[glitchesnetwork]

Atlas, it's here!
 

 

 

 
Personal review coming soon.

 

[glitchesnetwork]

Alright i'll try to keep this short and simple. I've gotten 15+ hours with my the groove and it's a noticeable change immediately.
 
 
Test #1
 
Equipment: Apogee Groove, Sennheiser momentum v2, Spotify
 
Results: Freaking amazing! I just got these headphones 2 weeks ago and they were good. Now after receiving the apogee groove they are amazing! I've tested with modern electronic music, dnb, rock, down tempo, hip hop, and some very vocal stuff like lana del rey. Everything was excellent. The music felt very full and I was able to pick up a lot easier on lows that were brought to my attention. This made me appreciate my momentums in a whole new light.
 
 
Test #2
 
Equipment: Apogee Groove, Sennheiser HD 650, Spotify and FLAC
 
Results: I must say I'm not very impressed. I was able to hear noise and certain music just sucked. It seemed like only certain music sounded good. To be fair, these were a pair of brand new HD 650s I had laying around in the box. I've never used them before and I don't have another amp to test them with. These are also considered reference headphones so maybe I'm enjoying the coloration of the momentums more? All I know is that the combo didn't sound very versatile. Great for acoustic like music but my playlist actually has a mixture of blends. I would probably reach out for my momentums more often that the 650s if thats saying anything.
 
 
Summary:
 
So anyways, I might've gotten a little derailed there with the test #2 but the groove is wonderful. My first test case was at work and my second was at home. The second test was really just for fun because I wanted to try out the HD 650s. Maybe they aren't to my liking but I would consider the noise an issue regardless. The point of the groove was to pair with headphones at work (momentums) and they added that spark to the momentums that they missing.
 
If anyone cares, I just ordered a pair of Audeze LCD-3 and Audeze EL-8's. I will be testing with them soon when they arrive. Thanks!
 
 
EDIT
 
I almost forgot a little piece of important information. I use a Macbook Pro Retina at both locations. Same exact model and specs but I did notice a USB problem with one. At my office computer I had to fiddle with the USB connection a little to get it to show up in my system preferences. I thought the groove was DOA for a while until I seen it blink once in my system preferences. I don't know what makes it do that and it's annoying but once I got it stable it works fine. On the other hand, when I took it home and connected it to my computer there it showed up just fine each time I plugged it in. Just something to know.

 

[RedJohn456]

I am really interested in the groove and I was wondering how it compares to the following in terms of sound quality?
 
- Oppo HA2
- iBasso D14
- Headstage Arrow 5TX
- Leckerton Audio 6S MKII
 
Thanks in advance! @HiFiGuy528 I would love it if you could chime in, if you have any of these gear to compare with? I am just trying to see if the groove is giving me the best performance for the money. 

 

[glitchesnetwork]

  I am really interested in the groove and I was wondering how it compares to the following in terms of sound quality?
 
- Oppo HA2
- iBasso D14
- Headstage Arrow 5TX
- Leckerton Audio 6S MKII
 
Thanks in advance! @HiFiGuy528 I would love it if you could chime in, if you have any of these gear to compare with? I am just trying to see if the groove is giving me the best performance for the money. 

Hello, I was looking into the Oppa HA2 as well. My research has shown that the Oppa HA2 is designed for mobility. I would use it with a phone. On the other hand, groove was designed for portability and connecting with a laptop. 

 

[HiFiGuy528]

  I am really interested in the groove and I was wondering how it compares to the following in terms of sound quality?
 
- Oppo HA2
- iBasso D14
- Headstage Arrow 5TX
- Leckerton Audio 6S MKII
 
Thanks in advance! @HiFiGuy528 I would love it if you could chime in, if you have any of these gear to compare with? I am just trying to see if the groove is giving me the best performance for the money. 

 
I don't have any of those amps.  Sorry I can't be of any help.  

 

[Edwood]

Any luck with the Apogee Groove and a Samsung Note 4 with KitKat 4.4.4?

 

[pete321]

Would a powered USB hub provide noticeably more power (volume) to a USB amp like the groove?
 
My notebook is a bit old and seems to be only able to do 05.A (500mA) per port, but some of the charging ports on hubs can do 2.1A so that's 4x more.

 

[glitchesnetwork]

I've been using the Apogee Groove for a little over a week now and wanted to point an annoyance. It seems to have a problem making a stable connection when showing up on my system output preferences. I'm on a Macbook Pro Retina with an ethernet cable plugged into the other usb power via a mac usb adapter. In order to make a stable connection I unplug my ethernet first, plug in my groove, then my ethernet. Has anyone else have to unplug other devices first? Maybe I need a usb power hub?

 

[sheldaze]

  I've been using the Apogee Groove for a little over a week now and wanted to point an annoyance. It seems to have a problem making a stable connection when showing up on my system output preferences. I'm on a Macbook Pro Retina with an ethernet cable plugged into the other usb power via a mac usb adapter. In order to make a stable connection I unplug my ethernet first, plug in my groove, then my ethernet. Has anyone else have to unplug other devices first? Maybe I need a usb power hub?

Interesting! I have been using it only via playback software, which always takes exclusive rights over the DAC never letting any of the Mac background sounds play through. I'll have to try direct audio, such as for Tidal and YouTube in Chrome for music playback. I do not, however, have an Ethernet cable plugged into my MacBook. So I will not be testing other devices plugged in.

 

[glitchesnetwork]

 
Interesting! I have been using it only via playback software, which always takes exclusive rights over the DAC never letting any of the Mac background sounds play through. I'll have to try direct audio, such as for Tidal and YouTube in Chrome for music playback. I do not, however, have an Ethernet cable plugged into my MacBook. So I will not be testing other devices plugged in.

Before the software takes exclusive rights to your DAC, it must first show up in your system preferences sound output and in your midi controller right? That's the issue I'm having. I contacted Apogee and the conversation ended with them suggesting the groove I have might be slightly defected as I should not be having this issue. I'm in the process of exchanging this one now for a new one. (I hope it gets here before my new headphones do 

 )

 

[sheldaze]

  Before the software takes exclusive rights to your DAC, it must first show up in your system preferences sound output and in your midi controller right? That's the issue I'm having. I contacted Apogee and the conversation ended with them suggesting the groove I have might be slightly defected as I should not be having this issue. I'm in the process of exchanging this one now for a new one. (I hope it gets here before my new headphones do 

 )

Yes! I've not seen that issue. Sorry to hear that

 

[HiFiGuy528]

  I've been using the Apogee Groove for a little over a week now and wanted to point an annoyance. It seems to have a problem making a stable connection when showing up on my system output preferences. I'm on a Macbook Pro Retina with an ethernet cable plugged into the other usb power via a mac usb adapter. In order to make a stable connection I unplug my ethernet first, plug in my groove, then my ethernet. Has anyone else have to unplug other devices first? Maybe I need a usb power hub?

 
Zero issues with mine. I'm on MacBook Pro with Retina display.  

 

[audiobot]

Will these sound good with the HD600 or HD650? I chickened out and canceled my order from adorama because I was unsure of the sound signature with this combo. 

 

[Vishwas Meti]

I bit the offer and bought the one available on Adorama ( HD 650 and Apogee groove bundle ). I must say i am loving it I badly needed a HD 650 anyways and this DAC / Amp really seems to be running my HD 650 fine. 
 
I havent had an experience with other amps before ( Ran my HD 598 with the Fiio E6 ) only. So, i cant make a comparision like others , but i am satisfied , some songs put this huge smile on my face now
 
If you are not the one for Sennheiser, i believe the offer on Audio Technica ATH m70x at 329$ looks really awesome. This offer makes those headphones like 30$ in price. You cant beat that.

 

[sheldaze]

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.