Quote from: Greed on October 09, 2014, 04:37:30 AMQuote from: blue on October 09, 2014, 04:33:15 AMQuote from: xzobinx on October 08, 2014, 11:40:53 PMI'd second the master 9. I hated their cheap amps but the master series acss stuffs are the real game changer here. Heard one recently side by side with my zana feed from master 7 and nad m51, the agd is better in all but the mid(use zana as pre and now you're talking business). Probably the best amp we oz can get for a sane price.Hmm.. we did a comparison of the Master 9 right after it came out... flat dynamics, veiled sound... It got slammed by a BHA-1 (which I do not consider a great amp).Maybe we got a defective unit?Possibly, were you using it balanced? I can understand the veiled sound to an extent but I thought the dynamics were above average for sure. So is the Master 9 veiled or transparent? Because there is no way the Ragnarok is veiled and I have not heard anything SS that is more transparent.
Quote from: blue on October 09, 2014, 04:33:15 AMQuote from: xzobinx on October 08, 2014, 11:40:53 PMI'd second the master 9. I hated their cheap amps but the master series acss stuffs are the real game changer here. Heard one recently side by side with my zana feed from master 7 and nad m51, the agd is better in all but the mid(use zana as pre and now you're talking business). Probably the best amp we oz can get for a sane price.Hmm.. we did a comparison of the Master 9 right after it came out... flat dynamics, veiled sound... It got slammed by a BHA-1 (which I do not consider a great amp).Maybe we got a defective unit?Possibly, were you using it balanced? I can understand the veiled sound to an extent but I thought the dynamics were above average for sure.
Quote from: xzobinx on October 08, 2014, 11:40:53 PMI'd second the master 9. I hated their cheap amps but the master series acss stuffs are the real game changer here. Heard one recently side by side with my zana feed from master 7 and nad m51, the agd is better in all but the mid(use zana as pre and now you're talking business). Probably the best amp we oz can get for a sane price.Hmm.. we did a comparison of the Master 9 right after it came out... flat dynamics, veiled sound... It got slammed by a BHA-1 (which I do not consider a great amp).Maybe we got a defective unit?
I'd second the master 9. I hated their cheap amps but the master series acss stuffs are the real game changer here. Heard one recently side by side with my zana feed from master 7 and nad m51, the agd is better in all but the mid(use zana as pre and now you're talking business). Probably the best amp we oz can get for a sane price.
Quote from: Anaxilus on October 09, 2014, 05:00:44 AMQuote from: Greed on October 09, 2014, 04:37:30 AMQuote from: blue on October 09, 2014, 04:33:15 AMQuote from: xzobinx on October 08, 2014, 11:40:53 PMI'd second the master 9. I hated their cheap amps but the master series acss stuffs are the real game changer here. Heard one recently side by side with my zana feed from master 7 and nad m51, the agd is better in all but the mid(use zana as pre and now you're talking business). Probably the best amp we oz can get for a sane price.Hmm.. we did a comparison of the Master 9 right after it came out... flat dynamics, veiled sound... It got slammed by a BHA-1 (which I do not consider a great amp).Maybe we got a defective unit?Possibly, were you using it balanced? I can understand the veiled sound to an extent but I thought the dynamics were above average for sure. So is the Master 9 veiled or transparent? Because there is no way the Ragnarok is veiled and I have not heard anything SS that is more transparent.The M9 sounds clearer and does not have that "smoky layer" to the sound. On the other hand, the Rag has better texture rendition and focus. Provided the texture is actually part of the recording (and not an added flavor), then both could be some traits of transparency.Kingwa mention on his TOTL product's webpage - and this has been my experience, too - that they are somewhat sensitive to power cable (or power quality in general). I can confirm for both the M7 and M9, they sound lifeless with the wrong AC cable.When I first got the M7 I said "WTF, doesn't sound at all like I remember it!". Sound was super thick and warm and no dynamics. Changed AC cable and plugged it directly in the wall with great effect.
Your Rag has a smoky layer?? I haven't heard that yet except with DACs that have it.Greed, is your Rag smoky?
Compare the Sonnet to the Vali using the same DAC.
Any portable(ish) recommendations? I prefer the pico power to the Leckerton UHA760 (ada4627-1brz) with the HD800. Should I be looking to something like the L3?
I was able to listen to the HD800 at a meet recently through a Glenn OTL, and the amount of low end slam was impressive and addictive. The impact was in a different league than the Val2 or the the Crack/Speedball. It wasn't mushy or gooey either, it sounded great for the price. The owner required listeners to adjust the volume through his DAC which struck me as a bit worrisome (channel imbalance low on the volume dial apparently). Still for the price, it might be worthy of consideration. I'm tempted to get one, but apparently there's a year long waiting list.
Quote from: Clemmaster on October 09, 2014, 04:49:02 PMQuote from: Anaxilus on October 09, 2014, 05:00:44 AMQuote from: Greed on October 09, 2014, 04:37:30 AMQuote from: blue on October 09, 2014, 04:33:15 AMQuote from: xzobinx on October 08, 2014, 11:40:53 PMI'd second the master 9. I hated their cheap amps but the master series acss stuffs are the real game changer here. Heard one recently side by side with my zana feed from master 7 and nad m51, the agd is better in all but the mid(use zana as pre and now you're talking business). Probably the best amp we oz can get for a sane price.Hmm.. we did a comparison of the Master 9 right after it came out... flat dynamics, veiled sound... It got slammed by a BHA-1 (which I do not consider a great amp).Maybe we got a defective unit?Possibly, were you using it balanced? I can understand the veiled sound to an extent but I thought the dynamics were above average for sure. So is the Master 9 veiled or transparent? Because there is no way the Ragnarok is veiled and I have not heard anything SS that is more transparent.The M9 sounds clearer and does not have that "smoky layer" to the sound. On the other hand, the Rag has better texture rendition and focus. Provided the texture is actually part of the recording (and not an added flavor), then both could be some traits of transparency.Kingwa mention on his TOTL product's webpage - and this has been my experience, too - that they are somewhat sensitive to power cable (or power quality in general). I can confirm for both the M7 and M9, they sound lifeless with the wrong AC cable.When I first got the M7 I said "WTF, doesn't sound at all like I remember it!". Sound was super thick and warm and no dynamics. Changed AC cable and plugged it directly in the wall with great effect.Your Rag has a smoky layer?? I haven't heard that yet except with DACs that have it.Greed, is your Rag smoky?
