New amp from RSA...

[Bob_McBob]

"The Tomahawk" "...resolution you can never imagine."

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=205466

http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/index3.html

Discuss

[Guest sacd lover]

"The Tomahawk" "...resolution you can never imagine."

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=205466

http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/index3.html

Probably not .....

[grawk]

So it's a bigger supermicro, but iwth a lip so it'll catch on your pockets, and probably won't sound as good...

[KenW]

Let the fun begin.

[aerius]

i can imagine an awful lot of resolution.

You do realize you're going about it backwards. "Resolution you can never imagine" means the resolution is so fucking awful that you can't imagine it.

[TheSloth]

There isn't much circuitry he could possibly cut out of the Hornet, as there is hardly anything there in the first place, so we can assume this is just a repackaged Hornet, AD8397 etc. and a few cheaper components and much lower voltage?

So, in other words this thing is like a Total Airhead except it has no crossfeed and runs at a much lower voltage off batteries, and will cost more? Way to go Ray! And those cases look very cute in pictures, but I really don't see how practical they are in their intended portable use with edges sticking out and protruding volume controls to get knocked about...

[PFKMan23]

Any guesses on the MSRP? I'm guessing 250 for intro prcing (if he does that) and then 300 normal.

[philodox]

Why does he always put his model names in quotes?! I don't know why, but I find that so irritating.

[kevin gilmore]

Nope, not an ad8397 as that can't run on 3 volts.

My crystal ball is warmed up, so i predict the following

Just about has to be this chip

http://www.maxim-ic.com/quick_view2.cfm/qv_pk/3459

Will know once i see pictures of the board.

Which i will see sooner rather than later

No rail splitter necessary.

No honking big cap either.

Total cost to build $30

Initial introductory price $199

Thereafter $250

[909]

I heard it at the last so cal meet. I thought it sounded OK for a small portable amp.

Can someone tell me what's up with the Tomahawk's jacks? Rubber rings and weirdly bent somewhat circular brass looking things. I really don?t like the gold color of the Toma's volume knob, it looks pretty ghetto.

[909]

i can imagine an awful lot of resolution. it's a cute amp, though. btw, is romanee being paid for his ad copy, or is it pro bono?

I want to see romanee's ad (can't find it; must look harder). Do you think this product announcement was a premature calculation by Ray to put the focus back on him and his products? Because it doesn't seems like he isn't getting the same level and type of attention he's use to receiving.

[Filburt]

I was thinking MAX4410 as well, though his estimates on battery life would seem to exclude it (420 hours on 2 AAAs!?) unless he means like lithium batteries or something. The largest rechargeables I've seen at places like Thomas are 1000mAh.

[ayt999]

so where's the pipe bowl and the hollow stem? this is a tomahawk right?

[Bob_McBob]

I want to see romanee's ad

Deleted... check here: http://sig.fortepianos.com/romanee.htm

[kevin gilmore]

The energizer non rechargable lithium l91 batteries are 4500 mah...

at a current of 7ma you can certainly run a max4410 on these batteries

for 400 hours.

We will all know whether or not he is using a rail splitter on 3 volts

as soon as a picture is taken.

I'm sure ray needs new advertising to spruce up sales...

[Mister X]

I am willing to bet it features a boomer chip (like the LM4910)

[kevin gilmore]

From a lousy picture i was just shown it certainly looks like one big electrolytic

(evidently ray's trademark) even though AA batteries really don't need it

and one 8 pin soic package. So its not the maxim part, but it certainly could

be the boomer part, or an ad8617 if he uses the split between the batteries

as ground. The input and output jacks are the same kind of jacks that i have

on a couple of my video cameras. They do seem to work, but boy are they

cheap. So i'll downgrade my parts cost to $25

Evidently ray is trying very hard to keep decent pictures of the board from

ever showing up.

I guess i don't even understand why he is making such a product. Its probably

identical to the chips already in many of the ipod and ipod like devices, whats

the benefit??

[bhd812]

For IEM"S is rite on the money, god my Sensa's and this amp were amazing together..really nice combo.

seen this amp a few times with out the case, this is the first I seen with the case..

looks so small next to the Hornet, wander how small next to the sr-71.

oh well I am sure to know in a few weeks.

[kevin gilmore]

Filbert at that other forum has said this (probably soon to be deleted)

I'm not trying to troll you guys or make your lives difficult or whatnot. When I comment on something, it is in an effort to be helpful to the person I'm responding to. My comment was out of a genuine interest and concern. The current a portable amplifier outputs is going to come from the batteries, and the batteries are limited in capacity. In order to achieve a desired battery life, your current draw is going to have to be sufficiently low. You have to take into account not only the quiescent draw of the amplifier circuitry, but the draw of the headphones as well. As a result, based on the duration quoted here, it seems that it would have to drive your IEMs on a couple or few mA of current (depending on battery capacity), which is probably doable, but then there's a question of why you need an amplifier in the first place since many devices' internal amps will already source and sink that much current with pretty decent linearity and they're designed to handle the sort of load a headphone brings, whereas many micropower op-amps aren't (and even fewer could do so reasonably well). In order to get the equation above that level, it would take AAAs of a capacity I've at least never seen before or seen anything even close, but I'm not ruling out the possibility. I mention micropower op-amps as they're about the only thing that will get this low a quiescent current at this voltage, as well as the use of some of them might help explain artears' comment. I considered the use of micropower op-amps in some of the circuits I built over the summer, so I'm not unfamiliar with them. Thus, to me at least, it seemed as though my comments were reasonable. I would have made them irrespective of who made the amplifier. People who talk to me regularly I imagine will tell you I discuss the designs of a variety of devices, not just Ray's.

I have to agree 100%. Many of the ipod and ipod like things i have checked into in the last few hours have at a minimum 4.8 volt batteries, most have 6

volt batteries, and i even found one with a 7.2 volt battery. All of these devices are going to be able to drive headphones better than something that

runs on 3 volts.

[tiberian]

Filbert at that other forum has said this (probably soon to be deleted)

I'm not trying to troll you guys or make your lives difficult or whatnot. When I comment on something, it is in an effort to be helpful to the person I'm responding to. My comment was out of a genuine interest and concern. The current a portable amplifier outputs is going to come from the batteries, and the batteries are limited in capacity. In order to achieve a desired battery life, your current draw is going to have to be sufficiently low. You have to take into account not only the quiescent draw of the amplifier circuitry, but the draw of the headphones as well. As a result, based on the duration quoted here, it seems that it would have to drive your IEMs on a couple or few mA of current (depending on battery capacity), which is probably doable, but then there's a question of why you need an amplifier in the first place since many devices' internal amps will already source and sink that much current with pretty decent linearity and they're designed to handle the sort of load a headphone brings, whereas many micropower op-amps aren't (and even fewer could do so reasonably well). In order to get the equation above that level, it would take AAAs of a capacity I've at least never seen before or seen anything even close, but I'm not ruling out the possibility. I mention micropower op-amps as they're about the only thing that will get this low a quiescent current at this voltage, as well as the use of some of them might help explain artears' comment. I considered the use of micropower op-amps in some of the circuits I built over the summer, so I'm not unfamiliar with them. Thus, to me at least, it seemed as though my comments were reasonable. I would have made them irrespective of who made the amplifier. People who talk to me regularly I imagine will tell you I discuss the designs of a variety of devices, not just Ray's.

I have to agree 100%. Many of the ipod and ipod like things i have checked into in the last few hours have at a minimum 4.8 volt batteries, most have 6

volt batteries, and i even found one with a 7.2 volt battery. All of these devices are going to be able to drive headphones better than something that

runs on 3 volts.

wow, i read immtbiker original post, and he is a fucking idiot. instead of doing his math, he decided to flame filburt, lol.

[TheSloth]

I have to agree 100%. Many of the ipod and ipod like things i have checked into in the last few hours have at a minimum 4.8 volt batteries, most have 6

volt batteries, and i even found one with a 7.2 volt battery. All of these devices are going to be able to drive headphones better than something that

runs on 3 volts.

Aren't iPod's 3.7V? Though even that is higher than the 3V max of 2AAA's. Unfortunately Ray is going to sell a lot of these.

[deepak]

Hehe IEMs don't need amps. They need better sources.

[immtbiker]

wow, i read immtbiker original post, and he is a fucking idiot. instead of doing his math, he decided to flame filburt, lol.

I'm a fucking idiot? Glad you you let me know...all this time I thought I had some semblance of intelligence. Math was my best subject in military school.

Perhaps we need to meet one day to discuss this in person.

[DieInAFire]

For IEM"S is rite on the money, god my Sensa's and this amp were amazing together..really nice combo.

seen this amp a few times with out the case, this is the first I seen with the case..

looks so small next to the Hornet, wander how small next to the sr-71.

oh well I am sure to know in a few weeks.

let us know how it stacks up against the hornet.

[Dusty Chalk]

Perhaps we need to meet one day to discuss this in person.

Is this some kind of veiled threat?