[ls1powah]

Better? Worse? Thoughts?

 

[Silfer]

Would like to know too!

What kind of MINT do you have in mind? Basic single 9V battery powered one. Or a maxed out one. Think the latter should be better...

Anyone also has any thought on MINT (not maxed out) vs. Go-Vibe?

 

[skyskraper]

pocket amp 2 uses a portable device ic (ie: cell phone pda etc) mint is a buffered design with more options for specifying and optimising.

i would go the mint

 

[tyre]

The MINT is a buffered, dual supply, Class-A biased, Jung multi-loop amplifier. This should mean better sound because of the higher output voltage, higher output current, and lower distortion. All of these features come at the expense of a higher voltage requirement, higher current draw, less battery running time, and a larger case size. Even though MINT pcb's are made by tangent, the soldering and casework is done by different people. There might be differences in build quality, the number and type of batteries used, and what type of case is used.

The Pocket Amp V2 is a single supply, low voltage, low current draw amplifier with a focus on being very portable. This probably means lower quality sound, but with the benefit of significantly longer battery life, a small case size, and it needs only two AA batteries. Since it's built by one person, you get consistent build quality and better product support.

Two totally different approaches to portable amp's.

 

[aseltzer144]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyre Two totally different approaches to portable amp's.

That's true. In general, this is a good, concise description of how the two approaches differ.

I have a Pocket Amp 2 and also own a Go-Vibe which is more MINT-like in its design approach. When I was shopping for amps, I had concern that the Pocket Amp's design favored convenience and portability over sound quality. Nevertheless, based on hours of listening experience, the low voltage nature of the PA2 does not result in lower sound quality, though the sound is a bit different and subject to personal preference. It is a black box literally, incapable of being tweaked as is the norm for MINTs and the Cmoy derivatives. How they compare is ultimately subjective but the Pocket Amp, at least in my opinion, is worth a listen in comparison to a MINT class amp. The low voltage requirement does contrast with the 9-18 volt requirement common amongst the Cmoy derived units, but of itself, does not necessarily compromise its sound. Whether or not you like the Pocket Amp's unmodifiable sound is another question, which can only be answered by auditioning.