[Anthony Lo]

Hi All,
 
I am just got the Apogee Groove. WOW, My big cow buddy HIFIMAN-HE400 full of power after plug it in the tiny Monster !!! I LOVE IT !!! 
 
I am Listening "Muddy Water" now, oh my ... this is fantastic, so clear and loud!!! 

 

[RedJohn456]

  Hi All,
 
I am just got the Apogee Groove. WOW, My big cow buddy HIFIMAN-HE400 full of power after plug it in the tiny Monster !!! I LOVE IT !!! 
 
I am Listening "Muddy Water" now, oh my ... this is fantastic, so clear and loud!!! 

Great choice, the groove is perfect for driving Planars and such! And to top it off, it helps with any treble peaks if there are any! How does it sound?

 

[Anthony Lo]

When I play Emmanuel Pahud - Pavane from Spotify. The flute sound is stunning and clear enough. Will try FLAC format later !

 

[emilsoft]

What HIFI review is out now: http://www.whathifi.com/apogee/groove/review
 
4 out of 5, I was expecting better...

 

[sheldaze]

Thanks!
 
One thing that confuses me, with regard to many of the What-HiFi reviews, is their high regard for timing. They gave a bad review to this (well, not a terrible review, but simply not a 5-star) and based much of the point loss on timing. They also gave a bad review in comparison between an Arcam irDAC and a Meridian Director. Now having had both DAC in my system, I agree 100% that the Arcam irDAC is better than the Meridian Director. But I certainly would not use the word timing to describe the difference.
 
I agree with the rest of the review though. It has plenty of energy, and is quite smooth and easy to listen to for hours. However it does not convey the sense of detail of some other DAC/AMP. To paraphrase, enough detail to be satisfying, but perhaps not as intimate as some of its competitors.
 
I personally really like what it does for a few of my troublesome headphones. For example, it made a Sony MDR-V6 truly sing - highs were more detailed than I recall on other DAC/AMP, and the bass was plenty powerful without being boomy, as it can be from the Sony. But it is certainly hit-or-miss depending on the impedance of the headphones.

 

[emilsoft]

As long as I notice a reasonable improvement over my IFI Nano IDSD then I will be satisfied, if it appears to be more of the same then I will sell it... I should be receiving it next week, fingers crossed.  

 

[ThomasHK]

   
I just ordered the HD650 + Groove combo from Adorama and plan to use the Groove with my existing HD650's and will sell the new pair of headphones. However, the second pair of headphones I'd like to use with the Groove are Shure SE535's. In anticipation of the Groove, I was doing some searching and discovered this article on the Apogee website:
 
http://www.apogeedigital.com/knowledgebase/groove/multi-driver-balanced-armature-iems-with-groove/
 
It says: "Apogee does not recommend the Apogee Groove for use with multi-driver balanced armature in-ear monitors. Due to the design of the balanced armature drivers and crossover networks used in this type of headphone, the Groove’s Constant Current Drive amplifier technology may result in uneven frequency response when used with certain models."
 
I'm wondering if that's the reason your IEMs didn't seem to work well with the Groove. Also, I know my SE535's have multiple drivers, but are they also balanced armature?

 
The Apogee Groove has a current drive, not voltage drive amp. Any headphone with strong impedance fluctuations will have their perceived frequency response altered. Multi-BA IEMs typically have quite strong impedance flux across the spectrum. Similarly though, all headphones have impedance peaks at their main resonances. If you have a headphone with a strong, undamped impedance peak at the main low frequency resonance, this DAC/AMP will result in a colored response.
 
EDIT: to make this even more clear, read this http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/musings-headphone-amplifier-output-impedance#7lrqGF6BTp7agHRx.97
 
And now imagine that the Apogee Groove has very high output impedance. Influence on the frequency response can be +/- 3 dB easily!!

 

[blse59]

  What HIFI review is out now: http://www.whathifi.com/apogee/groove/review
 
4 out of 5, I was expecting better...

This review didn't say much. It's almost worthless. It is worthless, actually. Lots of subjective BS. I don't believe a single word the reviewer said.
 
I'd rather read reviews from knowledgeable and objective engineers like Archimago at archimago.blogspot.com, and the other guy who can't be named who disappeared from the web in 2012.

 

[emilsoft]

I agree, What HIFI reviews are not great, I read them with a pinch of salt. 
 
On another note, I just got the new Chord Mojo so when the Groove arrives it'll be an interesting comparison..

 

[xxphonz]

I received my AG lastweek and love it! however it does get mighty warm to the point where I'm unplugging it from the USB port on my Win7 machine every evening (I use it at work) in case it spontaneously combusts!
 
The other thing I've noticed is that it's picky with the USB cable and as yet have only made it work using the short cable that came with the unit...any one else have any luck with another longer cable?

 

[Saad Abdul Aziz]

anyone used this with the hd800 how do they sound compared to other amps/dacs thanks

 

[TimSchirmer]

  I was unaware of the deal, combo HD650 and Apogee Groove. They are a good pairing - other amps I have owned simply do not drive these headphones properly:
 

1. AudioQuest DragonFly version 1.2
2. HRT microStreamer
3. Meridian Explorer versions 1 and 2
4. Schiit Fulla

 
I plan at some point in future to listen to and compare against CEntrance and Geek Out. But to my ears, the Groove sounds quite nice!
 
Perhaps the Fulla is an option for those on a budget, but the sound is not at the same level as the Groove. And apparently you'd be on your own trying to find a good deal on the HD650.

The Meridian Explorer didn't even power my Grados sufficiently. It's a shame because the director is a GREAT dac for the money.

 

[sheldaze]

 
The Meridian Explorer didn't even power my Grados sufficiently. It's a shame because the director is a GREAT dac for the money.

+1
 
Love their DACs. In fact, thus far I love all the DACs from Great Britain 

I'm trying to write a larger summary of USB DAC/AMP options, but I think I'm going to sell the 6 flavors I've collected in favor of the Chord Mojo.

 

[bubuca]

Any sound comparison the Oppo Ha-2?

 

[ptolemy2k6]

I like mine alot. In fact, it's much smaller than micro idsd, so when I work on my laptop i use it. I don't have the best source/most hungry headphones, so it's hard for em to tell the difference between the two
 
they are different beasts, but for my use on the go, both work well.
 
I also was surprised that the only way to get software is to register, but not a huge deal