New RSA amp...

[spritzer]

Burn-in aside (nobody ever realizes that components can take days to warm up and it's takes a while to fully grasp how a component sounds) that comparison wouldn't be too out of line. The crap inside the Amphora isn't that far off from what Ray is doing i.e. using cheap n' cheerful circuits with high price tags and audiophool bling so that the noobs think it's good.

The stock ES-1 cost around 4.5k for a stock unit so Ray is pricing this head to head with the upgraded BHSE because "if they cost the same they must be as good". Then we have the high quality preamp which would be fine if it cost 200$ and was made in China. Calling this SOTA is just flat out conning the customers or that Ray just doesn't realize that pre-amp design has moved on in the last 50 years.

That's not Ray's biggest issue but the fact that the electrostatic users are a very different crowd to dynamic "norms". Now there are some that just want the "best" and buy a HE90 and live happily ever after but most of us own a lot of headphones with many different amps, most of which will be on par or even better the A-10 for a lot less. We also know what all the fancy numbers mean and what the effects of Ac/DC coupled are for instance. The transducer requirements are also very different with power and impedance immunity being huge factors in the final sound and very easy to show off. Justin should really buy a SR-Sigma and a SRM-T1 to show people just how much the extra power of the BHSE matters.

[GPH]

I'm not gonna take the bait and argue about burn-in or any other crap.

That's too bad, I was acting like an ass to provoke that kind of debate, but I guess you have too much "responsibilities" on head-fi to participate in a rational discussion here about the obious flaws in your review methodology and your shill attitude.

[luvdunhill]

the A-10 is already burned in anyways

in all seriousness, how do you know that it's completly burned in? I could make a radical change for the better in another 700 hours, who knows?

[Dreadhead]

in all seriousness, how do you know that it's completly burned in? I could make a radical change for the better in another 700 hours, who knows?

pi^12 seconds is my magic number for burn in....

[morphsci]

pi^12 seconds is my magic number for burn in....

That's irrational.

Anyway I prefer i^∞ because it's "unreal Dude"

[Dreadhead]

That's irrational.

Anyway I prefer i^∞ because it's "unreal Dude"

Is it sad that I laughed at that.....

[Dusty Chalk]

That's irrational.

Anyway I prefer i^∞ because it's "unreal Dude"

I lollered.

[HeadphoneAddict]

That's too bad, I was acting like an ass to provoke that kind of debate, but I guess you have too much "responsibilities" on head-fi to participate in a rational discussion here about the obious flaws in your review methodology and your shill attitude.

I thought we had put some of our difference behind us, but I guess not. You say you want to participate in a "rational" discussion, but you act like I ran over your cat or something. And you try to lure me into making statements that you can then attack. I just don't get it. Look, I try to be fair and post what I hear, and I try to help other people with my impressions. Yet I get the feeling that you and others on the forums are so set in their ways that you guys wont give new stuff a fair chance, or at least not without dissecting it and estimating it's abilities based on that result instead of by listening.

As for the Amphora - it's biggest audience is going to be those using an iMod as source, as it takes the place of the iMod Vcap dock + separate amp + LOD + mini-mini interconnect. An iQube or P-51 with portable Vcap dock and IC's can cost almost as much as the Amphora. There is not a big audience for them, and only 100 being made. You are not an iMod fan, so I don't expect you to be an Amphora fan. The fact that I have posted in my assessment that the Amphora doesn't match the Woo WA6, and that it sounds closer to a "lowly" single power square wave xl or P-51 mustang, doesn't seem contradictory to your beliefs - so I don't see what the problem is?

Maybe the problem is that I like too many of the things that I listen to and review? I am working on a comparison of a loaner Cavalli CTH/Mullard 12AU7 vs EF1/Mullard 12AU7, and have also listened to the Amphora, P-51 and 3MOVE side by side with those. So far with some program material and some headphones, one will be better than the other but not every time. I like them all and can't decide which sounds best this early in the process - they tend to swap places depending on the gear paired with them or my mood. It makes me wonder whether am I reviewing the amp, the headphones or the music. (is synergy a taboo subject?) But, if I were to eventually find the Cavalli my favorite then do I become a shill for Alex?

I have lots of questions about how you go about defining me as a shill. As a default it seems like you accuse me of being a shill for whomever I rank first, or is that the case only if I give a good rating to gear by builders that you don't approve of? Was I a shill for RSA because I liked the Predator the most for a long time, and now that I like the iBasso D10 more does that make me a shill for them now? I tried to make it clear that I would be happy with any of my top ranked portable DAC/amps, and that they are very close, but that doesn't seem to help. I tried to give the IE8 a fair shot to unseat the Westone 3 as my favorite universal IEM, but I don't find them to be much better than my Phonak Audeo, does that make me a shill for Phonak, or Westone, or both? I finally found an IEM that is well ahead of the Westone 3, but because it is the custom Westone ES3X I must still be shilling for them. I don't even know why I bother worrying about it anymore...

[recstar24]

Dunno, my previous posts were inspired from your reviewing style. Are you yanking our chains with all your burn-in crap and ass licking on Head-fi?

Whoa, watch the attitude. I know a lot of people have issues with larry's posts or reviews or what not, but that doesn't give you a reason to act like an asshat just to provoke someone.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Whoa, watch the attitude. I know a lot of people have issues with larry's posts or reviews or what not, but that doesn't give you a reason to act like an asshat just to provoke someone.

Thanks for the support, I think. The "a lot of people have issues with larry's posts or reviews" didn't help much.

[luvdunhill]

I don't even know why I bother worrying about it anymore...

A number of people cast a very wary eye one *anyone* that does reviews, whether it be "professional" or more amateurish in nature. This is for right or wrong, but this is how it is.

My question is, why do you agree to do reviews? Why not listen to the gear and have a conversation with the manufacturer about what you liked and disliked, then return the evaluation unit and not make a public statement? Are you looking for some sort of public approval? Not that this is "bad" per se, but I'm curious, why do you do it?

[justin]

I thought we had put some of our difference behind us, but I guess not. You say you want to participate in a "rational" discussion, but you act like I ran over your cat or something. And you try to lure me into making statements that you can then attack. I just don't get it. Look, I try to be fair and post what I hear, and I try to help other people with my impressions. Yet I get the feeling that you and others on the forums are so set in their ways that you guys wont give new stuff a fair chance, or at least not without dissecting it and estimating it's abilities based on that result instead of by listening.

As for the Amphora - it's biggest audience is going to be those using an iMod as source, as it takes the place of the iMod Vcap dock + separate amp + LOD + mini-mini interconnect. An iQube or P-51 with portable Vcap dock and IC's can cost almost as much as the Amphora. There is not a big audience for them, and only 100 being made. You are not an iMod fan, so I don't expect you to be an Amphora fan. The fact that I have posted in my assessment that the Amphora doesn't match the Woo WA6, and that it sounds closer to a "lowly" single power square wave xl or P-51 mustang, doesn't seem contradictory to your beliefs - so I don't see what the problem is?

Maybe the problem is that I like too many of the things that I listen to and review? I am working on a comparison of a loaner Cavalli CTH/Mullard 12AU7 vs EF1/Mullard 12AU7, and have also listened to the Amphora, P-51 and 3MOVE side by side with those. So far with some program material and some headphones, one will be better than the other but not every time. I like them all and can't decide which sounds best this early in the process - they tend to swap places depending on the gear paired with them or my mood. It makes me wonder whether am I reviewing the amp, the headphones or the music. (is synergy a taboo subject?) But, if I were to eventually find the Cavalli my favorite then do I become a shill for Alex?

I have lots of questions about how you go about defining me as a shill. As a default it seems like you accuse me of being a shill for whomever I rank first, or is that the case only if I give a good rating to gear by builders that you don't approve of? Was I a shill for RSA because I liked the Predator the most for a long time, and now that I like the iBasso D10 more does that make me a shill for them now? I tried to make it clear that I would be happy with any of my top ranked portable DAC/amps, and that they are very close, but that doesn't seem to help. I tried to give the IE8 a fair shot to unseat the Westone 3 as my favorite universal IEM, but I don't find them to be much better than my Phonak Audeo, does that make me a shill for Phonak, or Westone, or both? I finally found an IEM that is well ahead of the Westone 3, but because it is the custom Westone ES3X I must still be shilling for them. I don't even know why I bother worrying about it anymore...

I don't think you're a shill, but I think you know where I stand on these mega-reviews. It does not matter if you rank something a 10.000 and something else a 9.999. At any given time something is ranked a 10.000 on Head-Fi. This is what everyone will buy. The few percent who miss one of the 100 links to the mega-review thread or can't read English might pick the 9.999. Because everyone just wants to be told what to buy and if everyone else is doing it then it must be the right/safe/popular choice. Consider making a review thread where there are no numerical rankings, in fact no rankings at all. I think you'll find that nobody will read it, but it would be a step in the right direction.

[Smeggy]

Oh they'll read it, then bitch about the lack of ratings..

[spritzer]

Larry's certainly not a shill. That's a position reserved to fucktards such as jamato and others like him. I do agree that percentages or any numerical ratings have no place in reviews short of identifying what class the product should be in, in any given context. That said I don't trust any reviews and my case was just proven on 6moons this week with the new Pass INT review.

My question is, why do you agree to do reviews? Why not listen to the gear and have a conversation with the manufacturer about what you liked and disliked, then return the evaluation unit and not make a public statement? Are you looking for some sort of public approval? Not that this is "bad" per se, but I'm curious, why do you do it?

That's a very good point. Right now I'm playing with one of Moray's new digital IC's and there is no way I'm going to write a public review on it but he will get my honest impressions.

[LFF]

I thought the Cotton Dock and Bling Bling Dock from ALO sounded great when I compared them to a few others. Hope that doesn't make me a shill.

[n_maher]

Consider making a review thread where there are no numerical rankings, in fact no rankings at all. I think you'll find that nobody will read it, but it would be a step in the right direction.

I don't think either of the two reviews that I wrote made use of number scales and both were read by at least a few folks. Of course I think they both have bitten the dust now (can't find them on HF, both were in the "reviews" sub-forum that no longer exists) so I can't verify that but I figured it was worth mentioning.

[manaox2]

I have only posted meet impressions and they're usually pretty brief. OTOH, I hope that not many would judge deeply based on my opinion.

Holy crap. $5500 for the intro price and $6500 for the regular price.

[GPH]

Whoa, watch the attitude. I know a lot of people have issues with larry's posts or reviews or what not, but that doesn't give you a reason to act like an asshat just to provoke someone.

OK, I have to admit I was in a bad mood last night and perhaps my comments came to some people as harsh and uncalled for in this context. Maybe I should have started a thread called "I have a beef with HeadphoneAddict" or something like that, but anyway, since I started, I'll take time to explain my main beefs with Larry.

1) Numerical ratings and lists in reviews

Any audio review with precise numerical ratings and best-of lists has no credibility to my eyes. It's fun once in a while to rate your favorite headphones, but when you try to appear as an authority like Larry, you should try to put out more serious reviews. Audio is just way too subjective to quantify, starting with the fact that our ears are all biologically different. You're a doctor Larry, I think you should know that.

2) Quality over quantity

HeadphoneAddict reviews are just all over the place on Head-fi, with hour-by-hour impressions, burn-in impressions, schizophrenic meet discussions with Blutarsky, etc. It sounds to me like he tries too hard to be a reference and an all-around guy with opinions on everything. I put more trust in reviews that are made by guys who have owned a certain piece of equipment for a long time, and that take their time for writing a quality review. I don't know how to explain this better, but I feel that it transpires in the quality of the review.

3) Burn-in

I won't go into arguing whether burn-in exists or not. My beef here is that guys like Larry and jamato always talk about burn-in like it's a damn fact, especially with capacitors, with burn-in logs detailing how sound changes in function of time. Again, I'm not saying you don't hear what you're hearing, my problem lies with the fact that your methodology suck. For doing proper burn-in comparisons like that, you'd need at least a stock pair to compare with and it'd have to be done through a blind test. Otherwise, audio memory is not good enough for remembering details as subtle as burn-in.

4) Search for public approval

This might just be my opinion, but it seems to me that you're always seeking public approval. You get all irrational when people don't hear the same things as you, and you have even supposed a couple of times in the past that these people might have broken equipment. Also, personal opinion again, but I find it very annoying that you always refer to other people in your posts (blutarsky 90% of the time) to confirm your ideas, like you have something to prove.

5) Shilling

I don't think you're a shill like jamato, earwicker or that kind of guys, but I think your behaviour with manufacturers and MOTs is innapropriate to say the least. Like the time you proposed a trade to Dan Lavry for a sample of his new amp, or in this thread when you presupposed that the A-10 was a high-end preamp without ever hearing it. I remember reading plenty of other examples too. Also, is it necessary that you start mega-threads about products like the Westone 3 and the Amphora, these almost seem like ads for the manufacturers. I know you get to receive a lot of samples it probably pleases the MOTs because your reviews are always very positive and cheerful, not much to fear on their side.

Edited April 16, 2009 by GPH
typos

[spritzer]

I really like the part about all the different PSU's and that he uses Panasonic caps in the PSU. They are pretty much our standard go-to caps for these PSU's and far from special in any way.

[justin]

I really like the part about all the different PSU's and that he uses Panasonic caps in the PSU. They are pretty much our standard go-to caps for these PSU's and far from special in any way.

I have a blue capacitor and a black capacitor it looks prettier that way

[HeadphoneAddict]

A number of people cast a very wary eye one *anyone* that does reviews, whether it be "professional" or more amateurish in nature. This is for right or wrong, but this is how it is.

My question is, why do you agree to do reviews? Why not listen to the gear and have a conversation with the manufacturer about what you liked and disliked, then return the evaluation unit and not make a public statement? Are you looking for some sort of public approval? Not that this is "bad" per se, but I'm curious, why do you do it?

I'm spending way to much time on this reply, and I still don't think it is worth it.

The majority of my reviews are with equipment that I have purchased for myself, and I wanted to share what I thought with others. I think my first one was comparing a JSeaber cmoy with bass boost to a PenguinAmp Royal and Caffeine Pro summer 2007. I was surprised by the performance of the inexpensive PenguinAmps and wanted to share my impressions. When Robert at PenguinAmp told me about the Headstage Lyrix I went to eBay and bought one to review, and then I got the iBasso D1, and the Meier Headsix and out of habit I continued to review them all.

It just took off from there. Although I didn't do a mega-review on everything that I've bought or liked (HFI-700, HD600, CD5001, DV336i, PS Audio DL3, Edition 9, etc) un-reviewed gear sometimes came up in other reviews or got a small mini-review in the middle of a thread somewhere. So, more people would ask me about what I thought about "such and such" and I'd research it and think it looked interesting. Then I'd buy it and review it if I liked it.

Later I also did the reviews just so I could point people to the review link instead of answering the same stupid questions over and over. It was fun at first, but now it is just starting to feel like work. Lately, when I am offered something to review I am partly curious about the product, but I partly feel obligated to post a review on it and not say no too. Add to that a lack appreciation for the effort and it just plain sucks.

[Icarium]

I really like the part about all the different PSU's and that he uses Panasonic caps in the PSU. They are pretty much our standard go-to caps for these PSU's and far from special in any way.

Hrm.. is a switching power supply like with the rest of his stuff or something nicer?

[Duggeh]

I have a blue capacitor and a black capacitor it looks prettier that way

But you didn't paint one of the torroids blue to keep the colour scheme?

[Asr]

It just took off from there. Although I didn't do a mega-review on everything that I've bought or liked (HFI-700, HD600, CD5001, DV336i, PS Audio DL3, Edition 9, etc) un-reviewed gear sometimes came up in other reviews or got a small mini-review in the middle of a thread somewhere. So, more people would ask me about what I thought about "such and such" and I'd research it and think it looked interesting. Then I'd buy it and review it if I liked it.

Later I also did the reviews just so I could point people to the review link instead of answering the same stupid questions over and over. It was fun at first, but now it is just starting to feel like work. Lately, when I am offered something to review I am partly curious about the product, but I partly feel obligated to post a review on it and not say no too. Add to that a lack appreciation for the effort and it just plain sucks.

I too used to think it was a sort of "civic duty" to report my impressions on gear, but that doesn't mean one has to do it if you don't want to. But I eventually came to realize most people don't really care and everyone's ears & preferences are different anyway, so I decided to stop wasting my time. I just listen for myself now and am much happier as a result.

I think if you're tired of writing reviews, quit it and disable your PMs so you don't get stray questions from ungrateful strangers who will most likely not take any reasonable advice. That's what I found most annoying and is why I followed that route myself. It also doesn't hurt that as a result of my Head-Fi journey I've heard everything I wanted to and finally killed all my curiosities. It took a lot of money to do that but I'm actually glad I got to the end-point.

[HeadphoneAddict]

OK, I have to admit I was in a bad mood last night and perhaps my comments came to some people as harsh and uncalled for in this context. Maybe I should have started a thread called "I have a beef with HeadphoneAddict" or something like that, but anyway, since I started, I'll take time to explain my main beefs with Larry.

1) Numerical ratings and lists in reviews

Any audio review with precise numerical ratings and best-of lists has no credibility to my eyes. It's fun once in a while to rate your favorite headphones, but when you try to appear as an authority like Larry, you should try to put out more serious reviews. Audio is just way too subjective to quantify, starting with the fact that our ears are all biologically different. You're a doctor Larry, I think you should know that.

I can see your point. It doesn't stop me from being bombarded constantly with requests for a rank or preference. Such is my dilemma with the reviews, because I often don't want to do a rank. I mentioned my issue with the Cavalli CTH and that my preference of amp changes with what music, source or headphones I use (as well as the tube). I want to say the Cavalli CTH is a very rich, powerful and detailed low-cost tube hybrid, that compares well with the EF1, P-51 and Amphora. But I struggle to come up with a rank so that I can fend off the dozens of requests that I know will come later.

2) Quality over quantity

HeadphoneAddict reviews are just all over the place on Head-fi, with hour-by-hour impressions, burn-in impressions, schizophrenic meet discussions with Blutarsky, etc. It sounds to me like he tries too hard to be a reference and an all-around guy with opinions on everything. I put more trust in reviews that are made by guys who have owned a certain piece of equipment for a long time, and that take their time for writing a quality review. I don't know how to explain this better, but I feel that it transpires in the quality of the review.

I admit I am not a professional reviewer. The mini-meets with Blutarsky and "The Headphone Guys" were supposed to be fun and funny, tongue in cheek so to speak. Sorry I'm not funny. Some of my reviews I thought seemed more professional, like my Travagans or Firestone Audio reviews. Others less so because I am just too tired to do a better job most of the time. I am slowly "becoming deceased" from a chronic lung disease that is extremely fatiguing, with growing scar tissue closing off airways and blood vessels in my chest. Add to the hypoxia my fibromyalgia, chronic tendonitis, and other issues, and I haven't been able to work as a doctor for a year and a half. You can understand why I don't want to put more effort into these reviews.

3) Burn-in

I won't go into arguing whether burn-in exists or not. My beef here is that guys like Larry and jamato always talk about burn-in like it's a damn fact, especially with capacitors, with burn-in logs detailing how sound changes in function of time. Again, I'm not saying you don't hear what you're hearing, my problem lies with the fact that your methodology suck. For doing proper burn-in comparisons like that, you'd need at least a stock pair to compare with and it'd have to be done through a blind test. Otherwise, audio memory is not good enough for remembering details as subtle as burn-in.

When I am paying for things like my own Predator I cannot afford to buy a second one as a control. Ray is not likely to send me two A-10 to compare either. All I can do most of the time is to report on the changes that I hear by writing down my impressions every 24 hours and then consolidating that into my review. If my daily written observations are not enough to refresh my memory, then most of the time there is no other easy/economical way available to me to help in reporting on changes that I hear over time.

4) Search for public approval

This might just be my opinion, but it seems to me that you're always seeking public approval. You get all irrational when people don't hear the same things as you, and you have even supposed a couple of times in the past that these people might have broken equipment. Also, personal opinion again, but I find it very annoying that you always refer to other people in your posts (blutarsky 90% of the time) to confirm your ideas, like you have something to prove.

I don't need public approval, but even more importantly I don't need to be publicly vilified and humiliated. I've admitted the "maybe your W3 are defective" comment was a bad choice of words, and the "super-bat hearing" comment was even worse. But, go ahead and bring it up again. The referral to Blutarsky or Sherwood, who can sometimes come over and listen to the same gear, is just to reinforce the validity of my observations. I thought that was a helpful thing, but I guess not.

5) Shilling

I don't think you're a shill like jamato, earwicker or that kind of guys, but I think your behaviour with manufacturers and MOTs is innapropriate to say the least. Like the time you proposed a trade to Dan Lavry for a sample of his new amp, or in this thread when you presupposed that the A-10 was a high-end preamp without ever hearing it. I remember reading plenty of other examples too. Also, is it necessary that you start mega-threads about products like the Westone 3 and the Amphora, these almost seem like ads for the manufacturers. I know you get to receive a lot of samples it probably pleases the MOTs because your reviews are always very positive and cheerful, not much to fear on their side.

Yeah, I thought the Lavry issue was over already too. As for the other part - I start new threads for many of the reviews because I don't want the reviews to be lost in the thousands of posts buried deep in a thread. People miss the review, and then write to me asking what I think, and then I have to deep link them to it. I'm trying to save myself the effort.

Other times I don't start a new thread. I posted my impressions in the middle of the ALO MOT thread, and posted updates in the thread. But it was split out by ALO into it's own impressions thread - I didn't start an Amphora mega-thread (I did consolidate all my separate posts about the Amphora into post #3 of mrarroyo's Amphora review). With the Amphora I had already expressed an interest in the Amphora to Ken before I was loaned Zimm's to comment on and was offered the demo model, but I wasn't going to put up the money till I heard one. Zimm's loaner Amphora was a good opportunity to get a no obligation audition because I didn't want to feel obligated to buy the demo model if I liked or didn't like it.

I also have my Westone ES3X review in the middle of the "Appreciation" thread, and did not start a mega-thread. Same with the Woo GES being in the middle of the big Stax thread, or the Nuforce Icon in the middle of someone else's thread. I feel many people don't find those buried reviews because they are looking at thread titles to decide what to read, and also the old threads fall off the map and get forgotten. I thought I was just helping people notice the reviews more easily, so they would read them. I started putting links to the reviews in my public profile "about me" so that I could point people to reviews from there. But I don't expect people to find review links on their own by going through public profiles - so I just tried to make them easier to find by starting their own review thread.