[b0klau]

so my friend comes over and brings his ibasso d4 mamba along. We started to experiment with all kinds of cables, and we got this idea of using the at-pha30i as a LOD. so we hooked it up to the ipod and stuck a 3.5mm to 3.5mm into the headphone jack on the at-pha30i. than we stuck the other end in to the input on the d4 and voila! you've got a glorified LOD with remote!

 
It would be great if anyone can confirm this. Im planning on getting a ibasso p3+ or a meier corda headsix/xxs. i dont want to spend extra money on an amp, so it would be great if anyone can try this out on a different amp. I'm not great at describing sound quality so I wont get in to that. (im new to head-fi)

 

[b0klau]

sorry i meant spend extra on an LOD

 

[ClieOS]

It isn't glorified LOD, since the output of the AT-PHA30i isn't line-out at all. What you got there is a glorified double amping.

 

[Ypoknons]

Time to dig out the measurements guys

 I want to see if it's really better than a iPod HO - or at least, better than which iPod models. It's unlikely to be much more powerful if it just uses the iPod batteries.

 

[Pompone]

What's "HO" ?
 
I've been using the AT-PHA30i for 6 months now, and I cannot complain. It's amplifying slightly more, but enough, the Ipod signal. I don't know how this can be done but the sound is much better when I'm using the amp, vs simply using the Ipod "out". It should not be because the signal used by the amp is analog (at least that's my belief), but the point is that it's better.
 
So, yes, it's louder and yes, it's better.  And last but not least, the amp does not drag so much on the batteries. In this respect, compared to the Iphone, it's another world. That's why I'm using my Ipod Nano (4G) to listen to music and podcasts and the iphone to call.

 

[Ulick McGee]

Regarding the impact on the battery life of the ipod/iphone, If the ipod/iphone goes to sleep, so does the Audio Technica amp.  They have an expensive MCU in there which puts the amp to sleep not just when the iphone is asleep but also in between key strokes - i.e. the MCU wakes up, executes the task, then goes back into low power standby.  They selected the headphone amplifier IC and the other components to draw as little power as possible and optimised the firmware expressly for this purpose.  The power draw of this amp is low when music is playing but the quiescent power drain when the ipod/iphone is asleep should be zero. 

 

[Pompone]

Make no mistake; this amp is more than portable. It's tiny and sticks to an ipod/phone with a simple rubber band. It compares to Fio, not to Ibasso or others of the kind. But it does the job quite right and does not add weight in the pocket. So, basically, it's a very well designed product.