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A Budget Amp to Rival JDS Labs - Bass Boost cMoy v2.03 ?

post #1 of 4
2/7/13 at 10:26am
Thread Starter 

I hope it's a tough question 

 

Almost everywhere I read, cMoy is recommended and among top tiers for an entry level amp.

 

I'm fairly new to the amp bandwagon, most I've tried is listening to some Fiio's e11, e6, e3, vibe mini though I wasn't entirely impressed by them, I'm need of a good amp and believe I do not have to overspend for one - cmoy seems a wise choice.

My headphones is 40ohm so i don't really need something full sized while I did consider going for the JDS C421 but then again, with that budget i can get a DAC along with it which I don't need.

 

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

 

 I'm both a basshead and trebel, but single priority is given to bass for now as my source, Colorfly C3 plays IEM nicely but lacking enough bass and imbalance at louder volumes for the headphones.

One problem is I can't try the cmoy, only shipped which is quite a big no-no in the portable music industry to not try something for yourself, no matter what people say. I was also considering and yet to try Fiio E07 Andes and E17, probably this weekend, but what I read from Headfonia, they're quite similar to E11 solely as an amp. I don't really need the DAC or extra features for now or there is something I don't know.

 

Honestly, the first time I saw the altoids tin, i didn't think much of it, probably more as a budget self made amp but what I've been reading is these guis have been bringing pleasure to a lot of people for a reasonable budget. i don't want to be missing out, for 60 bucts, its quite hard to beat.

 

However, all I'm doing now is searching for all the contenders to either surpass or more likely to par with it.and thereby make my choice. I hope you can make this small pursuit easier and more knowledgeable.

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post #2 of 4
2/7/13 at 10:44am

JDS Labs C421 has quite high output impedance and Fiio E12 is way too powerful, so neither of them would work well with low-impedance IEMs.

 

Of course, it depends on which IEM you have, but other amps will work better than them.

 

Now, if you're going to go with headphones, then Fiio's new E12 is very hard to beat. Unless your cmoy is 18V ready (takes 2 9V batteries) and you have an OPA627 opamp lying around somewhere, you won't be able to beat the Fiio E12. C421 is also fairly good if you need slightly more warmth.

 

However, if you want the other side, namely "clarity" and "soundstage", go for C&C BH. C&C BH will also work better with IEMs than C421 or E12.

 

Honestly, the cmoy is a good contender, but I don't think it's that hard to find something that outclasses it.


Edited by Bill-P - 2/7/13 at 10:46am
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post #3 of 4
2/7/13 at 2:24pm

If you weren't impressed with the E11, which has a bass boost (I assume you know that), then you probably won't be impressed with the JDS (or other) CMoy amps -- there's not that much difference -- subtle but not major.  If you need more power, you'll need to look at RSA, mid-level iBasso, etc.

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post #4 of 4
2/7/13 at 11:27pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for your suggestions Bill-P and kmhaynes.

 

 

Yes, I'm all in for headphones, not overly powerful needed just 40ohms for 40mm drivers.

I will look more into the E12, just over 100$, cMoy and C&C BH are 100$'s themselves. For amps around midlevel + , there's somehow the tendency to get a high level source itself then again, my headphones isn't very high end either.

 

Right now I'm looking for places to buy the E12, I'm in Asia, which is nearer to China but I don't know why its harder to find one online lol. I saw Micca store but US based. 

 

H20Fidelity also recommended the C&C BH, it has 60+ hours of charged time. Something quite exceptional.

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