jtsin67 Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Hi, I am presently looking at an amp to run my HD600's. I am also looking if possible to consolidate and use a good portable to cover those and my IEM's. Looking closely at the pico as it "might" fit both bills, but i know the lean is toward a decent home rig...in which case i am looking at DV336SE or one of the LD units as they are available here locally pretty easily. Anyone have feedback on using pico to drive 600's? Or else talk me away from it and into a dedicated home amp! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beefy Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 in which case i am looking at DV336SE or one of the LD units as they are available here locally pretty easily. Ooooh, swing and a miss! You won't find many fans of those here...... and for the price, you'd be better off waiting for a Millett Max to come up for sale. If only certain assholes would be willing to ship internationally..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtsin67 Posted January 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Yes indeed! Your sale set me up for angst! Had you posted it a day earlier i would have expedited it to the east coast and brought it home with me. Did you sell it by the way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beefy Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Yeah, sold to a guy who lives just a half hour drive from me Good luck finding an amp - I really can't give you advice outside DIY options. Though FWIW if I was ever going to buy a decent commercial amp, it would almost certainly be a Headamp GS-1 or GS-X. Or maybe something from Woo Audio, as their amps are just so gorgeous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanutbutterjam Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 You won't find many fans of those here...... and for the price, you'd be better off waiting for a Millett Max to come up for sale. Totally agreed about the millet max. Btw jtsin67 if you really want you could look for wlwlb to build you one (I'm assuming that your location is really Singapore). I personally have tried his millet max compared to the DV and LD stuff (the balanced one is of course another story), and I found it more to my liking. No relation to wlwlb btw, just that I know him and many can attest to the fact that he's a great guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtsin67 Posted January 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Thanks Beefy, if only i hadn't put so many of my spare pennies into the main 2 channel setup! Small availability on the used market here and with the USD stronger at the moment..tough to spend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtsin67 Posted January 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Thanks peanutbutterjam for the tip, drop me a note with contact details and i will see how i go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopstretch Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Hey John, I can't remember if you said you had a decent DAC already? If not, the Pico with DAC is pretty much unbeatable for all it'll do for the money, plus the small form factor to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtsin67 Posted January 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 I dont have a DAC for the headphone setup. I have a Lite 39 for my 2 channel setup but i was looking at a non-DAC pico here thats for sale. I may still up for the pico for my IEM's anyway and go a desktop for the senns (small formfactor was the original plan so hoping to keep it compact). Some folks locally are looking at a group buy of head-direct EF1 at a good price if i cant hook find a millet maxed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulveling Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 I thought the Pico sounded pretty good with the HD650, though it's a better match with the L3000 (super, really). If you can do without the DAC, a Gilmore Lite should be a excellent amp for any headphone (based on my experience with the Gilmore V2), though I do prefer the 650 to the 600. Why not just splurge for the GS-1 and use that as your 2ch preamp as well. You really shouldn't need to upgrade from that for either purpose; you'd likely always be better off upgrading source or headphones/speakers unless your system NEEDS a particular coloration (at which point you might want to re-examine things). I'd also stay away from any commercial amps other than the Headamps or Eddie Currents. The DIY builders can offer a great value. Tube amps like the Eddie Currents and certain Singlepowers (beware Mikhail) can sound superb, but the good ones cost a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smeggy Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 What's the power output on the Pico anyways? I don't recall ever seeing all the specs. If I did, I forgot them all. I know there's diddly squat on Justins site about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtsin67 Posted January 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Thanks for the replies - GS-1 certainly sounds nice but at the moment is more than i am willing to spend. I really want a setup that i can basically use bedside - because i will use the speakers when i am in front of them. Really i need to decide if a fully portable (pico et al) will suffice for my travel with IEM's and sitting around the house with the 600's/ipod. Lot's of good suggestions and i am still hoping to hear back on a millet build locally. Ah another one to research with the lunchbox ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtsin67 Posted January 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 So i took the plunge on the pico and will sell off my old Tomahawk and look for a dedicated amp for the senns over the next few weeks. Lot's of reading to do. Hopefully something nice comes up but i've sent out a feeler for pricing from Woo audio and some others too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadphoneAddict Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 What's the power output on the Pico anyways? I don't recall ever seeing all the specs. If I did, I forgot them all. I know there's diddly squat on Justins site about it. I believe Justin did some math in his Pico thread a while back, that with the voltage swing of 7.5v and 300 ohm the Pico could deliver the 200mw max that the HD600 is rated to handle. Few portables have enough power for the HD600. (from memory and maybe an error or 2) In my testing the Pico and 3MOVE have the most volume with HD600, followed closely by the vividaudiotech V1 and TTVJ portable Millett, and then the XM5 and then iBasso D3, and then Predator/Meier Headsix, followed by the iBasso D2 Boa, with the Nuforce Icon Mobile below that. A desktop amp will still do them more justice, but the Pico will get the job done for portable. The Woo is a very good choice, but it's gonna cost you more than a Millett or EF1 or SOHA II etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smeggy Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 I'm going to buy a mini^3, that should put out sufficient power for my portable needs. I won't be able to afford a Pico for a while because of some new bills but I need some portable power now that I can afford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duggeh Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 I'd like some portable power now, except that my ipod is dead. 4 years good service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtsin67 Posted January 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 So far i am somewhat surprised with the Pico. I just ran it from my 640v2>lite 39> pico > 600's and it was quite acceptable. From the Tomahawk to the pico the bass is certainly more controlled higher into the volume levels. Still too much of in-my-head from the sound though, and compared with the SA6 IEM's the soundstage seems a bit more "behind" me than in front. Am i re-learning headphone sound after time away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanutbutterjam Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 Hm frankly if you don't really need portables you should get a nice desktop amp which would do the job better for less. Don't especially listen to some people (from yeah THAT place) who can claim the P-51 drives the K701. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pars Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 I'm going to build buy a mini^3, that should put out sufficient power for my portable needs... There, FTFY Smeggy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smeggy Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 There, FTFY Smeggy! Bah, humbug! No time combined with no skill puts me firmly into the ready built category. Let's face it I suck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asr Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 I believe Justin did some math in his Pico thread a while back, that with the voltage swing of 7.5v and 300 ohm the Pico could deliver the 200mw max that the HD600 is rated to handle. Justin said the Pico has a 8.4V li-poly battery pack and drives up to 250 mA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jinp6301 Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 Justin said if I buy the Pico, I save money on my car insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voltron Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtsin67 Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Potential offer on a Millet Max set, nice the forum works out so well ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oogabooga Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 So, I'm listening to my HD600s through the Pico as I type, A/Bing between it and my Headfive (via TC-7510). I am confident in the Headfive's ability to fully drive my HD600s, and as such I feel I would notice a difference between it and my Pico if the Pico were too weak. My "initial" feeling, (note that as I listen more and more I might develop a finer grasp on the details), is that the Pico on high gain is able to deliver music that sounds as full as my Headfive. The Pico's bass might be a touch tighter, better controlled that is, but still there and loud. At high gain, normal listening volume for me would be about 10-11 o'clock on the Pico dial (and similarly on the Headfive dial, in case you're wondering). For those of you who might feel that the Pico is better than the Headfive, or that the Headfive is not doing the HD600s justice, I don't have anything better to compare, and so the only statement I'm willing to make ATM is the Pico is able to drive the HD600s as fully as the Headfive. I also don't have a fancy SPL meter so this is based on my feelings. If anyone wants me to try anything specific, I'm all ears (groan). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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