[Cliff-Samuels]

I am now getting back into the HiFi world after having to sell all my equipment for financial reasons which I will spare you the boring details, but here is my story on my quest to rebuild my entire system from scratch.
 
Just in case you are interested my original system consisted of the following gear:

Headphones: Sennheiser HD800, HD650, Beyer DT880/250ohm, Grado SR325i
Amplifier: Burson HA-160, before that a Musical Fidelity vcan v8p
Source: NAD CD player
Misc: IXOS & QED interconnects & some CD's of course

 
I am now in a financial position to acquire a new system, starting a fresh has been more fun than I thought it would be as it has given me the chance to do it all again but in a different way based on my past experience with my original system

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My choice of headphones:
 
I have just got a new pair of Sennheiser HD650 headphones, you may ask why those again?, well simply because I really did enjoy the sound of those on the Burson HA-160 & was sad to see them go, I found they always sounded good whatever music I played, while I adored the HD800 headphones (also more comfortable than the HD650's) I found them to be a little too cold sounding on some of my tracks so I have decided this time to stay with the HD650's (at least for the time being), I might get a pair of Beyer T1's in the future since those are warmer over the HD800's but its early days & the HD650's are still highly regarded & are very enjoyable given a decent amp & source since they scale very well.

I do not think I will be getting another pair of DT880's, the pair I sold were the 250ohm model & while I thought about getting the better 600ohm version if I end up buying the T1's the DT880's might become redundant, I will not be getting the Grado's again this time around, I recently had the chance to audition a pair of AKG 702 headphones, they lacked the punchy bass of the Sennheiser HD650's & may run the risk of sounding thin & cold but I found that they sounded very nice in a different way so I may get a pair of those as they are quite affordable considering they are AKG's flagship model, I can always sell them on if I am not happy but it might be a good contrast with the HD650's which are very warm without spending too much (aka HD800 again), I also want to get a pair of thunderpants

but it depends on how long it would take as Smeggy is no doubt a busy chap, I might get the plain vanilla Fostex & perform some of the mods that I have seen on this forum since they look very simple to carry out which is just as well since I am not very good with all that kind of stuff, I can always get the full works by Smeggy later on.
 
My choice of Amp & DAC:

So now having the headphones covered (at least for the time being), I then turned my attention to amping these babies properly, I also wanted a really nice DAC to go with whatever amp I chose since as we all know a good source is perhaps the most important part of a HiFi system, I was thinking about playing it safe & getting what I had before with some sort of CD player like the NAD but this time I am mixing it up a little & doing things differently, I no longer desire a CD player like the NAD as I decided on getting a really good quality external DAC with a simple digital transport which could even be a DVD player, that way it does not matter if it has a rubbish analog out as I would only be using it as a transport, I liked the NAD CD but the drive mechanism failed twice & so I do not want to spend so much on a CD player this time around

, the digital transport seemed a good approach & perhaps more the modern way of doing things.
 
After doing a lot of research on amps, looking at op amp, discrete & tube based amps from musical fidelity, Slee, little dot to name but a few & also the new HA160DS (although it lacked an optical input which I need) & as much as I enjoyed the Burson HA-160 I decided against getting another (doing things differently this time), then while chatting about this with a fellow HiFi enthusiast while at work the name NJC Audio was mentioned & recommended, so after hearing very good things about the NJC audio products I looked into these & the more I looked the more I liked what I was seeing, so I recently ordered their flagship monitor 2 headphone amp which had some nice features & would have plenty of juice for any future headphone I decide to use since it has an impressive power output that is not quite but almost as much as the Beta22 amp!

you can see more about this amp on their website which for those who do not know is http://www.njc-audio.co.uk
 
Since I was also searching for a really good DAC it was a toss up between the CI Audio VD2 (http://www.ciaudio.com/products/VDA2) which was recommended to me by a friend or the NJC Audio Reference DAC which I noticed when looking at the monitor II amp, with the NJC winning me over on its better features, price & quality internals, the CI with the power supply came in at just over £500 + any import duties, with the NJC DAC already having what looks like a very good quality PSU all with top grade parts, I also really liked the design in that its advertised as using an external transformer the same as the monitor II amp, which I think is a great design IMO as it makes the amp & DAC smaller so takes up less space & keeps all the buzzy electrical side of things far away from the amp parts, it would also be a nice match visually for the amp so it seemed an obvious choice, so ordered this at the same time, it took about 14 days or so I guess from ordering to me having the products on my desk here as unlike other production run amps or DAC's the NJC Audio products are all hand built to order in the UK, I think its like a cottage industry type thing from what I have been reading on their about us page but after a few emails to the guy who builds these (Nick) I found out that he had a previous history of working on tube stuff for a make of yesteryear before setting up his own audio company, which I found reassuring & was confident this was no fly by night company cashing in on the whole headphone amp boom with no past experience, the time it took to build these was also fine with me as the wait has proved to be well worth it.
 
I know it may have been a little risky as my original system may have been hard to improve upon but first impressions is that my collection of music seems more listenable than ever, by that I mean I can listen for much longer periods than I ever could, which many say is a sign of a great system (no fatigue except for the clamping pressure of the HD650's)

, any of my initial concerns that it may be a step down have simply faded away, I will not make any silly claims that I can remember with any accuracy how my original system sounded nor can I make any direct comparisons since I no longer have any of the original equipment here, but one thing I can say is that I am finding the entire system extremely pleasing to my ears & if anything its more of a step up than a step down (certainly far better than my original MF v8 amp), all the songs I used to listen to are extremely impressive now, how much of that is the amp or the DAC or just the fact they pair so well together I dont know, but I am liking what I am hearing & everything feels well made & great quality so the recommendations for the NJC Audio products certainly seem to have paid off.
 
It might be too early to tell how reliability is with these but I see some other reviews online of previous models still going strong so I dont think reliability is anything of a concern, I also think if anything it would be higher what with these being made by a person rather than an assembly line in some factory aboard, I like the extra power of this amp too which may explain the excellent seperation, detail & dynamics I am hearing, one aspect I can say with some certainty is that it improves upon my original Burson amp because this amp is also a pre amplifier with adjustable gain, the pre out is something im eager to try out & the switchable gain I can tell is going to come in real useful & has been preset to nice levels, the soft start is also something that adds to the whole refinement, there is also something very comforting knowing that if I ever have any problems or need advice I can email NJC Audio & like it states on the web site you speak to the person who builds these (which I have never had before, very rare, very cool!)

throughout my purchasing Nick contacted me several times letting me know the progress & was very curtious & helpful, I also valued the honesty I got on a lot of my questions to him never got the whole sales blurb which I see straight through, so my hat off to the impecable service there.
 
Here is a photo of the new amp & DAC with my Sennheiser HD650 headphones, this is the start of my new hifi system & I have a feeling that this is turning into something very special, I just cant wait to add extra headphones & get everything on proper shelving, the whole package of amp & DAC has certainly impressed me & keeps on doing so, the Sennheiser headphones are wonderful sounding now, part of me still wishes I had the Sennheiser HD800's just to try again on this gear as I saw another review online with the HD800's on the Monitor II amp & was said to sound really great, but if there is one thing I have learnt from over the years is that this is NOT the end, I have no desire to change the NJC amp or DAC since they have proved themselves to me but I do know that more headphones will be coming along soon as one pair is never enough is it?

so if anyone has any suggestions for a second & third pair of headphones please post away giving me your thoughts on what is a good pair to buy, I would love to hear from you.
 

 
(As you can see I really need a proper hifi shelf, at the moment its on the table next to the TV, no room for CD's let alone another few pairs of headphones, just a lava lamp!

I love snapping away photos so took another one from a slightly different view, I have always loved the grills on the HD650's, seeing into the works like that just looks so cool.
 

 
When I received an email from Nick at NJC Audio letting me know the amp & DAC was sent out it also said at the bottom that they do not advertise as they rely on customer feedback, so I thought since I have a few weeks off work at the moment I would spend it listening to music & doing something creative by posting something here on Headfi, this is not really a review so if anyone is interested in a more detailed review I can put together something, I cant do any direct comparisons as I said to my original system which probably would be pointless as each system has its own uniqueness anyway, but I can shed some insight into what its like owning this fine equipment & how it sounds on various albums as I have quite a few.
 
Thanks for reading & like I said I would love to hear from you as I would like some input on what second & third pair of headphones to buy next.

 

[noway]

Love the amp/dac.  I'm inquiring myself after seeing your post.

 

[Cliff-Samuels]

NJC Audio Monitor II headphone amp & 24 bit reference DAC in depth review
 
Disclaimer, there is a lot of text below since everytime I thought of something else or something I found really good I added it to my small review which grew & grew, but it seemed a shame to trim it down & it's also for two product's which makes it bigger so I would think 15 minute coffee breaks between reading is advised.

 

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Now that I have spent some time listening to this monitor II amp & the 24 bit DAC since I have some time off work at the moment I thought I would write a review which started off quite basic but I have kept adding to it & it is now more in depth but could be of some use for anyone who is looking to get either or both of these.

I think I already mentioned the excellent service that njc audio gives in my first impression's above so I will instead talk about the build quality & the features followed by how this all sounds, I have tried to mention as much as I can & I hope my review can do this fine equipment justice.

Build quality & features:

When the parcel's arrived I opened the first one up which was the Monitor II headphone amp, everything was very well packaged with lots of bubblewrap, inside the box was the amplifier, the mains transformer & the instruction's which to my suprise has my name printed at the bottom, it says "Hand Built for......." & my name, a nice personal touch, it also has some test figure's & graph's on the back page showing how my amp measured & so far I was impressed by it all including the personal touch here & there.

Next parcel was the DAC, again lots of bubblewrap & inside was a few more item's this time there was the DAC, an external transformer, a USB cable (Belkin Pro), an optical cable (gold plated), a couple of 3.5mm to TOSLINK adaptor's & lastly the instruction's again with my name appearing at the bottom, also it was nice that the supplied cables are not real cheap forcing me to source better quality ones but at the same time I know my money has not gone on cables, they are just respectable but not over the top so quite a nice package.

I spent the next 15 minutes or so looking at both the amp & the DAC in detail, the craftsmanship is first rate, I then familiarised myself with the instruction's for each, since I do not have a hifi shelf yet I placed them on the side table next to my TV as shown in the pictures I took above, that way I could try the DAC using my DVD player as a digital transport & also my laptop to try the USB, I plugged everything in & another sign of a good design is that the transformer for the Monitor II amp will not fit into the DAC (or vice versa), they both use different sized plug's so they can not swapped & possibly cause damage.
 
I switched on the DAC first & on the front panel was an amber power LED with a red error LED, it explains what this means in the instruction's & it was coming up with the error light because my DVD player was turned off so no data was being picked up by the DAC, turning that on & playing a CD the error LED went out & the audio green LED came on, I then plugged my Sennheiser HD650's into the Monitor II amp & switched it on, another amber power LED came on but this time it came on slowly with the instruction's saying this is the soft start, I turned up the volume & heard no music but the DAC was indicating that it was present, then I felt a complete noob when I realised I had not plugged any interconnects into the back (ok ok give me a break I got carried away with everything that I forgot the basics), so I turned off everything & connected the DAC to the Monitor II, switched everything back on & heard my CD playing so I sat back in the armchair for a first audition from a few track's of Pink Floyds "Animals" album, about 20 second's into the track my foot was tapping & I could tell just after a few minutes that it was sounding extremely good with neither the amp or the DAC fully burnt in yet (if required at all), but more about the sound later as I will try & point out more things about the build quality of this fine equipment as I think it really deserves a mention here.

Both the amp & DAC as you can see on my pictures above are matching in style & appearance with the DAC having a switch with 4 functions on the front where the amp instead has a large volume control which feels weighted & smooth, I haven't measured the thickness of the aluminium on the front of each but it's solid & looks about 5 or 6mm thick & the chassis/case is a heat sink design which is a black aluminium, on the bottom of the amp & the DAC are four feet, but before you start wondering why I am mentioning a simple thing like feet is because they are not everyday stick on rubber feet but aluminium feet with rubber set in each foot, totally custom & I love this amount of attention of detail with the underneath looking quality, they won't come unstuck that's for sure, there is also no plastic anywhere on these apart from the little red, white & yellow indicator ring's on the phono socket's, the DAC also has something else underneath, there is a slide switch which says in the instruction's this allows the user to switch between a "galvanic or conventional earth, I have to admit that I had to search online for what galvanic mean't & I found that it's a feature on higher end equipement & something to do with the earth or grounding, some sort of isolating ground but it's a good thing apparently so that's all I needed to know, going around the back of each unit the monitor II amp has quite a lot of gold at the rear in the form of phono socket's, a set of input ones & also the pre amplifier output's, there is also a three stage switch for the gain adjust & the essential power in connector.

The DAC also has quite a lot of gold phono's, a set of input ones, a set of output ones & also a yellow one which is the coaxial digital input, there is also a toslink optical input which is the good shutter type, a USB socket which has an orange coloured middle which according to the njc site this is a "high retention" type which basically means nothing to me but after typing it into the net it's a higher quality better connecting type of USB socket over the standard ones so I tried plugging in the Belkin USB cable supplied & it definately felt a whole lot more positive than any other USB's I have connected to in the past on my computer's, it's quite a tight connection so I would probably leave it plugged in, the USB socket on the back also comes pre fitted with a USB cover which is a nice touch & keeps dust out of the contact's if you are not going to be using it for some time, there are also two little toggle switches, one does the digital filter of the Wolfson DAC & has three modes with the other an attenuator which is either on or off, they also feel very nice to switch & feels like some high quality switches have been used since the action is smooth & almost like they are lubricated, not at all scratchy or cheap feeling, there is also again the power in connector for connection to the external transformer.

I really can't say anything negative about the build quality of both amp & DAC as it seems that every part is quality right down to even the USB socket so the impression or theme I am getting is that these are built with longevity in mind, I think they look very nice & because they both make use of an external transformer as I pointed out in my first impression's I think this is a great design which is something I have seen on some other high end amp's so it's good to see these are outside of the chassis/case, it also makes the amp & DAC smaller taking up less space so I have more room for CD's & perhaps a headphone stand since I plan on buying other headphone's to go with my HD650's.
 

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Coffee break time

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Monitor II amplifier specific features:

The amp has all the usual features found in a headphone amp plus a few extra ones which I think are nice, the external transformer I already mentioned about is one of these features & might be the reason why this amp has absolutely no background noises of even the slightest, the gain switch is also something that I will make full use of when I get other pairs of headphone's & it seems to be set just right with a good range, I can use all three settings with my Sennheisers which effects the position of the main volume control but I use low most of the time but there are some occasions when I need the medium (my Dire Straits brothers in arms original CD for example is mastered VERY low in volume but high in quality) I expect the high would be used mostly for 600ohm headphone's or probably orthodynamic like the Fostex or HifiMan HE's, or if you have a low output on your source, I am actually getting the Fostex TR50's so will give them a try as I hear they also pair well with this amp.

Another thing I like is the power output of this amp, the dynamic's on this amp are very good & whether that is because of all the extra power it has I don't know but it gives great dynamic's but is not power for powers sake, sure it has an massive amount of power available for a solid state amp & even gives some tube amps a run for their money (especially when driving lower impedance headphone's which some tube amp's don't like) but it doesn't trade finesse for raw power, it's like a rhino wearing ballerina shoes!, it can really kick you in the stomach & wake you up when asked to but still dances around beautifully with grace & finesse (that's the best way I can describe this)

The pre out's are something I have yet to try but from what I have read on other comment's they are saying it conveys all of the fine qualities from this amp to speaker's so I am excited to try this out.
 
24 bit reference DAC specific features:

The DAC or it's official name of the Reference 24 bit DAC has a nice simple front panel with no gimmick's, just a good quality designed product, no fancy push button's to go wrong but solid switches like the digital input selector switch which is advertised as also british made with silver contact's so like I say just good quality old school engineered stuff that will be more reliable in the long term, it does feel well made with a solid & highly positive click into each position, the four input's are made up of the digital ones, USB, coaxial & TOSLINK optical with the last input being analogue, I would imagine this is ideal if you have a external phono stage as this could be plugged into this giving the best of the digital & analogue world.

The chassis is identical to the monitor II amp, the same heatsink design & identical dimension's so they sit side by side (although they don't appear to sit on top of each other due to the overhang of each front), so I think they are designed for side by side placement instead), going around the back are the various digital & analogue input's I highlighted at the start of the review but also the digital filter & attenuate switch, the filter I have to say is very subtle on my HD650's, if you switch it back & forth you might just ask yourself if it is working, but there are differences, just to prove to myself that it wasn't imagining a difference I switched to one filter & listened to a section of one of my favourite track's (Diana Krall - 'S' Wonderful) looped on A-B repeat, I got myself used to that & then switched to another filter, the high end seemed to just have a little more sparkle & extended higher so I tried it again & got the same result, I then looked at the filter graph's supplied in the instruction's & the filter's I had been comparing said that one extends into higher khz ranges than the other & this was the one I heard as having slightly more sparkle, so I have left it for now on that filter as it seems to be the best for the HD650's but they are subtle, the HD800's might be better at picking up the differences, also one of the filter's seem to have more attack than the the other which was verified also on the graphs, but it's nice to have a choice like this even if it is subtle.

The other one is the attenuation filter or perhaps it's not really a filter but a switch I am not sure of it's real function, but according to the instruction's this is another feature of the wolfson DAC's & it cuts the digital signal by 2 decibel's, this I can hear quite easily when switched & I thought the rule was that it takes 3 decibels for the human ear to detect a difference or am I wrong? I can definately hear 2 decibel's very easily, I left this off for the review but I think it's use is for when recording's have been mastered too loudly when they can cause clipping this apparently stops this, I think more information is on the wolfson DAC site but I don't get too into all that side of things I just get on & use them & see which I enjoy the best.

The other feature found on the under side of the DAC is called a ground selector which I mentioned earlier, this only has an effect on the coaxial input, reading the instruction's it seems to be a compatibility type thing if you run into any grounding problem's with other equipment, loop's & things like that which might cause hum, I never had any problem's but it's good to see that NJC audio has thought of everything.

For this review I was using the TOSLINK optical connection between the DAC & my DVD player which I am using as a digital transport, it works better than I imagined it ever would as it is only used for its digital output (it has a rubbish analogue out), I have a CD player upstairs which has a coaxial out so I tried wiring that up & was then able to switch live between the optical & coaxial player's using the digital input switch on the front of the DAC, I then went one further & connected up my laptop to the USB to test that out, Windows 7 had no problem detecting the DAC & now I could switch between all three pieces of equipment, I then went the last step & connected up my portable CD player's line out to the analogue input on the DAC, now with all 4 pieces of equipment playing various track's I was switching between all four live, the switching between each one was seamless & there were no crackles or pop's when switching.
 

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Time for another coffee break & a danish this time

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Sound quality (the most important part):

Before I describe how my album's sound on this amp & DAC combo I just want to say about that absence of noise I was talking about, there is nothing & I really mean nothing, turing up the volume to full expecting to hear a slight audible hiss or at the very least some audible tell tale that this amp is powered up & ready for action but absolutely nothing in the slightest, which is very impressive considering the amount of power this amp produces, even with in ears used on the low gain setting I hear no unwanted noises although I can't imagine anyone in their right mind would ever use in ears on this kind of equipment as its grossly over the top but it has no problem with them which is impressive that it handles everything so well.

I will point out what album I have listened to & describe it as best I can.
 
Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler - Private Investigations Best of (16 bit)
 


Always been a fan of Dire Straits with the solo albums from Knopfler being different to the band albums but every bit as enjoyable, this album is a good mix of classic Straits songs with some of the solo songs from Knopfler, the vocals are very nice to listen to with the detail on Marks rather gruff voice coming through nicely & when he starts playing guitar solo's the midrange notes of the guitar are absolutely correct with all the harmonics & reverb sounding just right to my ears (liquid midrange might be the term people use now), while they do have a bite at higher volume levels they never overpower the rest of the song, I can turn up the volume a little higher than what I would normally listen at & I am still able to enjoy the music, it does not become a mess of harsh notes or overpowered bass, its just the same quality sound at a higher volume, a lot of the classics on here like "Tunnel of love" & "Love over gold" bring back fond memories for me & the detail that I am now hearing with them on this amp & DAC are making these classics ever more enjoyable.
 
Diana Krall - From This Moment On (24 bit 96 khz)
 

 
One of my favourte studio album's from Diana Krall, I especially enjoy track 4 & the trumpet has such vibrance which really does cut through everything but never once do I find it too much or too brash, it seems just how a trumpet should be when played in a loud & slightly aggressive manner, throughout this entire album my foot was tapping on the floor (with an occasional evil eye from the Mrs who was trying to read) & I really got into the whole music, I completely forgot I was listening to this through an amplifier, DAC & headphones as I was able to just listen to the music & the equipment seemed to just melt into the distance, I was no longer analysing the equipment like I have done in the past but I was appreciating the music for what it is, listening to each instrument & feeling the whole rhythm & flow of each song, I had forgotten that I was trying to do a review of the actual equipment at hand & so I started again & this time tried to be more analytical of what I was hearing, I found that instruments really did sound very lifelike, the soundstage appears very large & I guess just right since it sounds correct to me & I can pinpoint instruments on the stage, other things like bass was just bang on correct, the HD650's have been given a bit of a bad press by some saying they are boomy in the upper 100HZ area but I don't find this & if anything it all seems very balanced & sounds very cohersive, the midrange & treble are also the same being very well balanced with no particular emphasis on any one part of the frequency response, making be believe the supplied test results of my amp are correct when it reveals a highly flat frequency graph, the mids are very smooth to listen to & not in your face while the treble hits all the highs with refinement & class, no squills or harsh parts.
 
Mezzoforte - Forward Motion (24 bit 96 khz)
 

 
Another 24 bit album, instrumental type music with no real vocal's, again very impressed by how real everything sounds with this amp & dac with the quiet parts being just that!, once more the detail is striking me as pariculary impressive & also how the amp has so much dynamic range available, it is able to hit all the low's & high's when demanded with real authority but never loses it or gets out of control, it seems to have the power to give weight to music but not at the expense of finesse, this is also another album where I had to concentrate on trying to be analytical for the review as I found I could easily get lost in the music & forget about the amp, DAC or headphone's.
 
Paul McCartney & The Wings - Wings over America (16 bit)
 

 
A classic album which I used to have the original vinyl version but now have the CD of it instead since I no longer do vinyl, when I listen to this I am instantly transported back in time to my vinyl days, the CD I have sounds very good on this new amp & DAC, "Let me roll it" has a real foot tapping quality about it & with the amp & DAC once more melting away into the background so that I am just hearing the song, I was worried that the detail from this amp & DAC may make this album sound less analogue like or may reveal too many flaws in what is a dated recording of this classic live concert but I am happy to say that this sounds very vinyl like with a real analogue quality to the recording & if I close my eyes I can imagine the turntable spinning in the corner of the room, ahh this really takes me back!
 
Holst - The planets suite (16 bit)
 

 
I have listened to this many times before on my original system, the planets suite is probably the most famous of all classical music & I think unless anyone has any other better suggestions this is the best I have found for testing dynamic range, "Uranus" has some really powerful dynamics towards the end of the track & this comes through wonderfully on the amp & DAC, it manages to capture the power & energy of these sections terrifically well, although you have to be careful with this type of music as you can turn up the volume to a normal level but it has a habit of sudden impact moments which can then be too loud so I usually skip to those & preset the volume to a nice level then listen to the track, the dynamics here are nothing but breathtaking especially the final section where it has loud bursts of orchestra followed by silence between these bursts, it really is VERY VERY good I can honestly say this is an album that has now become very enjoyable to me & one that I will be listening to again & again, the power of this amp is much higher than most amps & even gives tubes a run for their money in terms of sheer wattage that can be put out so whether that has something to do with the dynamics I am guessing it may have, who says classical music is boring?.
 
Diana Krall - Live in Paris (24 bit 96 khz)
 

 
I got this album from HD tracks since I heard that it is supposed to one of the best live recording's & since I enjoy Diana Krall I thought why not, I like studio album's & have quite a few of hers but this being live is something different, if I shut my eyes & just listen I might as well be in the first few rows of the audience, everything sounds as it should & the 24 bit recording is very nice, of course the NJC DAC upsamples even a 16 bit 44.1 to 24 bit 96 khz anyway & does an excellent job but if you start with a recording that is already mastered at 24bit 96 I would imagine this would be even better, some people argue that there is nothing wrong with 16 bit 44.1 & I agree because CD's have lasted this long for good reason, they sound great if mastered properly but there is something nice about having a recording in 24 bit 96 khz too, the audience in this sound like they are just behind & to the left/right of me, with the vocals of Diana sounding very impressive & the whole reverb of the venue just sounds real as I can picture the size of the venue in my head based on what is coming through my headphone's, a very nice experience of a live recording & something I wish I had more album's of as my other Diana Krall CD's are all studio album's.
 
Lee Ritenour - 6 String Theory (16 bit)
 

 
I listened to a few preview's of this online & ended up buying the album, the guitar playing is sounding so realistic & positioned to my ear just right in the soundstage (by that I mean correct, not over to the right hand side), I used to play a little acoustic & electric guitar with a friend in my youth just for fun & I love the way the electric guitar sounds so real with this amp & DAC, all the harmonics are there so is the fret noise, the percussion seems to have just the correct amount of snap & never overpowers the rest of the music, the amount of detail that this amplifier & DAC can resolve is mind blowingly good but also it doesn't feel too as sometimes too much detail in a recording can become confusing on the brain & that is when fatique sets in, but seriously I could listen all day & not get tired, the only tiring thing can be the clamping pressure of my HD650 headphone's, the HD800's were much better here & RULE!.
 
Pink Floyd - Animals (remastered version)
 

 
Now here is an album that everyone knows it's a classic, DSOTM being their gain to fame & I also have that in my collection but I have a special fondness of this particular one, it has been re-mastered & they have done a wonderful job, the detail on this is so good & very welcome, I used to have all the pink floyd albums on vinyl, I think these remastered CD's by James Guthrie are well done & I still think they have some of the original vinyl qualities but have been stepped up in overall detail to what I remember from my vinyl days, but that was a long time ago so don't quote me on any of that, seriously impressive album from Pink Floyd with the amp & dac as the other albums just melting away into the distance allowing me to enjoy the music, the acoustic guitar on the ending track "Pigs on a wing" was very detailed, I could hear every pluck of each string, each harmonic, wonderful.
 
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This was initially recommended to me by a work colleage & I thank him for this, as much as I enjoyed my previous hifi system I now believe that this new system is one that continues to impress me much more, while the Burson I had was a great amp but could be a little on the warmer side which was fine on my Grado SR325i's which helped to make them not quite so bright but a warm amp with the HD650's perhaps not ideal which could explain why I am enjoying this new system much more, it is advertised as a neutral amp allowing you to hear how headphones are meant to sound & it does just that, I think the whole matching of amps to certain individual headphones is not the way to go, if I buy headphones that are way too bright for my taste I don't see the answer being to then source an amp that can tone them down as it might be fine if you only have that one pair of headphones but others might not sound as good, I would prefer to be hearing the headphones for what they are & if I dont like them I will send them back for something else, I love the way this amp backs up its advertising claims & really does allow me to hear my HD650's for what they really are, uncoloured by anything as no doubt Sennheiser designed them to sound, after all I cant imagine the designers at Sennheiser would be using a reference amp that would be changing how their headphones sound, colouring them up or making them warmer as it would be too customized around that amp.

This amp & DAC is certainly not the cheapest around but nor is it that expensive when you consider the quality, they are all hand made & so are not made in 1000's in the far east for next to nothing, it's as I said above just good old school engineering which is all made with quality & longevity in mind, also my main objective here was not to hunt down the cheapest amp & DAC I could get my hand's on as that would only end up with some sort of chinese clone which I am not interested in at all as those kind of things have a habit of coming & going with no real long term support not to mention the whole fake aspect & QC / reliability issues I have seen people talk about, I wanted something I could trust & that I would not need to be upgrading again & I believe this has met all those requirement's, build quality & reliability is paramount to me equally is how something sounds & I was after something that would hopefully improve on my original system & I believe I have obtained my goal in spades, I also think that the way this is all built that I can see this being here in 20 or more years no trouble, British engineering may have died in recent year's with Chinese makes that i've never heard of releasing wave after wave of ever increasing cheaper product's to attract people which one look on ebay you see litterally 100's of them, im all for saving money where I can but I just would not trust some of those with my headphone's especially if I end up buying the Beyer T1's as I would like them to be paired with something of equal quality, looking at other comment's about these I see I am not alone & for NJC Audio to be continuing to build amp's & DAC's of this quality in a global recession too is some achievement, i'm all for British engineering as the quality & reliability is more proven with no fake issues & it's so nice to have something made in England for a change, to quote somebody elses comment on another forum when referring to NJC Audio as the "Best of British" not my word's but I think they summed up this maker nicely.

Thanks for reading my review, I read a few other review's on head-fi to get some idea on how to write one & that is where I got the idea of the album cover's for each album, it's longer than I thought it would be but there was so much to mention & it was for two product's making it longer than expected but if it helps anyone then it would have been worth the effort, like I said i'm off work at the moment so I was only kicking around the house doing a few chores for the other half, I will also try & come back on here from time to time & update it when I have the Fostex & other headphone's as I intend on buying more headphone's, this is not the end.