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Today's Featured Head-Fi Blog: Jude's Blog
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I got mine today. It's my first amp! I'm very impressed. I don't really know what sounds "good" in audiophile terms, but this sounds really good.
Here are some thoughts:
It's cased in very nice black plastic. It seems very robust. It has a nice weight to it. Just enough to make me feel like this thing isn't made of cheap material. The outside edges are all smoothed over, however, the inside edges on the face and on the back aren't smoothed at all, and so they're kinda sharp. Nothing a few quick swipes with a knife won't fix. There isn't any rattling inside when it's shaken, nor is the sound affected. The in and out jacks are solid. No rattling or give. The volume knob is very smooth. This thing provides plenty of power for my headphones (KSC75's). I keep the knob 1/8" from off. I tested the amp with some generic 2.1 speakers. It worked fine. Sounds significantly better than my computer's onboard audio.
I've only got a few little problems with it though. There's a "pop" when it turns on, and it only turns on when there are two plugs in the jacks. So if I'm already wearing the headphones, there's no way to avoid a popping sound to my ears. Also, the power jack is somewhat flaky. When it's plugged into the wall, if you move the jack/plug around, the power blips on and off. If you're listening to music when you plug the power source in, there's a split second when the amp is switching from battery to wall power. If I take it out, I have to move either the out plug or the in plug to get it to turn on using battery power. If I don't touch anything, it'll just stay off, even though it's plugged in.
All in all, I'm very happy with my first amp.
Here are some pics:
The amp:
The front, plugged in:
The fun warrantee sticker:
Quick size comparo:
My setup:
KSC75, Zen Vision M, Microshar amp, homemade LOD
Yeah, I've noticed the blue LED flickering. When that happens, the power to the unit cuts out too, meaning the sound also cuts out. Kind of irritating.
well my PA2v2 doesnt do that. i also liked the fact that the amp had a little weight to it. its mostly just the batteries though. whos going to be the first one to void their warranty? cuz im dying to know how it stacks up to the competition and see what its made of.
Another little observation:
This amp picks up cell phone interference fairly easily. If the amp is near my cell phone, I'll hear those little blips every 15 minutes or so.
Anyone know of any way to get rid of it? Or is that something I'm going to have to live with?
EDIT: It's not just the amp, the KSC75 cable picks it up way more. I thought it was only the amp before, but it's mostly the cable. The amp does pick it up, but only if the cell phone is right next to it.
Got mine today and quite satisfied with it. So far, I just started listening and it's a nice upgrade from my CR02 amp. Listening to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and the explosions sound much better and much clearer than when I was listening with either source or with the CR02 amp. So far since I've listened to it, very happy with the purchase.
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College Setup: Crossroads X3's w/ JVC Marshmallow tips, Microshar uAMP107B portable amp, and Ipod nano w/ Ipod LOD or my desktop with M-Audio Revolution 7.1 sound card.
Linear Mode
