Firestone Cute Beyond.

600 ohm - 50mW
300 ohm - 100mW
200 ohm - 150mW
100 ohm - 200mW
32 ohm - 780mW
16 ohm - 1.5W

Cute Beyond published power output:

600 ohm - 60mw (AKG K240M = 106 db)
300 ohm - 120mw (HD600 = 118 db)
120 ohm - 300mw (AKG501 = 119 db)
75 ohm - 480mw (AKG 270S = 119 db)
32 ohm - 320mw (Grado SR60/80 = 121 db)

This is an amp that clearly benefits from burn-in, and at 350 hours it will sound much better than it did out of the box. Taken from my notes on 8/23/08, using the MS-1 with the amp right out of the box, I felt the upper mids were just a little strident/prominent. It sounded punchy with good bass, good separation and detail, but soundstage somewhat was somewhat constricted. There was some obvious sibilance with Diana Krall "Girl in the Other Room" and a few other songs. The volume knob was around 11 o'clock for normal listening. Without any burn-in, even my Creative Xmod with 200 hours was smoother and more transparent/natural with bigger soundstage.

With less than 15 minutes on the amp and a 2 hour break, I came back and switched to the RS-1. The cymbals shimmer and hang with nice decay, but there is still sibilance on Diana Krall. The upper mids are still prominent but it is more transparent with the RS-1. With bowls bass should be a little stronger than it is, while flats improve the bass and sibilance but shrink the soundstage. Volume with RS-1 is now around 10 o'clock for normal listening, and I will never listen as loud as it gets at 12 o'clock. Trying some test tomes, out of the box the 20Hz tone is in-audible and missing, 25Hz okay, 31.5Hz strong. I had to EQ out 2 db at 2Khz, and 3 db out at 4Khz and 8Khz to fix the prominent upper mids.

At 40 hours of burn-in using 20 min pink noise alternating with 2 min silence I switched to HD600, which adds about 1 hour to the volume knob and I have it at 11 for normal listening and 1 o'clock for very loud music. The sound was nice and warm but clear, crisp and detailed. The HD600 really sounds better with the V1 than with my earlier tests with RS-1 or MS-1. At 60 hours with HD600 I notice a big jump in bass, almost too much midbass, but at the same time it is a little smoother upper mids too. With that kind of change, I decided to wait until the DAC was burned in at the halfway point thru the 300 hour recommended burn-in before listening again. At 164 hours with the RS-1 again, I was able to reduce the EQ settings in half vs the out of box EQ settings above. I then moved it over to my iRiver to finish burn-in via the analog input as recommended by the manufacturer, who stated the DAC and anolog inputs use different circuits and I should split the 300 hours between them. (note: I have over 2000 hours on Predator, over 1000 on Viper, over 600 hours on Pico Boa and Micro Amp and Lyrix with USB DAC Cable, and 350 on V1 for the review).

By 9/7/08 the V1 has 350 hours (164 on DAC), and I am ready for listening. Since it is not quite up to the level of the Predator, D2 Viper with rolled opamps or Pico, I returned the D2 Viper to the stock opamps for the comparisons. The day before I had run the test tones again with RS-1 to compare to out of the box results, and 20Hz is now clearly audible on the V1 while 25Hz is only slightly rolled off vs out of the box where it was not as good. The Pico and Predator are audible to 16Hz, and have more energy at 20Hz than V1, with D2 Boa slightly behind those. The V1 bass extension is similar to the Boa and superior to the stock D2 Viper which is noticeably rolled off at 20Hz. After testing the bass extension with the RS-1 vs out of the box, I had to take a break for my daughter's 15th birthday and come back the next day to start listening to music, so I burned it in an extra 24 hours.

I started with the HD600 and stock cable and found that the tonal balance and Timbre is nice, with good bass, mids and treble. There is no boosted bass, just flat and extended and almost as strong as the Predator but not quite. Certainly no lack in bass, and not bass light. With Infected Mushroom "Dancing with the Kadafi" the bass is rockin', punchy and hits hard. That was my first WoW! moment with the V1 amp (goosebumps and all when I was at 164 hours), which is why I chose to start with HD600. Switching to string bass, it is not supposed to hit hard and it sounds like it should - crisp and quick and present. So it isn't over-boosting the bass levels but it is bangin' when it is supposed to be.

Mids are rich and warm, and not very peaky or resonating in the ears or head, although there does seem to be a mild low mids "boxy" coloration that is very similar to that of the D2 Boa, especially with close miked female vocals. This makes some female vocals like Shelby Lynn in "Just a little Lovin" or Diana Krall in "Girl in the Other Room" sound slightly artificial or less transparent vs Predator/Pico/D2 Viper/HR MicroAmp. Similar to the D2 Boa, I have a hard time noticing this coloration with acoustic and wind instruments or electronic program material, as it's mostly only an issue with vocals. And, this is not with all vocals - switching to Herbie Hancock "River:The Joni Letters" with Nora Jones singing the first track, her voice seems more natural with both the V1 and D2 Boa, and male vocals like Jack Johnson "Sleep Through the Sttaic sound fine with them too.

Treble has a nice sparkle, shimmer and decay to cymbals, and pianos have a sharp quick attack but do not drill into the head. With HD600 the V1 does not accentuate the sibilance present in the Diana Krall recording above, which is a test album I use for that purpose. I also use the "Girl in the Other Room" to test for lower midrange coloration as Diana Krall is very close mike'd and it is easy to push the lower mids over the top as above (which is exactly what I heard).

The soundstage is similar to the 2MOVE, not too close and not too distant, although it is somewhat more forward than the Predator (making it closer to that of the 2MOVE). It is certainly more forward sounding than the Pico, D2 Viper and D2 Boa or HR Micro Amp, while the other amps have a larger more open soundstage vs the V1. Listening via the USB DAC for the entire review, despite being somewhat forward sounding there is still a good sense of space and ambience - but there is a little less transparency than with the Predator or other amps, like watching through a clean window instead of an open window. It does seem to be a little more micro-detailed than the Headstage Lyrix USB DAC or iBasso D1 USB DAC were. The V1 DAC is also not as smooth sounding as the Pico (or the other amps to some degree), but I wonder how much of that is the Pico and other amps being less forward and not having the slightly more pronounced upper mids (2KHz-8Khz) of the V1.

A nice loud but enjoyable volume level setting with HD600 and the Macbook is about 11-1 o'clock, depending on the program material. I find listening to most music at 2 o'clock is too loud for me, and 3 o'clock just starts to clip a little with no change going higher than 3 o'clock. Again, I would likely never want to listen loud enough to clip with HD600. The V1 has no problem driving the HD600, and the same volume at 11 o'clock with the V1 needs 1:30 o'clock in high gain with the D2 Boa. 5 o'clock (max) on the Boa is like 1:30 - 2 o'clock on the V1, and it sounds like the V1 can double the power of the Boa by 3 o'clock (sounds a good 3-4 db louder). On quiet classical music with wide dynamic range, this is a big plus over the Boa and stock D2 Viper.

This amp really seems to have some nice synergy with the HD600, and for $99 is a screamin' deal for you HD600 owners. It makes the HD600 sound good with all types of music - even if the Predator and Pico are a little better, they may not be $400 better for many people. The D2 Viper with rolled opamps and 2MOVE and Micro Amp are also slightly better with HD600, but still 2-3x the cost. This is a $99 amp that competes well with $170-180 amps driving HD600 (Stock Viper, Boa and Headstage). But switching from HD600 to the RS-1 (APS V3 cable and bowls) while I was listening to Jack Johnson is where those prominent uppers mids (2KHz - 8KHz) become more noticeable. After a few hours with the HD600 and stock cable, switching to the RS-1 with APS V3 cable was almost a shock to me.

As mentioned before, with the V1 fresh out of the box and driving the RS-1 I had to EQ out about 3 db at 2, 4 and 8Khz, but with the stock HD600 I needed NO EQ. After 164 hours of burn-in I had found that the amount of EQ needed with RS-1 and bowls had decreased to only removing 1 or 1.5 db at those frequencies, which is when I switched to burning it in without the DAC (so no EQ). Hoping to be able to make due without any EQ, I decided to get my ears acclimated to the RS-1 by listening to only the RS-1 for a while. I also switched to some non-vocal jazz music again - Guinea Pig "Kool Kats".

This was much less glaring, and the sax, trombone, trumpet, bass, drums and cymbals sounded much better and I could enjoy it with no EQ at all; although the EQ would bring it more in line with the other amps. Switching to Tsuyoshi Yamamoto "Smooth Jazz Festival" 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' had the saxophone sounding a little edgier than the Predator, Pico or Boa until I applied the EQ again, although I could enjoy it without EQ. Pianos on this Tsuyoshi Yamamoto were not quite as enjoyable without the EQ as the other music. Moving back to some vocals with Shelby Lynn "Just a Little Lovin" (once my ears were acclimated) I found it sounded better with no EQ. But Jack Johnson still sounded a bit edgy. Most Jazz and Classical as well as electronic and new age sounded fine with the RS-1 and bowls driven by the V1, and for those albums that didn't sound their best, using the mild EQ brings them into balance and then it sounds very good with RS-1.

A light bulb went off in my head, and I switched the RS-1 back to flats like I tried whn out of the box, and voila - much better! This also helped somewhat with the lower mids coloration that I heard. I definitely prefer using the Grado flat pads with the RS-1 and V1 amp, which reduced ANY need for EQ of the upper mids. At this point the RS-1 became much more enjoyable with the V1, and it was almost up to the level of the D2 Viper and Boa with the RS-1, but not quite. Jack Johnson was now pleasant with no EQ. Even with the flat pads, many classical recordings such as "Handel's Messiah" still retained a good sense of space and ambience, despite the smaller soundstage with the flats. In doing the volume comparisons using RS-1, I found that a volume setting of 11 o'clock on the V1 with Infected Mushroom corresponded to a 1 o'clock in high gain on the stock D2 Viper. 12 o'clock was quite loud and rockin' with the V1 and electronica!

Switching to the Ultrasone Edition 9, the V1 was back in its element again, and paired well with these headphones. I enjoyed the V1 with the Edition 9 as much as I enjoyed it with the HD600, although I noticed the Pico has more bass with the Edition 9 than the V1, as did the Predator, D2 Viper and Boa. A little experimentation showed me that I can play the V1 louder with the Edition 9 without being over-whealmed with bass (which is easy for me due to my chronic tinnitus, which wasn't helped any by firing a firearm at a charging bear two weeks ago). However one of the advantages that the Edition 9 have over other my headphones is not having to play them loudly to get a good frequency response and liveliness. With Edition 9 and some music like Infected Mushroom "Dancing with the Kadafi" from the B.P. Empire album, I thought the V1 was better than the Pico, but with live jazz and classical music on the Edition 9 I found the Predator and Pico were the best again, followed by the Micro Amp and the two D2 amps. I don't have the loaner 2MOVE to compare, and didn't have time to roll the D2 Viper opamps again.

Typically with the Edition 9 and Pico, Viper or Boa the normal listening level is with the volume knob at 10 o'clock in HI gain, and it is at 9:30 with the V1. The Predator HI gain with Edition 9 puts the volume knob at about 9 o'clock! As a point of reference, medium gain on Predator puts the volume at 10 o'clock and low gain puts it at 12 o'clock.

I do not have my Denon D2000 while they are being re-terminated as balanced 4-pin (with SE adapter), so I tried my 600 ohm AKG K240M that used to be owned by Stevie Wonder (eBay seller bought them from his ex-wife, and he was selling all kinds of stereo equipment and DAT with brail dots on them, and they smell like his hair gel

). Anyway, these are quite difficult to drive. Moderate and good volume levels can be obtained at max volume without clipping the V1 (5 o'clock). The V1 can play much louder with the AKG K240M than the stock D2 Viper, which I maxed out in high gain at 5 0'clock and still found the D2 Viper to be about 5-6 db quieter. The D2 Boa was maybe 1-2 db louder than the Viper with these 600 ohm AKG, but it still couldn't attain the higher levels of the V1 when at max volume. The Predator in high gain at 3 o'clock could beat the stock Viper volume and match the Boa in volume, but it would clip at anything past 3 o'clock with the 240M. Only the Pico could exceed the V1 volume levels with these headphones, by at least another 2-3 db! With the Pico and V1, maybe 10% of my music had a high enough input signal to make me back down the volume knob by half an hour from max volume to avoid clipping. And, transparency with the AKG was quite good, possibly even better than with the HD600 which were previously my favorite with this amp! (although the bass is not as strong as the HD600). All the amps were very transparent with the AKG K240M and these are great headphones, but only the Pico and V1 could really do them any justice without resorting to a desktop amp, with the Pico still a clear lead. Wow again, to be in second place with these headphones was a big surprise!

Next were IEM. I switched to Klipsh Image X10 IEM which can be a little harder to drive vs my high sensitivity Custom IEM's. The volume for normal listening was 9:30 on the V1, and by 10 o'clock it was moderately loud volumes and higher than I typically listen at. 11 o'clock was louder than I will ever use, and clipping started at 12 o'clock with extremely loud volume levels. I hear no hiss with music paused until I get past 10:30 o'clock, so it isn't likely that I will ever hear hiss between songs when listening to the Image at loud volumes. With analog input and the music paused I don't hear any hiss until 11:30 o'clock (using iRiver H140). The power switch is built into the volume knob, like the Pico and Ibasso D2 amps, but there is less channel imbalance at low volume settings in the V1 vs those other amps - so I can play it very quietly with the Image X10 without problems, like when going to sleep or for background music. The D2 Boa could not play the Image quite as loud, and was clipping in low gain by 2 o'clock. I thought the V1 had good synergy with the Image X10, and was very enjoyable - tight strong bass, warm mids, crisp sparkly highs (using shallow insertion of the Image into ear canals). The lower mids were a little more pronounced with the Image on vocals than I liked, but were acceptable.

Last ones to try were my Freq Show custom IEM, which are so sensitive that I actually hear music with the V1 volume all the down and just above the power-on setting! I turned up the volume to 10:30 and heard hiss with the music paused, and backed down to 10 o'clock where the hiss went away. I un-paused the music and was blasted out of my skull by the loud music! I will never listen to the Freq Show at 10 o'clock, with 9 to 9:15 o'clock being a normal listening level and 9:30 to 9:45 is fairly loud. Again, I can play them very quietly without a channel imbalance, but not as quietly as I could the less sensitive Image. Still, it was acceptable for low level "go to sleep music" volumes.

The sound with the Freq Show was not bad with some music, very good with others, and a big problem with others - this being the fault of the IEM not the amp. Similar to the problems with using my Freq Show with the Meier Headsix or D2 with LM6172 opamp, vocals like Shelby Lynn "Just a Little Lovin" or Diana Krall "Girl in the Other Room" had the lower mids too pronounced and caused my ears to ring and roar. For those of you whom have read my reviews linked in my public profile (about me section), you know that with my ears the Freq Show are very picky about amps, and I almost returned these IEM for a refund. A few other people have reported the Freq causing ringing and roaring in their ears as well, not just me, although it is a very small minority of people. For example, my Headsix (lo gain) is great with Livewires but I didn't like it with my Freq; while Germania loved her Freq Show with her Headsix, so I do think it is "ear" dependent with these IEM. I picked these IEM for the review because they are popular and are the most fickle ones I own in regards to which amp I choose. With the Jack Johnson "Sleep Through the Static" they sounded good, and with non-vocal jazz and classical music I also have no problem with the resonance and ringing, but some (not all) acoustic guitar and piano music would ring in my ears too.

Again, THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH MY FREQ SHOW, not the amp - but the V1 amp doesn't help the problem any. This problem being uncommon to other people made me decide that it will not affect it's ranking below. I usually have to use either my Pico or Predator, or D2 Viper with rolled opamps for these IEM, or I have to play them very quietly if I don't have the right amp available. That being said, at very quiet volume levels like 9:00 - 9:15 o'clock then Shelby Lynn or pianos do sound nice with the Freq. My highly sensitive Livewires custom IEM are out in my car and not tested, but they sound good with every amp I have tried so I have no fear using them with the V1.

NEW AMP RANKING 09/08/2008 - Adding Vivid Technology V1.

Here is the ranking - see comments included if you haven't read the entire review:

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 (LTC6241HV/LMH6622 sounds like 98% of the Predator with 7 hour battery life. 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 after the Boa improved with extended burn-in. With optical input would beat the Boa easily.
6. Vivid Technology V1 (very good synergy with HD600 and AKG K240M 600 ohm, nice and fun with Edition 9 and Klipsch Image X10, acceptable with RS-1 IF switching to flats but bowls are not recommended, unacceptable with my Freq Show but not the amp's fault. DAC with slightly more micro-detal than stock D1 via USB or Headstage Lyrix, slightly less than either D2 Viper/Boa or the other amps. The most forward of all the amps. Can be near 3rd or 4th place with HD600 and 2nd with K240M, but 9th place with Grado RS-1 and bowls.)
6. D2 stock - tied (thin in the middle, neutral with good bass - it was sound signature and power but not level of detail that held it back with the stock opamps.) Sounds good with Freq Show and most of my IEM, fairly good with HD600 and Edition 9 but lacks power, not bad with RS-1 but can't properly drive AKG K240M 600 ohm. Sounds better with re-cabled modded ATH-AD900 than the Boa or V1.
7. Lyrix (good frequency balance, DAC lacking details and air vs the others, but the amp is great with analog input.)
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 7th as a DAC/Amp because the DAC is so good it makes up for the frequency response issues. Clearly 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.)

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

That's kinda depressing - no comments about the latest review eh? Does this mean my job is done?

 

[evilmerlin]

We need some time to digest it Larry..hahahahaha, thats very long post!