C&C BH Portable Headphone Amp (80 Hours from a Single Charge!) [Buyer Review] - Page 24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apo0th3karY 

Ugh.

 

This is frustrating. My BH is still stuck in customs since the 23rd. Is it fair for me to call to see what the hold up is?

You should call, mine was in customs for one day.

Customs can take time, atlest in my country. I would not temper them with a call, I hav ewaited for things up to 3 weeks at the most in customs.

So here are some quick notes before I get my Fiio E12 later this week:

1) Output 1 is louder, warmer, and has a smaller soundstage. Output 2 is tinnier, cleaner, and has a larger soundstage.

2) LF switch with Output 1 cleans up midrange and upper frequencies, plus boosts bass. LF switch with Output 2 does about the same thing but also boosts high frequencies instead of just cleaning.

3) SF switch with Output 1 boosts treble and then expands soundstage width. SF switch with Output 2 just expands soundstage width. But treble boost with SF switch with Output 1 is not as drastic as treble boost with LF switch with Output 2.

4) So if all of the above hasn't made it clear yet: Output 1 and Output 2 do actually output different sound. If sibilance is a problem, I think switching to Output 1 + turning off SF would help.

5) Output 2 with gain can cause the amp to clip at relatively low volume. When that happens, the amp protests with very unpleasant static, so I'd think... unless you are trying to drive some really high impedance cans, it's better to leave gain off. I get plenty enough volume from Output 2 without gain (42 Ohm headphones).

6) The soundstage width boost resulting from SF switch is very noticeable. The difference in soundstage between Output 1 and Output 2 is not very noticeable. But the difference in clarity between Output 1 and Output 2 is very noticeable.

7) Having the amp charged for 15 minutes allows it to keep singing (at max volume) for the next 4 hours. Continuously!

8) Bass boost from having the LF switch on is pretty drastic. It's almost way too much. I'm having a hard time listening to certain songs at high volume.

Edit: and the actual review will have to wait until I get the Fiio E12, of course. So this isn't a review. Just some observations. I'll throw in some quick comparisons with E11, E7, E17, E10, C421, and O2 as well... but take some of those with a grain of salt since they come from memory. (I no longer have E11, C421, or O2)

Hah! So I checked my shipping last night before going to bed. Still in Vancouver at customs

I wake up this morning. It's on a truck. I go downstairs. It's in my mail box. 

JOYOUS DAY! I haven't even used it yet, but dang is it small. Smaller than i though it'd be even from user pics...

One minor build gripe I have is the ins and outs don't 'grip' the 3.5 jacks very well.... Loose female end, if you will... Minor but might be an issue for me. Also not sure how the L9 will work ergonomically with the outputs. Seems a similar issue as with the E12. Not sure how to orient the bands either. I have a leather wallet type case fo my iPod Touch so I think i need velcro pads for attachment. 

I figure these little fish things are cord wraps. The tail/mouth have nice cinches to hold in place. I think this will be useful for my IEMs, not so much for my kevlar V-Moda cable. 

Initial impressions to come later. I don't know how I'm able to be so patient to listen to it after being so impatient for it to be in my hands.... (The girlfriend HATES when I listen to headphones with her around, which is why all my hp listening is portable)

Tried the amp last night using the headphone out of the Ipod touch to the amp via the supplied cable. Stuck it on high gain/LF and it sounded erm, bang on, better than the LOD setup. Been thinking about it all day and trying to convince myself that I am wrong. Bizarre.

Go ahead, try it, tell me I am daft.

Stu

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinth 

Tried the amp last night using the headphone out of the Ipod touch to the amp via the supplied cable. Stuck it on high gain/LF and it sounded erm, bang on, better than the LOD setup. Been thinking about it all day and trying to convince myself that I am wrong. Bizarre.

 

Go ahead, try it, tell me I am daft.

Stu

I'm gonna be doing lots of experimenting for the next couple of weeks, LOD vs hp out > vs various switches and outputs > M-100 vs FXZ200.

The only issue with that is one of my iPod touch's hp out is broken, and th\at's the 64gb one, where the other one is 32gb, and doesn't have much of what I'd like on it. So I'm mostly going to stick with LOD for that reason, but gonna see how hp out does with my other iPod Touch, just for good measure. 

Something I noticed, and I'll quickly note

LOD > GC on > OUT2

I get a nice detailed signal this way, but the SF switch has MUCH less effect than any other configuration I've tried so far. If I turn off GC, and volume match to where I was with GC on, then turn SF on and off, it' affect the sound better than with GC on, and I prefer it to OUT1 that way. 

This thing is MAGICAL

Dammit Head-Fi, now I'm tempted to blow money on this thing in addition to all the headphones I want! The only thing "saving" me is the fact that I do most of my listening outdoors while I'm walking around, so 1) background noise will probably negate much of the improvement in sound over not using an amp, and 2) my main player is an iPhone and using an amp will prevent me from using the remote/mic on the cord.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill-P 

2) LF switch with Output 1 cleans up midrange and upper frequencies, plus boosts bass. LF switch with Output 2 does about the same thing but also boosts high frequencies instead of just cleaning.

Does it boost lower treble (7-12k) or upper treble (12k+), or both? I'm a basshead so there can never be enough sub bass, as long as it doesn't make the mid bass boomy or warm up the lower mids too much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueangel2323 

Dammit Head-Fi, now I'm tempted to blow money on this thing in addition to all the headphones I want! The only thing "saving" me is the fact that I do most of my listening outdoors while I'm walking around, so 1) background noise will probably negate much of the improvement in sound over not using an amp, and 2) my main player is an iPhone and using an amp will prevent me from using the remote/mic on the cord.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill-P 

2) LF switch with Output 1 cleans up midrange and upper frequencies, plus boosts bass. LF switch with Output 2 does about the same thing but also boosts high frequencies instead of just cleaning.

Does it boost lower treble (7-12k) or upper treble (12k+), or both? I'm a basshead so there can never be enough sub bass, as long as it doesn't make the mid bass boomy or warm up the lower mids too much.

You're from Toronto?

I need someone else to hear this thing. You can demo it before buying it if you really want. 

I'm about to make another post below this one with my initial impressions after opening the box. 

There is NO WAY I can imagine the Verza having 5x the affect on the M-100 that the C&C BH does for 5x the price.

I'm in awe.... wow. This amp really brings the M-100s to life. The thing is, there's so many configurations with this little thing, it's really configurable to taste. So far I prefer LOD > OUT2 with GC on low, and both LF and SF switches on. I think OUT1 is more mid centric, but I've been using OUT2 because the volume pot is less sensitive to turns and the sound has a warmer tilt.

Micro detail like never before. The bass boost is very generous, and is VERY clean, I'm extremely impressed by it. I prefer it over the ZO. The SF switch does wonders for the sound stage. It boosts the highs a bit and crossfeeds the channels giving more depth, and height it's really magical - The soundstage opens up substantially. 

The amp itself (no switches on) brings the mids a little more forward, and I found the sub bass (especially) is cleaner and a tad more present; really makes the M-100 purr. Vocals have better presentation than unamped imo - especially with SF on - and background instruments are given more room to breathe. If you thought the M-100 was detailed before... 

Like I don't know what kind of black magic is going on here, but the background instruments and noises are coming right out, and the soundstage has become so much more 3D. Mids are not taking a back seat anymore. Well integrated into the rest of the song. Drums, vocals and guitars are all much better presented now.

I'll come back with impressions on a different configuration later. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apo0th3karY 

You're from Toronto?

 

I need someone else to hear this thing. You can demo it before buying it if you really want. 

 

I'm about to make another post below this one with my initial impressions after opening the box. 

Yep, I'm in Toronto. It looks like you have a lot of stuff I want to listen to haha... C&C BH, M-100, FXZ200... too bad I don't really have much gear for you to try out in return, just the stuff in my sig at this point. Sounds like you're really smitten by the little amp though

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueangel2323 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apo0th3karY 

You're from Toronto?

 

I need someone else to hear this thing. You can demo it before buying it if you really want. 

 

I'm about to make another post below this one with my initial impressions after opening the box. 

Yep, I'm in Toronto. It looks like you have a lot of stuff I want to listen to haha... C&C BH, M-100, FXZ200... too bad I don't really have much gear for you to try out in return, just the stuff in my sig at this point. Sounds like you're really smitten by the little amp though

I'm actually dying to try the Q-40 based on reviews around here and the V-Pulse too I've been mulling over for it's basshead abilities.

Are you going to the upcoming Toronto meet? Have you gotten the message from merkil or are you subbed to the thread? 

If you're not interested in the meet, we can maybe arrange to do a one on one meet, perhaps with another member who I've been meaning to meet. Just send me a PM. Oh and if you're a basshead, I can guarantee the M-100 with the BH will be like magic. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apo0th3karY 

I'm actually dying to try the Q-40 based on reviews around here and the V-Pulse too I've been mulling over for it's basshead abilities.

 

Are you going to the upcoming Toronto meet? Have you gotten the message from merkil or are you subbed to the thread? 

 

If you're not interested in the meet, we can maybe arrange to do a one on one meet, perhaps with another member who I've been meaning to meet. Just send me a PM. Oh and if you're a basshead, I can guarantee the M-100 with the BH will be like magic. 

I did get the message but haven't really thought about whether I want to go. I feel like I'm not enough of a serious "audiophile" for something like that, I'm just someone who likes to enjoy music

Since you have the M-100 you probably don't need the Q40... I would consider the Q40 the poor man's M-100, as they have a similar sound signature with a little bit less resolution and soundstage. Clarity of the vPulse doesn't compare, but pretty good for an IEM in its price range. It's much bassier (but well controlled for the sheer quantity of bass) and the treble is sparkly yet laid back, but seems somewhat disembodied from the midrange instead of sounding like an integrated part of the sound.

Depending on whether I go to the meet we can meet up at some point. I'll let you know.