[akwok]

Hello,

I am looking for a 'desktop' amp, and I am stuck between the Bada PH-1 and the G&W TW-J1. My headphones are a pair of SA5000's, and I have not heard how the 'synergy' is between the phones and those amps. Does anyone happen to have any idea? Or can suggest any other amps for about ~$150 USD?

Thanks,
Adrian Kwok.

 

[ReDVsion]

The Bada's a great-sounding amp, and would probably work well with your Sonys, but the construction of the amp leaves something to be desired. Stuff is really crammed tight in the case, tubes are nigh impossible to replace, and the thing gets HOT. But it'll probably last you until you're ready to buy another amp.

 

[EdipisReks]

the Bada sounds really nice, but the fact that the tubes are soldered in finally convinced me to skip it. if i eventually got a Bada, i would probably recase it and try to do something about the tubes.

 

[shimage]

I had a Bada. The sound wasn't bad. Only thing about it is, as they've mentioned above, that the build quality is pretty poor. I don't know how much damage there was when I got it (yeah, got it used; from here no less), because I didn't bother to tear it apart and find out, but it only lasted a few days. After that it would work for few days and then be dead for a week or so. It's not like I even left it on for more than a couple hours at a time (it got really hot, so I never left it on while I wasn't listening).

When it finally died for good (that is to say, a few months of not working at all), I gave it to the undergrad in my lab since he likes to take stuff apart. When he finally got the circuit board out where we could see the back of it, the cause of the problem was pretty obvious. The part behind the tubes was all black and warped. Maybe it was just mine, since I haven't heard anyone else complaining about it, but I dunno. It seemed more like it just wasn't designed to deal with that kind of heat.

 

[ReDVsion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shimage It seemed more like it just wasn't designed to deal with that kind of heat.

Well you would think they would have put at least an opening on the top of the amp so some heat could escape...