[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Very often I see fellow head-fiers recommending portable amps like the Hornet or the Supermini to new members who're just looking for a home amp and don't need the portability. Why is this? There seems to be a belief that portable amps are somehow comparable to home amps in terms of SQ, which does not make any technical sense to me given the constrains (size, battery life, toughness) that designers have to take into account when designing a portable amp.

What is your experience with the SQ of portable amps compared to that of home amps in the same price-range?

 

[itsborken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dept_of_Alchemy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Very often I see fellow head-fiers recommending portable amps like the Hornet or the Supermini to new members who're just looking for a home amp...

I haven't been noticing that, rather I see someone specifically talking about portable X vs portable Y vs portable Z or someone says they want an amp for $200, so that pretty much limits it to portables.

If someone said they had $1200 for a DAC/Amp combo I'd recommend an Opera, I wouldn't recommend a portable. I agree, the mains allow the amps to be driven better.

 

[Redo]

Portable amps are usually more cost effective anyhow. So when talking about an amp in the $150 range or there abouts, most of the options are portable in nature.

 

[granodemostasa]

I agree with the OP, i have been seeing this. Recently a person asked about home amps bellow the 1K category and got several "hornet" responses. I think what is going on here is that not everyone has real experience with the number of amps, but they want to contribute anyway... so they talk about what works for them. Just a few hours ago, i saw a post recommending a balanced max... from a person who obviously never heard one. it happens... i do it sometimes... we all give bad responses from time to time.

 

[tjohnusa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Portable amps are usually more cost effective anyhow. So when talking about an amp in the $150 range or there abouts, most of the options are portable in nature.

Disagree....a little dot tube amp can be had in the for sale forums for less than $150. I have a Little dot 2 and love the sound. I feel most folks recommend the portables because they feel most listening is done where a portable amp is justified due to the portability. I doubt you can find a portable that sounds better than the little dot 2 for around $100. Just my 2 cents......

 

[Leopold]

If I only could find a mains-driven amp that is better than the $50 or something I spent on PA2V2...

Maybe in the higher segments it could be possible but I doubt it in this price bracket at least. Portability implies that you can bypass costly solutions for a truly stable power supply.

That's one important aspect to the problem I guess.

 

[chesebert]

no clue..to me portable and amp just don't go together. I like to carry as few parts as I can when I travel.

 

[Rise To The Top]

What happend to the good 'ol Little Dot?

 

[Leopold]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif no clue..to me portable and amp just don't go together. I like to carry as few parts as I can when I travel.

I share your concern. To be honest I use this little battery-powered amp mostly at home, on the go I prefer setups that work well unamped.

I just think of this amp as the most cost-effective way I could find at that moment to enjoy cans that need some amping. Still works very well for me, the extreme battery life is just as convenient for me in a stationary use context.

 

[itsborken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif no clue..to me portable and amp just don't go together. I like to carry as few parts as I can when I travel.

I guess I see your concern. When I travel I have a laptop with me so a cable and a amp the size of a pack of cigarettes isn't a dealbreaker, neither is its wall wart PS for overnight trips.

 

[tjohnusa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rise To The Top /img/forum/go_quote.gif What happend to the good 'ol Little Dot?

I think most folks that have them realize it's not worth the $100 to sell them. They do sound "tubey" and are the best way to get into tube amps.

 

[riceboy]

I found that the total airhead and bithead portable amps sounded good with my Shure e5c and e500. They just sounded a lot more better overall connected to my Ipod. On the other hand, the Microstack sounds a lot better than the 2 portable amps I used to have.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

It begs the question of why there are practically no mains-powered amps under $150. That's a segment of the market that's under-explored.

 

[jjb]

Well, to ask a specific case then, would folks here rather use, say, a Little Dot II+ or a Xin SM IV at home ?

About the same price. One is very portable. LD is said not to have much of a "tube" sound for a tube amp.

Just curious....

 

[aCommunistSpy]

Well, maybe it's because more people have portable amps than nonportable amps so there is more experience with the portable amps. And since more people have portables, they reccomend them more? and plus, the portable ones are cheaper and many of them can be home-based also