Buying blind and the curiosity cancer

[General Kenobi]

This probably dives me more insane than anything else about this hobby/obsession.

So I finally make the switch and have all my music into a 5g iPod 60gb, I get the awesome Turbodock II for the line out and am using my fully burned in Hornet. The Hornet sounds awesome... nice texture, black background, good weight/depth, etc. So why did I put it on eBay... I miss the crossfeed and bassboost from my SM for some of my music. Damn I hate this! I wish I could keep both but without the parametric EQ some of the music I listen to sounds slightly too dry with this amp, which is frustrating because I'll switch to a different album and it's bliss!

So off I go to sell and once again buy blind hoping that I'll be happily ignoring the rearview. I was very happy with my last SM amp so here's to hoping! Someone tell me I'm making a smart choice... (replace that computer with another smiley)

[PFKMan23]

heh I would have just listed your Hornet at like $320 on the FS forums at Headfi or somesuch... But yah butying blind sucks...

[General Kenobi]

I'd rather let people fight over it with my reserve set and see where I end up... though I may end up buying another one if the SMv6 doesn't really shine... at least I'm really happy with my home rig... I hope the E500 and SMv6 will be the answer to my portable (insert praying face here)

[PFKMan23]

heh I would have just listed your Hornet at like $320 on the FS forums at Headfi or somesuch... But yah buying blind sucks...

[Grand Enigma]

The functionality of the SM is very nice. I think you are making the right call

[General Kenobi]

The functionality of the SM is very nice. I think you are making the right call

Whew! Thanks, I'm planning on ordering a few opamps with it to mess with so (fingers crossed) we'll see! If Singlepower comes out with a portable I'll be in trouble

[philodox]

Never had a problem buying blind so far... then again, I can see where I would have had a problem [sA5000, DAC1]. So I think it has been more luck at this point.

[Grand Enigma]

It is nice to have the option to tweek the sound to just how you want it. was i in to the portable thing Ide go with one... and to be honest... the SM is not any worse then the bumblebee

[General Kenobi]

Have you heard both Grand Enigma?

[Grand Enigma]

Have you heard both Grand Enigma?

Yes I have although I forget what version it was. I have heard/had Portaphile v1/v2, PRII, Hornet, SR71, SM, and a few others I dont care to think about right now.

[General Kenobi]

Each with their owns strengths I imagine... did any of them stand out?

[Grand Enigma]

Each with their owns strengths I imagine... did any of them stand out?

Personally the "High-end" portable bit does not make much sense to me. That said I would never look past a portaphile or sm or possibly a ae-1 for its connectivity options.

[General Kenobi]

Well, the Hornet is shipping out today and now am waiting for my SMv6.

Not sure I agree with you Grand Enigma about the "high-end portable". I've been very impressed with the quality of sound one can get in such small packages. Now for people using these items in noisy envirnements like subways and planes I can see a decline in noticable SQ improvements. I use my stuff at work (desktop) in a quiet enviornment so I really hear a difference.

[tkam]

I agree with grandenigma on the "high-end portable" people really over-emphasis how good they are. They serve their purpose of being portable amps but they can't compete with good home amps. I think alot of this also comes down to source material as well, the improvements you get from an amp (portable or home) are only as great as the source allows.

[tkam]

I think for the most part every piece of gear I own and have owned have been bought blind. There just really isn't a way to demo most of this stuff before hand. Meets can be useful for getting a basic idea of how something might sound but thats about it. I think the 650s are the only thing I had heard prior to buying them. At least for the most part I've been quite happy with my blind purchases so I guess it all worked out.

[PFKMan23]

Hmm.. I understand the concept of so called "high end portables" but I also do agree that they are fairly overhyped and overstated in what they can do. In the contexty for what they wrere desgined for, they do a good job (decent quality for listening on the go/away from home, etc..). However I also do agree that the ability of these portables are overstated, by a fairly large degree. All you have to do is look at whatthey are desgined to do and whatthey have to play with. You need a small packge that gives good sound and decent battery life. Somewhere in there, sacrfices can and will be made. Invariably in a portable aplication battery ife is a huge factor and from where I stand, the largest barrier. I mean I'm sure that it could be done where the portables compare or even prove to be sueprior to home amps in their price range, but given that battery life is alwaysd a concern as well as size (and it should be), that is the key sacrifice that has bee n made. And IMO, if you actuaLly compared a "home amp" with a portable amp in it's price bracket the limitations of the portable would be clearly evident, and the limitations of the stationary solution being fairly obvious. That being said, true "home amps" don't even begin until atleast $150 or so with many of the comparisons for home amps coming at the $300+ pricepoint in the portable segment which is in fact only a few products. Another key is how you evaluate it. If you evaluate both units ars so called "home" amps, then it would be more evident to see the defficIencies of the portable unit than the home, which is the comparison that is otentimes made (___ portable amp compares very well to home amps in it's price range).

So yes whiel I do feel that they have come quite a ways forward, I also think that they have quitea ways to go if they want to truly compete with home amps in theiir respective price brackets if there are any at all.

[General Kenobi]

The only "portable? amp I've heard that can compete with home amps was the Headroom Supreme. I imagine that the new desktop line is even better in that respect but as many have said in the past these are more "trans-portable".

Amps like the SM3, Hornet, Micro, etc. will never be able to compete with big home amps period. But they do what they do well and if you are using a line out and you can hear just as big of a difference vs. headphone jack as some of the mid level home amps. Now my opinions are based of the 6hrs or so a day of listening I do while at work in a quiet office environment so again sonic improvements for those on subways and airplanes may be far less than what I've experienced.

There's no question that my home rig blows my portable away but having something from the IEM family and a small amp like the SM3 with the ability to boost bass and all that crap is very nice to have at work and be able to stuff in a small front pocket of my backpack. Considering that the average portable amp runs around $300-$400 and my Slam was about $900 + the cost for the various tubes I got, I'd say the cost to value is pretty even with the home amps.

Quality in the portable market is in high demand... with the E500 on the way and the positive press it's already gotten I think the portable products will continue to grow rapidly as will consumer demand.

[Post]

i love my AE-1, but the lack of crossfeed means i keep The Beatles and a ton of jazz at home - which is fine, there's plenty more music to listen to on the go! and SQ-wise, the AE-1 destroys my friend's SM.

[Salt Peanuts]

Just about every single piece of equipment I own or owned have been bought without trying them first, except for RS-1, K1000, K701, Stax SR-007 (of course, these four cans also happen to be the ones I still own at this moment). As stated earlier, it's often bit difficult to demo headphone related gears, especially headphone amps.