RollsDownWindowsManually
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2001
- Posts
- 372
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- 116
I've had my Mustard Seed Labs Faith Amp for a few weeks now, so I figure I'd go ahead and write a review.
For home listening, I have the faith amp recieving input from my chaintech AV-710 soundcard, utilizing the 2-channel mode w/ Wolfson DAC, upsampled to 96000 Hz in Kernel Streaming. I listen to the amp using either my Alessandro MS-2's, Beyerdynamic DT250-80's, or Etymotic ER-6i's.
The first thing apparant using this amp was the volume that can be obtained....granted I'm using low impedence headphones, but the amp is capable of delivering gobs of clean power, and I'm sure that would hold true even with 300 ohm sennheisers and the like.
Second, the amp seemed to expand the soundstage....there is definitely more "airiness" to the sound vs. listening straight ouf of the Zen or on board headphone out. I'm not sure if this can be attributed to a better frequency respones or not, but either way, it sounds much better.
Third, the amp is quiet when it should be....the s/n ratio is quite high, yeilding fully transparent amplifcation to my ears.
For portable use, the amp has impressive battery life.....I played it for at least 6 hours on my last road trip, and it showed no sign of running out of power. I appreciate the use of an on-board rechargable battery, as it eliminates having to worry about carrying replacements. Some people have commented negative about the size, but I find it fits perfectly underneath my Zen. With the ER-6i's, I do notice slightly improved bass extension using the amp vs. straight out of the Zen.
All in all, I am very satisfied with the purchase. The construction of the amp is very sturdy, and it seems more than durable enough for heavy portable use. It isn't excessively feature laden, and it does what it's supposed to for a reasonable price. I think it's a winner.
For home listening, I have the faith amp recieving input from my chaintech AV-710 soundcard, utilizing the 2-channel mode w/ Wolfson DAC, upsampled to 96000 Hz in Kernel Streaming. I listen to the amp using either my Alessandro MS-2's, Beyerdynamic DT250-80's, or Etymotic ER-6i's.
The first thing apparant using this amp was the volume that can be obtained....granted I'm using low impedence headphones, but the amp is capable of delivering gobs of clean power, and I'm sure that would hold true even with 300 ohm sennheisers and the like.
Second, the amp seemed to expand the soundstage....there is definitely more "airiness" to the sound vs. listening straight ouf of the Zen or on board headphone out. I'm not sure if this can be attributed to a better frequency respones or not, but either way, it sounds much better.
Third, the amp is quiet when it should be....the s/n ratio is quite high, yeilding fully transparent amplifcation to my ears.
For portable use, the amp has impressive battery life.....I played it for at least 6 hours on my last road trip, and it showed no sign of running out of power. I appreciate the use of an on-board rechargable battery, as it eliminates having to worry about carrying replacements. Some people have commented negative about the size, but I find it fits perfectly underneath my Zen. With the ER-6i's, I do notice slightly improved bass extension using the amp vs. straight out of the Zen.
All in all, I am very satisfied with the purchase. The construction of the amp is very sturdy, and it seems more than durable enough for heavy portable use. It isn't excessively feature laden, and it does what it's supposed to for a reasonable price. I think it's a winner.
