[stang]

Hmm well it may be difficult to find the D3. Anyway, I have pretty much brought it down to iBasso T3, RSA Hornet and RSA Tomahawk. I can get either. I am 99% sure about getting the Hornet because I will be using it at home and I won't need to constantly change batteries. I reckon the T3 would be best as a portable amp. So Hornet it is i think.

 

[nickyboyo]

Try seeing if anyone close to you has a Hornet you can listen to before pulling the trigger. Out of all Ray's amps i found the Hornet to be the weakest performer, that is just my own opinion, i much preferred the Tomahawk, so much so i am saving my pennies to buy another, the Tomy is a great amp.

 

[stang]

oO I thought itwould be a very good performer, since it is $370, as opposed to the Tomahawk's $295. I would love the P-51 Mustang but it's too expensive

I am wanting to spend under $300aud with shipping, fees etc.

 

[paulybatz]

at half of your budget you will be totally wowed by the ibasso T3, it is a fantastic amp...check all of the positive feedback!

 

[mudhole]

I would like to recommend the D4. Some senior Head-fiers said that D4's amp part section is at the same level as P3+, so I spent $20 more bought the D4 even I don't need a DAC. Now I compare the D4's DAC section with my Little dot DAC-1, I find they also at the same level. That mean I spent $20 more and got a $300 value DAC.

And I am sure in this crazy forum, you don't know what kind of rig will you want in the coming year. Last year, I started searching Head-Fi to decide a good headphone for my ipod use only.But now, in less than one year, look at my signatures how many stuffs have I gotten! And I already sold two pairs of headphones and one DAC. I bought D4, one reason is I believe D4 will have a higher re-sell value.

 

[stang]

Thanks for all your help. If i ever get a laptop, i will purchase the D4 and the T3 if i ever really go portable. I just purchased a P-51 Mustang from a fellow Head-fier and can't wait for it to arrive

 

[estreeter]

Stang, you've certainly had an interesting day, but it looks like it has all worked out well - the Mustang has a lot of fans here, as do most of Ray's amps. It will be interesting to hear your feedback - amps are probably the single biggest source of buyers remorse in Head-Fi.

As a fellow X owner, it might pay you to take a look at the current thread on the ALO Rx, reportedly a great little amp but one Head-Fier reported that the difference with and without the Rx simply wasnt significant. Two things stand out here :

- the X already has a very good digital amp - I cant say the same of my iPod.

- Sony dont make it easy to use the line-out on their players with a portable amp : its a numbers game, and someone like ALO wouldn't make the investment to produce Walkman LOD for a relatively small target market. That said, I consider the HP out on the Sony players to be much better than my iPod.

End of the day, you got an amp - I look forward to hearing your impressions.

 

[stang]

Thanks

I will be reviewing it with my (hopefully arriving) iPod touch 3rd gen with a LOD and Walkman X1060 with a pure silver interconnect with my Westone UM3X. A few weeks later I may review this combo again but with my Grado SR-225 after i get my adaptor