RA1/ AC
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Hard to justify at this price - Marantz player a better value
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After purchasing 2 pairs of Grado headphones (125, RS1) I agonized about purchasing this companion product. I finally decided to buy a competitive product from ElectricAvenue - a similar portable headphone amp. Comparing the product I purchased with the RA1 from a friend, I'd have to say I could detect no noticable improvement in sound quality. Both units did out-perform the sound from the headphone jack of the CD player we were using. My friend, however, did subjectively pick the Grado over the unit I purchased. Of course, he owns it.
Two things bother me about the Grado. It's price and the fact that it's limited by the source driving it. Due to the latter point, I decided to look for a CD player that had a high-end headphone amp built-in. Enter Marantz. Starting with the CD5001 model, you can get an excellent player that offers an improved built-in circuit for headphones. So, for $299 you get a great source and a nice headphone amp with volume control all in one.
I decided to move up a bit and chose the Marantz 8260, which is considered the low-end of the reference series units. In side-by-side comparions with the 2 outboard headphone amps, the 8260 was again equal by my ears. My friend again picked the Grado amp. I should note that both amps benefitted from the signal quality of the 8260 over the run-of-the-mill player we used in the first test.
Since most portable sources are not going to offer a high-end signal like that from Marantz players, I do not see a benefit in paying the price for a standalone Grado unit.
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RA1/ AC ultimate electronics.