It's In The Bag - Semi Portable Music System

Strangely, although I've been using this system for probably 6 or 7 years, I've never written about it here.

When away for 1 night and travelling light, I use a FiiO X3 and a pair of Beyer Dynamic IEMs. Sometimes I'll add the Chord Mojo DAC to improve the sound.  If its a couple of nights or more and I'm on the train or flying I'll add Audioquest Nighthawk headphones for a particular good sounding travel system.

But if I have the car and I'm away for a couple of nights or more then I'll take the semi portable system.

When I first set this up I had a Trends TA10.1 T-Amp to boost the sound from the FiiO X3, which still features as the source.  Later the Trends was replaced by the amazingly versatile Project MaiA DAC / integrated amp.  The Trends was a little more dynamic, but the MaiA is a little more refined and suits the use case better, particularly as it has a weightier bass and less strident top end - perfect to complement a very small pair of speakers. I managed to pick up the MaiA in a sale for £225, a considerable saving on its usual £380-400 price mark.  Its quite a solid bit of kit, so adds weight over and above the Trends, but that was a very simple device with only analogue inputs.

The MaiA allows connection of any standard analogue component using RCA phono sockets - the FiiO DAP, a phone, a TV or whatever.  It also allows a digital source to be connected to its internal DAC by coaxial, optical or USB cable plus I use it to connect my phone over Bluetooth for Tidal or Internet radio listening, particularly late at night so I can control music and volume from the bed - too lazy to get out of bed to switch it off! Carry a 3.5mm to dual phono cable and some hotel rooms will allow connection to the room TV too. A feature that I don't use but that adds to the value is a moving magnet turntable input! Other cables are very standard 42 strand speaker cables fitted with 4mm banana plus, a USB charger and cable and a USB cable in case I want to set up the laptop for some TV catch up or YouTube videos.

Is the FiiO DAC and analogue output superior to using the DAC in the MaiA? I would say that they are on a par, but different.  The MaiA is a little clearer but lacking solidity, the FiiO a bit better with timing and rythmn. Horses for courses.  For sure, adding the Chord Mojo between the FiiO and the MaiA is the best result, but that's more to carry and more time to cable up.  Talking of which, it takes about 5 minutes to set up and about 10 minutes to tear down and pack into the carry bag. Ideal.

Speakers are a pair of Tangent EVO.  I don't know much about the brand but they were about £80 from Richer Sounds around 2010, probably no longer available.

Complete system, a great size for many hotel room desks

The multi-input MaiA amplifier. The Tangent EVOs are fitted with soft foam feet to reduce transmission of energy into the surface - typically a hotel desk.

 

 

 

 

A UK pound coin gives you a good idea of just how compact this system is

The final component of the system is perhaps its most important attribute.  OK, its a very large camera bag, but the whole thing slots perfectly into a padded Lowepro so it can be slung over a shoulder and carried out to the car very easily.

What about how it sounds?  Well, its not a miracle from that point of view, but keep your expectations within reason and its very capable.  Bass goes a little deeper than you might expect and the system goes far louder than I ever need whilst not annoying other guests. There is no doubt the Chord Mojo /  Audioquest Nighthawk is a far superior listen, but the freedom to move around the room and lie in bed without the restrictions of headphones compensates nicely.

Dealer Visit: Hifi Lounge, Bedford. Chord Mojo DAC Review

This review is as a result of a visit to this dealer to pick up a demo pair of PMC speakers and is therefore written as a customer, not as a reviewer as such.  Hifi Lounge were not aware that I would be writing about the visit (in fact, neither did I at the time, it occurred to me later that it might be something worth writing about).  

Are the days of the high street hifi specialist numbered?  House of Linn is a large Victorian end terrace house in a residential area of a town just outside the M60 Manchester orbital, Cymbiosis are in converted farm buildings and there are many other examples.  As hifi polarises into mass market convenience and high priced specialist products, with those companies and dealers in the mid-range probably feeling increasingly squeezed, there is no need for the higher end dealers to remain in the high street.  “Passing traffic” is no longer likely to just drop in, rents are very high, customers want somewhere easy and convenient to park, and most auditioning is based on pre-arranged appointments.  Buying quality hifi is now more likely to be a long decision process that’s best done in comfortable, more home-like surroundings in a quiet location with none of the distractions and hassles of a town centre.

Which brings me to Hifi Lounge, based just outside Bedford.  The approach is along a gently winding country road and a smooth gravel drive that feeds a number of “units”.  But these are not units of the industrial variety, but converted brick-built former farm buildings.  The car park is surrounded by trees, well-kept grass and hedges.  As soon as I arrived I felt relaxed and I hadn’t even got through the door.  Hifi Lounge is identified by a discrete logo on one of the buildings and you enter through a lowish wooden door.  Paul greeted me with a friendly smile and handshake.  He’s an easy bloke to get on with, as is his partner Wendy and it feels more like going to visit some friends, or perhaps genial B&B hosts, rather than a retail environment.

On the left is the “office” area with desk and some stock.  This is also online central for web content and correspondence.  Straight ahead is the staircase and on the right is the smaller dem room and, importantly, the kitchen area.  A good mug of proper tea was soon in hand – appropriately in a PMC branded vessel.  This smaller dem room is arranged with kit along the longer wall and a sofa opposite, thankfully a good distance away from the wall behind the listener.  A good number of items of kit are lined up on racks and there are some pairs of speakers – one pair set up for listening, the others along the shorter end wall.  On the day of my visit there was much evidence of Naim, Rega, Bryston, Arcam and PMC in this room.  Whilst being the smaller room (I’m guessing its about 5m x 4m), it does represent a very realistic size for many homes and will therefore help a good number of customers get a decent impression of a realistic set up.  Décor is both modern (with wall art mural), casual and comfortable.  The ceiling is lowish, giving a cosy feel.  Nice.

When I was there, another customer was listening to some amp options in the, much larger, upstairs dem room.  This is slightly larger in floor area but also enjoys a high vaulted ceiling with exposed beams.  There’s a projector available and this room will better suit larger speakers, customers with larger rooms and, at a guess, those with larger wallets too.  I appreciated the 12” picture frames containing album sleeves – apparently these are changed from time to time and were recently all filled with Bowie albums as a mark of respect and appreciation.  I didn’t spend much time up here as there was a dem in progress and we didn’t want to disturb the other customer.  Back downstairs and Paul and I chat for a while about music choices, my current system, why PMC, what I was looking for in terms of a performance upgrade etc.  Paul comes across as genuinely interested, willing to discuss stuff he doesn’t sell and understand its merits and is clearly enthusiastic about the location and facilities he has to offer customers.

The PMC speakers are the demo units, so Paul brings the boxes and we pack them up together, still chatting about music and hifi.  Shortly afterwards the other customer comes down and joins in the chatter and it seems we have some work colleagues – current and past - in common.  I live in North Wales and have worked in Scottish, Yorkshire and London locations and here I am discussing colleagues with a stranger in Bedfordshire.  Small World and all that.

Given that I’ve never done any business with Hifi Lounge before, I felt very welcome and that Paul was interested in what I’m looking for.  On top of that, with a refundable deposit sorted, Hifi Lounge were happy for me to take their pair of Twenty.26 speakers away to North Wales and audition them for a week in my own system.  Doing anything other than this would’ve been pretty pointless really, using a different room and electronics from a completely different supplier (ie, in the shop) would not have provided much information really – certainly no benefit over my existing experience with the 26s at hifi shows and from magazine reviews.  Hifi Lounge were positively keen for me to ensure that I got a good long home audition before spending with them.  There was no quibble or doubt about trusting me with the speakers, even as a stranger – they clearly understand their customers’ needs and how to support those needs. This is a great way to engage a customer and gain their trust, as well as their long term repeat business.

Once the speakers were loaded up into the car, there was one more thing I wanted to try whilst I was there.  I’d taken my FiiO X3 portable hi-res FLAC player and my Audioquest Nighthawk headphones along as I wanted to give the new Chord Mojo DAC / headphone amp an audition, and knew that Hifi Lounge are Chord dealers.  So Wendy took me over to the headphone room, opened it up, set the lighting ambiance and let me get on with trying the kit.  But first, what about the room?  A very long, slim room, totally dedicated to the pursuit of high quality sound strapped to your head.  I’m guessing, but the room is probably around 8m long with all the kit arranged along one wall, with tall narrow windows down the opposite wall.  The kit wall has a waist high shelf with headphone amps from one end to the other – above this is an equally long row of high quality headphones on headphone stands.  All the well-reviewed kit is there – Audioquest, Grado, Oppo, Audez’e, STAX, Audio-Technica, Sennheiser, Shure, AKG, BeyerDynamic etc. etc.  What an array of choice!

I settled into one of the sumptuous leather wing backed chairs with the FiiO / Mojo / Nighthawk combo and lined up some tunes.  Wendy left me to it, just saying I should take my time and come back to the main shop when I was ready.  The first thing that struck me about the Mojo is how tiny it is.  Somehow, even after reading that it’s about the same size as a pack of cards, it still came as a surprise that it is, actually, the size of a pack of cards.  I suppose I’m just used to so much hyperbole in the press these days that I thought this was rhetoric for effect rather than reality.  So there it is, tiny.  But beautifully built – the satin black anodised aluminium casing feels solid and machined (as opposed to pressed) – it feels much more expensive than the list price would suggest.  The Mojo accepts normal USB and coax SP/DIF digital inputs, but also those from iPhones and Android – so great for being on the move. The controls are OK – you soon get used to what long press vs short press does and the action is solid and “well oiled” so to speak – the only downside being the rather bright colours which could be distracting in a darkened room.  But once the tunes start playing this rather pales (sorry!) into insignificance.  

I hooked up the FiiO using the coaxial digital output and set the Mojo to a sensible listening level – so not too loud.  Last time I heard a Chord DAC / headphone amp was when I bought the Nighthawks – it was the larger and more expensive Hugo and I wasn’t impressed.  The Hugo receives very good reviews but sounded artificial to me – certainly the same headphones being powered by the Audioquest Dragonfly and a Trilogy 931 amp was a much better experience – that combination working well together to provide a more natural, flowing and musical result.  So what of the Mojo?  Well it is most definitely a more enjoyable listen than either of those I tried earlier – there’s oodles of detail, but its refined not forced, it doesn’t sound like you’re listening to something digital, in that edgy, gritty excessive brightness that so many low budget digital products deliver.  This is classy.  There’s slam, deep bass and great timing - the music bounces along with energy but control.  This little box of tricks is a revelation.  At the price it’s an absolute steal.  I don’t have one yet, but once the main system has settled down I’ll be investing, and certainly before some long flights I’m expecting later in the year (and I’ll go back to Paul and Wendy to get mine).  If you’re as old as I am then you’ll understand what I mean when I say I think the Mojo is probably this generation’s equivalent to the NAD 3020 – everyone should have one that’s looking for top quality listening on a reasonable budget.  I’ve heard a lot of headphone amps in the last 12 months, this is easily the one to beat up to at least £1000.  Brilliant.

So Hifi Lounge – great location, great facilities and a warm welcome from Paul and Wendy.  I enjoyed my visit there, which is not normally something I can say about retail experiences.  They’re helpful, friendly, relaxed, clearly keen to let the customer spend time and make their own decisions, they run interesting events from time to time and offer great service, even to new arrivals.  Oh, and one of the best headphone choosing experiences anywhere.

Hifi Lounge have kindly reviewed this post for factual accuracy, but have had no influence on the opinions expressed.

Travel? Still Great Music

After hearing some decent headphone systems as the recent National Audio Show at Whittlebury, I revisited the idea of using them more for music in hotels - as a step up from in-ear buds (I use BeyerDynamic 101 with the iPod and occasionally the FiiO player).

Having a good source (FiiO X3 which plays FLAC files up to 24bit/96kHz) and a reasonable mid-range pair of Sennheiser Momentum headphones, the biggest improvement I could make would be to insert a dedicated headphone amp into the mix.

At Whittlebury, I really enjoyed the sounds being played by the Trilogy 931 amp but its price puts it out of range for experimenting with deciding if this was a sensible solution for the longer term - ie will I enjoy headphones enough to cart the kit around with me?

So ebay to the rescue and I picked up a Mk1 version of the very well regarded Schiit Magni - a product of the USA and very good value for money, even when new.  The used one I have is in mint condition and functions very well.  First foray with the kit away from home this week proved a sonic success - still not sure about the comfort of wearing headphones in bed just before going off to sleep.  The iPod into a small portable speaker is still better for this part of the day - no headphones and set it to 30 minute sleep setting and I hardly ever hear the end of the music.  With phones you have to take them off and switch off the kit which means not exactly nodding off to sleep.  Still, it does sound much better than the portable speaker.

FiiO X3 FLAC player, Linn Silver interconnect, Schiit Magni (v1) and Sennheiser Momentum

ProJect MaiA Review – the shrunken integrated amp / DAC

I like to listen to music most of the time, sometimes its in the background, sometimes it makes a car journey more tolerable, sometimes I’m in the audience and sometimes I sit in front of the main hifi and just focus on listening.  Listening to the artists’ works, sometimes carried away, sometimes confused, sometimes just enjoying the flow, sometimes trying to “get” the message in the lyrics.

And sometimes, I’m away from home (quite frequently, actually).  When travelling by train or plane, I use an iPod or FiiO X3 and earbuds or phones and occasionally I have room in my suitcase for a Logitech Purefi Anywhere 2 for the hotel room.

But when travelling by car, I can take something a little more substantial to the hotel room, and have a large camera case that currently contains a pair of tiny but well made Tangent Evo speakers (no relationship to Evolution Audio, the dealer mentioned in this thread), a Trends TA 10.1 integrated t-amp and the necessary speaker and interconnects to fit to an old-style 30-pin 160GB iPod Classic or anything with a 3.5mm output (such as the FiiO or a phone).  I also carry a work laptop, sometimes used for iPlayer / other catch up services, but not currently for music.  It’s a decent listen and I prefer to listen to music through speakers rather than being tied to a device or location by a device and headphone cables.  Last thing at night, some chill tunes on a 30 minute timer on the iPod often help me get off to sleep in a strange location / room – speakers are far better for this than the need to take off headphones as I drop off to sleep.

Now that the laptop and the phone are part of the entertainment package, something with better connectivity would be useful.  In steps a HiFi Wigwam post from Evolution Audio announcing the Pro-Ject MaiA integrated amp, with analogue, digital (up to 24bit/192kHz), Bluetooth and phono (turntable) inputs.  It probably makes the toast too.  Given that Evo Audio offer a 10 day sale or return service, I thought I’d give it a go.

Now the Trends TA10.1 amp has done very well for me in this system for probably around 5 or 6 years.  Its small, runs cool, its light and has been very robust.  In the camera bag it nestles quite well wrapped in a soft wool scarf, nicely wedged between the speakers – keeping everything tightly packed but not scratching each other.  It does a decent enough job too – way better than most high street “midi” or “mini” systems.  Limitations?  Well, power, but that doesn’t matter in an hotel room when volume is necessarily limited.  Inputs? Yep – there’s only one pair of line level RCA sockets.  Remote control?  Nope.

Unboxing

Evo Audio had shipped the Pro-Ject box, wrapped in a couple of layers of bubble wrap, inside another cardboard box, along with the receipt and an Evo Audio branded pen.  Delivered in reasonable time, it even managed to survive the Hermes courier system undamaged.  Opening the Pro-Ject box revealed the amp, in a plastic bag, contained by “waffle” sponge padding on all 6 sides.  The mains cable, PSU with captive DC output lead and remote control were in a separate sub-box, with no padding around these components.  There is an 8 page instruction leaflet that’s low on content and quality, but is sufficient to get you up and running.  Clearly, the budget needed some corners to be cut, but this is a good place to do so.  The amp itself is very slim (only about 35mm high), around 200mm deep and 210mm wide,  It feels substantial though – the folded steel case and flat alu front panel are decent quality and its very well screwed together.  It gives a good first impression.  Four small rubber feet protect surfaces and help to keep the amp steady on that surface.

Around the back, there are a pair of phono sockets and a binding post for a turntable (yep, there’s and RIAA phono stage crammed in there), 2x pairs of phono sockets for line level inputs, 1x 3.5mm line level input, 1x coax RCA digital input, 2x optical digital inputs and a USB socket (for a PC, rather than an iPod or similar).  Outputs are volume controlled line level 3.5mm, and a pair of small combined binding posts and 4mm banana sockets (which are crammed close together at one end of the panel).  There’s an input for connecting the PSU’s DC cable too.  A lot going on, but clearly labelled, straight forward etc.  I used plastic shrouded 4mm bananas for speaker connections – it’s what I had already, but Paul from Evo advised this type of connection as metal bananas and bare wires are a bit risky with such closely packed connectors.  Generally, those who hoped to use in-your-face mega chunky interconnects / RCAs will be a bit disappointed, and needing to shell out for something more practical.  Bluetooth pairing was straightforward with my Android Samsung phone (Lollipop OS version).

image from ProJect Audio

image from custom-cable.co.uk

Control

Across the front there is a soft touch power on/off (tiny blue LED indicator), headphone socket, rotary volume control and a row of tiny blue LEDs indicating which source is selected – these are flanked left and right by cursor keys that move the source selection across the row of options.  Clear, simple.  The credit card sized remote gives volume control, source selection, power on/off and the ability to activate Bluetooth pairing.  Its responsive enough, but is necessarily light in weight and functional rather than a pleasure to use.  The main rotary volume control on the amp itself is a little stiff (maybe it will loosen slightly with use – hopefully not too much), but is very smooth and not so stiff that it causes the box to move on a desk.

System

For my first try with the amp (it was on 10 days sale or return remember), I used the following equipment which seems appropriate to the type of use I will put the amp to, and perhaps others will too:

• FiiO X3 (internal DAC line out and digital coax output)
• £8 3.5mm to 2x phono interconnect from Amazon (decent build quality, nice tight gold plated connections)
• 99.99 OFC copper pretty standard speaker cables from Maplin – roughly 42 strand and fitted with soldered on “Shark” 4mm gold plated banana plugs
• Tangent Evo bookshelf speakers (the ones I would intend to use the amp with) and Mission 773e floorstanders (to better expose differences between line and digital inputs)
• Music included “Tears Run Dry” by Malia and Boris Blank; “Gaia” by James Taylor; “King” by Tuung; “Rise” by Samantha James; “Doors Unlocked and Open” by Death Cab For Cutie

Listening

I left the amp playing to itself at low volume for about 2 hours – using the FiiO line out and the Evos, just to make sure it was at least warmed through, if not exactly “burnt in”, if that’s necessary at all – its not something I’ve tested so far and won’t be bothering as it seems a bit of an overkill for this kind of product.

Kicking off with the TA10.1 amp, I reminded myself of its capabilities.  Its fast, a touch on the bright side (but not excessively so), and its best listened to at medium volumes – it gets harsh quite quickly as the volume is cranked up, but is a rather dull affair at the lower volume levels.  So about right for the job really, and good value at £110 about 5 years ago.  It has been reviewed in some quarters as a “giant killer” and paired with very exotic speakers on some web sites.  It is astonishingly good for its size and price, but that’s all.  A healthy NAD 3120 from the 1980s shows it a clean pair of heels in terms of musical enjoyment and information extraction, if not exactly neutrality.  Lets just say the TA is great for what it is and is very neutral (with the exception of that slight uplift in the higher frequencies).  But its also rather “grey” to listen to – it doesn’t have much verve or life to it.

Swapping over to the MaiA and it was initially difficult to try and get a perceptually similar volume level.  And that’s because it has a greater perceived (or real, who knows?) dynamic range – the quieter bits are that much quieter than the Trends, but equally, the louder bits are that much louder too.  It better shows through the subtleties the artist has put into the emphasis or de-emphasis of a phrase.  Nice.  So a quick switch back and forth helps to work out where to position each volume control to get as close as I could to something like equality.  Next thing to notice is what appears to be a flatter response – its easy to note that it has less emphasis at the top end, but it is still a touch bright.  Its showing the splashy nature of the FiiO’s DAC well too – this is something I noted when working out which system to go with at Scalford this year – the FiiO’s top end is pretty unruly on the internal DAC.

The MaiA manages somewhat better separation of instruments too – its not epically etching them out, but they are easier to distinguish, as is the location in the image and the stability of that image.  A welcome improvement over the TA.  What of the bass – well, there seems to be a little more of that with the Pro-Ject, and its worth having with the tiny little Tangent speakers.  Music bounces along with a reasonable sense of pace and rhythm.  Its not the last word in refinement, but you can tell the intention is to provide a bit of fun with the music.

DAC

What of the internal DAC?  Well, in this appraisal, I only had the FiiO to hand to compare, but that’s OK, because that’s what I’ll be mostly listening to.  Comparing the FiiO’s internal DAC and line out to the MaiA’s internal DAC again gave some volume control setting challenges.  I didn’t use any equipment to sort this, just a number of back to back comparisons to get a feel for where the control needed to be set.  This comparison did reveal one thing very quickly indeed – the MaiA has a much better controlled and smoother sounding DAC in comparison with the X3.  But it doesn’t image or separate the instruments any better, and has a tendency to suppress female vocals a touch.  Rhythm and pace are still good, with bass perhaps a touch more fulsome than with the X3.  I think it’s a bit swings and roundabouts really, but with the Tangent Evos being a lightweight sounding speaker, the better controlled top end and weightier bottom notes won out for me.  You might come to a different conclusion, so it’s a preferences thing rather than anything clear cut.

Proper Speakers

And what of the performance with the Mission 773e?  These were used at Scalford to reasonably good effect in 2014 and whilst not the last word in lower end speaker technology, they’re effective and enjoyable to listen to.  Normally they are fed by an SBT / MF V-DAC1 / MF V-PSU2 and a Cyrus 6 integrated amp when they’re pretty fast, boogie well and deliver a good performance.  On the MaiA, however, it was quickly noted that all wasn’t what it could be.  That fuller lower end, which worked so well when working with the little Tangents, became somewhat unruly, fat and a bit woolly.  Not great.  The effect was the same with the FiiO’s DAC back in action – slightly less noticeable, but still not really something I’d want to spend a long time listening to.  And the splashiness was back too.

£400

So all this tech and connectivity, squeezed into a small box comes at a very reasonable price.  It would be good to compare this amp with a NAD D3020, and that might be on the agenda at some point in the future.  It fits my use case for it very well, brings a useful increase in sound quality and a massive step up in connectivity and usability.  When the 10 day trial is over, it won’t be going back to the helpful team at Evolution Audio – it already has its place in the camera bag.

So to use this in a kitchen / bedroom / study or as a semi-portable system with a small set of (not too good at lots of bass) budget bookshelf speakers, I would say this amp is a success.  For me, that’s where it does a great job, just don’t expect it to cope as a main system centre piece with a pair of full range speakers.

One final thought – if all that modern connectivity, compact size and sensible pricing gets it into a good number of student bedsits, perhaps a TT connected to some of them, it might well be the way to generate a new set of audio enthusiasts.  Lets just hope they don’t get underwhelmed and miss out on the capabilities of this amp by feeding it a load of compressed MP3 junk data!