[Loftprojection]

Hey Vinnie, you know how the headphone community is on head-fi!  Many people there love tube amp sound so wouldn't it be great to come up with an amp that has zero noise but sounds as good as good tube amps!  The cherry on the sundae, it would be battery operated, for headphone use, quite an advantage.
 
Did you ever think about coming up with a "Tripath Sig like" based headphone amp?  I don't know anything about electronics but wouldn't it be quite simple for you (relatively speaking!) to build a headphone amp based on your old Clari-T casing?  I'm not sure but I don't think I've ever seen a Tripath based headphone amp, is there a technical reason or it's just not something builders have thought of up to now?  I know you talked about adding a headphone option on the Isabella at some point but although this should be one of the greatest headphone amp, it will also be quite expensive. 

Anyway, just throwing some ideas around, you probably have so much to do that something like that isn't even in the distant future!

[Afterimage]

A headphone amp from Vinnie should knock them dead.  He would sell the heck out of them just because Headfi is such a huge thing from a numbers standpoint.   If it gets a good review or two from some of the respected members it should take off.

[2bigears]

  that's a great idea,the market is there.i would have bought one,but i just got a HeadRoom Balanced desktop with dac.nice stuff indeed with the Senn 650's....

[Loftprojection]

  that's a great idea,the market is there.i would have bought one,but i just got a HeadRoom Balanced desktop with dac.nice stuff indeed with the Senn 650's....

Yes but every good head-fi'er will tell you that once something new from a very respected designer like Vinnie comes out, you would feel compelled to sell your HR Balanced kit and get this new RWA SigHead!   

[Fork]

I have a 30.2 on order and I plan to pull the trigger on the Isabella too, once I get the money together.  I'd place tremendous value on the ability to use my headphones with the Isabella and would be particularly excited if the headphone option didn't add a lot to the already substantial chunk of change the Isabella will cost.

[Bucky]

I think it would sell really well for around 1K.  The headphone market is not outrageously priced like the 2 channel market.

[ndpjr]

Post from Vinnie (Isabella - preliminary info) Oct. 23, 2007

All,

Here are some updates on the Isabella:

-- I am working on an adjustable gain feature (most likely 0, 6, and 12dB switchable settings... possible even 18dB) so the Isabella will be able to match well with different systems.

-- Play time on batteries will be limited in the approx. 6 hours continuous range, but I have decided that I will have a switch that will allow for use with AC power or battery.  Initially I didn't want to do this, but I now realize from much customer feedback that this would be very desirable. 

-- The dac board in the Isabella will be separate from the preamp board, so there will be an option of the Isabella offered without the built-in non-oversampling dac with USB, Coax, and Optical digital inputs. 

-- For the head-fi crowd, I am looking into offering a built-in headphone amp as an option (I will be offering a dedicated headphone amp based on this design in early 2008)! 

-- Pricing is still to be determined. 

-- While I would really like to have the Isabella in production later next month, it may take a little longer.  I will keep you all updated and I suspect to have more details in the next few weeks.  I promise you that  Isabella will be WELL-WORTH the wait! 

Thanks for all your interest!

Vinnie

I'm looking forward to the headphone amp also but with the 30.2, 70.2 & Isabella going on I know it may be a while longer. Like all the other products I know it will be worth waiting for.

[Vinnie R.]

Hi LP,

Did you ever think about coming up with a "Tripath Sig like" based headphone amp?  I don't know anything about electronics but wouldn't it be quite simple for you (relatively speaking!) to build a headphone amp based on your old Clari-T casing?

Thanks for your interest, and good question! 

Using a Tripath implementation for a headphone amp is not ideal.  The RWA amps are optimized for 4 to 16 ohm loads, and headphones are much higher impedance. 

The awesome exception to this rule is the AKG K1000 headphones.  These are very inefficient for headphones and need real power.  When powered with the 30.2, the K1000s are heavenly sounding!

I know you talked about adding a headphone option on the Isabella at some point but although this should be one of the greatest headphone amp, it will also be quite expensive.

Yes, and I will actually be at the Headfi National meet this weekend in FL ("CanJam 08") and will have the Isabella prototype with a headphone output (1/4" stereo headphone jack)... as far as headphone amps go, this one will compete with anything out there!  It uses the Isabella's SLA battery powered tubed preamp stage for voltage gain, and this is followed by a minimalist, proprietary buffer stage for the headphone output.  The entire unit is ran off of the internal SLA batteries, including the optional USB dac. 

At the show there will also be a Signature 30.2 Integrated feeding my AKG K1000s modified with ALO Audio K1000 cabling.  I am sharing a table at the show with Ken Ball of ALO Audio (www.aloaudio.com).  He will have all sorts of other goodies there! 

I have a 30.2 on order and I plan to pull the trigger on the Isabella too, once I get the money together.  I'd place tremendous value on the ability to use my headphones with the Isabella and would be particularly excited if the headphone option didn't add a lot to the already substantial chunk of change the Isabella will cost.

Hi Fork,

We are still working out the pricing details for the optional headphone output on the Isabella.  We aim to keep the price reasonable and I guarantee that it will be well-worth every penny if you also listen to headphones... you won't find a headphone amp that comes close, and in as much as you are considering the Isabella for your home audio system, it is the perfect option! 

I think it would sell really well for around 1K.  The headphone market is not outrageously priced like the 2 channel market.

Hi Bucky,

We have a dedicated, smaller headphone amp design on the back-burner (uses two 9V batteries) that will be in this lower-price range, but will offer exceptional performance and value. 

However, as ndpjr mentions above, there are a lot of other things that have taken priority (especially the 30.2, 70.2, and making the final touches / gearing up for the production of the Isabella).  We'll get there!

Thanks for all your posts and interest.  Hope to see some of you guys at CanJam 08 in FL this weekend!

Vinnie

[mateo]

...you won't find a headphone amp that comes close...

Vinnie,

With all due respect, there are headphone amps out there that probably will outperform the Isabella.  I speak as a Sig 30.2 owner who started into audio through headphones, and was pretty committed for a while.  Until you hear some of the beasts out there, some of which are more like low-wattage speaker amps than preamps, I think such a statement is unfounded.  There are a couple more high-end designs coming out soon, too (at least the TTVJ Millet).  If you have heard these, then maybe wait for a direct comparison, or for others to do so...

I understand that you're very enthusiastic about your designs, and there's no problem with that.  I just think that statements like this have the potential to reduce your credibility.  I especially noticed this here because I've found, in general, a strong lack of knowledge of the headphone "scene" demonstrated by "traditional" speaker audiophiles (this is true too in the opposite direction).  If you're going to be targeting the mid-to-higher end of the headphone market, then such statements might be more damaging.

If I misread, and you're speaking to the Isabella headphone module's unchallenged value, then that's slightly different.  Please consider, however, that high-end headphone amps can often serve as preamps, so the comparison might be between a preamp that's a secondary headphone amp vs. a headphone amp that's a secondary preamp instead of high-end preamp w/ headphone out vs. mid-level headphone amp (pricing wise).

I mean to offer this very constructively.  I look forward to this design, its slightly different (battery power + what might be a hybrid if the buffer is SS), is quite compact, I like my Sig 30.2 a lot, and maybe I root for RWA a bit because they're in my hometown.  I just want to see it do as well as possible and not get dragged down by possibly unfounded claims.

[return to lurk]

[enjoiflobees]

I can't wait to hear the headphone out of the isabella this weekend at canjam.

mateo, I guess we will see after this weekend.

I don't think Vinnie has let us down yet, lets not doubt him!!!!

[Vinnie R.]

Hi mateo,

Thank you for your post.

I understand that you're very enthusiastic about your designs, and there's no problem with that.  I just think that statements like this have the potential to reduce your credibility.

I understand where you are coming from and do appreciate your comments and concern. 

As you probably are aware, I have introduced the iMod a few years ago and teamed up with Ken at ALO Audio with the iMods.  Ken is very much into the headphone "scene" and has let me borrow quite a few very nice headphone amps and headphones.  I have not listened to everything out there, but I have listened to some very impressive designs.  I agree that my last post was very enthusiastic and I admit to being very proud of the headphone output of the Isabella and how it compares to a lot of other headphone amps that I had the great opportunity to listen to, but you are correct... I should watch how I express this.  The Isabella will speak for itself and this is the way it should be! 

Thanks again, mateo!

Vinnie

[Loftprojection]

Hey Vinnie, I think you are pretty safe to rate your products however you want to here on this forum.  We all know you here and I think we all have you in high respect.  Maybe posting the same thing on head-fi would be inviting the sharks to eat you but here I don't see any possible arm. 

I'm disappointed that we probably will never have a "battery Tripath" based headphone amp but that's ok.  One thing for sure is that your Isabella will certainly have one BIG advantage over most if not all of the other TUBE headphone amps out there, it will be battery powered!  I already have a nice tube headphone amp, it does sound very good but only when I listen to it after midnight otherwise I always have background noises coming on and off all the time.  AC power is really the worst shiiit that ever happened to audio equipment!   So we'll see soon how your battery powered tube preamp - dac - headphone amp performs but one thing I'm sure of, it will have a sublime luscious inviting black background!    Hopefully I can manage to gather enough of the green bills to pay for it! 

[Vinnie R.]

Hi LP,

Hey Vinnie, I think you are pretty safe to rate your products however you want to here on this forum.  We all know you here and I think we all have you in high respect. 

Thanks for your kind words... much appreciated!

I'm leaving shortly to the Airport to grab my flight down to Florida's Head-Fi convention and am looking forward to it! 

I'll be back to work on Monday.  Have a good weekend, everyone!

Vinnie