Tuberoller
Divorced an Orpheus to keep his wife.
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- Oct 23, 2001
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[size=large]Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline XP-7 Portable Headphone Amp[/size]
[size=small]Awesome Budget Component Alert #5[/size]
Once in while there comes along a product that changes the way we perceive all other similar products, a product that raises the bar by which all others are measured. I really can't remember the last audio component that clearly "raised the bar" and universally impressed every single person who was able to experience it. I have much more difficult time remembering any headphone gear which had such an impact. I can confidently say,without fear of risking my neck and reputation,that the Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline XP-7 headphone amp is one of those products. You guys know I hate to hold you in suspense so I offer my impressions in the first few sentences of my reviews to give you the gist of the remainder of the review so that you know where this is going.
Amps for comparison purposes(portable):
Headroom Cosmic w/reference module,battery power supply and a/c wall power supply
Meier Audio Porta Corda 1
JMT META 42 "Maxed out" (as Jon would put it.)
Grado RA1-9V battery unit
JMT Altoids Amp(this was my first portable headphone amp)
Home amps used for comparison:
Headroom Max w/stepped attenuator
Meier Prehead -LM chip
Meier HA2
Meier Audio HA1 MKII
Phones:
HD600 w/Equinox
Beyer DT880
Beyer DT930
AKG K271 Studio
Grado RS1
Sources:
Philips DVD 963SA
Denon DVD 2900
Musichall Maverick SACD/CDP
Musical Fidelity Trivista (I only had the XP-7 and Trivista for two days together but was able to gather some solid impressions)
Marantz DV 8400
Yamaha DVD-S2300
Musical Fidelity A324 DAC
Sony D-25S PCDP
Archos Jukebox Studio 20
Cables:
Meier Audio prototype Interconnect
Dimarzio M-Path
Acoustic Zen WOW!
Canare digital Coax
Custom Silver Mini
Custom Silver RCA-mini
The music listed below are the recordings I auditioned when I performed the critical listening phase of my impressions. References to specific tracks of these recordings are made in the body of my impressions.
Lizz Wright- "Salt"
Kurt Elling- "Man in The Air"
Ledisi- "Feeling Orange ,But Sometimes Blue"
Rene Marie - "Live at Jazz Standard"
Marvin Gaye-"Let's Get It On" SACD
Tierney Sutton-"Something Cool" Pure DSD SACD
Joe Sample-"The Pecan Tree" Pure DSD SACD
My listening prefences are vocal and instrumental jazz, classic R&B and instrumental Rock. I don't listen at loud volumes and most of my listening is done in a quiet room. My solid-state reference system consists of the Headroom Max amplifier w/stepped attenuator,Sennheiser HD600 phones w/Equinox replacement cable,Philips DVD 963 SACD,MF 324 DAC,VPI Extended Aries Table w/Grado Sonata cartridge,Ray Samuels XR2 Phono stage.My reference interconnect is the Acoustic Zen WOW!.
I have gotten way,way behind on my reviews and have allowed 12 of them to pile up on me. I hate to refuse products to review and hate even worse to promise a review that gets delayed like some of them have. Reviews are really not easy to do and sometimes the words to accurately describe what you hear,see and feel escape you,never to be found again. When I first got the XP-7 I knew I would have little trouble descibing the emotions this little amp elicits when I listen to it. The very first time I heard it,I knew I was hearing something special. How do you describe that? How do I tell you that what I hear is "special"? This is not an "Audiophile Term" which requires a glossary to decipher,it's a feeling of absolute knowledge of something that has moved you. The XP-7 is indeed "Special".
My review sample is the very first unit installed in the production casing and was silk-screened in a manner that Ray Samuels deemed "unacceptable". It is otherwise identical to the current production versions. I never had the opportunity to swap Op-amps and I never used the power supply in my system. I only heard the power-supply at a later date at Ray's home with another Head-fier in attendance. Keep in mind all my impressions are formed on this basis and under these conditions only.
I have always loved the black backround offered by the Ray Samuels Audio gear. This is the genious of Mr. Samuels,his power supplies are some of the best in the business and it shows. The XP-7 is no different. Being battery powered it is not subject to a/c line noise but the chasis shielding is also superb. There is an absolute silence in the XP-7's presentation. With a silent backround to build on the XP-7 constructs a sonic structure of immense detail,depth and impact. The treble on the XP-7 is nothing short of fantastic. The upper frequencies come across clear and focused without the slightest hint of congestion,harshness or strain. Cymbals are given space and reproduced with a faithful timbre and focus. Piano notes in the higher frequencies sound like.....piano. Some amps make piano notes sound almost like an electronic keyboard and/or render these notes as a generic key punches. With the XP-7, and to a like degree the Headroom Cosmic,you can actually hear the Pianist's "touch" on the keys. When I hear the Joe Sample recording I can almost feel Joe stroke the keys in his unique fashion. His sound comes through untouched and altered in no way. Vocals in the treble range are true to the voice of the singers. Ledisi has an amazing vocal range that takes the listener on a trip through all the possibilities of the human voice. Her voice sounds lifelike,with an almost chilling effect. The XP-7 is the portable amp champ here and does very well against the Headroom Max and Prehead home amps with the Prehead offering slightly more treble extension but similar clarity.
The midrange is where the pie is and the XP-7 is serving up Chocolate Cream. It is sweet,airy,detailed and just plain "right". This sounds like a good tube amp in terms of tonality and focus. The XP-7 sometimes runs the ragged egde of sounding too sweet but the stunning clarity and detail keeps the sound in focus. I sometimes here a slight "forwardness" of some vocals,specifically the Kurt Elling disc on the "Never My Love" track. Mr.Elling's voice can sometimes overpower the instruments and make his voice sound "close miked". This was only evident with the DT880 and AKG 271 phones and was never really bad but it did tilt an otherwise great tonal balance. I looked for discs that would challenge the midrange balance of the XP-7 and few tripped it up. There is really no such thing as a "soundstage" on headphone gear but the XP-7 does give a very accurate sense of instrument placement and stage depth. There is an ease with which the XP-7 performs it's midrange magic,you never get the impression that the XP-7 is working hard or has reached it's limits and this seems to be the case with all the phones. The percussions of Peter Escevedo on the Ledisi disc on the "Feeling Orange Again" track are amazing and I hate it when I audition gear that gets this wrong. The XP-7 does this recording justice. When you guys hear me bashing gear because of a poor midrange performance,understand that I'm talking about the complete midrange frequency and all the music that is recorded there. A poor midrange is near inexcusable and will kill an otherwise stellar showing. The next time you audition an amp or phones try some music that has a lot of percussions like some Cuban jazz. If you know what these percussions really sound like then you'll know right away what I'm talking about and why I find anything less than the accurate reproduction of the entire midrange unacceptable. The XP-7 offers this stellar midrange performance at all volumes and has great detail at lower listening levels. The Cosmic is slightly superior in offering a "fleshiness" to vocals but I think this is mainly due to the crossfeed. The Grado has an overly lush midrange that sounds far too "optimistic" and heavily skews the tonal balance. Only these amps come close to the XP-7 midrange as far as portables go. The Max and Prehead give you a more palable sense of presence.
The XP-7 is a bass head,that being stated in the good way, bass is everywhere and it sounds good. It's not the deepest bass but it's the accurate and super-tight kind. You won't hear the big, boomy,sloppy bass of amps like the Gilmores and you won't get the distant,detached bass of the Grado. The bass performance of the XP-7 is in strict maintenance of it's superb overall tonal balance. If bass were any deeper I think it would detract from music in the mids and treble and place an unrealistic focus on the lower frequencies. I like to use only real percussion music to get a feel for what the bass timber and accuracy is like. The XP-7 makes real drums sound like real drums. That electronic snare drum sound has to be the worse sound in music today and I hate it. Some amps make all snare drums sound like this and kill the bass notes for me. Bass notes are easily distinguishable and arrive at your ears sounding like the instrument from which they originated. Again,the specific styles of musicians is easliy heard and felt. Bassist Elias Bailey on the Rene Marie disc has a very unique style, sounding as though he is "tickling" the strings of his upright bass. His "voice" comes through very clearly on the best amps and the XP-7 is one of those amps. I won't tell you that the bass on the XP-7 is the most extended I have heard. The Cosmic goes a bit deeper but does not match the detail of the XP-7. The XP-7 has very good dynamics and considering the loud volumes that Ray Samuels listens,I would have expected nothing less. There is no loss of bass performance at the very lowest volumes,even with the batteries near death. Bass definition was about the same with the optional power supply with perhaps a bit more extension and impact. The XP-7 was very fond of the HD600 and offered the most extended and punchy bass using those phones.
As you might have gathered I am very impressed with the sound of the XP-7,that's only painting half the picture. The XP-7 is so stinkin' cool on so many levels it's hard to go into them all. The chassis and case are of the very highest quality and I'm sure this amp would survive a hard 6-7 foot drop on cement. The battery compartments are the slickest yet and almost too funky for words,too trick. The fact that you can swap op-amps to tailor the sound to your liking is the cat's ass,I don't know if you can do that with any other portable but it's just a neat trick all the way around. I'm diggin' the metal knob,switches,nice jacks and the general feeling that I'm using a high-quality component. This is built right and "like a tank" might be an insult to the XP-7 cause' most tanks are built to be repaired constantly.
I was able to get 37 hours out of two Ray-o-Vac 9V batteries and sound quality never diminished. When the batteries died they did so with the unit powered down,it never shut off with the low batteries. I was only able to get 29 hours with the two rechargable 9v batts I used,which leads me to believe that all these rechargables are the same as some have commented.
If you think I'm lathering up the XP-7 you'd be wrong. I loved it and it reciprocated my affection by giving me the very best sound I have yet heard from any portable amp. This amp deserves my strong feelings toward it and so does it deserve your consideration if you are looking for a great amp. This gets an unconditional "Awesome Budget Component Alert" and I predict Ray will sell as many as he can make.
Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline XP-7
Price: $495.00 $695.00 with optional dedicated power supply housed in HD aluminum chassis
Power: 2 9 VDc batteries housed in chassis via two drawers at rear of chassis
Dimensions: 5 1/2 inches (139mm)wide,5 1/8 inches (130mm) deep from RCA jacks to front volume knob,1 15/16 inches (49mm) tall.
Input/Output Jacks: 1 set RCA inputs,1 1/4" headphone output jack (non locking).
Chassis: 2mm Black anodized aluminum with removeable top and bottom plates,3mm thick face plate secured with counter-sink philips screws at top,bottom and rear chassis attachment points.Faceplate held on with allen screws. Chassis labeled with very high quality Silk Screen lettering.
I'll weigh the unit with and without batteries when I make it by the post office later today.
[size=small]Awesome Budget Component Alert #5[/size]
Once in while there comes along a product that changes the way we perceive all other similar products, a product that raises the bar by which all others are measured. I really can't remember the last audio component that clearly "raised the bar" and universally impressed every single person who was able to experience it. I have much more difficult time remembering any headphone gear which had such an impact. I can confidently say,without fear of risking my neck and reputation,that the Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline XP-7 headphone amp is one of those products. You guys know I hate to hold you in suspense so I offer my impressions in the first few sentences of my reviews to give you the gist of the remainder of the review so that you know where this is going.
Amps for comparison purposes(portable):
Headroom Cosmic w/reference module,battery power supply and a/c wall power supply
Meier Audio Porta Corda 1
JMT META 42 "Maxed out" (as Jon would put it.)
Grado RA1-9V battery unit
JMT Altoids Amp(this was my first portable headphone amp)
Home amps used for comparison:
Headroom Max w/stepped attenuator
Meier Prehead -LM chip
Meier HA2
Meier Audio HA1 MKII
Phones:
HD600 w/Equinox
Beyer DT880
Beyer DT930
AKG K271 Studio
Grado RS1
Sources:
Philips DVD 963SA
Denon DVD 2900
Musichall Maverick SACD/CDP
Musical Fidelity Trivista (I only had the XP-7 and Trivista for two days together but was able to gather some solid impressions)
Marantz DV 8400
Yamaha DVD-S2300
Musical Fidelity A324 DAC
Sony D-25S PCDP
Archos Jukebox Studio 20
Cables:
Meier Audio prototype Interconnect
Dimarzio M-Path
Acoustic Zen WOW!
Canare digital Coax
Custom Silver Mini
Custom Silver RCA-mini
The music listed below are the recordings I auditioned when I performed the critical listening phase of my impressions. References to specific tracks of these recordings are made in the body of my impressions.
Lizz Wright- "Salt"
Kurt Elling- "Man in The Air"
Ledisi- "Feeling Orange ,But Sometimes Blue"
Rene Marie - "Live at Jazz Standard"
Marvin Gaye-"Let's Get It On" SACD
Tierney Sutton-"Something Cool" Pure DSD SACD
Joe Sample-"The Pecan Tree" Pure DSD SACD
My listening prefences are vocal and instrumental jazz, classic R&B and instrumental Rock. I don't listen at loud volumes and most of my listening is done in a quiet room. My solid-state reference system consists of the Headroom Max amplifier w/stepped attenuator,Sennheiser HD600 phones w/Equinox replacement cable,Philips DVD 963 SACD,MF 324 DAC,VPI Extended Aries Table w/Grado Sonata cartridge,Ray Samuels XR2 Phono stage.My reference interconnect is the Acoustic Zen WOW!.
I have gotten way,way behind on my reviews and have allowed 12 of them to pile up on me. I hate to refuse products to review and hate even worse to promise a review that gets delayed like some of them have. Reviews are really not easy to do and sometimes the words to accurately describe what you hear,see and feel escape you,never to be found again. When I first got the XP-7 I knew I would have little trouble descibing the emotions this little amp elicits when I listen to it. The very first time I heard it,I knew I was hearing something special. How do you describe that? How do I tell you that what I hear is "special"? This is not an "Audiophile Term" which requires a glossary to decipher,it's a feeling of absolute knowledge of something that has moved you. The XP-7 is indeed "Special".
My review sample is the very first unit installed in the production casing and was silk-screened in a manner that Ray Samuels deemed "unacceptable". It is otherwise identical to the current production versions. I never had the opportunity to swap Op-amps and I never used the power supply in my system. I only heard the power-supply at a later date at Ray's home with another Head-fier in attendance. Keep in mind all my impressions are formed on this basis and under these conditions only.
I have always loved the black backround offered by the Ray Samuels Audio gear. This is the genious of Mr. Samuels,his power supplies are some of the best in the business and it shows. The XP-7 is no different. Being battery powered it is not subject to a/c line noise but the chasis shielding is also superb. There is an absolute silence in the XP-7's presentation. With a silent backround to build on the XP-7 constructs a sonic structure of immense detail,depth and impact. The treble on the XP-7 is nothing short of fantastic. The upper frequencies come across clear and focused without the slightest hint of congestion,harshness or strain. Cymbals are given space and reproduced with a faithful timbre and focus. Piano notes in the higher frequencies sound like.....piano. Some amps make piano notes sound almost like an electronic keyboard and/or render these notes as a generic key punches. With the XP-7, and to a like degree the Headroom Cosmic,you can actually hear the Pianist's "touch" on the keys. When I hear the Joe Sample recording I can almost feel Joe stroke the keys in his unique fashion. His sound comes through untouched and altered in no way. Vocals in the treble range are true to the voice of the singers. Ledisi has an amazing vocal range that takes the listener on a trip through all the possibilities of the human voice. Her voice sounds lifelike,with an almost chilling effect. The XP-7 is the portable amp champ here and does very well against the Headroom Max and Prehead home amps with the Prehead offering slightly more treble extension but similar clarity.
The midrange is where the pie is and the XP-7 is serving up Chocolate Cream. It is sweet,airy,detailed and just plain "right". This sounds like a good tube amp in terms of tonality and focus. The XP-7 sometimes runs the ragged egde of sounding too sweet but the stunning clarity and detail keeps the sound in focus. I sometimes here a slight "forwardness" of some vocals,specifically the Kurt Elling disc on the "Never My Love" track. Mr.Elling's voice can sometimes overpower the instruments and make his voice sound "close miked". This was only evident with the DT880 and AKG 271 phones and was never really bad but it did tilt an otherwise great tonal balance. I looked for discs that would challenge the midrange balance of the XP-7 and few tripped it up. There is really no such thing as a "soundstage" on headphone gear but the XP-7 does give a very accurate sense of instrument placement and stage depth. There is an ease with which the XP-7 performs it's midrange magic,you never get the impression that the XP-7 is working hard or has reached it's limits and this seems to be the case with all the phones. The percussions of Peter Escevedo on the Ledisi disc on the "Feeling Orange Again" track are amazing and I hate it when I audition gear that gets this wrong. The XP-7 does this recording justice. When you guys hear me bashing gear because of a poor midrange performance,understand that I'm talking about the complete midrange frequency and all the music that is recorded there. A poor midrange is near inexcusable and will kill an otherwise stellar showing. The next time you audition an amp or phones try some music that has a lot of percussions like some Cuban jazz. If you know what these percussions really sound like then you'll know right away what I'm talking about and why I find anything less than the accurate reproduction of the entire midrange unacceptable. The XP-7 offers this stellar midrange performance at all volumes and has great detail at lower listening levels. The Cosmic is slightly superior in offering a "fleshiness" to vocals but I think this is mainly due to the crossfeed. The Grado has an overly lush midrange that sounds far too "optimistic" and heavily skews the tonal balance. Only these amps come close to the XP-7 midrange as far as portables go. The Max and Prehead give you a more palable sense of presence.
The XP-7 is a bass head,that being stated in the good way, bass is everywhere and it sounds good. It's not the deepest bass but it's the accurate and super-tight kind. You won't hear the big, boomy,sloppy bass of amps like the Gilmores and you won't get the distant,detached bass of the Grado. The bass performance of the XP-7 is in strict maintenance of it's superb overall tonal balance. If bass were any deeper I think it would detract from music in the mids and treble and place an unrealistic focus on the lower frequencies. I like to use only real percussion music to get a feel for what the bass timber and accuracy is like. The XP-7 makes real drums sound like real drums. That electronic snare drum sound has to be the worse sound in music today and I hate it. Some amps make all snare drums sound like this and kill the bass notes for me. Bass notes are easily distinguishable and arrive at your ears sounding like the instrument from which they originated. Again,the specific styles of musicians is easliy heard and felt. Bassist Elias Bailey on the Rene Marie disc has a very unique style, sounding as though he is "tickling" the strings of his upright bass. His "voice" comes through very clearly on the best amps and the XP-7 is one of those amps. I won't tell you that the bass on the XP-7 is the most extended I have heard. The Cosmic goes a bit deeper but does not match the detail of the XP-7. The XP-7 has very good dynamics and considering the loud volumes that Ray Samuels listens,I would have expected nothing less. There is no loss of bass performance at the very lowest volumes,even with the batteries near death. Bass definition was about the same with the optional power supply with perhaps a bit more extension and impact. The XP-7 was very fond of the HD600 and offered the most extended and punchy bass using those phones.
As you might have gathered I am very impressed with the sound of the XP-7,that's only painting half the picture. The XP-7 is so stinkin' cool on so many levels it's hard to go into them all. The chassis and case are of the very highest quality and I'm sure this amp would survive a hard 6-7 foot drop on cement. The battery compartments are the slickest yet and almost too funky for words,too trick. The fact that you can swap op-amps to tailor the sound to your liking is the cat's ass,I don't know if you can do that with any other portable but it's just a neat trick all the way around. I'm diggin' the metal knob,switches,nice jacks and the general feeling that I'm using a high-quality component. This is built right and "like a tank" might be an insult to the XP-7 cause' most tanks are built to be repaired constantly.
I was able to get 37 hours out of two Ray-o-Vac 9V batteries and sound quality never diminished. When the batteries died they did so with the unit powered down,it never shut off with the low batteries. I was only able to get 29 hours with the two rechargable 9v batts I used,which leads me to believe that all these rechargables are the same as some have commented.
If you think I'm lathering up the XP-7 you'd be wrong. I loved it and it reciprocated my affection by giving me the very best sound I have yet heard from any portable amp. This amp deserves my strong feelings toward it and so does it deserve your consideration if you are looking for a great amp. This gets an unconditional "Awesome Budget Component Alert" and I predict Ray will sell as many as he can make.
Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline XP-7
Price: $495.00 $695.00 with optional dedicated power supply housed in HD aluminum chassis
Power: 2 9 VDc batteries housed in chassis via two drawers at rear of chassis
Dimensions: 5 1/2 inches (139mm)wide,5 1/8 inches (130mm) deep from RCA jacks to front volume knob,1 15/16 inches (49mm) tall.
Input/Output Jacks: 1 set RCA inputs,1 1/4" headphone output jack (non locking).
Chassis: 2mm Black anodized aluminum with removeable top and bottom plates,3mm thick face plate secured with counter-sink philips screws at top,bottom and rear chassis attachment points.Faceplate held on with allen screws. Chassis labeled with very high quality Silk Screen lettering.
I'll weigh the unit with and without batteries when I make it by the post office later today.
