Initial impressions...
Printed From: Graham Slee Hifi System Components
Category: Headphone Audio
Forum Name: Write A Review
Forum Description: Satisfied with your Graham Slee headphone amp? - share your experiences here
URL: https://www.hifisystemcomponents.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=46
Printed Date: 27 Mar 2026 at 2:11am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Initial impressions...
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Subject: Initial impressions...
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2008 at 3:52am
I certainly wasn't expecting it to sound this good right off the bat. My set-up isn't ideal by any means. As of right now it consists of AuzenTech X-Plosion sound card with rolled opamps, which at this time I can't remeber which Burr-Browns I have in it. The soundcard is set up for 7.1 so I have to use the splitter that came with it for 2 channel audio with your generic packaged rca interconnects. About as far from optimum as one can get  With no music playing I have to turn the volume knob up to the 3 o'clock position before I can hear the faintest hiss. The first song played and I was expecting it to be rough, or lacking some detail....anything, something, since it hasn't even warmed up yet. I mean I just plugged the damn thing in and started playing music after checking for noise without music. I'm sure if I were more experienced I'd be able to pick something out, but I gotta tell ya, if this is how it sounds right out of the box I can't imagine how good this things gonna sound once I get a DAC and proper interconnects.   I'm listening to the Grateful Dead and they have two drummers, and I can separate each drummer,hear the chimes better then I had before. The bass drums sound better, guitars, everything. It's like I'm sitting right in the mouth of the beast, you know, those ideal seats of a concert. Opps, forgot to mention using HD580's. Also should note that looks like about 7 o'clock is all the way down on the vol, about 8 oc'lock is a queit enough position where I can hear all the music, not that I'd ever listen this low, but it is sufficient to hear. |
Replies:
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2008 at 6:59am
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Approaching 3 hours into burn in and just came back to report that the hiss now starts after the 3 o'clock position. Don't want anyone thinking that I see, or meant it as an issue. I was simply using it as a refference point and was really surprised with my setup that it was that good. Also, my biggest impression is that even at such an early stage, that whatever I feed this fine beast is what I get..........unbelievable, that it represents what its fed so well so early. How can something so new be so transparent. Amazing. Edit: Somehow the 3 hours I stated adn the three hours by the time I was done submitting is incorrect. I forgot to add in the hour it took my to write . So the time I plugged it in was 9 pm 2/1. hopefully somehow it will get worked out along the way  |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2008 at 8:12am
| Just got done throwing some EC at it, now giving it a working over with SRV. I can't believe its this tight this early. |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2008 at 8:42am
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WOW, Here's what I'm listening to right now, on Texas Flood.... unrealised material Artist: Stevie Ray Vaughan Title: In Italy Venue: Piazza del Duomo, Pistoia, Italy Date: 3rd July 1988 Label: Beech Marten BM033 Audio Source: Broadcast? Lineage: Silver > EAC (offset corrected) > WAV > FLAC 8 Number of Discs: 1 Artwork: Not included (see notes) Total running time: 0hr 54min 22sec Regarding the source, I'm guessing at broadcast. It's certainly no audience and to my ears sounds tOo nicely mixed to be a raw soundboard. Tracklisting: 01 - Intro 02 - Say What 03 - Looking At Your Window 04 - Little Sister 05 - Mary Had A Little Lamb 06 - Pride and Joy 07 - Texas Flood 08 - Superstition 09 - Willie The Wimp 10 - Couldn't Stand The Weather Man, if I could sit still long enough I can picture Stevie bending those strings, but actually it seems as if he's bending the neck.  I've never heard Stevie sound so good, unfortunetly I never had the chance to see him live, one of those things that always had to wait till next year  .This has to be as close as it gets......until next listen...  Thank you Graham |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2008 at 9:05am
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Next up some serious dynamics..... hard show to drive but sounds ohhhh so good! That's some nice sax Roger Waters 2006-09-12 Madison Square Garden New York, NY USA "A Roger in Manhattan" Pinkroioshn CDR-007 (PRS-CDR-007) Official 16bit Version Digital Master FOB Recording Recorded from Front of Board, Dead Center Orchestra Section 7, Row C, Seat 9 The "Sweet Spot" Neumann KM-150's (AK-47 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (set fades, one minor patch, resampling to 16/44.1) > CD Wave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac Recorded and Produced by danlynch 2006-09-13 This is the 16bit/44.1 version for burning. The 24/48 master has previously been seeded at yeeshkul.com. Thanks to buffalofloyd for sending his external MT battery via UPS to me in time to master this show at 24/48. First Set 01 In The Flesh 02 Mother 03 Set The Controls For the Heart Of The Sun 04 Shine On You Crazy Diamond 05 Have A Cigar 06 Wish You Were Here* 07 Southampton Dock 08 The Fletcher Memorial Home 09 Perfect Sense Parts 1 and 2 10 Leaving Beirut 11 Sheep Second Set 01 Dark Side of the Moon (Encores) 02 Band Introductions/The Happiest Days Of Our Lives 03 Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2) 04 Vera 05 Bring the Boys Back Home 06 Comfortably Numb *Roger dedicated WYWH to the victims and families of 9/11, "the loved ones lost and the families left behind". This release was first shared simultaneously on YEESHKUL tracker, PINKROIOSHN Hub, and IN FLOYD WE TRUST Hub. Thanks to those communities that share the live PF sound for free! ************ |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2008 at 9:49am
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Brb, Perfect Sense is coming on. I'll post back around the 100 hour mark. I can't say enough how much I'm amazed that the Solo sounds this good this early. I'm pretty convinced that it's my IC's that are holding it back.My initial thought was to let it burn in with what I had becasue if I switched out IC's and the sound changed, how would I know what changed it? But I believe this amp is so transparent that it's not showing any flaw's that I can detect due to the cheap IC's? Someone please guide me here. I'm utterley astonished that it sounds this good so soon, maybe it's just me. But I've thrown some hard sh*t at it and all it has done is shine. What surprises me is that the sound signature isn't far off from my LittleBitHead. Which I guess is the Burr-Brown in my soundcard becasue I think the LBT used Burr-Browon. No, I'm not saying the LBT is comparable to this...... clearly the SOLO smokes the LBT. The sound I am gettting does sound very real. And I very much like this sound. How much of that is the Senn's? how much are my crappy IC's holding me back? I can't beleive the SOlo has this much detail so early.It's got power in abundance. Drive,Detail. This show right here is very hard to drive, or should I say very easy to overdrive?Such drastic swings, yes I had to turn the Solo up higher then I have so far, but I knew I would becasue of such drastic dynamic swings. ANd it never ever came close to hiccuping in the slightest way, nor did I even come close to being able to turn it up ;ouder then my ears could handle. I'm in love  That last sentence makes absolutely no sense , think I was to caught up in listening to the music. But yes, I very easily could of played it way to loud. I think what I was trying to wrench from my thoughts was.... let me give an example, with my TBH it would be forced into clipping during some passages throught the concert so I had to turn the volume down.Nothing even close with the Solo, and had plenty of headroom to spare. Think I had it up to about 12 o'clock or so, |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2008 at 1:19pm
I now find myself sitting here wondering when the Solo is going to sound bad so i can hear it sound good 
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Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2008 at 8:26pm
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Still sounding great. What an amazing amp. Edit: Had to run off before I could say that I've been trying to not listen to the amp so I could come back and see if I can detect any difference, but for some strange reason my hd580-s are stuck on my head and I can't pry them off |
Posted By: tg [RIP]
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2008 at 4:12pm
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OK CP - you got me interested enough to join Yeeshkul and dl the Roger in Manhattan - never been into this RoIO stuff before - interesting - could not find the SRV though - any tips or only trade on silver disc? cheers TG |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2008 at 7:58am
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The SRV is from a liberated Boot, basically the bootleggers sold these discs and someone offered that boot, or in some cases remastered it to make it better, and offered it freely to the public. I don't believe in them ( the bootleggers ) profiting from it so I take pleasure in freely trading bootlegs. I can do one of two things. 1, I'd be more then happy to send you a copy of the data disc, 2) you can pm me for the trader friendly site . They even have a Miles Davis preservation project going on. Which is just what it says. They are taking all know live perfomances that are not an official release, and converting it into the digitial domain to preserve the actual recording. How did you like the Roger in Manhatten? Enjoy |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2008 at 8:51am
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!74 hours in and even this still sounds real good. Well balanced guitar, piano and drums, bass is even there. Jerry Garcia Band Winterland Arena San Francisco, CA 12/19/75 sources: A (big) cardboard box. SBD> Rm Nagra 1/2 Trac (7 1/2ips) > Reel Otari 1/2 Trac (7 1/2ips) > BX300 Nak‘no dolby’(MaxellXLIIS90,cassette) > CR3A Nak‘no dolby’> Hp Computer > Sound Forge > CD Wave> Flac8 AUDMC (Bob Menke and Louis Falanga's Sony ECM-270 + Sony ECM-250 [mic placement unknown] > Sony TC-152) > DATx1 > CD > EAC > CD > EAC > SHN; via Jack Warner.Extraction, re-tracking, and shn encoding using EAC, CD Wave and WavMerge, and mkwACT byjupillej@mediaone.net. Proper sector boundaries verified with shntool Disc One 01 Bill Graham Intro 02 Sugaree 03 tuning 04 Catfish John 05 tuning and piano jam 06 That's What Love Will Make You Do 07 tuning 08 Sitting in Limbo 09 tuning and Nicky Hopkins banter 10 Lady Sleeps 11 Mystery Train Disc Two 01 tuning 02 I'll Take a Melody 03 tuning 04 Pig's Boogie 05 banter and band intros 06 Mission in the Rain notes: - before I matrixed the sources I removed the dc offset from the sbd and, as the levels were low, boosted both channels by 8 decibels - both sources have a cut/cuts in "Sitting In Limbo", I have patched in from the opposite source. I also patched the start of Pig's Boogie (aud source). Other than that, it was also necessary to patch in some crowd sections comments: Nicky Hopkin's piano playing is an absolute delight throughout this wonderful show Still seems whatever I throw at the Solo it delivers. Can't wait for it to get fully burnt in! Has lost some of that realism, but still sounds accurate. |
Posted By: Graham Slee
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2008 at 9:49am
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Hi Charley, This is interesting stuff. Ever heard of a mathematical process called "iteration"? It's used when it's impossible to find an exact and immediate answer to a complex problem or equation. If the starting values are outside the limits, the iteration process never converges to the answer, but... If the starting values are within the limits, after a number of iterations the answer is found - all further iterations give the same answer! I see this as being analogous to the "burn-in" of equipment. It is also a bugbear of analog audio research and development, because a given circuit may perform very well at first and then deteriorate - like an iteration that doesn't converge. Far better then to have a circuit that may sound a trifle odd at first which eventually blossoms, or "cycles" like an iteration to a rock-solid definitive SQ. This is what I try to do with each and every design. And hopefully the analogy with the process of iteration will help with the understanding of the burn-in process. Until an iteration converges each answer is actually the wrong answer, but the eventual answer is the right one. Likewise, the equipment may give mostly the right sound some days, but with that little something that doesn't seem quite right - then another day it's mostly right in another way. Eventually it is hoped that everything falls into place. Unfortunately for me, this iterative process is very time consuming and limits the number of new designs I can come out with each year. My "portfolio" may be full of new and exciting stuff, but it's frustrating that I can't just build it and launch it. Each design, in fact each tweak of a design, has to go through burn-in before I can tell if it's worth releasing. After all, there are plenty of almost-good-enough products out there, but my reputation survives or fails on getting products to sound just right. Feedback such as this and others within this community is extremely valuable for me, and from it I hope I can make better things that are of good (or even extreme) value for the community. ------------- That none should be able to park up and enjoy the view without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 10 Feb 2008 at 1:42am
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Hi Graham, Thanks for that informative explanation , it does help explain the process. It also gives some idea as to what you put into developing your product, and your attention to detail. Even though I'm a little over 190 hours into the burn in, I think it is safe to say that you have accomplished your mission. I can honestly say that it had me questioning my own ears. I was hoping to complete the burn-in before I changed anything, but today I was out looking at car stereos for my mom and i couldn't resist picking up new I.C's. I don't get out much, so I figured I better take advantage of it. All of the electronic stores handle around here are Monster Cables, so I went ahead a got a set of their 400i's and they really opened up the sound across the whole spectrum. |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2008 at 9:50am
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Holy shiiiiiiitte! Jerry Garcia Band 1975-12-19 Winterland Arena San Francisco, CA Bertha Remaster of the Master Reel/Reel MP3 Free source (SHN ID 31625) SBD > MR > REEL > PCM > DAT > CDA > Wav(EAC) > DAW(Bertha) > Audio DVD format 24/48 files > DVD Audio Extractor v.3.3.2 (audio files extracted prior to burning to DVD disc) > 24/48 wav > downsampled to 44.1 wav with Wave Lab v.5.00a > dithered to from 24-16 bit depth with Wave Lab UV22 HR Plugin > SBEs fixed with shntool v.2.0.3 (by set) > files rennamed with File Renamer v.1.0.0 > FLAC encoding with FLAC Frontend v.1.7.1 Etree Edition, FLAC v.1.1.2 (audio extraction through .flac encoding by Gary F. 11/28/2005) (1 disc .flac/2 discs audio) d1t01 - Suagree d1t02 - Catfish John d1t03 - Tuning/Nicky d1t04 - That's What Love Will Make You Do d1t05 - Sitting in Limbo (Diginoise @ 9:07) d2t01 - Tuning/Nicky d2t02 - Lady Sleeps d2t03 - Mystery Train d2t04 - I'll Take A Melody d2t05 - Pig's Boogie d2t06 - Mission In The Rain WOW screw my ears! |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2008 at 9:58am
| Put it this way, Nickey taking lead. |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2008 at 10:12am
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This ain't right! No way should a pc sound so GOOD. I even posted same concert and the 2nd one blew the first away! Enjoy, I am! |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2008 at 10:47am
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Screw the grin factor, now I'm worried about nreaking my chair!!! Ouch.
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Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2008 at 11:02am
| That fast the bass isn't as crisp as it was, for what, 45 minutes or so. Still wow factor is up there. Bring on 500 hours!!! |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2008 at 5:42pm
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I was looking forward to the 500 hour mark and posting about the Solo but I'm having some PC issues I have to get ironed out first. I don't remember when the Solo became fatiguing, but I just chalked it up to part of the burn in process. Last Saturday it became more so, and sometimes all I can do is listen to music so I listened to it more then I should have, not loud mind you. But in hindsight I think it was from noise that I couldn't hear. I think at least some of the problem the HF noise that I can't hear. I say at least I had another issue from a stupid mistake. Windows had an update that I had to reboot my computer and when I had it turned off I had forgot about the update and tried installing another hard drive. I tried connecting it to the external SATA connector and somehow it messed up my sound so all I got was white noise. It ended up basically didn't see my soundcard and I had to remove the software and my soundcard and reinstall them. Also since this happened I tried my TBH through the usb port and that now seems to have the same issue ( unless my ears just need a break ) . Which I think would be a whole separate problem because thats through my usb port and has nothing to do with the soundcard, plus it wasn't like that before.Having never experienced this before, you hear people talking about noise issues on soundcards it never dawned on me, even knowing better, that you could in fact have noise without actually hearing any. Now I feel like a complete _______ ( for you creative types, fill in the blank )Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions are most welcome. I havn't been able to think of late and possibly has led to some of this, i.e. forgetting was rebooting to install update when I hooked up hard drive. Sorry for rambling and long out mass confussion . Thanks. |
Posted By: Charley Phogg
Date Posted: 24 Feb 2008 at 7:19am
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I have traced, if you will, the problem to Foobar. After checking all connections, trying different drive configurations and everything else one can imagine short of a complete reinstall of my operating system I decided to give WinAmp a shot. I have now been listening to WinAmp for more then 6 hours and no problem. So whenever I get some down time..... which may be awhile since my headphones seem to be stuck to my head again I'll uninstall and reinstall FooBar.
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