I decided on the Corda Jazz after reading numerous reviews online. Key factors were the price and the inclusion of the cross-feed circuit. Purchased last month during their November sale for $265, shipping to U.S.A. included. I ordered on a Sunday and the amp was shipped the next day. It arrived ten days later.
The amp arrived in perfect condition. First impression was that it's very well-constructed. It comes with a heavy duty power cord.
Most of my listening has been with Sennheiser HD-650s. My only comparison points for the amp are the inexpensive Monoprice Desktop DAC/Amp and the headphone jack of my late 90s model Denon stereo receiver. My listening has been split between CDs and Spotify or Youtube. For online streaming via my laptop, I continue to use the DAC portion of the Monoprice amp.
Compared to the Monoprice unit, the Corda Jazz offers a bigger soundstage and more powerful bass. The headphone jack from the Denon provides more power, and sounds very good with some material, but it makes the bass boomy and lacks detail. There are no such problems with the Corda Jazz. The word that comes to mind is natural. I've yet to hear harsh, fatiguing treble or an over-emphasis of any frequency range.
I listen to a lot of indie pop/rock and a fair amount of 50s and 60s jazz. After adding this amp to my life, I predict I will be listening to more of the latter. Fitting, huh? Well, it's not because of the amp's name, but because of the inclusion of the cross-feed circuit. Early stereo jazz recordings are ill-suited for normal headphone listening because the instruments can sound as if they are pinned to one ear or another. Cross-feed lessens that problem. It's subtle, though. As others have pointed out, you tend to notice its absence not its presence.
Probably the greatest compliment I can pay the Corda Jazz is that it moves me to dig out albums I haven't listened to in years. Holly Cole's "Temptation", a wonderful collection of Tom Waits covers, sounds beautiful through the HD-650s. It's an audiophile-approved CD that also happens to be a great album--a rare beast. Simply recorded with mostly acoustic instruments, it's just a stunner sonically. I was also impressed with the natural sound of The Birds of Bellewoods cover of Radiohead's "Idioteque", which can be found on Youtube. It's sort of an Americana-ish take on the song, with acoustic instruments only. Instrument and vocal separation was superb when using the Corda Jazz with cross-feed engaged.
I've also used the Corda Jazz with the HD-650s for movie/tv programming. The sound is spacious and powerful, and seems to benefit from the cross-feed circuit too.
Though most of my listening has been with the Sennheiser headphones, I did try the amp with my next-best pair, the Audio Technica m50x. These have deeper bass and are easier to drive to very loud levels, but have a somewhat fatiguing, "hard" sound that wasn't improved by the Corda Jazz.
The last thing I want to mention is the volume control. I'd read that it's a high-quality design unheard of elsewhere in this price range. In practice, it does allow the sound to be balanced even at low levels. I listen mostly with the volume between 11 and 1 o'clock, but it sounds natural around 9 o'clock too. As others have noted, sound is still audible even with the volume set at the lowest point. However, the amp is dead silent when there is no input. My only quibble is that the volume setting is somewhat difficult to discern at a glance as the knob has only an unpainted dimple to indicate its position.
So that's it. I'm very pleased with the Corda Jazz so far, and I suspect I will be enjoying it for many years to come. Paired with the Sennheiser HD-650s, it offers a luxurious listening experience.
The amp arrived in perfect condition. First impression was that it's very well-constructed. It comes with a heavy duty power cord.
Most of my listening has been with Sennheiser HD-650s. My only comparison points for the amp are the inexpensive Monoprice Desktop DAC/Amp and the headphone jack of my late 90s model Denon stereo receiver. My listening has been split between CDs and Spotify or Youtube. For online streaming via my laptop, I continue to use the DAC portion of the Monoprice amp.
Compared to the Monoprice unit, the Corda Jazz offers a bigger soundstage and more powerful bass. The headphone jack from the Denon provides more power, and sounds very good with some material, but it makes the bass boomy and lacks detail. There are no such problems with the Corda Jazz. The word that comes to mind is natural. I've yet to hear harsh, fatiguing treble or an over-emphasis of any frequency range.
I listen to a lot of indie pop/rock and a fair amount of 50s and 60s jazz. After adding this amp to my life, I predict I will be listening to more of the latter. Fitting, huh? Well, it's not because of the amp's name, but because of the inclusion of the cross-feed circuit. Early stereo jazz recordings are ill-suited for normal headphone listening because the instruments can sound as if they are pinned to one ear or another. Cross-feed lessens that problem. It's subtle, though. As others have pointed out, you tend to notice its absence not its presence.
Probably the greatest compliment I can pay the Corda Jazz is that it moves me to dig out albums I haven't listened to in years. Holly Cole's "Temptation", a wonderful collection of Tom Waits covers, sounds beautiful through the HD-650s. It's an audiophile-approved CD that also happens to be a great album--a rare beast. Simply recorded with mostly acoustic instruments, it's just a stunner sonically. I was also impressed with the natural sound of The Birds of Bellewoods cover of Radiohead's "Idioteque", which can be found on Youtube. It's sort of an Americana-ish take on the song, with acoustic instruments only. Instrument and vocal separation was superb when using the Corda Jazz with cross-feed engaged.
I've also used the Corda Jazz with the HD-650s for movie/tv programming. The sound is spacious and powerful, and seems to benefit from the cross-feed circuit too.
Though most of my listening has been with the Sennheiser headphones, I did try the amp with my next-best pair, the Audio Technica m50x. These have deeper bass and are easier to drive to very loud levels, but have a somewhat fatiguing, "hard" sound that wasn't improved by the Corda Jazz.
The last thing I want to mention is the volume control. I'd read that it's a high-quality design unheard of elsewhere in this price range. In practice, it does allow the sound to be balanced even at low levels. I listen mostly with the volume between 11 and 1 o'clock, but it sounds natural around 9 o'clock too. As others have noted, sound is still audible even with the volume set at the lowest point. However, the amp is dead silent when there is no input. My only quibble is that the volume setting is somewhat difficult to discern at a glance as the knob has only an unpainted dimple to indicate its position.
So that's it. I'm very pleased with the Corda Jazz so far, and I suspect I will be enjoying it for many years to come. Paired with the Sennheiser HD-650s, it offers a luxurious listening experience.