[mp3]

 
GoVibe Single
 
Portable headphone amplifier.
 

 
Specs.
Dimensions: 53x20x20mm
Weight: 13g (without battery)
AAA size external battery
Price: $129
 
Hardware and accessories.
The Govibe Single is made of plastic and is very light. It comes with a 3,5mm cable to connect to the source, and a strap/lanyard. On one end of the Govibe Single there is the line in, and on the other end line out, on one side there is the on/off switch and a volume control and finally there is the battery cover. A very clean design and easy to use lay out. The battery used is a standard AAA.
 
Sound quality.
Connect the Govibe Single to your player with the provided cable, set the volume and there will be sound. During the week I have used various headphones and sources with the Govibe Single, to really test its abilities. It adds a warmth to the sound that almost makes it sound analogue, which is pleasant. There is a slight background hiss, but nothing too worrying. The Govibe Single does not really offer any amplification of the volume, at least not that I could hear, but as said, it gives a warm analogue sound.
 
To sum up.
The good: small and light, adds analogue warmth to the sound, separate on/off switch and volume.
The bad: it doesn’t really boost the volume.
 
Verdict: at $129 I can’t really recommend the Govibe Single as such, even if it has its qualities in adding more warmth to the sound. Have a look at the following Hippo Box instead.
 
 
 
Hippo Box
 
Portable headphone amplifier.
 

 
Specs.
Dimensions: 57x42x12mm
Weight: 53g
Built in battery
Price: $109
 
Hardware and accessories.
The Hippo Box is made of metal, very sturdy but still lightweight, with classy and clean looks in the shape of a car amp. It comes with a USB cable for charging and a 3,5mm cable to connect it to the source. On one end of the Hippo Box you have the bass boost and gain boost, mini USB socket for charging with an indicator light, on the other end you have line in, power on light and line out. The battery lasts around 15 hours on a charge.

 
Sound quality.
To use the Hippo Box, simply connect it to your player with the provided cable, then set the volume on the source, as there is no volume control on the Box. To test the Hippo Box I have tried it with various headphones and sources for a week. The overall sound is more fullbodied with a better low end and a wider soundstage. The bass boost gives just that, a nice boost to the low end, and the gain (volume boost) gives a really nice sound character as well as it adds volume. The Hippo Box also cures bass rolloff issues that some sources have. There are some hissing noises, but only on higher volumes and not much even then. All in all the Hippo Box is a very capable portable amplifier that has much to offer, a very good first attempt by Hippo!
 
To sum up.
The good: the overall sound, solid metal casing.
The bad: no on/off switch or volume control.
 
Verdict: The Hippo Box is definitely worth a try if you need a portable amp to your rig. Recommended.
 
 

 

[khakis359]

Thanks for sharing, i did tested both but end up got myself Sr-71a

 

[mp3]

Thanks. The Sr-71a is a tad more expensive though

 

[rickysio]

Reviewed prior in ABi.
 
Quote: http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56742

Very mini - about the same size as a Sansa Clip+, just that slightly wider in all dimensions, except for thickness.

Build quality : Solid. Totally made out of aluminium. Won't creak, and can probably take tons of punishment.

Front : Has a out jack, Power LED, in jack.

It only turns on when the input and output 3.5mm jack have something inside.

Back : MiniUSB charging port with LED indicator, Gain switch, and Bass switch.

Impressions : (VS RB'ed Clip+ without EQ or any SQ modification] With gain at the big circle (They don't state high or low, just two circles, one big one small.) and bass at the small circle, output was clean, and had emphasized lows that was also clean, without muddying up the mids or the highs. Bass has more presence, more punch, and more... 'solidness'
versus the Clip+. EQ'ed up, the Clip+ catches up in quantity, but lacks the power behind the bass of the Box. Highs were more enhanced too, IIRC, but I'm not too sure about this - (ES7) nausea induced slight memory loss.

With bass at the big circle, it all went downhill as bass muddied up and interfered with the mids. Suffice to say I immediately switched it back to the small circle mode.

Volume boost wise, using VB's, they went from -10dB (on this test track) without the Box, and -16dB with the Box.

Didn't get to test out the battery life, but the presence it adds to the bass is enough to make me wonder if I should get one.

 
 
Quote: http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56754

Hippo Box measures and sounds nicely enough, at least at the high gain setting. The bass boost is more or less negligible, it's not much, especially at low gain it's a measly ~2.5dB (~5dB at high gain). Nothing an EQ couldn't do better. Build quality seems sturdy enough, but it's all a bit on the rough DIY side (Hex screws on one side, Phillips screws on the other, generic Chinese Windows serif font, etc). Not having a power button is a major hassle (it turns on when a phone is plugged in), not having a volume control is a slight nuisance as well if one likes analog volume dials. It hisses a bit with low impedance IEMs, but not much. Still, it's a nicely performing amp in high gain mode, if one needs a volume boost without detrimental effects on sound quality - and sometimes even beneficial effects (improved crosstalk and/or bass roll-off, depending on player/phone). I'm surprised this one's actually that nice, despite the lack of controls. It's no Headstage or Corda amp, but it's at least as decent as an iBasso T4. By the way, I think it uses the exact same battery as the Sansa Clip.

GoVibe Single is an overpriced toy, it doesn't really do anything at all. It measures slightly better than the worst amp I've tried, the Linearossa W1, but worse than the FiiO E5 (which costs a fraction of the GoVibe). It rolls off the bass with low impedance phones, and generally wouldn't improve the sound of any halfway decent MP3 player at all. Not to mention it doesn't boost volume at all - at most it delivers the same volume level the player it's connected to is capable off.

Both amps appear to come from the same manufacturer, judging by the PCBs and parts used. Markings on the opamps are sanded off, to protect their valuable designs, RSA-style...

RMAA results:
RMAA - Hippo Box - No Load vs 16 Ohm
RMAA - Hippo Box - Bass vs No Bass 16 Ohm
RMAA - GoVibe Single vs Linearossa W1
RMAA - GoVibe Single vs Fiio E5 (FiiO is measured at 24/96, so the results are a bit off, but it's still clearly a better amp than the GoVibe)

 
Quote: http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/showpost.php?p=489351&postcount=8

I played a white noise file on my Rockboxed Clip into my sound card (without load). Directly from the Clip it's -11dB. With Hippo Box on low gain it is the same: a completely useless -11dB. High gain manages to reach -7dB. So it's an additional 4dB gain - which isn't much, but better than a kick in the head, at least with the PFE. For reference, the Corda Headsix goes way over 0dB, into clipping my sound card - as expected from a real amp.

GoVibe Single gives - wait for it - a -14.6dB output. For the player that manages -11dB. Meaning, the Single amp reduces the output volume by 4.6dB. 'Pathetic' doesn't even start to describe that piece of junk.

Same test, this time with a 16 Ohm load: Clip gives -11.3dB, Hippo Box low gain gives the same -11.3dB, Hippo Box high gain gives -7.2dB, GoVibe Single gives -14.5dB. Corda Headsix gives -3dB (a respectable 8.3dB volume gain).

 
The more you know~ Especially about the GoVibe.

 

[winds of change]

Thanks for your impression, I've found the single very nice with RE0 and clip+; it adds that quantity of bass that makes the result warm and soft. 
For my MS1000 I admit that the Hippo box is quite better, the single has a problem with the absolute no gain in volume (it seems to lower it) and it's a pity.
 
 
PS: I wouldn't like to disagree with ABI and Dfkt, but  but I've found the Linearossa W1 a little amp that does its job. It sounds good with RE0 (and this is important, 'cause we all know that this little baby needs a little boost); I respect all the RMAA tests but I have to say that, despite them all, I do not like Fiio E5.  Very often sound quality and personal pleasure can't be described by graphs. 

 
 
[as usual sorry for my bad english

 ]

 

[project86]

Thanks for the review, I enjoyed it!

 

[beachgeek]

Great review, did you review the W1 linearrosa?

 

[mp3]

Thanks guys.
Sorry, I haven't reviewed, or heard the W1.

 

[Mochan]

So, the Hippo Box is useless to people who use iPods and LODs?

 

[mp3]

I suppose that the lack of a volume switch would make it unsuitable to use with a lod on full blast.