I own two portables amps the Ray Samuels Emmeline "The Black Bird" SR-71A and the Decware Zen Head. I really like the SR-71A, all the reviews on it do it justice. As good as the SR-71A is (like undeniably good sounding) the Decware Zen Head is better. The Zen Head is very very easy on my ears and this is why I love it so. I like the SQ so much that I can overlook the things that I don't like about the ZH. The thing I don't like about ZH most is the battery cover. No biggie but the cover to the battery compartment is a plastic slide lock design that takes a little getting used to, the cover feels delicate, forcing it might snap the plastic lock tabs off, the deal is this amp uses up 9V batteries relatively quickly, switching batteries is something I do often with this amp. They say the "experts" suggest that headphone aficionados should limit headphone use to about an hour a day, to protect your stereocilia from damage. The Zen Head and comfortable headphones like the HiFiMan HE-300 can easily extend my listening time to hours at a time. Hours at a time puts a drain on the battery life...is it the amp sucking up the juice or my listening habits...it's my listening habits. The Zen Head is as the name implies, Zen listening. Other than the battery cover and 9V drain time (because I'm addicted to it) this amp is genius! I'm taking the Zen Head to my grave that's how much I love it.
Equipment Used:
Ray Samuels Emmeline "The Black Bird" SR-71A
Decware Zen Head
HiFiMan HE-300
iPhone 4s
Tidal Music streaming
ALO Audio 30pin dock cable
Equipment Used:
Ray Samuels Emmeline "The Black Bird" SR-71A
Decware Zen Head
HiFiMan HE-300
iPhone 4s
Tidal Music streaming
ALO Audio 30pin dock cable