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Black Widow [Update] - Second round official, 100 amps total, single chassis

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by purr1n, Oct 5, 2015.

Page 34 of 49
  1. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    Holy balls. Epic setup, that I am sure would destroy most SS rigs out there. That BHSE in the corner must do OK too...
     
    jowls, Jul 14, 2016
    #661
  2. velvetx

    velvetx Gear Master West/Vendor Spotlight Moderator

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    No room on my desk had to test out the new stuff :)
     
    velvetx, Jul 14, 2016
    #662
  3. Gravity

    Gravity Friend

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    Where are you people getting black gumbys from?
     
    Gravity, Jul 14, 2016
    #663
  4. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

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    Speaking of which, will here be any Black Widow units sent to review sites?

    Cnet, Innerfidelity, headfonia, 6moons, headphone.guru etc..

    Anything to get the word out or get some 3rd party evaluations?
     
    Thenewerguy009, Jul 14, 2016
    #664
  5. Gravity

    Gravity Friend

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    Innerfidelity is the only one I would take serious out of those.
     
    Gravity, Jul 14, 2016
    #665
  6. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

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    Even Bob Katz?
     
    Psalmanazar, Jul 15, 2016
    #666
  7. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    I think he meant Tyll. Heck, even John Grandberg posts reviews on Innerfidelity every once in a while.
     
    songmic, Jul 15, 2016
    #667
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    [​IMG]
     
    purr1n, Jul 15, 2016
    #668
  9. Gravity

    Gravity Friend

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    Well, not really :p Was referring to Tyll.
     
    Gravity, Jul 16, 2016
    #669
  10. Faker

    Faker New

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    Any updated impressions from new owners? I'd really like to hear from members who've owned amps in similar or higher price brackets (ZDS, Stratus, etc)
     
    Faker, Jul 16, 2016
    #670
  11. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

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    I would also like to hear opinions from people who owned solid state amps.
    Mainly the competitors in the price bracket, i.e.: Bryston BHA-1, Audio-GD Master 9, Schiit Ragnarok & Auralic Taurus MK II.

    The Violectric V281 & the GSX Mk II are both at a higher price, but it would be nice to get comparisons as well if someone owned them.
     
    Thenewerguy009, Jul 16, 2016
    #671
  12. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    There is no comparison. I would pick Black Widow over V281 or GS-X MKII any day, regardless of price. The BW utterly stomps every SS amp you mentioned above. It is in fact the best SS amp I've heard to date, to my ears even better than LAu, and the only SS amp I would consider for HD800 in particular. The Schiit Ragnarok may be a better option if you are using HE-6, but that's about it. And this is me coming from listening to BW protoype (dual-chassis version). The latest production version is said better to be slightly better.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2016
    songmic, Jul 17, 2016
    #672
  13. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

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    Did it have any downsides to any of them in any one category? I heard it has a warm signature, but that's about it for any downsides I heard compared to anything else.
     
    Thenewerguy009, Jul 17, 2016
    #673
  14. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    None.

    [​IMG]

    None at all...
     
    jowls, Jul 17, 2016
    #674
  15. Xen

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    [​IMG] :sail:

    And I am waiting patiently for my unit and will hopefully be very pleased with it. I intend to gaze upon the circuit board, touch the awesome transformers, smell that first hint of ozone on first power on, and taste the aluminum body. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but then I live in Texas and remembering more than 2 things makes me a genius!
     
    Xen, Jul 17, 2016
    #675
  16. SeaBupter

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    For me, the only downside of my new BW is that it reveals the shortcomings of my DAC (GO450). The GO gives you the choice of two filters, both of which sounded the same through my Vali 1. With the BW, the strengths and weaknesses of both filters are clearly audible, and I'm not that keen on either one. Yggdrasil, here I come!
     
    SeaBupter, Jul 17, 2016
    #676
  17. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Downsides could be slightly poorly articulated bass, maybe not the best resolution, smaller stage, but the excellent tone and liquidity for a SS amp is almost unprecedented and outweighs those areas. Not that other SS amps can't do that, but only likely with more compromises. I think you gotta get out of the SS game to have it all.

    But every other amp falters somewhere too. Ragnarok can be overly sharp sounding and didn't seem to have the depth with stage I wanted. GSX-MkII was literally the most etched and rough sounding amp I've ever heard and had poor bass quality compared to others. They had their good traits too, but nothing got me involved like the BW.

    If you don't like a warmer sound, BW might not be for you. Also headphone matching matters. For example, the PMx2 pairs well with the Ragnarok because of the inherent sharpness it offers.
     
    Hands, Jul 17, 2016
    #677
  18. FlySweep

    FlySweep Friend

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    For those who have heard both, could the Project Polaris be considered a "mini BW" in terms of tone and presentation?
     
    FlySweep, Jul 17, 2016
    #678
  19. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Any idea how similar the Polaris is to the Ember in terms of sound? I've only heard the Ember myself, and I could see that sharing some similarities to the BW...
     
    Hands, Jul 17, 2016
    #679
  20. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    @bixby best if you chime in here since you had them side by side for 45min a couple weeks ago?
     
    jexby, Jul 17, 2016
    #680
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