[LevA]

so we are allowed to buy HPs and amps by our better halves without feeling guilty?...

 
 
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honestly, I know nuts about such circuitry stuff. but if u are able to make a cmoy with a sound close to the protector without copying its components, I'll give it to you.

plus, there's a reason why RS is so famous for the amp he makes. his amp is considered a luxury good. want an analogy? here's one: why do people buy LV/Burberry merchandises when there're counterfeits that serve the same purpose and look the same for the untrained eye? taste and preferences dude. it's called value-added service.

 

[brendon]

I have never heard a RSA amp but with the same source and earphones, there was a very noticeable difference between the three amps I have extensively used. - Crossroads Pro (CMOY based amp), Meier Corda Porta III and ibasso P3+. With every amp upgrade the SQ became noticeably better.
 
But then again my earphones are 150 ohms. With low impeadance earphones I find very little difference between the amps.

 

[Anaxilus]

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Why?

 
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Yeah, that comment wasn't the best PR move, but oh well. I enjoy the SR71 as one of my favourite portable amps of all time. I've used and heard the protector and find it quite nice, but I'm not about to say that it is godlike - that is Unreal.

Because in an age of political correctness it's nice to see someone who isn't going to just kiss your ass hoping you will buy something from them.  People can say Ray took the OP's post out of context but to be honest I read the same inference that Ray did.  You can say the OP was just asking a question but the fact he mentioned he doesn't hear a difference implies he thinks a Ray Samuels amp is a needless waste of money compared to his Cmoy.  I hate PC and pandering to the insecurities of the insecure.  If the OP feels he can google 'how to make a Cmoy' and challenge Ray on the SQ front then kudos to him for asking the question.  Ray stands by the quality of his product and was honest about his feeling in this regard.  Whether you like it or not I found it refreshing.  That's just me.

 

[grokit]

One thing about RS's amps is you almost never read any complaints from people who own them, or hear of their poor build quality or technical failures. If anything the premium price would seem to purchase some peace of mind that you are getting a quality product based on a solid design that will last.

 

[Vergex2]

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Because in an age of political correctness it's nice to see someone who isn't going to just kiss your ass hoping you will buy something from them.  People can say Ray took the OP's post out of context but to be honest I read the same inference that Ray did.  You can say the OP was just asking a question but the fact he mentioned he doesn't hear a difference implies he thinks a Ray Samuels amp is a needless waste of money compared to his Cmoy.  I hate PC and pandering to the insecurities of the insecure.  If the OP feels he can google 'how to make a Cmoy' and challenge Ray on the SQ front then kudos to him for asking the question.  Ray stands by the quality of his product and was honest about his feeling in this regard.  Whether you like it or not I found it refreshing.  That's just me.

 
Very well said. I wholeheartedly agree. Getting the point across and defending your product is far more important than PC.

 
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One thing about RS's amps is you almost never read any complaints from people who own them, or hear of their poor build quality or technical failures. If anything the premium price would seem to purchase some peace of mind that you are getting a quality product based on a solid design that will last.

 
Very true - the build quality and reliability of RSA is reputable as top notch.

 

[LFF]

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so cool that head-fi is a place where the owner/designer will respond to posts about their products

Yes. That is one of the reasons I like the headphone community. Jerry Harvey, Ray Samuels, etc are all nice enough to talk to us about their products.


 
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Because in an age of political correctness it's nice to see someone who isn't going to just kiss your ass hoping you will buy something from them.  People can say Ray took the OP's post out of context but to be honest I read the same inference that Ray did.  You can say the OP was just asking a question but the fact he mentioned he doesn't hear a difference implies he thinks a Ray Samuels amp is a needless waste of money compared to his Cmoy.  I hate PC and pandering to the insecurities of the insecure.  If the OP feels he can google 'how to make a Cmoy' and challenge Ray on the SQ front then kudos to him for asking the question.  Ray stands by the quality of his product and was honest about his feeling in this regard.  Whether you like it or not I found it refreshing.  That's just me.

 
I also find honesty to be quite refreshing, despite the fact that it might offend others or be considered rude. You should ask my clients what they think of me when I tell them I will NOT maximize their masters.

 

 

[ThEvil0nE]

had the chance to  hear Ray's portable amp offerings with positive results and as far as I know my two RSA amps carry  lifetime warranties... now that should tell you something

 

[K.I. Unlimited]

Maybe I don't have such luck with Mr. Ray Samuel's amps. The only amp that seemed nice was the Predator. I personally found the Shadow overhyped, the Tomahawk seemed to sound better.
 
One of these days I'll pertain to my curiosity and get a Hornet when I have more money, burn the big caps in until I can hear something.
 
[size=medium]

Reviews would stay as reviews - a person's opinion. Nothing more, nothing less.
They're meant to be used more of a "rule of a thumb" than a benchmark.
For one, I don't trust Skylab's review of the Voyager, because he never gave the Contour a chance. In fact I'm rather glad I didn't fall to "head-fi peer pressure" that way, just because all the big names have done reviews and some amps didn't go well.
 
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Some of you should check out Skylabs portable amp reviews rather than saying you pay more for a fancy case rather than an Altoids tin.  I also think there are better people able to answer the hardware and electronic aspects of quality amps than myself.  Perhaps some in the Sound science forum would do better or those that went to battle on dfkt's Hifiman 800 thread.  That was great stuff!

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interesting , somebody asked the maker of the arrow amp Robert does the new arrow amp sound better than the caffine ultra cmoy as it uses the same op amp ,he replied no it would have to be in a class a design to do that. then we have peolple saying arrow > iqube ,pico ect ect.  a bit confusing tbh

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[/size]

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

One thing about RS's amps is you almost never read any complaints from people who own them, or hear of their poor build quality or technical failures. If anything the premium price would seem to purchase some peace of mind that you are getting a quality product based on a solid design that will last.

Historically these posts have been deleted.

 

[shigzeo]

Quote:

 

Because in an age of political correctness it's nice to see someone who isn't going to just kiss your ass hoping you will buy something from them.  People can say Ray took the OP's post out of context but to be honest I read the same inference that Ray did.  You can say the OP was just asking a question but the fact he mentioned he doesn't hear a difference implies he thinks a Ray Samuels amp is a needless waste of money compared to his Cmoy.  I hate PC and pandering to the insecurities of the insecure.  If the OP feels he can google 'how to make a Cmoy' and challenge Ray on the SQ front then kudos to him for asking the question.  Ray stands by the quality of his product and was honest about his feeling in this regard.  Whether you like it or not I found it refreshing.  That's just me.

That's fair enough, but Ray's tone wasn't one of supporting his product, but tearing down a headfier; or at best, reading into the OP's post too much. I read the OP's original post many times and I have to say I see it questioning, not pointing fingers. There are other finger-pointing thread about and this isn't one of them. 
 
There's no reason to be so defensive about your product that you have to snap at another member. The links provided didn't really prove anything and though Stereo's review may have been sober, I honestly think that RSA was in the wrong with his post. The OP has taken it well - I wouldn't have. 

 

[boomana]

I'm going to make the outrageous suggestion that this thread stay on topic.

 

[knubbe]

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interesting , somebody asked the maker of the arrow amp Robert does the new arrow amp sound better than the caffine ultra cmoy as it uses the same op amp ,he replied no it would have to be in a class a design to do that. then we have peolple saying arrow > iqube ,pico ect ect.  a bit confusing tbh
having said that i do trust skylab/ hpa,s opinions and i know that Rays amps always come out well but my veiw is that you need to hear it for yourself with some decent gear

That is interesting. To be fair the selling point of the Arrow is its lower price relative to its competitors and its abundance of features.

 

[steviebee]

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One thing about RS's amps is you almost never read any complaints from people who own them, or hear of their poor build quality or technical failures. If anything the premium price would seem to purchase some peace of mind that you are getting a quality product based on a solid design that will last.

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had the chance to  hear Ray's portable amp offerings with positive results and as far as I know my two RSA amps carry  lifetime warranties... now that should tell you something

Indee.....nope, copyrighted.....um.......Agreed!

 

[jamato8]

You are getting the highest quality military circuit boards, very high quality parts, a custom case and customer service that responds to any problems or needs. Couple this with quality sound that as I mentioned before, improves as you improve the source, and you have something you can enjoy both in sound and longevity. 

 

[grokit]

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My CMOY is 9v(can increase to 18v) and with it I can roll opamps.  What makes amps made by RSA, ibasso, or pic etc... better than my CMOY?  I personally cannot hear difference between RSA amps and my CMOY, and my 9V CMOY amp would probably driver headphones better than RSA's $400 ~3v amp.  I have a burr brown opa2227 inside my CMOY.  Why are people paying up to $400 for RSA's amps? Are his amps worth that much?  For me, I cannot tell a difference in sound, but his balanced there is a noticible difference from single ended, but he's seems to be the only one selling a balanced amp, so he can charge alot for it.

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One thing about RS's amps is you almost never read any complaints from people who own them, or hear of their poor build quality or technical failures. If anything the premium price would seem to purchase some peace of mind that you are getting a quality product based on a solid design that will last.

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Historically these posts have been deleted.

Perhaps, but I do think that it answers the OP's question quite well.
 
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had the chance to  hear Ray's portable amp offerings with positive results and as far as I know my two RSA amps carry  lifetime warranties... now that should tell you something

Indeed