[Ragno7]

I agree with you in all aspects bluishgreen. I usually don't like the bass boost from amps either... John's CmoyBB bass boost is a true excess, but this boost sounds better I think... It seems to boost 100 hz to 250hz region, which I think is good, and it sounds less artificial to my ears... But I only use it on certain albums.

My Beyer's are the 2003 version... Great sounding indeed... They are 250 ohm version, but they do weight a lot on my head... What version are yours?

I'm thinking of getting some d2000 denon's, I'd like a different flavour, any insights?

 

[Mauricio]

Quote:

  In any case, the DT880's do work really well with the C421/AD8620 combo.
 

How many ohms are those DT880?  600?

 

[Mutnat]

Has anyone tried the C421 with a Cypher Labs AlgoRhythm Solo (CLAS)?  I'm very curious how well the two mesh, and if the result really is that much better than say a C421 through an LOD without the CLAS?

 

[bluishgreen]

 
Quote:

I agree with you in all aspects bluishgreen. I usually don't like the bass boost from amps either... John's CmoyBB bass boost is a true excess, but this boost sounds better I think... It seems to boost 100 hz to 250hz region, which I think is good, and it sounds less artificial to my ears... But I only use it on certain albums.
My Beyer's are the 2003 version... Great sounding indeed... They are 250 ohm version, but they do weight a lot on my head... What version are yours?
I'm thinking of getting some d2000 denon's, I'd like a different flavour, any insights?

 

I tried the bass boost for a little bit, but it still didn't sound right to me--but again, I'm not really a bass person to begin with.  Actually, probably the only bass boost that I sort of found as OK was surprisingly the cheapest amp I ever owned--the Fiio E10.  But generally, I prefer switching headphones to using an amp boost.  If I find an album to be poorly recorded or too thinly produced, I like to switch to my DT990's to give it more body/weight, which they're great for--maybe not basshead phones, but they do add just enough to "fix" things for me.  I call the DT990's my "first-aid" phones.
 
Both 880/990 are the 2005 versions.  Unfortunately, I've never used Denon phones, so I can't say.
 
 
Quote:

How many ohms are those DT880?  600?

 

Both 880/990 are 250ohm versions, although I'd think that the C421 would drive the 600ohm versions OK as well, which I've used in the past, but not for several years.
 

 

[xanlamin]

Anybody tried c421 with Beyer T5p?

 

[808Ronin]

How many hours of battery time are you guys averaging with your amp?

 

[ClieOS]

How many hours of battery time are you guys averaging with your amp?

The longest run I have in one go is around 11~12 hrs continuously, and I didn't even run the battery dry. My guess is it will probably run for another hour or two for the least since the 45 minutes warning LED light didn't come up.

 

[gelocks]

Yep, gotten from 10 to 13 hours consistently...
I'll probably wear the batteries in a few months though! LOL
(I use the amp every day in my cubicle at work... )

 

[808Ronin]

I was a little worried, seemed i was getting much less run time, but never tested it previously to make sure. Decided to leave it running last night and checked back after about 9 hrs and was still running and the red light had not come on . Im pretty sure it would have kept running a while longer so i am satisfied. Is it possible that the battery still drains even after shutting off the unit? On my nuforce icon portable the charge wouldnt even hold a week and thats while sitting idle and i had two of them and they were both the same.    

 

[gelocks]

The NuForce Icon Mobile amp DRAINS battery while not in use.
The c421 does not... (of course, every battery drains if you don't use it... but this amp definitely doesn't do the same as the Nuforce one...)

 

[blucaller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif
So what is my early conclusion? I'll still recommend C421 with AD8620 over OPA2227 for its more rounded presentation. But for those who rather like a little bit more richness over imaging, the OPA2227 based C421 could work out better for them. Both are really great sounding amps, and I think the choice is every bit personal preference as it is performance.
 

Thanks for your review. I've never heard the OPA2227, so I never knew what I was missing. I was still curious when this recent debate started, but I think I'm more at peace with my C421 AD8620 after what you said.

 

[ClieOS]

Thanks for your review. I've never heard the OPA2227, so I never knew what I was missing. I was still curious when this recent debate started, but I think I'm more at peace with my C421 AD8620 after what you said.

The debate started where Headfonia's review stated that the C421-OPA2227 sounds much better than C421-AD8620. Of course, that's something not all of us agree on. Anyway, I'll be writing a review of both as well since not that many have the chance to listen to both side by side.

I noticed the latest batch has already been out-of-stock by now (which is not surprising), but John has stopped offering the AD8066 version as well. I guess that's just not enough people interested in it.

 

[bluishgreen]

Quote:

I noticed the latest batch has already been out-of-stock by now (which is not surprising), but John has stopped offering the AD8066 version as well. I guess that's just not enough people interested in it.

Also interesting is that the OPA2227 is now the default on the order page, as well as the #1 recommendation under the Customization tab section.  Actually, the whole Customization tab section is an interesting read, given all the debate here.
 

 

[ClieOS]

Well, a business decision and a 'safe' recommendation no doubt. As I have said in my $100 amp shootout, often I have seen people opt for (sound) signature rather than performance when it comes to portable amps, but at least both version of C421 do have high performance.

 

[jseaber]

Quote:

The debate started where Headfonia's review stated that the C421-OPA2227 sounds much better than C421-AD8620. Of course, that's something not all of us agree on. Anyway, I'll be writing a review of both as well since not that many have the chance to listen to both side by side.
I noticed the latest batch has already been out-of-stock by now (which is not surprising), but John has stopped offering the AD8066 version as well. I guess that's just not enough people interested in it.

 
About 97% of c421 customers chose the AD8620 or OPA2227 edition, so we removed the third choice for simplicity. We'll continue to stock the AD8066 and offer it upon special request.