[xluben]

Here's the pics of my new amp:

Just the amp (can you see what is different?):

Amp, iPod (4G 20GB), and Sony EX71's (w/silver mod):

Amp, iPod, and Gemini Eggphones w/Koss KSC75 drivers inside:

Sorry that the pics are a bit fuzzy, I took them fairly quickly.

The amp arrived a few days ago from Gary at ElectricAvenues.com and I'm very happy with it. I e-mailed Gary before I ordered it and talked to him about the possibility of a custom faceplate. He is great about responding to e-mails and has excellent customer service:

I originally wanted a 'smoke' (transparent black) faceplate with a blue LED shining through. He did not have any smoke faceplates, but had flat black. I asked him if he could drill a hole for the LED. He replied that the blue LED would probably be too bright if viewed directly.

I settled on a plain black faceplate, but he said he'd see what he could do. What arrived was a glossy black (as opposed to flat black), barely transparent faceplate which he dyed himself, and a small square which he masked off for the LED to shine through.

It looks GREAT, I'm very happy with it, and Gary and I both agree it turned out better than a plain black faceplate.


This is my first amp so I can't compare it to anything, but I'm very happy with how it sounds. I have previously been using my iPod or my Dell Inspiron 8600 Laptop to listen to my digital music (192 kbps, AAC). I realized the laptop sounded noticeably better than the iPod, and the amp sounds much better than either (on their own).

When used with my Sony EX71's the bass is overwhelming (in a good way, at least for me). I think they sound AWESOME on Rap/HipHop/Techno/Trance or anything else with a lot of bass. The Eggphones w/Koss drivers sound really good for almost all kinds of music. They still lack definition for Classical, but I love how they sound with Rock. They're pretty 'open-sounding' and are more full with the new levels of power.

Overall, I think it's a great amp at a great price. I got a qualitly pair of NiMh rechargeable batteries, and have had not problems with scratchiness changing volume or when used while charging. I also have not noticed any imblalance even at low volumes with my low impedance (16ohms) EX71's.

I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good, reasonably priced, portable amp.

 

[atx]

Quote:

I also have not noticed any imblalance even at low volumes with my low impedance (16ohms) EX71's.

Interesting. I don't have Ex71 to compare, but with my ER6i the imbalance is quite significant because the iPod's line-out is very loud. I have to switch to the headphone out to get the sound to balance out. Maybe its the interconnect? I'm using a zu pivot.

Other than I'm forced to use the headphone jack, the sound is excellent. The ER6i's shrill is gone, the previously puny and thin bass is now perfect!

By the way, did you have to cut the bottom of that i-See cover to get the pocket dock to fit?

From your picture it looks like you completely cut out the cover.

 

[atx]

n/m

 

[xluben]

I find that there is no imbalance with either the line out or the headphone jack, but I do have to turn up the iPod volume to 90%+ to get the same volume as the line out.

iSee Cover: I cut of the covering flap in hopes that I could get the iPod and case to dock in my Bose Sounddock, but even after sanding down the sides it still wouldn't fit. The PocketDock is a little to large to fit in the normal hole, so that was also increased. I now have a new bottom piece in which I may enlargen the hole, but keep the flap whenever I find time. Now I need to pick up a firewire-to-firewire cable to charge my iPod and use the line out at the same time.

 

[cmirza]

Very nice, I'm patiently waiting for my Pocket Amp to arrive. This will be my first taste of amped headphones.

 

[aseltzer144]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xluben The amp arrived a few days ago from Gary at ElectricAvenues.com and I'm very happy with it. I e-mailed Gary before I ordered it and talked to him about the possibility of a custom faceplate. He is great about responding to e-mails and has excellent customer service:

Though I have a stock Pocket Amp 2, I am not surprised that Gary was willing to take on a custom request. He has been superb in promptly answering my emails and educating me about his product and amps in general. The knowledge sharing alone made the price of the Pocket Amp a bargain, not to mention I got a very enjoyable amp out of the deal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by atx Other than I'm forced to use the headphone jack, the sound is excellent. The ER6i's shrill is gone, the previously puny and thin bass is now perfect!

I have ER6's which don't even have the built-in bass boost of the 6i's and I never understood why there is such a perception of thin bass from these. Even unamped, they have very accurate, if not pounding bass. Once you put a Pocket Amp in the mix (or most any amp) there's nothing lacking, to my ear.

 

[gratefulshrink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xluben I find that there is no imbalance with either the line out or the headphone jack, but I do have to turn up the iPod volume to 90%+ to get the same volume as the line out. iSee Cover: I cut of the covering flap in hopes that I could get the iPod and case to dock in my Bose Sounddock, but even after sanding down the sides it still wouldn't fit. The PocketDock is a little to large to fit in the normal hole, so that was also increased. I now have a new bottom piece in which I may enlargen the hole, but keep the flap whenever I find time. Now I need to pick up a firewire-to-firewire cable to charge my iPod and use the line out at the same time.

Congrats on your pocket amp. I have mine for over a month now, and it is sounding better each time I use it. I use the line out/pocket dock as well, and the combo drives my Beyer 250-250's just fine.

I will note that the pocket dock can be tricky -- it's too wide for most cases, and, since it doesn't "click" in, can get unseated from the dock rather easily if in motion. I have a sik ram din on order, which will solve these problems, but then I am forced to use the IC from the sik. It's a trade-off, I suppose.

Anyway, enjoy your pocket amp as it burns in.

 

[atx]

Quote:

I have ER6's which don't even have the built-in bass boost of the 6i's and I never understood why there is such a perception of thin bass from these. Even unamped, they have very accurate, if not pounding bass

Depends on your expectations, or which headphones you're coming from. I came from full-size headphones or Koss portables. If you compare the ER6 bass to these headphones, it's horribly thin-- unless you listen to to these are a relatively high volume. I listen at about 20% on the ipod volume. There's no way the ER6's are pounding at this volume level-- you can barely hear the bass, only the jacked up treble.