Question about charging. So there are 4 leds. With the unit turned off and usb c connected the left most led is lit up indicating that it is charging. Will the other 3 leds light up as the unit charges to full?
CEntrance Ampersand balanced portable headphone amplifier
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Based on comments by Warren Chi, would anyone be interested in a bundle that contains HiFi-M8, Ampersand, HEDD cans and balanced interconnects? Obviously, at a way better price compared to buying these things individually... Let me know!
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The Charging LED is somewhat independent of the 3 battery level LEDs. Charging happens whether the unit is on or off. But the battery LEDs are only on if the unit is on. They are turned off when the unit is off, in order to avoid unnecessarily draining the battery with the lights.
So turn the Ampersand on to see the battery level and then turn it off if you don't need to use it right away.
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I never asked or checked yet, but does the Ampersand have an auto shut off feature when it’s been idle for a while?
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No, it doesn't. It's almost impossible to determine if a pause in the music is intentional
Speaking for myself, I think that'd be great!
I would imagine quite a few people would agree after hearing that rig at CanJam NYC in a few days.
This is a VERY good sounding combo. But honestly, I have to wonder… do I have extremely sensitive ears, or are people just listening to their gear at incredible volumes? Because I’m at 11 o’clock on medium(!!!) gain with -6db reduction in Roon eq and the volume is perfect for me; even just going to noon is a little uncomfortable. This is a righteously powerful little amp, but do folks REALLY need more power than this for ‘phones like the HE-6 or Susvara? Am I missing or misunderstanding something about the benefits of powerful amps for hungry planars?
SDBiotek
1000+ Head-Fier
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Yes, a lot of folks do listen at unsafe levels, unfortunately. Also, the maximum rated power a manufacturer may recommend to power a set of headphones doesn't mean that much power is required to drive them. And a long time ago, the original Hifiman HE-6 was too much of a load for many desktop headphone amps. Conventional wisdom regarding power requirements is often wrong. Time and technology and innovation from companies like CEntrance lead to powerhouse portable products.
This is a VERY good sounding combo. But honestly, I have to wonder… do I have extremely sensitive ears, or are people just listening to their gear at incredible volumes? Because I’m at 11 o’clock on medium(!!!) gain with -6db reduction in Roon eq and the volume is perfect for me; even just going to noon is a little uncomfortable. This is a righteously powerful little amp, but do folks REALLY need more power than this for ‘phones like the HE-6 or Susvara? Am I missing or misunderstanding something about the benefits of powerful amps for hungry planars?
I can very easily drive the DCA Stealth on medium gain on the Ampersand, even just using headphone out on any of my portable players. Using the Cayin N3Pro, the combination makes it sound much like I'm using a large desktop tube amp. It is nice to have the extra headroom and a large usable volume range on the Ampersand.
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This really is a fantastic amp. Only thing is that I get an audible buzz when I have it plugged in and charging, but that might be because it’s on the same power strip as my PC. If you need to play and charge, I’ve found that it’s dead silent on a power bank!
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Try a UPS on the PC and Ampersand, and see if that cleans up the power. You may find that it isolates the PC from the Ampersand better, or maybe use a UPS that also has it's own USB ports and plug it into the UPS USB port.
In my case, I don't get any noise from my MacBook Pro 16" when charging it from that, and if I charge from the wall I don't listen to it at the same time. I think I will try plugging it into the USB port on the front of my PC the next time that I plug the Ampersand into the front panel audio (ESS DAC) of the PC.
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Could you kindly email me to get this buzz checked out? It shouldn't be there... You can either email through the website -- or by replying to an email from us. I would appreciate it.
I contacted you through the website, but as I stated in the note, I’m almost positive it’s down to how I’m powering the amp instead of anything being wrong with it.
newworld666
Headphoneus Supremus
I do not really intend to use the Ampersand with the M8 V2 (for my DCA Stealth), but as I am waiting for some significant capacitors mods on my Sony WM1A by Nayparm in England, I am playing a bit with at my Office to listen to Qobuz from my Z Fold 3 via BT to the M8 V2 + Ampersand + an extra 15000mha Zendure X5 for a full day of music with a difficult DCA Stealth... nothing less then very impressive Sound Quality.
All are fixed together with some neodyme magnet ribbons.
It's, of course, not pocketable at all, but easy to transport this pack where I want in my office or at home, with a sound quality not really very far from my desktop combo ...
All are fixed together with some neodyme magnet ribbons.
It's, of course, not pocketable at all, but easy to transport this pack where I want in my office or at home, with a sound quality not really very far from my desktop combo ...
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BasilFawlty
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Do you want to buy it or not?
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