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Author Topic: Portable amps  (Read 81352 times)

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LFF

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Re: Portable amps
« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2012, 06:00:41 PM »

If a portable amp doesn't have crossfeed it's dead to me...

Really?

I always felt crossfeed circuits muck up the sound....
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Re: Portable amps
« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2012, 06:08:31 PM »

I love my Leckerton UHA-6S.
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Marvey

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Re: Portable amps
« Reply #12 on: June 07, 2012, 06:31:29 PM »

WMFS
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rhythmdevils

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Re: Portable amps
« Reply #13 on: June 07, 2012, 06:36:33 PM »


this was the problem with the ones I built , rails ran at dual 18V (4x9V) with a ClassA symmetrical buffer BUT battery life was a mere 3 hours run continuously. Mine was similar to a PPAS but without any instability concerns. The PPAS remains more advanced in design when compared to most portable amps which rely on an opamp amplification stage and usually some form of chip buffer. ( or not at all ) Triad's LISA is the amp that stands apart but is not exactly portable.

..dB

I think I get more like 4-5 hours out of mine, but I've never calculated it I'm just guessing.  Hasn't been a big problem since I just use it around the house or outside.  But it is annoying.  I think mine has 8 AAA eneloops and is about the size of the original SR71.  Fallenangel made it, you probably know him from the DIY forums. 

I didn't know you built one.  What do you mean when you say that yours was similar to the PPAS?
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maverickronin

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Re: Portable amps
« Reply #14 on: June 07, 2012, 07:11:07 PM »

Really?

I always felt crossfeed circuits muck up the sound....

It's a minority opinion, but IMO listening to stereo mixes w/o crossfeed is almost like listening to vinyl but leaving out the RIAA EQ.  It's just not meant to be listened to that way.  Without crossfeed the inter aural time and and level differences are just far to wrong and unnatural.  I can't really listen long without it, especially with good headphones that don't sound completely inside-your-head, before I get headaches.  Modern pop and rock without much channel separation to begin with can last me an hour or two even on some good headphones but a well recorded symphony usually makes my brain feel like it's being torn in half even on cheap headphones.
 
 The usual modified Linkwitz circuits aren't the best and I prefer more advanced simulators when I can use them.  I play my main music library through foobar with the TB Isone VST plugin which can simulate different types of speakers and different rooms along with an adjustable HRTF.  I don't want or need to simulate a studio or different devices to check mixes as some people use it for, so I set the virtual speakers to dead flat and turn off the room simulator leaving only the distance, angle, and HRTF.  I can't use that will every source though so I still need an amp with a hardware crossfeed circuit, especially for portable use, even if it's not as good.
 
 None of those are as good as if you were listening to binaural or speakers in the first place but for me there's not much choice.  I couldn't really listen to headphones all that much without crossfeed unless I cut back on the quality of the headphones and the variety of the music I listen to and I couldn't listen to all that much music if I didn't use headphones so that's why a portable amp without crossfeed is dead to me.
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grev

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Re: Portable amps
« Reply #15 on: June 07, 2012, 09:24:59 PM »

RX3 it is!  Running balanced too?
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slwiser

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Re: Portable amps
« Reply #16 on: June 07, 2012, 10:15:08 PM »

ALO Rx Mk3-b out of the iBasso DX100 balanced into several phones; ES5, 4r, DT1350, HD25 and single ended into the ATH-ESW10JPN.
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Re: Portable amps
« Reply #17 on: June 07, 2012, 10:38:11 PM »

I love my Leckerton UHA-6S.

That new UHA-6S.MKII is sexy looking.
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Anaxilus.

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Re: Portable amps
« Reply #18 on: June 07, 2012, 10:43:03 PM »

ALO Rx Mk3-b out of the iBasso DX100 balanced into several phones; ES5, 4r, DT1350, HD25 and single ended into the ATH-ESW10JPN.


Out of curiousity, any quick thoughts on the SR71B v. RXmk3?  I've heard both, just curious about you thoughts.
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slwiser

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Re: Portable amps
« Reply #19 on: June 07, 2012, 11:40:32 PM »

Out of curiousity, any quick thoughts on the SR71B v. RXmk3?  I've heard both, just curious about you thoughts.

To me the only advantage of the SR-71b is with very sensitive IEM since the SR-71B is dead quite while the Mk3 have some very low level hiss between tracks. This on balance is nothing compared with the pleasure the sound of the Mk3 gives me. The Mk3 is all over the SR-71b for me even using the iBasso DB2 balanced dac instead of my line out of the iBasso DX100.  Between clarity, dynamics, extension, precision; the Mk3 is simply a more balanced sounding amp in every way with every thing I have power it with.  Sorry I sound like a salesman but this is what I am hearing...I love my ES5s balanced with the Mk3. 

The SR-71b is also much darker sounding than the Mk3 with everything I have used.  The SR-71b is known for its bass but in comparison  I don't think the Mk3 suffers at all.  It is interesting to play with the bass knob with the ES5s.  I can see the mids grow slightly darker or a little more recessed when turned up hearing some frequencies masked by the additional bass ...The Mk3 bass knob provides an interesting flexibility to the amp.

With my Westone 4r balanced the 4r rises to an even higher level than when used single ended powered by the Mk3 using its bass knob...i don't use the bass knob with the ES5s though.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2012, 11:48:25 PM by slwiser »
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Lavry DA10; SPL Phonitor, Senn HD800; ALO Rx Mk3; iBasso DX100
Westone ES5, 4r; Beyer DT1350, ATH-ESW10JPN
Moon Audio IEM Silver Dragon Cable system
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