[spaztastic116]

This unit was on a few threads a couple of weeks ago, however has lost attention since then. We didn't know much about it, but now they are on ebay for $150. The seller describes it as this:

· Drive chip:OP8610+BUF(634)
1.the amp is pure DC amplified,there is no coupling and output capacitance from input to output.
2.Frequency is very wide.the amp is standard collocated with double buffer.
3.power supply is double battery support which can reduce the power supply impedance.
4.there are three switch for bass enhance,3D enhance and P to S.
5.OP is built in DIP8 socket,user can replace other op by himself.
· Frequency: 10Hz-60KHz（-3dB/+0.7dB）
· Drive Impedance:16Ω-300Ω
· SNR: >110dB
· THD+N: 0.0035%；
· Jack:3.5mm
· Battery Type: 700mAH
· Battery charge time:10~15 hours (What? It can't possibly take 10-15 to charge this thing... If it truly does need that much time, I'm quite sad.)
· Battery Work Life:about 30 hours
· Charge style:1.AC adapter charger
· AC Power:110V/50Hz~220V/50Hz
· Dimensions: 80mm*67mm*16mm
Accessory: AC charger; 3.5mm connect audio cable;RCA into 3.5mm.

I know absolutely nothing about electronics. Do the parts sound decent? At least the enclosure is sexy.

Ebay link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Minibox-E-Portab...em250070793979

Enjoy!

 

[billybob_jcv]

I always shake my head at portable amp designs that put switches on both ends of the amp. A minor gripe from a user who puts their DAP in their shirt pocket for the daily train commute.

No doubt these minibox amps are marvels of size! I'm waiting for the early adopters to give some reviews. I love & respect all you early adopters!

 

[flecom]

i wonder if he realizes how easy it is to make out his atm card #

 

[hYdrociTy]

lets not give people any ideas...

 

[spaztastic116]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flecom /img/forum/go_quote.gif i wonder if he realizes how easy it is to make out his atm card #

Eh...These aren't my pictures. They're taken from the ebay auction page. But yes, I agree, let's not get any ideas.

 

[928GTS]

I just can't help but think that one morning he's going to wake up and find a message on his answering machine from his bank stating how he somehow found the need to "buy" a multimillion dollar house in California...

 

[inconnu]

I'm going to buy this amp. I'll report how I feel about it.

 

[pelayostyle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by inconnu /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm going to buy this amp. I'll report how I feel about it.

When you get it, dont forget to open it up and take some pics for us. Thanks

 

[spaztastic116]

I've just contacted the ebay seller and apparently it indeed does take 10-15 hours to completely charge the battery. How can this be so? I've never heard of an electrical device needing that much charging time. Is there anyway around this?

 

[billybob_jcv]

That probably means it has a relatively low-voltage power supply and slow charge circuit for the Li-ion battery. I don't know if anything could be done - maybe if you remove the battery and use a separate charger outside the amp?
.

 

[jonnywolfet]

awesome, good to see amps from the far east are becoming available worldwide. (bad for my wallet). got my x1 amp from this seller so its a reliable seller. take a look at the sellers other items, some goodies there!

 

[jamato8]

I think that as people in the states and other places with money are willing to pay more and more the price of these amps will go up as seen here. The amp in China would cost about 70 dollars and they make a profit at that so why drive the market with doubling the price? Well the US and European made amps may start to look more attractive again. If your opamp doesn't put out DC then there is no reason to have caps directly in the signal path though if you use caps they will be in the signal since the AC musical signal is carried on the DC voltage that comes from the caps influence so there you go, cap in the signal path although the signal is not going through the cap.

The X1 at 89 or best offer isn't bad since it can be bought in China for around 40 dollars or a little less.

 

[inconnu]

It's all relative. I guess that it would be unfair to a typical chinese customer to sell the amp at a price that is out of proportion with the relative cost of parts and manufacture in China. In the same way, I guess it would be unfair competition for the western market to keep the prices as low as they are for chinese customers.

On the other hand, doesn't the thing mirror the respective buying potential of us western customers as compared to that of the average people from China & surroundings? In this light, it would seem that doing anything different would be acting partially and unequally.

In other words, to quote Phil Collins, "you always need to hear both sides of the story".

 

[MrJoshua]

Spoke to the seller today about my X-1 order and also mentioned this Minibox-E amp.

I gave him feedback that it should charge faster than 10-15 hours and that I thought that this would put buyers off. He said he'd speak to his friend who manufactures these amps as he was confident they could get the charge time down below 5 hours. Interesting stuff...

Well, not quite as interesting as the Minibox-BS (heh, seriously):

A DIY amp from the same people... I think he said something like $230 USD for the whole kit.

No spec as yet (seller says he'll send them tomorrow), but here are the photos:

 

[spaztastic116]

Thanks for contacting the seller about the battery MrJoshua. Let me know if he emails you back about it! Interesting pictures.

Jamato, are you saying that these amps are not worth the money or are you disappointed that we must pay twice the price that they sell for in China? Comparing to other $150 amps being sold in the US, I'd say that these still are a good buy, but then agan I know absolutely nothing about amps.

Any ideas as to what the "P to S" switch does? I contacted the seller and he said it was for "different headphones".