[NEW] Lear FSM-02 V2 - Two Outputs with Different Op Amps + Much More

Hey Guys,

Having reviewed the Lear LCM-5 CIEM in the past (and loving it), i was very happy to get the opportunity to review a new product from Lear and that is their new updated FSM-02 V2 portable headphone amplifier. Normally with a new headphone amplifier i would do an unboxing on youtube and then use it and finally post a review but i felt that this is worth sharing early on with you guys because it has stuff i have never seen before and i think some of you will find it really interesting.

On the front faceplate we have a three stepped gain, a treble boost and bass boost as well as EQ on or EQ bypass. We have our usual Aux input and headphone out and volume pot. This is of course a very feature friendly amp already but is is the back where things heat up. We have to power inputs, we can use a USB input to charge but also a DC mains input for better power, great if using on the desktop for example! We then have a on switch a well as an onA switch. The onA switch turns on the amp as normal as well as allowing to use the class A output on the back of the amplifier, this is what has really excited me as we get two outputs as well as the Class A output boasting a different more tubey sound. This certainly offers a lot and stands out from anything else on the market so let me know what you think and feel free to use this as an impressions thread. I will update the second post with my review when i have done it!

My Unboxing Video:

My review

Of course it works with an iPod Classic, like an absolute treat, i highly recommend it as well! Get a nice LOD with it as well. I think Lear sell some nice ones so maybe grab on at the same time?

I think this is very portable, you should see how un portable some stacks are. I can fit this in my pocket just about with an iPod classic.

You can not really see but the iPod in the back ground is with the FSM-02 V2!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudi0504 

Hi Sonny 

very nice review and very good video as well

how is the SQ compare another amp ?

how long is the battery life ?

how is the power , is that enough power for driving headphone with high impendance ?

thank you 

Thanks, the full review is still to come!

I will do more amp comparisons in the review, i have not really had the time to do anything extensive yet. What amps that i own have you tried (check my profile) and i will do one for you! You have to remember you can get so many different sounds with this as it has EQ and two different outputs!

roughly 10 hours if you use just the front output but if you use the Class A output it is reduced to roughly 4 hours.

Driving power this is not actually do bad with the HiFiMAN HE-500, not full potential but still letting them have a nice deep bass response and full sound, does better than objective 2 for example, i am quite impressed for something so small! Then with the Class A output it is even better but still not there, just lacks fullness to sound!

For high impedance dynamic headphones i used the HD580, modded to basically a HD600, perhaps even better as upgrade cable and this amp drives them well, with relative ease. Yes i am really impressed with HD580 and the FSM-02! This was using the Class A output, much better with high impedance headphone! 

Oh both the HE-500 and HD580 i used low gain, i think that is a good sign :D

I think this is great as it is just so unique, i mean what other amp has two outputs with different sounds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreenKiller 

in late april i'll be going to hongkong i think i will bring lear a visit.

Let us know how it goes! Forever source digital the store where Lear is based should have a load of other stuff to demo too!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreenKiller 

i wonder what you recommend.

this looks awesome. but maybe a tad to expensive and overkill for my 1964 ears v3 ciem.

i also had my eyes on the new jdslabs c5. looks more portable and suitable for my needs.

Well there is no better way than to try it out when you visit hong kong so wait to then. I do not think it is overkill though, by a long way! This is perfect for a CIEM as well with no hiss and an output impedance of under 0.4 ohms! I should get the C5 soon!

That's okay but you have now not posted anything :P