[toffeefan]

Yup I though so too. Since the manual i downloaded from whiplashaudio has eq settings in the screenshot. I'm very happy with this player overall, although the interface still need alot of improvement imo. I actually find the buttons quite stiff and difficult to press also. But the SQ makes up for all these flaws

 

[Jupiterknight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by toffeefan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yup I though so too. Since the manual i downloaded from whiplashaudio has eq settings in the screenshot. I'm very happy with this player overall, although the interface still need alot of improvement imo. I actually find the buttons quite stiff and difficult to press also. But the SQ makes up for all these flaws

The buttons will with regular use become less stiff and react more smoothly, which is the experience with my version.

 

[myscoobysti]

I'm planning to get the AMP3 and SRH840. Anybody tried them together? I would appreciate your feedbacks. Just for reference, I find that my MDR-V6 too bright and the bass not tight enough and deep enough coming out of an iMac. I was disappointed by the sound of the V6 after doing all the research here saying that they are neutral and the bass is tight and deep. Don't wish to make the same mistake again. Thanks.

 

[cujobob]

How does the Amp3 pair with the JH13...anyone tried yet?

I'd like to specifically know about the hiss...if its existent with JH13s.

 

[acolyte289]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cujobob /img/forum/go_quote.gif How does the Amp3 pair with the JH13...anyone tried yet? I'd like to specifically know about the hiss...if its existent with JH13s.

This is the post most commonly linked for such questions. Perhaps you might try searching.

 

[cujobob]

Well I've not had too much luck searching for what I was looking for...but thanks for the link. The hiss appears to be there, but not as bad as some other IEMs...hmm..

Perhaps I'll again have to wait for a future version with less hiss.

 

[shigzeo]

The JH13Pro doesn't hiss as much as some other earphones, but yeah, it is brighter with the AMP3 than with my iPod touch for instance, and with the rather severe mid and bass roll off/down, it loses a bit of definition, but still sounds good. The AMP3 is NOT my favourite for balanced armature earphones. For large dynamic earphones, it is quite good and in fact, for certain genres, magical.

For instance, I really like it with the v-Jays despite the white noise/hiss.

 

[james444]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif For large dynamic earphones, it is quite good and in fact, for certain genres, magical.

I might add the AMP3 made me re-appreciate my clip-ons, not only the already mentioned KSC-35 which I personally still find a bit too bassy/muddy for my taste, even with the AMP3. But it really shines with the ATH-EQ88 and ATH-EW9. Both have low sensitivity (about 100dB) meaning almost zero hiss, and the AMP3 brings out just the right amout of bass for genres like Classical and Jazz.

Based on this positive experience I even bought some ATH-EM700 from iheadphones.co.uk for £62 and they're a steal for this price IMO. Great, great synergy with the AMP3 and sounding maybe even a tad better than the ATH-EW9. Highly recommended for lovers of Classical and Jazz, head and shoulders better sound (and looks) than the Koss!

 

[shigzeo]

Yes, the AMP3 is great paired with jazz and classical, but you will need a relatively insensitive headphone indeed. Thanks for the recommendations of good pairing earphones.

 

[RASeymour]

I've been spending quality time with my AMP3 over the last week. So a few random observations:

FLAC doesn't seem to be well supported. After much back and forth, I still get clicks and pops (kinda like slightly used vinyl). I'm taking the advice of another member and just using MP3 files. As others have noted, the SQ is still superb.

The buttons do get much easier to use over time. I don't know whether it is the button breaking in or more just getting the feel for it. My first player had button issues, so I exchanged it. I feared that the button issues were more of a design flaw than a defective product. Not so.

The player abides by m3u playlists. I just create a folder and add the m3u file and then copy the files (using Media Monkey). I can prerandomized the lists and avoid the slow boot up and response times reported by others.

I have a 100 hours in and the sound has improved, although not dramatically. I didn't find the initial harshness reported by others (at least not on this player, my first player did sound very harsh at first).

On the interface, certainly, if you're a person you fiddles with the player a lot, this ones not for you. The interface is archaic. If you just load and play, then it is good. I did experience some freezes if I was trying to jump from song to song on the main screen. If you wait and allow the crawl to start, no freezes. Better yet, if you need to navigate quickly, go to the Music screen.

In reading back through the last pages and on other posts a couple of advantages get lost. Having a strong player in one package is a big advantage: no interconnects between amps, two batteries to charge, etc. I really like carrying this player around. The other is the long, long battery life. I've been playing this thing all weekend on one charge. I don't know how long but it is at least forty hours.

After some initial skepticism, I'm finding the best sound is with the RE0's. All sound good, but the RE0 is best. The stock buds are very good. I did some A/B with the stock buds and Yuins PK2 & 3. Couldn't hear any significant differences.

Hiss hasn't been an obvious problem for me, no matter the earphone.

Two things on volume. First, replay gain would be a nice addition. With a shuffle mix of songs I find I need to adjust volume frequently. Second, I'm using the 25 to 31 range for almost all songs. Older albums, like Pet Sounds, could use a greater volume, but not much more. I do like knowing I can crank it up without looking, knowing that I can't go too high.

 

[tstarn06]

You have pretty much summed up my experience with the Amp3 Pro1. It is what it is, and with the right phones, I like it a lot. Your requests are good ones, and the playlist discovery is something to ponder. For me, loading it with a 192k "playlist" of 3.5GB and hitting the random button is all I need. I don't even bother with a card any more, but I guess I could extend my playlist. Agree, older albums need more volume because they are PL (pre-loudness mastering).

 

[sbulack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RASeymour /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been spending quality time with my AMP3 over the last week. So a few random observations: FLAC doesn't seem to be well supported. After much back and forth, I still get clicks and pops (kinda like slightly used vinyl)......

With my AMP3-Pro.2, FLAC works well, without the clicks and pops. In fact, I'm well into replacing the .wav files on my 16GB microSDHC card with .flac files, and making room for more albums (in .flac). Several folks have mentioned that FLAC did not work well on their Pro.2 units - making this an aspect of a QC and product consistency issue. I'm sorry to read that FLAC does not work as well for the rest of Pro.2 users as it does for me.

 

[acolyte289]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RASeymour /img/forum/go_quote.gif FLAC doesn't seem to be well supported. After much back and forth, I still get clicks and pops (kinda like slightly used vinyl). I'm taking the advice of another member and just using MP3 files. As others have noted, the SQ is still superb.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbulack /img/forum/go_quote.gif With my AMP3-Pro.2, FLAC works well, without the clicks and pops. In fact, I'm well into replacing the .wav files on my 16GB microSDHC card with .flac files, and making room for more albums (in .flac). Several folks have mentioned that FLAC did not work well on their Pro.2 units - making this an aspect of a QC and product consistency issue. I'm sorry to read that FLAC does not work as well for the rest of Pro.2 users as it does for me.

I found FLAC to perform MUCH better when played off a microSD card compared to played off internal memory. That said I don't keep flac on mine presently and only tested it for an hour or two a couple weeks ago. Still, its something to try. For portable use I consider lame v2 mp3 more than sufficient. At least until I can get my hands on a 32gb microSD card and the amp3 can handle it.

 

[RASeymour]

Thanks Acolyte and sblulack, I'll try that. I'll plug in a 4gb card I have and see how that works.

My frustration with the FLAC was the inconsistency. Some albums played well and some didn't. I tried to narrow down the causes this weekend without success. I tried re-ripping and re-encoding CD's that had problems, transferring in different ways (e.g. autosyncing playlists, m3u files, copying using media monkey and Windows explorer). I tried different size files. I tried playing back with a very short screen display time. I tried shuffling files from very different types of music. Nada.

For what it's worth, I think FLAC files do sound somewhat better than MP3 on the AMP3. I did some A/B on a few songs and found that most, but certainly not all, sounded better. For example, Like a Rolling Stone had a much smoother sound on FLAC and Yo La Tengo had a stronger overall sound and more distinction between the instruments (if you're familiar with Yo La Tengo, on cheap systems the sounds gets muddy easily). Oddly enough, given the strengths of the player for acoustic music, Guy Clark (singer/guitar) sound about the same either way.

That being said, MP3 files do sound very good on this player now, and are getter better with use. I'm listening through a wide variety of music to get a better feel for the player and have yet to have a problem. It may just be me, but with use the soundstage seems to be improving. With the RE0's it certainly has the best soundstage of all my portable DAP's. I'm over a 100 hours so far.

 

[acolyte289]

I am trying to use m3u files for directories and subfolders but they are not working (specifically I am trying to use a randomized m3u for everything on my microsd card). I have the m3u file in the root of the card but it doesn't do anything. I used winamp lite to make the playlist, adding the files directly from the amp3 while connected to the computer and saved them to the device. As far as I can tell the m3u playlist should be valid.

The first few lines from the file:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:325,Agalloch - Our Fortress is Burning... I
Metal\Doom Metal\Agalloch\Ashes Against the Grain\06 Our Fortress is Burning... I.mp3

Are m3u playlists only supported for use with files at the same directory level as the playlist file or am I doing something wrong?

I was really hoping I could use playlists to random play all my music without waiting forever for the amp3 to load.