[motto]

   
It is a great sounding product, but reviews take work and I'm bigger fan of posting impressions.  BTW, I was able to open up the PHA-3 and the DAC is indeed the ESS9018S.  I was able to get 5 hours of battery life when using the PHA3 in DAC/AMP running balanced headphones.

 
where did you get your balanced cables? soldered yourself? or you use sony products/headphones?
 
overall where can i get these double ended/dobule jack cables. have checked some cable makers could not see.  have no clue what is the official name for this end/standard or should i call "yet standard". it's even hard to describe it without referring to sony products.

 

[purk]

   
where did you get your balanced cables? soldered yourself? or you use sony products/headphones?
 
overall where can i get these double ended/dobule jack cables. have checked some cable makers could not see.  have no clue what is the official name for this end/standard or should i call "yet standard". it's even hard to describe it without referring to sony products.

 
I made it myself.  Not difficult to do really and I used the left over wire from my Grado headphones.  I basically made an adapter with one end for PHA3 balanced and another end with 4-pin Neutrix XLR.  I've not get around to make a balanced cable for my JH13pro yet tho.  Will post some pics of my cable later.

 

[purk]

 
Nice looking layout.

 

[TheNoose]

More reviews here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBaWGv0Erxw
 
And Here:
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/headphones-earphones-portable-media-devices-314/mini-review-%7C-sony-high-res-headphones-mdr-1a-mdr-z7-pha-3-headphone-amp-4850090.html
 
And the previous two PHA's for comparison here:
http://www.portablehifi.com/turn-your-iphone-into-an-audiophile-level-dap-sony-pha-portable-headphone-amplifiers-review/
 

 

[TheNoose]

See also here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/741072/zx1-and-pha3-suggestions

 

[mikaelberg]

Hm, is it possible that the connected source (Walkman or phone) is charged when the PHA-3 is turned off? I know that it's not charged while playing, just as the PHA-3 itself isn't.
 
Anyone able to test this? Would probably require the PHA-3 to be connected to AC power source, as USB to a computer would not suffice.
 
Thanks!

 

[AT1987]

PHA-3 can't charge the devices that connect to it.
 
Also my PHA-3 can't be charged if its temperature is too high.

 

[motto]

  PHA-3 can't charge the devices that connect to it.
 
Also my PHA-3 can't be charged if its temperature is too high.

what exactly you mean when temperature is too high. could you pls. elaborate on this?
 
sounds like this tiny portable device as complex as space shuttle ...(in a way problematic to use).
 
not only price the lack of all these basic essential functionalities, thought we way beyond of battery issues in era of smartphones.

 

[AT1987]

  what exactly you mean when temperature is too high. could you pls. elaborate on this?
 
sounds like this tiny portable device as complex as space shuttle ...(in a way problematic to use).
 
not only price the lack of all these basic essential functionalities, thought we way beyond of battery issues in era of smartphones.

From the manual. It said the battery can be charged within 5 °C to 35 °C of ambient temperature.
 
However the temperature in my country usually 30 °C or more and PHA-3 is very hot while using. So I think it's the reason that its battery can't be charged.

 

[musicdragoon]

PHA3 is not suitable for DAC active mode, when using in hot place, the ESS9018 chips is a hand warmer, I had once placed it inside my bag under a hot sunny day, and it got overheated and shut down itself from heat protection. It can be turn on again only after it had been cool down enough.

If you just use its amp section only by connect line in only, it runs without any heat generated.

 

[motto]

PHA3 is not suitable for DAC active mode, when using in hot place, the ESS9018 chips is a hand warmer, I had once placed it inside my bag under a hot sunny day, and it got overheated and shut down itself from heat protection. It can be turn on again only after it had been cool down enough.

If you just use its amp section only by connect line in only, it runs without any heat generated.

having difficulty to wrap my head around "DAC active mode" vs. "amp section" .  could you please explain in layman terms.

 

[warrior1975]

You can use it as a dac and amp, or amp alone. Not sure if you can use it as a dac only though.

 

[kawaivpc1]

Can you guys use this with an HTC Android phone???? It looks like a great device. I'd like to use it with other Android devices such as Nexus 7. Too bad it's maximum support for a portable device is only 24 / 48.

 

[jayboy76]

  I was  expecting by now see, couple of reviews... nobody is writing? makes me partially doubt on success of this product. pls. rule me out..

cuz we are kind of busy enjoying our PHA3s too much in awe....but yes..will get down to it since its the weekend...some impressions at least....but black friday shopping is again distracting me...tsk tsk...

 

[jayboy76]

Through the toslink, I'm getting optical compatibility than on the Chord Hugo for some strange reason...easily runs 192/24 files without a hiccup....I'm hearing clear dynamics, great sound staging and micro details on my Z7....source AK240 of cuz.