RebelAmp + Meze Empyrean = Hifi porn
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Nice power cable lol. Was thinking about getting one myself.
Is it a good pairing?
That is a heck of a good looking pair. How do they sound?
Amazing. It is everything I ever wanted from a headphone set up. Detail, Mids, Bass and soundstage. Check, check, check, check. The RebelAmp adds that bit of fluidity and ease that reminds of when I had my Magnepans paired with Pass Labs gear. The music just wraps me up like a blanket. I canāt imagine it gets better than this.
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@M0N, have you been able to make your trade yet? Iām interested to hear your thoughts. This week, I moved away from singer/songwriter/folk music and have moved on to hard rock (Skillet today), and it still sounds amazing in my setup. I want more people to hear it.
I was waiting 2 months for mine Topping A50. Because of this delay I was able to change mi mind and Iāll try to buy Rebel Amp when it will be available. After reading your comments it looks like it will bee good fit for me and mine DT 1990 Pro
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Been listening to the RebelAmp and Soekris 1321 nonstop for over a week now. Coming from the Atom, Iām very impressed.
The RebelAmp brings the treble forward and does some interesting things. The texture is more natural also sounds sparkly compared to the treble on the Atom. Going back to the Atom during listening, I found that the treble attacks hard, then fizzles out quickly. For example, acoustic cymbals sound an awful lot like synths on the Atom, where the decay on bright cymbals fizzles out fast like static. Overall, a harsher sound that I was perfectly fine with, since everything Iāve heard always presented them this way. The RebelAmp replaces that harsh static sound with sparkle. Iām sorry, thatās the only word I can come up with to describe it. It is much more pleasing to listen to and a smoother experience altogether.
I also find imaging to be better on the RebelAmp. Itās easier to pinpoint where sounds are coming from. I think this might have something to do with the decays being more pronounced. Is this better detail retrieval where I can hear more of the recording space? Or just a slower response from the amp itself? Someone chime in here with your thoughts. Either way, I personally find this brings slightly improved imaging over the Atom.
Lastly, the sub-bass has more extension. Itās especially noticeable on bass heavy cans. Whether it be distortion or better FR, it sounds goods to me.
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Rebelamp back on stock!
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Anybody interested in the RebelAmp there are also 2 options from another Ukrainian company.
Acoustic Labs FA-10 / FA-12 both ~ $750.
https://fluxlab-acoustics.com/product/fa10/
https://fluxlab-acoustics.com/product/fa-12/
Both class A and have some interesting featuresā¦ The headfi thread is a bit of a crap show on it. Z will be reviewing it at some point so should making for an interesting comparison. 16 watts class A into 32 ohms sounds quite impressive for the FA10. However it isnāt āfully balancedā per headfi and the FA12 is likely to offer a more high end sound.
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I got the FA-12 and itās weird, I feel the Rebel amp is more refined and consistent. I would wait for more reviews of those amps before buying.
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Hi, weird in what way? sound, build any notes would be appreciated.
The most evident weirdness is that the balanced output only works with the balanced input, and the single ended output only works with the single ended input. When cold itās harsh and has some treble artifacts, once it warms up (a couple hours) it improves. Iāve contacted them about this and they are blaming my DAC, soā¦
The Rebel amp sounds the same cold or warmed up, so the sound is consistent and doesnāt have any weirdness on the treble. Itās bright but without being distorted.
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Thats fantastic, a Ukraine power amp that doesnāt like the cold, now I have heard everything. May I recommend that you wrap it in a sweater! or perhaps it would sound better in winter pajamas.
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This isnāt unusual for discrete designs, resistor change values as they change temperature, itās why I never turn any of my SS amps off.
The FA-12 is hot, hotter than the rebel amp and than the NFB-1AMP. So, that is something to consider.
The FA-12 is āfully balancedā and 3X more powerful than the RA. Would you say when the niggles are all ironād out (e.g. balanced to balanced, warmed up ,etcā¦) does it sound nearly as āgoodā as the RA. Do they both have a similar class A presentation? Any other significant differences?
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didnt you just confirm what he said?
Yes and no.
There are amplifier systems that are compensated internally to ad negligable (= below noise floor of measurement). Problem is those systems only work in very limited window (depending on application, only a few kHz).
Audio with its 20Hz to 20kHz would need to split the signal multiple way and then do compensated amplification for each of those ranges. GL making that affordable by audiophile standardsā¦
At the resolution of whole numbers, 99% might be 98 or 100. Resolution not high enough 
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right but when i say didnt you confirm, i mean more of a 99% isnt 100% meme