[mgoodman]

I just tried to order it .. but

Where do you live? I'll have the guys fix this tomorrow.

 

[newworld666]

Where do you live? I'll have the guys fix this tomorrow.

France

 

[arijitroy2]

I just tried to order it .. but

I also saw the same in disbelief when ordering to Denmark!

Can you give a short impression of this with the BX2 plus which I have?

 

[newworld666]

I also saw the same in disbelief when ordering to Denmark!

Can you give a short impression of this with the BX2 plus which I have?

It will take much more time for me to make a full comparison of sound quality between Ampersand and Less Bx2+ .. But at least, surprisingly, I can notice directly that Ampersand is more powerful than less Bx2+ by a quite big margin (I am on max vol on both amps and my Sony WM1A is the variable source).
The difference of volume level makes it difficult, a direct any A/B comparison, as it's difficult to be fast enough switching between the 2 amps and get more or less the same vol level.

Then, this morning, I could reach a bit more than 4 hours playing time (with the DCA Stealth) which seems to be a bit more than what I can get with the BX2+ (less than 4 hours nearer 3h1/2).

The form factor of the Ampersand is definitely more convenient (smaller and lighter), I really like it

Actually, I also really like the Class A sound of the BX2+, which seems to offer maybe a kind of larger stage than the Class AB of the Ampersand.. this needs to be confirmed in the next few weeks.

 

[arijitroy2]

It will take much more time for me to make a full comparison of sound quality between Ampersand and Less Bx2+ .. But at least, surprisingly, I can notice directly that Ampersand is more powerful than less Bx2+ by a quite big margin (I am on max vol on both amps and my Sony WM1A is the variable source).
The difference of volume level makes it difficult, a direct any A/B comparison, as it's difficult to be fast enough switching between the 2 amps and get more or less the same vol level.

Then, this morning, I could reach a bit more than 4 hours playing time (with the DCA Stealth) which seems to be a bit more than what I can get with the BX2+ (less than 4 hours nearer 3h1/2).

The form factor of the Ampersand is definitely more convenient (smaller and lighter), I really like it

Actually, I also really like the Class A sound of the BX2+, which seems to offer maybe a kind of larger stage than the Class AB of the Ampersand.. this needs to be confirmed in the next few weeks.

Thanks for the impressions! Yeah I wish the form factor of the BX2 was better, little less wide to match the DAP!

But I do get around 4-5 hrs battery life, I mostly only use high gain on that! I just also bought the M17 so not really sure if I need one more external amp now, its an overkill for iems anyway!

But its good to know there is an amp now that can drive these hard to drive headphones at a quite nice potential, since people like me who hate sitting in one place will benefit quite a bit from!

 

[newworld666]

Thanks for the impressions! Yeah I wish the form factor of the BX2 was better, little less wide to match the DAP!

But I do get around 4-5 hrs battery life, I mostly only use high gain on that! I just also bought the M17 so not really sure if I need one more external amp now, its an overkill for iems anyway!

But its good to know there is an amp now that can drive these hard to drive headphones at a quite nice potential, since people like me who hate sitting in one place will benefit quite a bit from!

Actually .. I am sure the M17 will be my main DAP/AMO at Home and Office and I will be free to listen to music freely where I want there.

I ordered the Ampersand before the FIIO M17 was announced, but I imagine now that for travelling, as I also use an IEM like the Vision Ears EXT, so, it must be more comfortable to use a much smaller DAP than the heavy brick M17 in the street/metro/bus/etc, and in the evening in the hotel rooms use the Ampersand to amplify the small DAP (WM1A/WM1AM2) and plug the DCA Stealth and enjoy the SQ of a superb combo.
I will see what happens... I won't replace the excellent Fiio M17.

 

[arijitroy2]

Actually .. I am sure the M17 will be my main DAP/AMO at Home and Office and I will be free to listen to music freely where I want there.

I ordered the Ampersand before the FIIO M17 was announced, but I imagine now that for travelling, as I also use an IEM like the Vision Ears EXT, so, it must be more comfortable to use a much smaller DAP than the heavy brick M17 in the street/metro/bus/etc, and in the evening in the hotel rooms use the Ampersand to amplify the small DAP (WM1A/WM1AM2) and plug the DCA Stealth and enjoy the SQ of a superb combo.
I will see what happens... I won't replace the excellent Fiio M17.

Makes sense, but where does the M17 feature in that scenario? I am thinking of getting Diana Phi for M17 to drive, Phonix is on the way also.

I dont do headphones lately but might as well get one but needs to be comfortable enough to wear for hours!

 

[newworld666]

At home and Office I have a FIIO M17 desktop stand in both places and at home, I really like to listen music in various places with the M17, living room, bedroom, garden, and so on... I don't want to be stuck to the desktops.
Basically, I am not sure to have a mind to walk in the street with the M17.

 

[arijitroy2]

At home and Office I have a FIIO M17 desktop stand in both places and at home, I really like to listen music in various places with the M17, living room, bedroom, garden, and so on... I don't want to be stuck to the desktops.
Basically, I am not sure to have a mind to walk in the street with the M17.

Haha fair enough! Same reason why I sold my desktop gear too!

 

[mgoodman]

I just tried to order it .. but

Could you email us via our website and let us know your address. We need to debug this. https//www.centrance.com -- scroll down and there is a box to email us.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

At home and Office I have a FIIO M17 desktop stand in both places and at home, I really like to listen music in various places with the M17, living room, bedroom, garden, and so on... I don't want to be stuck to the desktops.
Basically, I am not sure to have a mind to walk in the street with the M17.

I don’t use my desktop DAC and amps much either. I just tend to carry my BlueDAC or my HiFiM8 V2 around the house with me to where it is needed.

I was more often using my MacBook laptop than I was a using desktop computer, but last summer I built a gaming PC and I keep my HiFiM8 V1 connected to it 24/7.

I gave my son my DACmini as a graduation present from college in 2020; but he also has the blueDAC, M8 V1, and V2, and he leaves the DACmini connected to his gaming PC. We both use the CEntrance DACs to feed our Audioengine speakers.

 

[mgoodman]

I also saw the same in disbelief when ordering to Denmark!

Can you give a short impression of this with the BX2 plus which I have?

Could you email us via our website and let us know your address. We need to debug this. https//www.centrance.com -- scroll down and there is a box to email us.

 

[Alexnova]

Hi Mr.Goodman. I'm really considering getting the Ampersand, but do you have any plans on creating a separate DAC to go with it? I saw the HiFiM8V2/Ampersand stack, but the HiFiM8 seems to be more oriented as a "swiss army knife". Was wondering if you think you could get even more performance on a dedicated DAC product to pair with Ampersand?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Hi Mr.Goodman. I'm really considering getting the Ampersand, but do you have any plans on creating a separate DAC to go with it? I saw the HiFiM8V2/Ampersand stack, but the HiFiM8 seems to be more oriented as a "swiss army knife". Was wondering if you think you could get even more performance on a dedicated DAC product to pair with Ampersand?

DACport Pro has dual 3-pin XLR balanced line-out in this form factor, so it would need a bulky adapter to take the line-out down to a 4.4mm balanced plug - maybe they'll do a version with a 4.4mm output?

I do think that connecting to a true line-out would be beneficial in many cases, rather than feeding a headphone out into it, as many headphone amplifiers may color the sound. However, the HiFiM8 V2 is pretty darn uncolored and transparent and a true line-out may not be better; while my BlueDAC is a little warmer and punchier sounding, which makes it a good source when using my HD800s out of the Ampersand.

https://centrance.com/dacport-pro/

 

[mgoodman]

DACport Pro has dual 3-pin XLR balanced line-out in this form factor, so it would need a bulky adapter to take the line-out down to a 4.4mm balanced plug - maybe they'll do a version with a 4.4mm output?

I do think that connecting to a true line-out would be beneficial in many cases, rather than feeding a headphone out into it, as many headphone amplifiers may color the sound. However, the HiFiM8 V2 is pretty darn uncolored and transparent and a true line-out may not be better; while my BlueDAC is a little warmer and punchier sounding, which makes it a good source when using my HD800s out of the Ampersand.

https://centrance.com/dacport-pro/

The headphone amp on DACport Pro is not colored, so it's a safe choice for line out.