[Alwayswantmore]

Hi all, the AC headphone circle has been closed for lack of a moderator, so I'm posting this here for anyone in driving distance to Charlotte NC...

The Carolina Audio Society is hosting what promises to be a great audio event on 2/21/09. Event features...

> Headfi meet (headphone meet)
> Presentation by Joesph GRADO
> Buy / Sell / Trade

I plan to have the following gear at my table:

> RWA Isabella with Amperex 7308s, NOS DAC and internal RWA headphone output
> RWA Signature 30.2, driving AKG K1000s, hardwired with Moon Black Dragon
> Hopefully ALO / RWA's new dedicated headphone amp & pair or two of ALO recabled headphones
> Apple Macbook via USB

If you are anywhere near Charlotte, this should be a neat event. Details here: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f24/official-thread-southern-charlotte-canfest-2009-a-360873/

Kent

[Vinnie R.]

Hi Kent,

Thanks for your post about this meeting, and especially for being there and bring your RWA gear! 

I am cracking the whip on Ken at ALO to get the next revision to the headphone amp enclosure prototype finished! 
This is going to be a dynamite headphone amp!

Vinnie

[Alwayswantmore]

Less than three weeks to go to what will be one of the most significant audio events ever to hit Charlotte. Follow link at top for undated details on equipment, location, etc. Kent

[Vinnie R.]

Hi Kent,

Thanks for your post about this meeting, and especially for being there and bring your RWA gear! 

I am cracking the whip on Ken at ALO to get the next revision to the headphone amp enclosure prototype finished! 
This is going to be a dynamite headphone amp!

Vinnie

All,

Next week I am shipping to Kent the final prototype of the limited-edition, ALO Audio "Amphora" headphone amp.  It will be making its debut at Southern CanFest 2009 on February 21st, thanks to Kent! 

I will be posted pictures and more details soon (as well as building a website), but here are some quick details:

-- Solid wood (Paduke and Walnut) that is CNC routed, laser engraving, with a gorgeous look and feel, and highest quality. 

The Amphora will feature the Red Wine Audio Isabella Headphone Amplifier board, along with the following premium parts and features:

-- Goldpoint Stepped Attenuator volume control and silver-satin aluminum knob (www.goldpt.com)
-- 2 inputs (Vampire RCAs, and 1/8" stereo jack) and mini-toggle input select switch
-- Hi/Lo gain switch
-- Vcap OIMP input capacitors (http://www.v-cap.com)
-- 1/4" stereo and 1/8" stereo output jacks on the front panel
-- Preamp RCA outputs on the rear panel (YES - it can be used as a battery powered, home audio preamp)
-- solid copper wiring in teflon insulatation used throughout.
-- Li-ion battery powered, rapid-speed auto charger.  Universal input voltage (100 - 240Vac) for charger.
-- Continuous play time between charges: > 24 hours.
-- Can drive headphones with impedance as low as 24-ohms
-- The approx. dimesions will be 7" wide x 5" deep x 2.5" tall (not a "pocket amp," but still fairly portable and makes for a great desktop amp!)
-- Made here in the USA (enclosure and installation of parts made by ALO Audio in Portland, OR - and all wiring and testing by RWA in Meriden, CT)
-- Limited edition - only 100 are going to be made and each will have a serial number "x of 100"

-- OPTIONAL iMod / iPod dock on the top.  With the supplied adapter plate, one can use it with any iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch, Nano, etc.
For 5G/5.5G iMod customers - just plug it in to the dock.  No need for ALO iMod dock cables or dock - it is all built-in with the Vcaps! 

* Will only be sold direct from ALO Audio (along with package deals with iMods, headphones and cabling sold by ALO Audio)

* Final pricing to be announced by the end of this month.  We are aiming to keep the price of the non-iPod version under $1000, and the iMod/iPod version will be a little extra.

Ken Ball of ALO Audio and I are very excited about the release of the Amphora, and are confident that our customers will discover it to be the finest made, finest sounding headphone amp in its price range!  

More info and pictures to follow soon!  aa

Vinnie

[Alwayswantmore]

Everyone craves photos after a meet. How about a few prior to this week’s big event?

Ken from ALO sent me a case full of grownup toys. Needless to say, its been difficult shutting down at night to go to bed !

Goodies include ALO cabled Grado GS1000s, AKG K702s and Ultrasone HFI 780s.

Currently I’m listening to the 780 plugged directly to my 5G iPod running lossless. Nice detail, but ya gotta be into bass to fully appreciate these.

I’ve got a number of hours on the K702s directly from my RWA Isabella tube linestage with internal NOS DAC. These wonderful phones are going to give Danny’s AKG K1000s a good run for the money. And since Danny’s Ks will be at my station, equipped with Moon Black Dragon hardwire driven by my RWA 30.2 / Isabella rig, so you can be the judge!

I’ve only got a few songs on the GS1000s so far. But they are next in line for some extended listening.

Vinnie and Ken promise to have their new dedicated Headamp at my doorstep before the week is over. Vinnnie wants me to loan it to other listening stations, if you want to give it a good listen (it will not be burned in, but based on past experience, Vinnie’s gear sounds very good fresh from the factory).

Looking forward to the big day!

[Vinnie R.]

Hi Kent,

Thanks for posting and looks like you'll be well armed for great sound! 

Ken promised me some pics of the Amphora very soon and I'll post them as soon
as I receive them!

Best regards,

Vinnie

[Vinnie R.]

All,

Here are some preliminary pics of the Amphora:










More to come soon...

Vinnie

[Alwayswantmore]

I feel highly honered to be probably the second person to hear what I assume is the final version of the Amphora. The unit I received via express mail yesterday is serial number 000 / 100, implying to me it's designated pre-production.

For starters it is small but beautiful. But the real beauty is in the sound.

The battery logic is pretty much identical to the original Signature 30, with a couple big improvements:

- Battery life is claimed be in the 24 hours range, significantly longer than its bigger brother driving speakers.

- The charger / wall plug is small and light, and easier to hide compared to the large wall wart that accompanied the Signature 30.

- And the most meaningful difference: Unlike the Signature 30, Amphora's battery technology is not adversely impacted by deep discharge (FYI: The addition of SMART to the .2-series products, prevents deep discharge for the newer Signature 30.2 & Isabella).

All the switches and plugs look and feel as good as the photos above imply.

How does it sound and is it a good value?

Let me start with value. I've only owned a few fairly high-end headphones, including the AKG K1000s. But I've attended a few Headfi meets. And have heard enough to know that most headphone rigs (under a couple grand) don't begin to come close to a well crafted 2ch system. They sit squarely between an iPod running Etymotic 4Ps and good 2ch. Nice for listening, but clearing lacking if you've been spoiled by sonic artists like Vinnie and Louis (Omega).

Back to value: I own an Isabella with headphone output. And believe that as a headphone amp it plays in the upper stratosphere. Adding the headphone output to an Isabella runs $500 -- IMO an absolute steal to add headphone capabilities to an already outstanding linestage/DAC.

Enter the Amphora. Here you are looking at the same $500 heaphone stage used in the Isabella. But to this add the CNC wood case, Goldpoint stepped attenuator (...what, maybe $150 product???), the battery and powersystem, and an assortment of high quality switches and jacks, and get it to the consumer for about a grand. I've never been in manufacturing, but keep in mind this is handmade in the USA quality, backed by RWA's reputation for unbeatable warranty / customer service... so in my mind pricing appears to be more than fair.

But how does it sound?

One word: Wonderful. Eight words: Every bit as good as Isabella's headphone out. A short sentence: Using ALO re-cabled AKG K702, and fed by single-end ICs from the Isabella, this combo will go head-to-head with the vaulted AKG K1000s driven by a $3,000 Signature 30.2. Seriously. [The now discontinued K1000s -- when properly amped -- are considered by many to be the gold standard for dynamic headphones.] 

Saturday the Amphora / ALO K702 will go head-to-head with Signature 30.2 / K1000s hardwired with Moon's Black Dragon cable at CanFest in Charlotte. Both will be simultaneously driven by the same source / linestage, so the test will be about as even as it gets.

I truly love the K1000s / Sig 30.2 combo, but have a sneaking suspicion the Amphora / 702s will gain more than its share of admirers.

Watch Headfi for user feedback on ALO / RWA's new wooden beauty.

Kent

[Alwayswantmore]

Thanks to Ken and Vinnie for their support for the Carolina Audio Society and our big headfi meet.

The meet was very well attended. Joe Grado gave a wonderful and informative 1 hour presentation. And I had lots of visitors to hear RWA and the Amphora gear.

For the most part I put the Amphora front and center, either driving ALO cabled AKG K702s, or on occasion, a headphone brought by an attendee.

There were a lot of pricey rigs at this meet. Probably more than you’d expect in a small city like Charlotte, so technically the Amphora was a budget product by comparison.

At this point no one has posted comments for the meet on in Comments Tread, so it may be a day or more before others provide their feedback. But I received a number of favorable comments. One of the most telling was that a number of people commented that they previously had not liked the sound of AKG headphones (like 701s). One even said he bought and returned a recabled pair from one of ALO's competitors.

The universal complaint was they thought AKGs were too bright. Yet everyone who made this comment felt the AKGs were NOT bright via the Amphora rig. Too this I would agree. The AKGs were IMO (for my taste) one of the best cans I heard at my table (not counting the K1000s driven straight from the Signature 30.2, which is a whole 'nother animal.)

In time we will hear what others have to report. But for me, I had a blast. And felt proud to have ALO / RWA gear featured at my table.

Good listening. Kent

[launche]

Well I just did a piss poor job because I went and missed your table Kent and I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to hear this gear and meet you.  Funny, things is I was driving home and said to myself, I guess Kent couldn't make it I wonder what happen.  I honestly don't know how I could've missed you, unbelievable.

[Vinnie R.]

Hi Kent,

The universal complaint was they thought AKGs were too bright. Yet everyone who made this comment felt the AKGs were NOT bright via the Amphora rig. Too this I would agree. The AKGs were IMO (for my taste) one of the best cans I heard at my table (not counting the K1000s driven straight from the Signature 30.2, which is a whole 'nother animal.)

I find the K701s / K702s to be very neutral and revealing.  With some amps, they certainly do sound bright.  I listened to them with the Amphora and agree that they work very well together and there are no brightness issues with the Amphora.

But for me, I had a blast. And felt proud to have ALO / RWA gear featured at my table.

Glad to hear you had a fun time and I appreciate you showing off your ALO and RWA gear!

Funny, things is I was driving home and said to myself, I guess Kent couldn't make it I wonder what happen.  I honestly don't know how I could've missed you, unbelievable.

Hi launche,

From what I read on headfi, it was a very busy show.  So with all the people in there, I can see how this can happen 

Best regards,

Vinnie