[LaCuffia]

I recently purchased the AFO and am really impressed so far. It’s a great pairing with my Violectric V100 desk top amp. I love the rich and intimate sound signature. I don't get the common criticisms about lacking micro-detail and having a small sound stage. Sound stage is so hard for me to perceive and make comparisons with anyway. It's plenty transparent and revealing too but not at the expense of shedding weight to the sound. And of course, the trademark MrSpeakers comfort. Few brands can compete in that department.

I am curious as to what would be a good portable amp. I currently have the iFi nano black - it sounds decent but I can't help but feel its a little lacking in power.

 

[franz12]

I recently purchased the AFO and am really impressed so far. It’s a great pairing with my Violectric V100 desk top amp. I love the rich and intimate sound signature. I don't get the common criticisms about lacking micro-detail and having a small sound stage. Sound stage is so hard for me to perceive and make comparisons with anyway. It's plenty transparent and revealing too but not at the expense of shedding weight to the sound. And of course, the trademark MrSpeakers comfort. Few brands can compete in that department.

I am curious as to what would be a good portable amp. I currently have the iFi nano black - it sounds decent but I can't help but feel its a little lacking in power.

I would take a look fiio Q5, 2.5mm balanced output. Very good portable device for a price. Its Bluetooth connection is seamless and the best I've heard.

 

[betula]

I recently purchased the AFO and am really impressed so far. It’s a great pairing with my Violectric V100 desk top amp. I love the rich and intimate sound signature. I don't get the common criticisms about lacking micro-detail and having a small sound stage. Sound stage is so hard for me to perceive and make comparisons with anyway. It's plenty transparent and revealing too but not at the expense of shedding weight to the sound. And of course, the trademark MrSpeakers comfort. Few brands can compete in that department.

I am curious as to what would be a good portable amp. I currently have the iFi nano black - it sounds decent but I can't help but feel its a little lacking in power.

I am awaiting for my AFO to arrive. I have a feeling it won't be a bad pairing with Mojo. A clearly higher class sound and more power compared to the Nano BL. The Q5 is indeed a nice device too, and it is a solid choice if you need bluetooth. I preferred the Mojo to the Q5. Mojo is slightly warmer and more natural while the Q5 is brighter.

 

[LaCuffia]

Anybody pair the AFO with either a Schiit Jotunheim or a Cayin IHA-6? I hear really good things about the Cayin with planars.

 

[deutschemark]

I had a Jotunheim with the AFO. I'd strongly recommend the Headamp Gilmore Lite Mk2 over it. Way more musical as well as better imaging depth.

 

[TMRaven]

I have mine with Jotunheim w/dac. Bit sharp in the treble with crisp transients. Bass is strong yet no bloat. Soundstage is poor, but that's more of the headphone.

 

[IkSak]

Thanks, I sold the 400s long time ago, working from memory here. I just remember I found the bass anaemic on those.
Instead of specific tracks I would share a few artists I listen to, you might find them on Tidal: Solar Fields, Entheogenic, Asura, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Koan, Bluetech, Vibrasphere and many others. Thanks!

Hi, sorry for the delay, but after some critical listening to EDM with the AFO (using Tidal(PC)->Bifrost->Magni 3, with a playlist of the most popular songs from the list you recommended me) here are my impressions (I'm sorry if I'm a bit short of adjectives, but English is my second language and sometimes I struggle to describe things):

- AEON Flow are highly engaging for EDM music. It was very easy for me to forget that I was doing a critical listening and became involved in the music
- Bass is well extended and hits with authority, with a nice sense of heft. It does not congest the mids. I compared to the HE 400s and the difference is huge!
- The sound was pristine, in a sence of great clarity. The bifrost plays its part on this result and it does lovely.
- Listening to Datura from Lifeforms, it is reproduced with speed and dynamism, substantially superior to the HE 400s.
- Nice soundstage, particularly in the z axis.
- Initially I listened with no filters installed and the trebble is that point where some people may start become sensitive, especially with poor recordings. I decided to switch to the one-notch and that feeling was gone. With this filter, the bass hits even deeper, although you lose some of the clarity. If I were to listen to EDM, I'd go with the filter on.

My impression is that you can't go wrong with the AFO for EDM. As many people has said before, it is a highly engaging headphone and does very nice with most genres. As a side note, According to Tyl Hersten, Dan Clark from Mr. Speakers likes EDM, so it should be a surprise that AFO does well with this genre.

I hope this helps you, and again, sorry for taking this time

 

[betula]

Hi, sorry for the delay, but after some critical listening to EDM with the AFO (using Tidal(PC)->Bifrost->Magni 3, with a playlist of the most popular songs from the list you recommended me) here are my impressions (I'm sorry if I'm a bit short of adjectives, but English is my second language and sometimes I struggle to describe things):

- AEON Flow are highly engaging for EDM music. It was very easy for me to forget that I was doing a critical listening and became involved in the music
- Bass is well extended and hits with authority, with a nice sense of heft. It does not congest the mids. I compared to the HE 400s and the difference is huge!
- The sound was pristine, in a sence of great clarity. The bifrost plays its part on this result and it does lovely.
- Listening to Datura from Lifeforms, it is reproduced with speed and dynamism, substantially superior to the HE 400s.
- Nice soundstage, particularly in the z axis.
- Initially I listened with no filters installed and the trebble is that point where some people may start become sensitive, especially with poor recordings. I decided to switch to the one-notch and that feeling was gone. With this filter, the bass hits even deeper, although you lose some of the clarity. If I were to listen to EDM, I'd go with the filter on.

My impression is that you can't go wrong with the AFO for EDM. As many people has said before, it is a highly engaging headphone and does very nice with most genres. As a side note, According to Tyl Hersten, Dan Clark from Mr. Speakers likes EDM, so it should be a surprise that AFO does well with this genre.

I hope this helps you, and again, sorry for taking this time

Thanks for your time and effort! It was helpful!

 

[TheMiddleSky]

I am awaiting for my AFO to arrive. I have a feeling it won't be a bad pairing with Mojo. A clearly higher class sound and more power compared to the Nano BL. The Q5 is indeed a nice device too, and it is a solid choice if you need bluetooth. I preferred the Mojo to the Q5. Mojo is slightly warmer and more natural while the Q5 is brighter.

Mojo is really a good start, later just add some desktop amp like gilmore lite v2 to improve authority, more effortless detail presentation, separation and soundstage (both size and quality). Other option, sell mojo and get desktop dac amp like Questyle CMA600i, balance power really does great job to AFO. (In fact, for my personal system that I used the most right now is AFO + CMA600i)

Schiit Jotunheim is a great amp, but always too aggressive in upper mid to treble area for my taste, though ymmv of course.

 

[betula]

Mojo is really a good start, later just add some desktop amp like gilmore lite v2 to improve authority, more effortless detail presentation, separation and soundstage (both size and quality). Other option, sell mojo and get desktop dac amp like Questyle CMA600i, balance power really does great job to AFO. (In fact, for my personal system that I used the most right now is AFO + CMA600i)

Schiit Jotunheim is a great amp, but always too aggressive in upper mid to treble area for my taste, though ymmv of course.

Thanks for the recommendations. The limit is the sky when it comes to improving your system. My AFO comes with the balanced cable, so getting a balanced amp would be quite a logical step in the future. I never tried balanced, I know some people argue how much the benefits are. Even some serious engineers say balanced has no advantage over a well built single ended connection.
I am interested to try balanced anyway.
Have you tried Hugo2? I was quite impressed by the sound quality. I wonder how Hugo2 compares to the Questyle. I prefer a smooth and relaxed treble.

 

[franz12]

Thanks for the recommendations. The limit is the sky when it comes to improving your system. My AFO comes with the balanced cable, so getting a balanced amp would be quite a logical step in the future. I never tried balanced, I know some people argue how much the benefits are. Even some serious engineers say balanced has no advantage over a well built single ended connection.
I am interested to try balanced anyway.
Have you tried Hugo2? I was quite impressed by the sound quality. I wonder how Hugo2 compares to the Questyle. I prefer a smooth and relaxed treble.

Perhaps, a tube amp or something sound similar would be a way to go. It seems to me that Dan himself tuned them to sound best with a tube amp. At this moment, Lyr 3 seems a good option for a price. Single ended, but very powerful.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Thanks for the recommendations. The limit is the sky when it comes to improving your system. My AFO comes with the balanced cable, so getting a balanced amp would be quite a logical step in the future. I never tried balanced, I know some people argue how much the benefits are. Even some serious engineers say balanced has no advantage over a well built single ended connection.
I am interested to try balanced anyway.
Have you tried Hugo2? I was quite impressed by the sound quality. I wonder how Hugo2 compares to the Questyle. I prefer a smooth and relaxed treble.

Short answer: If you can afford Hugo 2, then go straight to it. Character wise Hugo 2's tone also softer.

I agree that a good implementation single ended is not inferior to balance. However, in CMA600i's case, balance definitely better than single ended for AFO.

 

[IkSak]

Perhaps, a tube amp or something sound similar would be a way to go. It seems to me that Dan himself tuned them to sound best with a tube amp. At this moment, Lyr 3 seems a good option for a price. Single ended, but very powerful.

Dan mentioned in a previous post that he finds tube sound more natural. The AFO pairs pretty well with tubes. In this regard, the lyr is a great choice, as well as the Massdrop CTH. Personally I use the AFO with the bifrost and the Vali 2 and it pairs great!

 

[skyline315]

...Personally I use the AFO with the bifrost and the Vali 2 and it pairs great!

I'll keep saying it. The Vali 2 is the best bang for your buck amp you can buy for the AFO. Just be sure to swap out that stock tube.

 

[IkSak]

I'll keep saying it. The Vali 2 is the best bang for your buck amp you can buy for the AFO. Just be sure to swap out that stock tube.

I'm all eyes to read your suggestions! I'd even consider ordering more than one because I need to import them from the US