WHEE!
The Go Vibe V3 has the Green LED, and the Op Amp is a browndogged AD8066. Check out full info on
http://members.shaw.ca/storage_2/headsave/
My Rat Shack lithium 9V batt is in there now.
The SR60 is a, well, SR60 hehe. Now I have a full set of Grado Pads (all but a sock mod version lol!) but the comfies didn't do it for me, so the best compromise right now are reversed bowls (actually I might consider the flats but i don't want to walk around town with original Joe Grado flats!)
The amp bag is a lowepro camera bag, a D-Res 30AW, and the cord wraps are Sumajin cablewraps.
I remember the warm sound of the 2227 op amp, and I actually like the AD8066 on here. It reminds me of an AD8620 - but with bass! The reason why I liked the 2227 before is that it gave me bass at the expense of accuracy. So the 2227 is like the flats of op amps, the 8066 is the reverse bowls of op amps, the 8620 is the bowls of op amps, to give a Grado pad analogy. Therefore there is good synergy with the pads I'm using now.
Comparison with the CHA47? The Go Vibe has an extremely impressive low noise floor compared to the CHA47, but to be honest you're never going to push either of these amps to the point where you'll hear hiss. The CHA47 is a bit more forward and agressive in the highs, but a tad drier up top than the Go Vibe as well. Both amps have killer impact everywhere and nice big bass. Both have "reedy" mids, not those luuuuush mids like the SR71 or Coda has.
When walking the dog, they both cut through ambient noise and bring the music right into your brain, so you don't have to crank the music to enjoy it. However, I did the earbleed test - The CHA47 will go to about 1 o'clock before it dissolves in a solid state crumple. The Go Vibe pushed to 2 o'clock before my eardrums couldn't take the incessant waves of air pressure from the Grados. Amazingly, it never got that "Grate-o" feel, tho it did start to get harsh up top. PLEASE NEVER TURN IT UP THIS LOUD! Real world applications should be fine at 10 O'Clock for both these amps.
Conclusion? Getting either of these amps for under 100 bucks is money well spent, and should appeal to a wide audience of ipod owners hoping that an amp will improve the bass without needing to EQ their rig. Special note? If you own a Grado, I give both amps one extra star. The KSC-35, even with the 75 ohm adapter, just wasn't a match for the SR60. The Koss bass is killer, but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing, y'know? So congrats to Norm for making the Go Vibe and JMT for making this CHA47 way back when - sometimes the simplest designs are the most effective!
