Solo SRG/PSU1 has arrived!

I did not think you were  harsh.

Thanks to Miguel for the loan of the SRG, and thanks to Gradofan2 for cutting his time short to squeeze me in. I'm really glad I got the chance to compare the Green Solo with the SRG/PSU-1 combo. I also compared the smsp wallwart with the PSU-1 on my Green Solo.

Let me preface this with I don't have experince with other amps or headphones, other then TotalBitHead and HD-555's.

My dac is the OMZ 4.1 and my phones are the HD-580's.

My first hour with the SRG I spent a/b'ing my already warmed up Green,which I always leave on, to the cold (temp wise, not sound wise) SRG. Right out of the box it was apparent that the SRG was more detailed then the Green. The sound signature was the same, but with the SRG having the better soundstage. At this point it was hard to tell how exactly, or was it just from the better detail?

Using the Ultrsone cd as an example... on the first track the banjo was a little more up front, more even in the mix then with the Green Solo. Not night and day different, I remeberthinking that if I wasn't a/b'ing them, it would take an experienced person to be able to tell the difference.

About 5 or 6 hours in, the greater detailing really started showing in the SRG.

Using Jeff Beck Live at Ronnie's scott's 2007 .........

Amazon.com: Performing This Week: Live at Ronnie Scott's: Jeff Beck: Movies & TV

Was simply amazing. I could almost feel JB bending the strings. When JB played the guitar just by tapping the strings up the neck, it was like you could hear the individual strands of the string on JB's fingertip. Joss Stone, doing "People Get Ready" her voice made my ears hard , not to mention Imogen Heap's sultry bedroom voice doing "Blanket" about finished me off

The contrast between JB's playing and the soulfoul,sultriness of Joss Stone and Imogen Heap was amazing.

Even after a little more then 6 hours of the SRG warming up, the difference in the detail was now night and day and growing.

I left the SRG on over nite and about cried when I had to ship it off this am, but over night the sound had gone more towards neutral, I sposse, then being close to the Green's the night before. I can't imagine how it would sound after 72 hours,as this is when Miguel says it really comes on full song.

So after only having it for 20 some hours I can say this about the SRG compared to my Green Solo......

I was expecting the SRG to be better, natuarly, I didn't expect this amout of difference. The ampunt of detail blew me away. Soundstage was better,fuller, was to hard for me to try to nail down any more then that in the short time. Positioning was much better too. Also more upfront. High's are more extended. I didn't get the impression that is why it was more upfront then the Green, your also closer,almost on stage with the SRG. I found this paticularly true with regards to the actual recording. Sometimes you're between the musicians on stage, other times at the stage,. or a row or two away.

Listening to

Grateful Dead
Melkweg
Amsterdam, Netherlands
10-16-81

Chappell's matrix sick bits vol. 27 for all you heads outthere ...

1st set is acoustic, and it was heavenly. I was right in the middle of the boys and their acoustic guitars and bongo's, and I thought the Green SOlo sounded good with drums and bongos and stuff. Hard for me to say if the SRG's PRAT, impact and bass is faster,deeper, but I can tell that it is better.

This hobby is funny, you never know what you're not hearing until you hear it. If you haven't heard some of the top end amps, you think you know what it sounds like, because that's all you know. Before I thought the Green Solo had a fair amount of detail and resolution... now I'm ruined

Hope that made some sense, I feel like I'm getting lost.

 Mighty fine amp you built there Graham. I was expecting better, not night and day. Job well done Graham, thank you!
Thanks again Miguel

 Edit: Final thoughts

 Every since my review, I have been thinking how best to describe the difference between the Green and SRG Solo's that I heard with my ears, my gear and only having my HD-580's to use, also having never heard any other headphone gear. Not to mention my short, but sweet time listening to it.Now mind you, this is from 6 hours in, of the SRG's 72 hour journey to come up to full song, which I haven't heard, YET ,  until roughly 18 hours or so before I had to pry it out of my grubby  mits,  that  the differences were becoming more apparent. I say this because it is quite clear I do not know ultimatley how the SRG would of sounded once said journey was completed.

 Sorry about this James , but here goes.....

  All along I have kept frinding myself wanting to say that going directly from the Green to the SRG is like lifting a veil, looking through a hazy window to a clear one. But I think that does neither amp justice, and to me looks like a put down to the Green Solo, while also not giving enough information to whoever reads it.

 But simply put, the SRG is more extended with better resolution and texture. Now notice, I say nothing about the bass  here. I don't feel I can. Most importantly, because the SRG wasn't settled in yet as the SRG sound sig was the same as the Green at hour zero,warmer, to 18 hours or so,colder, and also because the SRG was using the PSU-1 and the Green the SMPS. Also because if the SRG has taught me anything, it's that I don't know jack, but the SRG sure did introduce him to me

 I use warmer and colder here only to describe the difference, not the product.



Edited by Charley Phogg - 25 May 2009 at 1:39am

Nice write-up Charley, thanks.