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JDS Labs C5 Headphone Amplifier

JDS Labs C5 Headphone Amplifier + add a photo
3 reviews
100% Positive Reviews
Rated #12 in Portable Amps
Pros:
“Sounds very, very good, solidly made, nicely engineered”
“Power, Design,Color, SQ, 60 levels of Volume (That's what I Heard from Local Dealer)”
Cons:
“Perhaps too few steps in the volume control”
“Little big, Lose of High and Low gain switch.”
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Posted
By zazex

Pros: Sounds very, very good, solidly made, nicely engineered

Cons: Perhaps too few steps in the volume control

It's a solidly made piece of gear that sounds very, very good.

To my ears, at least as good as the O2 - a well known

reference by now. Perhaps slightly more openness

and clarity. The size is very reasonable; about 100

X14X60 mm.  Sound is smooth, soundstage is 

full (though not overly so); no harshness at all.

 

Only issue for me is too few steps on the 

volume control.

 

Well worth the selling price.

And, worth mentioning, the customer service

of JDS Labs is exceptional.

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Posted
By youngarthur

Pros: Excellent build Quality.Digital volume makes for excellent balance at low volume. Drives my Westone 4R and Sennheiser HD 800

Cons: Non as yet

I have had several Headphone Amps over the years.This one is the best so far. At the moment,the C5 is used with an Ipod and Iphone and also tried with my home (large!.) Headphone set up..I have used this Amp,with and without Eq. It paints a very detailed picture,and only add  a not too forward,but just about right presentation. It gives a fairly wide soundstage,and does not seem to colour the sound at all.The volume Control has many steps,meaning that you can always get the level you require. The Bass boost adds volume,but not at the cost of Clarity. I do not think anyone would be disappointed with the C5.It seems to get better the longer I use it. These comments apply to me,and the way I am hearing it.

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Posted
By skfktkwjs

Pros: Power, Design,Color, SQ, 60 levels of Volume (That's what I Heard from Local Dealer)

Cons: Little big, Lose of High and Low gain switch.

 

 I had listened to C421 which is JDS's previous portable amp

 

What I see with C5 is Simpler function yet compact. It sounds like they cleared up

 

some noise that C421 had. and some other problems(Output Impedance)

 

 

Bought from Headphone Bar and There was 3 guys including store owner and me

 

were comparing it with Schiit Asgard, LYR, Barson 160HD, Soloist.

 

with HD800, LCD-2, PS1000, He-500

 

What we found out is C5 is really powerful and there is nothing better under 500 AS portable.

 

C5 was able to Run HD800 with 24 levels out of 60 levels of volume. LCD-2 was 25, PS1000 was only 14!

 

 

Sound wise? C5 sounded as good as Asgard. 3 of us could not believe it was just portable amp.

 

It has little warmer sound but not too warm like Asgard. It does not lose any details through whole FR range.

 

I do find My Edition 8 has little warmer and richer in sub-bass when I compare it to E11. All the details are there as I put in in to Asgard and 

 

LYR. 

 

Staging was increased comparing to E11. Not as wide as regular indoor headphone AMPs but One of the biggest on this price range.

 

I do recommend this to who are looking for better portable amp than E11 but not willing to pay over $300 ( I haven't but you might able to find some good portable amp for $300).

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JDS Labs C5 Headphone Amplifier
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C5 item description from JDSLabs.com: "A high-performance portable headphone amplifier featuring digital volume control, bass boost, dual gain, and 14 hour battery run time."

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