Penguin Caffeine Amp any good?

[stevenjchang]

sometimes its hard for a noob to decifer things on headfi.

the Penguin amp ($60) says on its website:

Advanced customers agree: If I would put this amp in a "commercial" enclosure I could easily raise the price up to $200!

i wonder if you guys think this is true

what is its worth when matched up to a head-fi favorite, Mini^3 ($125)?
(i will not DIM-do it myself-by the way)

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

I have the penguin royal amp and think it's quite decent. I find it not inconceivable for someone to pay $200 for a prettied up version, unfortunately the royal with its oversized caps is sold out though.

 

[Hellenback]

I have a Headstage Lyrix, (non three-switch model) It's the same as the Royal in a "prettied up" Hammond case! I was surprised by how good it sounded for it's price. (Even at twice the price!)

 

[Capunk]

I own penguin caffeine amp, and if I compare with my iBasso D1 amp (OPA2111 + 2x LM4562), Caffeine perform quite well, and more energetic, plus it got 2 gain setting, and Bass boost option. Definitely great CMOY amp! my girlfriend seems enjoy it much.

 

[stevenjchang]

can someone comment on if its on par with mini^3?

thanks everyone btw

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Penguin make/made quite a few models over the years, you might want to specify which amp in particular that you're talking about.

 

[stevenjchang]

oh good point

it was originally listed in the title, but i am referring to the Caffeine Amp that you see on the current website for $59.99

 

[GnuB]

My Caffeine arrived this week and I have been listening to it every day and burning it in overnight.

At Home: Panasonic CD Player (line out) CD's -> Penguin Caffeine Amp -> Ety ER-4P's

At Work: Laptop WMA VBR files -> Penguin USB DAC -> Penguin Caffeine Amp -> Ety ER-4P's

It's clean, quiet and a real pleasure to listen to. I couldn't be happier with the purchase. I can't compare it to other amps because it is the only one I own, but I was considering a Corda Move or iBasso D1 and since they are both undergoing changes, decided to buy the Caffeine until the new models are debuted. I am not in any hurry now that I have the Caffeine.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

It is a wonderful amp - see my review here.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=265247

I've previously reviewed the PenguinAmp Royal as well, in an older review:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=258868

I've also been testing (as part of my test of their USB DAC) the Lyrix Pro "Total" version which is from the commercial line:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...5&goto=newpost

 

[MH79]

I love mine - but it's my first headphone amp so I have nothing to compare it too...

I wonder if you could upgrade the caps in it to the same ones as the Lyrix?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I'm sure if you are handy with a soldering iron you can ruin it just fine.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Let me clarify what I meant by that above - "if it aint broke don't fix it."

 

[MH79]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Let me clarify what I meant by that above - "if it aint broke don't fix it."

Gotcha.

It does seem like it would be a hassle, and also there ain't much room in the mint tin.

 

[lastdodobird]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevenjchang /img/forum/go_quote.gif can someone comment on if its on par with mini^3?

bump for this question.

curious about the price-for-performance ratio for this amp vs the Mini^3

thanks.

 

[ShinyFalcon]

Despite me not owning a Caffeine (I did own a Lyrix, which I believe is very similar), I am inclined to say that the Mini³ is a better performer, because of its design.

Taken from amb's website...

Quote:

3-channel active ground topology * Similar in concept to the celebrated M³ and the reference class β22 (3-channel version), the Mini³ is also a 3-channel active ground design. * In addition to the left and right channels, the "ground" wire of the headphone is actively driven by a third channel. The ground channel amplifier sources or sinks the return current from the transducers, which would otherwise have been dumped into signal ground or power supply ground. This shifts responsibility for the high current reactive load of the headphones from signal ground to the power supply rails, thus removing the primary source of signal ground contamination. The headphone transducers "see" active amplifiers on both sides, rather than an amplifier on one side and a capacitor bank of the power supply ground on the other. This results in lower output impedance, greater linearity and reduced stereo crosstalk.

The Caffeine and Mini³ both uses the AD8397, with the difference being that the Mini³ uses an additional opamp for ground channel.