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Sipher

portable headphone amps

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need some recommendations wif portable headphone amps.

i'm a noob! laugh.gif

 

thanx wink.gif

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Haven't heard the PC so I'll recommend the Fixup Supermini or META amp. However both are only available in the US of A. Go to http://www4.head-fi.org to see various reviews about them.

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Or you could both come by an audition the Porta Corda.

 

visit www.head-fi.org or www.headwize.com for consumer views.

 

here's one thread: http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread....ght=Porta+Corda

 

If you wish to listen to the Porta Corda before deciding call for an appointment the number is 97762087. Oh, all Corda amps come with a 2-year warrenty.

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Thanx N@Z n Rameish

 

META is a diy amp rite??

 

porta corda is battery-powered?

porta corda can drive a HD200?

Edited by Sipher

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Yes META is a diy amp but you can get firefox to do it for you if you mind the hassle. (He's only availlable during the weekends/holidays as he's in NS).

 

Porta Corda II (PCII) is battery powered. However, I think Rameish would put in an DC socket if you require so. Not too sure about whether it can drive the HD200 or not but my guess is that it should be.

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ok

how much will it cost me if i want to get someone to make META for me?

can the META be make to draw power from battery??

 

Rameish: how much does ur PCII cost?

 

Thanx cool.gif

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META can be powered using a single 9V battery which is the most popular configuration. You could also have a socket for plugging into a transformer for home use should you require it. The cost depends on the person who builds it the cheapest I have seen so far is US$110 for the most basic (excluding shipping).

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The short answer: Porta Corda MkII costs S$350 (Meier Audio sells it for Eur 175 but you need to add TT charges or PayPal + Alex's comission charges to your cost). So I'm actually cheaper :-)

 

The long answer: META 42 is actually not an amp. Rather it's a circuit design. It can be configured to your liking. So you would need to tell the builder what configuration you prefer. I suggest AD-8620 (dual op-amp) but you can also use Burr Brown chips. The op-amp choice is the biggest factor to how a META 42 will finally sound. Also this amp was designed for 24 volts DC supply. Generally the higher the voltage the better it sounds. The portable version of the META 42 can be powered with a 9 volt battery. However I have never heard a portable version of one so I can't tell you how good or bad it sounds. The price will vary depending on whether you want a mini to mini cable, led, op-amp choice, buffer choice, volume pot choice etc. Contact any of the builders in head-fi for more advice. But in the end you'll only know how good it is only when the amp arrives. You may also contact Firefox. He does buid stuff (mainly for himself) and is a real nice guy. You would need to provide the part for him though. The boards can be had from Tangent (check head-fi.org)

 

Porta Corda circuit design comes with Dr Jan Meier's Natural Crossfeed circuit. It also includes a high quality mini to mini cable (to hook up to your portable source) made by Oehlbach and a 120 ohm adapter (also made by Oehlbach). The 120 ohm adapter helps improve the sound of some headphones like the Ety 4P, Beyer DT-931, Sony MDR-V6, Grado (this is not an exaustive list and you need to try it with your headphone to see if it improves the sound). Generally if you find your headphone to be a bit on the bright side with less than adequate bass the 120 ohm adapter helps. The only real way to know for sure is to try it.

 

The Porta Corda uses 2 single op-amps (to prevent thermal crosstalk) that can be biased to operate in Class A mode by the simple flick of a dip switch (this shorten battey life to about 50 hours). But you can flip another dip switch to turn off the led light which increases batery life. And it come with an Alps volume pot.

 

But the most important aspect of the Porta Corda II is that you can actually listen to it in Singapore before you buy :-). That is the only sure way to tell if it works well with your headphone or not. Also, I'm not a Sim Lim salesman where if you try you better buy or I'll show you my colour LOL. I'm having fun with this hobby-business of mine.

 

The very short answer:

If you are able to test drive something before making a long term decision then why not take up the opportunity?

 

 

 

 

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Agree, and while testing, you will not only be getting more juices out from your cans but also from Orangina biggrin.gifthumbup1.gif

 

But more importantly, you have the opportunity to try matching the few headamps available with many headphones (Grados, Beyerdynamic, Sennheisers, Philips, etc). You just don't get similar kind of priviledges on this Island besides Hung Bros... wink.gif

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Hi Rameish,

 

You know i am not in advertising business, but i do earn my beer beer.gif in the coming Cans symposium....right ?

 

Btw, would you consider bringing in Korsun U5 ? innocent.gifwink.gif

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Xenium and others,

 

Located next to Queensway Shopping Centre - diagonally opposite IKEA. It's the apartment block attached to Queensway Shopping Centre (it's called Queensway Tower but even some taxi drivers don't know it).

 

Just call and I'll give details to my home (97762087)

 

Tee,

 

Have you run in the Grado RS-2 yet? Should be about done by now. Hope you enjoy the Corda HA-1 amplifier as well. Can confirm that the Grado cartridges Statement Series prices are correct.

 

Caveman and Sipher,

 

One more thing - you can contact Ryan who bought a Porta Corda some time back. He wrote an article about it here's the link.

 

http://www.cryophilia.com/sgheadphones/ind...act=ST&f=2&t=74

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