Got a Neco Soundlab Dual-Mono 18v rechargeable portable amp a couple of weeks ago. Here are a few (ropey) pics and some blurb. I’ve used Shure SRH 750DJs, Audio Technica AD700s, Grado SR60s and Sennheiser CX300 IIs with it, from an iPod Classic LOD playing humble mp3s. My other amps are a FiiO E5 and a couple of cMoys.
I went for the ‘top spec’ amp, with AD8610 opamps instead of OPA134s. There was a £15 surcharge for this, but I figured as they were more expensive they must sound better (I have no experience with alternative opamps). Neco offers switchable gain, but I asked him for the ‘bass boost’ mod he uses (when asked) on his V2 portable amp – this means there isn’t room for the gain switching. But I told Neco what headphones I’d be using and he set the gain for me.
The amp arrives with an 18v AC (not DC!) psu to recharge the pair of 9vs (and a warning to not to let charge for more than 15 hours, so there’s no overcharge protection). I haven’t pushed the batteries to flat yet, so no clue how long they’ll last on their own.
The amp is solidly built, but large-ish – like an over-sized tobacco tin. With an iPod attached, you wouldn’t fit it in a back pocket. The on/off switch, blue LED, 3.5mm input, ¼in output, red charging LED and a volume control live on the long side of the amp, the AC input on the opposite.
I chose Neco’s amp over others from RSA, Meier and iBasso partly because Neco’s was cheaper – as a newcomer to amps I wasn’t sure exactly how much improvement in sound quality I was going to get and I didn’t want to splurge a couple of hundred quid on something I might have been disappointed with. But Neco’s eBay feedback for his V2 amp is exceptional, and after a couple of emails he seemed helpful – he recommended I wait for this new amp (it really needs a name!). So I did.
And now it’s here. I’ve only had the chance to put a few hours on it so far (the whole family’s been ill so it’d be rude to sit there with cans on) but I’m completely knocked out – and not just by the flu. The amp is breathtaking. Again, all I have to compare it to is a couple of cMoys and an E5 – so saying it’s better than them is a bit obvious. But I’ll say it anyway - it’s better than them by an order of magnitude.
If I had to describe the change to my headphones, it’s this – the amp takes all the different weak areas of my phones and makes them stronger. So the CX300s and Shures suddenly get a wide soundstage (the reverb ‘behind’ the music suddenly becomes articulated, placing the sound in a discrete space rather than smearing it out), the Grados get astonishing detail in the mids (I always found their midrange congested), and the AD700s find significant bottom end and more all-round ‘meatiness’. The amp is a like a magic bullet – it homes in on the failings – or weak areas – of whatever you plug into it, and strengthens them.
This makes it hard to pin improvements down to one area – the sound is more complete, rich, detailed yet mellow and somehow ‘comfortable’ whatever the headphones I plug in. If you’re a nerd for music production and unpicking the mix, then Neco’s amp is good fun.
Sonically, there aren’t any cons I can perceive. Ergonomically, I’d prefer controls and sockets on the far end of the amp for ease of use, and the volume pot’s useful working range is only the first 15% turn – from nothing to ear-splitting in a tiny movement. And it’s not balanced at really low volumes – louder in the right ear than the left.
I can’t really come to a conclusion because I’ve really nothing to compare Neco’s amp to... but I suppose the point is it’s so fulfilling I have no desire to compare it to anything else – unless someone says ‘no, you really MUST try so-and-so’, I think I’m happy with what I’ve got.
Top amp.
