PA2V2 vs. an Ebay mints-tin amp?

[Unununium]

Hello.

I started getting into headphones when I, on a whim, bought a pair of PX100s. Later that week, I,by chance, stayed at a friends house, and his audiophile(well, not really, just guy with massive amounts of cash) dad played me some stuff over his eggos. Since then, I picked up a pair of E2cs, and have essentally become a dealer in grado's for all my friends (they give me cash and say "give me a good headphone" and I go out and get them SR60s). But I've never really done anything with amps before, and am still somewhat new to the high-end headphone world (though I've been doing DIY speaker design for over two years). But now that I have my MS1's on the way, as well as my soon-to-be Super.fi 5 pros, I have now admitted that I finally need an amp. So, I was wondering if I could have any help with a choice. I have narrowed my selection down to these two amps. The venerable PA2V2, and this. The price difference between these two is not really a big deal, since they are both about $75 shipped. The ebay guy's feedback is extremely good, the inside of the amp looks nice, and he is using a very good (from what little I know) op-amp, and some very nice caps. I also really like the classic amp-in-a-tin form factor, but the somewhat middling headphone choice mentioned in his "testimonials" gives me a bit of pause. But how does this thing look to you guys? I'm not going to be driving it with anything spectacular (Ipod, AV710 and the dubiously named Intel "HD" integrated sound card on my laptop). Do you think the PA2V2 would be much better?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Regards,

-U.

 

[Andrea]

I've had the PengAmp. Pretty good for what it is, actually. I don't think very highly of the PA2V2.

 

[Wid]

I just ordered a similar amp . Nothing i have is very difficult to drive so I expect it to do a fine job.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea I've had the PengAmp. Pretty good for what it is, actually. I don't think very highly of the PA2V2.

What is it about the PA2V2 you do not like? Thanks.

 

[Nick Christy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unununium .......and have essentally become a dealer in grado's for all my friends (they give me cash and say "give me a good headphone" and I go out and get them SR60s)..... -U.

LMAO.

That's funny.

 

[courierdriver]

I'd go for the PA2V2, myself.

Sound quality is great, batts get superb mileage between charges; plus, you get accessories (AC adapter, and a mini-mini-interconnect). All of this, and Gary's lifetime warranty. Many past posts have been filled with praise for this young entrepreneur's amp; and his attention to fixing an amp, if something goes wrong. Case in point:

About 3-weeks ago, the second PA2V2 I bought from Gary (I gave my first to my teenage daughter last Xmas to use with her new MP3 player), developed a problem with the input/output jacks. When I emailed Gary about the problem, he answered me back about 6-hours later; and said he would fix it; all I had to do was ship it to him at my own expense. I sent him the amp via overnight express courier last Tuesday. He received my amp on Wednesday, fixed it (by replacing both jacks and both output caps), and re-mailed it to me on Thursday. I expect it to arrive back home to me, before Wednesday this week.

One day to fix it, and about 1-week without it. This kind of service is almost unheard-of, in this day of scams and misleading ads and claims. Not so, with Gary and the PA2V2. It cost me $7.00 to get my amp to him, and that's all I had to pay. He replaced the parts, and shipped the amp back to me, at no charge! I'm not so sure, if you can get that level of service from the tin amp guy.

Call me a PA2V2 fanboy, but I highly recommend this amp. Buy it! You get alot for your money, your ears will thank you, and you'll enjoy your PX-100's alot more, IMO.

 

[dhp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo What is it about the PA2V2 you do not like? Thanks.

I think it's ugly. Even uglier than a mints tin, which at least has a creative/homemade quality to it.

 

[Spiritboxer]

The PA2V2 is a great little amp but I don't think it works well with the PX 100. Muddys the bass up quite a bit in my experience though YMMV. Excellent with Grado's like the SR225 and from what I've read the SR60/80/125, really makes them sing.

 

[tomb]

The CMoy is inherently superior to the PA2V2, but in this case, I would opt for the PA2V2. The PX100 can get downright sibilant with a detailed opamp. It probably couldn't handle the LM6172 opamp (listed in the CMoy) - that thing is only one step below the AD8397. Many versions of the PINT pair the 6172 with canonical 8397.

The PA2V2 would be a safer choice in this case.

 

[Unununium]

seeing as my PXs are busted, and I keep them around for because I can't bring myself to throw them out, how they sound on the amp is not really a huge deal for me. How 'bout the Super.Fi 5 pro and MS1's?

 

[buta]

why do you see this item

Because we can modify cable and not high price

 

[Computersmith]

I bought the PA2V2 a while back for use with UE 5 Pro's and haven't looked back. I pondered the CMOY variants listed on ebay but to be honest what sold me on the PA2V2 was both the positive reviews about it's sound quality on this and many other sites as well as the glowing reviews about Gary's customer service. Having someone not only talking the talk of standing behind their product but actually walking the walk is very important to me. He took note of the cans I was thinking about using with the amp and made sensible recommendations about custom gain settings.

I can't speak to comparisons between this and the CMOY "tin amps" that are out there as I haven't heard any of the others. What I can say is that the PA2V2 drives the 5 Pro's with clarity and detail at all volume levels (well at all volume levels that I'm comfortable listening at). I will however admit that I perhaps don't listen as loud as some might, so I can't say if there is any degradation at very high volume.