[chesebert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm really enjoying mine, with the bass boost too. Seems to add air, separation and a sense of detail to a lot of my tunes. It doesn't seem too popular. ????

most people have not had the experience of different amps so they naturally gravitate toward FOTM amp. Maxed out PPA, IMO can compete with the next thing to the very best, which include most commercial amps in the $1k range.

 

[Gladcow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by supermite /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry if it was unclear. I'd say it was 75% funny, 15% no.

whats the other ten percent? or did i just miss another funny.

 

[Jahn]

mercuttio's MisterX PPA is still one of the nicest solid state amps I've heard with Grados, just fyi. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

[meat01]

The PPA is a great amp, but was kind of replaced by the M^3 as a better value. The same thing happened to the Pimeta when the PPA came out. I guess it is just a case of out with the old, in with the new. The Millet Hybrids were very popular for a while also.

 

[n_maher]

There's a myrid of issues associated with DIY designs and their popularity. First and foremost, there is no one set of components that make up the PPA so it's hard to even compare PPA's not to mention make comparisons from the PPA to other amps. Second, like others have said, there just aren't many DIYFP buiders around any more making it very hard to get access to one without building it yourself. Do any of those factors make the PPA a bad amp? Oh HELL no! My personal PPA is and was the best solid state amp I've heard for under $1000 - commercial or otherwise. Seeing that it cost approximately half that to build I'd say it offered amazing bang for the buck but it also took a long time to build and case.

 

[nysulli]

like others have said, between rockhopper and jmt no longer building amps, and the flood of new budget amps like the headfive, and all the new portable amps that offer great sound and portability. also seems like a lot of the DIY attention as of late has been shifted to DAC's with the alien and hpdac's

can't forget amb's 2 new additions, the b22 and ck^2III(?)

just so many more options available now then when i first got into this hobby a year and a half ago

anyone actually heard the b22 and ck^2III to compare to the ppa or m^3?

 

[Solitary1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by supermite /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry if it was unclear. I'd say it was 75% funny, 15% no.

Now, that was funny.

 

[karma]

It is interesting how DIY amp designs have fallen off the map within the past year or two. I only pop into Head-Fi periodically, and I was surprised this time around to find out how DIY amps have shrunk in popularity from only a year ago (when I last visited regularly).

Case in point: I just sold a great PIMETA amp built by n_maher in the FS forum, but I had a heckuva time doing it. I was really quite shocked at the lack of interest it was garnering, and most of those who contacted me really didn't have much familiarity with the PIMETA at all. I was expecting that given the specs and asking price it would've sold quickly, but it ended up taking a couple of weeks to sell. I don't think this would've been the case a year ago.

I will say that I am intrigued by all the commercial amps out today. Lower cost and nice, professional-looking designs. But from everything I've read, the Rockhopper M^3 I have still bests or is right up there with anything else in the price range. So while curiosity tempts me, the fact that the M^3 is still considered a superb amp keeps my money safely in my wallet.

 

[Solitary1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nysulli /img/forum/go_quote.gif like others have said, between rockhopper and jmt no longer building amps, and the flood of new budget amps like the headfive, and all the new portable amps that offer great sound and portability. also seems like a lot of the DIY attention as of late has been shifted to DAC's with the alien and hpdac's can't forget amb's 2 new additions, the b22 and ck^2III(?) just so many more options available now then when i first got into this hobby a year and a half ago anyone actually heard the b22 and ck^2III to compare to the ppa or m^3?

I started a thread regarding the CK2III, not much action on it. Maybe I should have put Tomahawk or Hornet in the thread title.

 

[socrates63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solitary1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I started a thread regarding the CK2III, not much action on it. Maybe I should have put Tomahawk or Hornet in the thread title.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solitary1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Now, that was funny.

hehe

 

[Solitary1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by karma /img/forum/go_quote.gif It is interesting how DIY amp designs have fallen off the map within the past year or two. I only pop into Head-Fi periodically, and I was surprised this time around to find out how DIY amps have shrunk in popularity from only a year ago (when I last visited regularly). Case in point: I just sold a great PIMETA amp built by n_maher in the FS forum, but I had a heckuva time doing it. I was really quite shocked at the lack of interest it was garnering, and most of those who contacted me really didn't have much familiarity with the PIMETA at all. I was expecting that given the specs and asking price it would've sold quickly, but it ended up taking a couple of weeks to sell. I don't think this would've been the case a year ago. I will say that I am intrigued by all the commercial amps out today. Lower cost and nice, professional-looking designs. But from everything I've read, the Rockhopper M^3 I have still bests or is right up there with anything else in the price range. So while curiosity tempts me, the fact that the M^3 is still considered a superb amp keeps my money safely in my wallet.

Couldn't agree more. If you like your M^3, why look elsewhere? I was going to get one myself but opted to try the new design (The CK2III mentioned above). The Pimeta suffers from the same malady as the PPA, it's not NEW. I owned one, and it's a great little amp. As I said before, 3 years ago Pimeta threads were all over the place (hell, even cMoy threads were still in abundance) just as the PPA was.

It's funny how 2-3 years can make some things old and no longer of interest, yet a 12 year old Melos can cause wet dreams among some.

 

[socrates63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nysulli /img/forum/go_quote.gif anyone actually heard the b22 and ck^2III to compare to the ppa or m^3?

I know there are some people putting together a β22...

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by socrates63 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know there are some people putting together a β22...

Who?

Seriously though, last count there were 3, maybe 4 working β22's in the world. Mine should be cased up and on display in NYC in just over two weeks assuming I don't screw something up. As to how it compares to the PPA and M³, both of which I've built multiples of, I'd have to say that it's the better of both of them in my opinion. Of course you could build more than one of each for the cost of my β22 so it's not exactly a fair comparison.

 

[Zanth]

At nearly 10, 000 posts and having been here for 2.5 years or so...you must have figured out the average head-fi mentality by now?

Step 1) post a question about which amp is the best (don't bother doing some research and using the search)

Step 2) get a bunch of newbies and/or fanboys and/or both chiming in that amp X is the BESTEST thing ever and if you can't get X then get Y or Z from the same company. If you are lucky a flame war will erupt in said thread from the 2-3 competing camps of fanboys.

Step 3) buy an amp

Step 4) join the heard and start posting how awesome it is along with the rest of the sheep

Step 5) dump the amp when the next cycle of releases are out (every 6 months or so)

Step 6) immediately claim that the newer amps trounce all older amps.

Step 7) repeat ad infinitum



What perpetually strikes me as odd is when I read "meet impression" threads and I read things like:

Cary + R10 was the best system
Maxed out Melos + HP-1 was the best system
Ear HP4 + RS-1 was the best system
Single Power Maxed out Maestro + R10's was the best system
HE90 + HEV90 (Big O!) was the best system
HD6x0 + Blockhead/Max v2 was the best system.

Sure one will get some fantastic words about nearly anything out there but overall this is the stuff that gets mentioned time and time again.

Now, Cary, Melos, Ear and HEV90 are pretty old amps around these parts and I am floored at how they are able of not only retaining their oscillating spots at number one but perpetually remain in the top 10, if not the top 5. The killer is the Melos in all of this...it can be had for 200-400 on the forums often (if not yet modded) and then for an extra 400-600 can be taken to astronomical levels, yet I see people dropping 2k+ on amps that don't better it, sound different sure, but don't better it. I don't have as much experience with the PPA as others but it is an outstanding amp and when maxed out is easily one of the best solid state amps ever designed, but it just doesn't garner the fanfare it used to because like goldfish, the memories of the average head-fier are very very short.

But here is a secret....for the most part (particulary in the area of amp circuits) audio sales THRIVE on this mentality and require hyperbole galore to entice people to drop their old gear and buy the newest fantangled thing because it is shiner, bigger (maybe) and has even more adjectives describing it, like TOTAL REFERENCE! or ABSOLUTE TOTAL REFERENCE! Redundant when something is already the reference right? Heh...well, not when it can be the TOTAL ABSOLUTE BEST EVER CREATED BY SOME ALMIGHTY DIETY REFERENCE!



A great way to build an AWESOME audio system is to read OLD threads and find out what was amazing back then then track through the years following the posting history of those that had those amps and those that heard them and find out what is still hot and what is not and why. When an HD600 + Headroom Max v1 is still one of the best systems ever (yet hardly gets recommended) it demonstrates the logic behind far too many around here, however, if a max comes up for sale...and with the ridiculously low prices of used HD600's...one can sneak away with one of the best of all time for far cheaper than most of the newer stuff getting released which is but a fad.

 

[Solitary1]

Zanth, you have hit the nail on the proverbial head (fi)