tyrion Posted June 2, 2009 Report Posted June 2, 2009 in the music matters demo, what was the album that they compared the original LP to the new version, back to back? the first track had some really big sounding piano... too tired, can't remember, but i want to listen to it. I believe Lee Morgan - Tom Cat
Edwood Posted June 2, 2009 Report Posted June 2, 2009 I won the TTVJ Millet Hybrid Portable last year. Much to my surprise, it's pretty good at driving the K1000's. That new Millet Portable seems like it uses a rotary encoder rather than an analog pot reference that the Slim uses. Hence the need for the multicolor RGB LED that it uses. The dial spins freely, with no stop points. It has detents in it, so you can change the volume in steps. But I think there weren't more than 20 or so steps. I didn't count them all, but it wasn't a lot. The color change LED was pretty neat, though. -Ed
manaox2 Posted June 2, 2009 Report Posted June 2, 2009 I didn't like the Millett Hybrid Portable when I owned it with IEMs because of the microphonic tube ping and the rush when plugging in phones or turning on the amp. It also doesn't have the highest amount of detail like a desktop amp or competing portable amps at that price that I have heard (iqube, Pico, LISA III), but it sounded so glorious with my old modded SR-60. I suspect it would be a very synergistic match with most Grado. So the new Millett Portable does not have a low voltage tube at all, while the original did is what I'm hearing? They should have changed the name more perhaps.
n_maher Posted June 2, 2009 Report Posted June 2, 2009 So the new Millett Portable does not have a low voltage tube at all, while the original did is what I'm hearing? They should have changed the name more perhaps. Correct, all solid state, no tubes, digital volume control with variable LED to indicate volume level.
manaox2 Posted June 2, 2009 Report Posted June 2, 2009 This is becoming odd with three major manufacturers all implementing digital volume controls inside of super slim amps which have all been announced in the last month and even with prototypes available at the international meet. TTVJ's amp reminds me of the one that another site was advertising about come from Headamp in April 2009 (Headamp arrow, which I'm guessing has since become the Pico Slim). Was there some kind of ad posted to manufacturers on digital volume controls lately or was the technology well known but just now being made attractive at the cutting edge?
Voltron Posted June 2, 2009 Report Posted June 2, 2009 I believe Lee Morgan - Tom Cat You are correct sir! Title track, even. The piano sounded so much better and the horns were so distinct and dynamic in the Music Matters issue that it was not even a close call on which was better. Oh yeah, and the cymbals, my god, the cymbals.
dcpoor Posted June 2, 2009 Report Posted June 2, 2009 CanJam 2009 they also called neko audio "niko audio"
grawk Posted June 2, 2009 Report Posted June 2, 2009 I think it was 30 steps on the millett. He said he could use more, but felt like 30 was enough.
luvdunhill Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 I won the TTVJ Millet Hybrid Portable last year. Much to my surprise, it's pretty good at driving the K1000's. It also drives orthos amazingly well. It's probably in my top 2 portable amps for sure.
blessingx Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 The digital crossfeed on the Lavry DA11 was a total trip. Absolutely brilliant!Did you try both directions ))<>((? All steps natural sounding? The DA11 was one of the items I most kick myself for not trying.
zippy2001 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 Did you try both directions ))<>((? All steps natural sounding? The DA11 was one of the items I most kick myself for not trying. The DA11 goes from narrow -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 wide on both left and right I'm trying out the DA11 now and with normal recordings, the extreme wide +2 setting just seems to make the recordings sound distant. The +1 setting is more tolerable. I think I need to find some good recordings that would benefit from this sort of treatment. And with the -3 -2 -1 it does truly make the sound image shrink in more towards the middle. It does work very well, but I'm not sure how much I would actually use this feature. It really is an interesting DAC, so far it sounds quite good with the listening that I've done so far. As a headphone amp, it is okay but not great. I am still experimenting with connecting it with my computer. So far I'm very happy with this unit.
Voltron Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 That's a cool report, Steve. I wish I had checked it out, and may take up Dan Lavry on the offer of a loaner. You should find an old jazz album with that serious separation left and right of horns vs. piano or similar and see how those narrowing settings work out. Dan said that such records were what he had in mind when attacking this problem. Interestingly, it was HeadFest 2007 in San Jose that got him thinking about the impact of balancing headphones and keeping your sources balanced because so many people were talking about it. He came up with the PiC idea as a result.
HeadphoneAddict Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 This is becoming odd with three major manufacturers all implementing digital volume controls inside of super slim amps which have all been announced in the last month and even with prototypes available at the international meet. TTVJ's amp reminds me of the one that another site was advertising about come from Headamp in April 2009 (Headamp arrow, which I'm guessing has since become the Pico Slim). Was there some kind of ad posted to manufacturers on digital volume controls lately or was the technology well known but just now being made attractive at the cutting edge? Headstage/Headphonia was making the Arrow. Did they change their name again?
zippy2001 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 That's a cool report, Steve. I wish I had checked it out, and may take up Dan Lavry on the offer of a loaner. You should find an old jazz album with that serious separation left and right of horns vs. piano or similar and see how those narrowing settings work out. Dan said that such records were what he had in mind when attacking this problem. Interestingly, it was HeadFest 2007 in San Jose that got him thinking about the impact of balancing headphones and keeping your sources balanced because so many people were talking about it. He came up with the PiC idea as a result. I will have to find some old jazz albums, hmmm any Blue Note titles come to mind? I'm sure I'll find some good examples to experiment with. I'll report back after further listening.
Asr Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Posted June 3, 2009 Scattered Final Impressions Audio-Technica AD2000 V3 balanced: I gave my own headphones a quick spin on my system (Bryston BDA-1, HR Balanced Max) and didn't find a noticeable improvement with balanced operation. I've previously tried my AD2000 in previous balanced systems like my former dCS P8i and Bel Canto CD-1 through a balanced Beta22 (and also the RSA Apache from a Meridian 508.24) and I'm starting to think it may be waste of time to keep these headphones balanced because they just don't seem to sonically benefit from it much. Not sure what the reason could be. I found it more responsive to the APureSound V3 cable upgrade. So right now I'm unsure if I'm going to be keeping a balanced system, will just have to wait a bit longer and find out for sure though. AKG K701 Equinox balanced: My K701, on the other hand, improved with balanced operation in the ways that I expected. I haven't recently used my K701 so this was more of a refresher and it was nice to listen to them again. I almost can't believe I used to think the K701 was clear-sounding, there's totally a kind of veil on it that the HD800 and Qualia don't have. But it's still a decent headphone IMO, and balanced mode really helps bring out the bass and soundstage. Audeze orthos: I didn't know I listened to these, I had no idea what they were and I recognized them when I saw someone else post a pic of them. These sounded pretty good - fast and clear-sounding was my initial impression. Something about the bass felt wonky though. And they didn't fit my head very well. Comply foam tips: I was told by the Comply rep that these are more for comfort than isolation. I don't really have issues with comfort when it comes to IEM tips (all of the ones that came with my Klipsch X10 fit me pretty well) but I tried these anyway to see if they gave better isolation, and they didn't - well, at least not what I expected. I thought these would 100% completely attenuate out the world. I don't know if I inserted them deep enough or not but I still heard ambient noise faintly. Woo Audio 22, correction: I saw I posted earlier that I took a pic of the tubes when I clearly did not, I only photographed the tubes on the WES. Regardless, both the 22 and WES had upgraded tubes. The 22's tubes: Sylvania 7236 ($110), Sophia 274B ($150), RCA 12AU7 ($80), for a total $2140 (from the $1800 special offer). The WES' tubes: Treasure 6CA7 ($460). TS 6SL7, TS 5V4GA, & Mullard EL34 included at the list price of $4500 (I guess Woo decided to change the complement from the current one mentioned on the Web page). (I'm copying this tube info from a piece of literature that was in their room.) It's also mentioned on the Woo Audio literature that their prototype DAC uses the Wolfson WM8741. I saw its back panel and it did not have balanced output, only single-ended.
shaizada Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 Did you try both directions ))<>((? All steps natural sounding? The DA11 was one of the items I most kick myself for not trying. Honestly, it was very dependent on the recording. Some recordings with hard left / right channel instrument locations seemed to benefit the most for me. I could change it to a very natural sounding soundstage with a few clicks in. Another use would be if someone had some listening imbalance in his/her ears. He could use the PiC feature to correct for that in the digital domain itself. How awesome is that? I loved the sound of the DA10 and I don't hear an iota of difference in the sound signature of the DA11. It's just a fantastic performer and my first choice in that price category.
manaox2 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 Headstage/Headphonia was making the Arrow. Did they change their name again? Thanks, I need to pay more attention.
n_maher Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 Epic caption fail! It's been corrected, I got an email back from David Clark last night. What's funny is he used the description I sent to him of what was in the photo pretty much verbatim.
atothex Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 It's been corrected, I got an email back from David Clark last night. What's funny is he used the description I sent to him of what was in the photo pretty much verbatim. Blah, still didn't fix Niko Audio or Manely. Also, "rainbow are" is a fatty grammar fail. It's OK if you sent them a quick email like that, but actually publishing stuff with that kind of grammar is unacceptable to me.
n_maher Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 Blah, still didn't fix Niko Audio or Manely. Also, "rainbow are" is a fatty grammar fail. It's OK if you sent them a quick email like that, but actually publishing stuff with that kind of grammar is unacceptable to me. The amp pictured to the left is the Blue Hawaii Special Edition and the rainbow across the top of the CD player is called the Pico. Just in case you wanted to add any more information.It's not my grammatical fail. And I'm sure David would correct the other stuff if someone pointed it out to him, I didn't say anything about Neko or Manley.
Duggeh Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 The ALO solution for linking a sign to a table just as practical, compact and elegant as their way of linking an iPod to an amp I see.
Hopstretch Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 PS: Do not Google "Give him the clamps" with SS turned off.
n_maher Posted June 3, 2009 Report Posted June 3, 2009 http://www.ibiblio.org/tkan/audio/canjam2009/dsc02515.jpg The ALO solution for linking a sign to a table just as practical, compact and elegant as their way of linking an iPod to an amp I see. I believe the clamps are there to keep the table cloth in place so that it cannot be ripped off by the weight of the flesh-tone cable monsters. Nate hopes he cannot be sued for using the term "monster" in connection with something clearly audio related.
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