Any recommendations for a portable amplifier paired with the JVC SZ2000? I had the Fiio E12 for a year or so and the battery gave away to the point where the device couldn't power on even if connected to a power source. So I decided to get the Cayin C5 as a replacement and I loved it at the start but it did "feel cheaper" and ultimately after about 1.5 years of usage its starting to fall apart with issues like battery being reduced to half its size, one of the plastic buttons to control the gain fell off, and backplate screw no longer tightens. Perhaps its just me and I should learn to treat my portable amps better but if anyone could suggest a good logical step up from the Fiio E12 and the Cayin c5 in terms of portable amps? It seems that the c5 is no longer in stock around here and my option would be to get the Fiio A5 which seems like tiny step down since it has less power than its predecessor the E12.
Heard good things about the A5 - the only Fiio that actually has some oomph behind it.
But what you need to do is stop wasting money on the small fry and GO. BALLS. DEEP.
Acquire the iFi iCan SE or if you want the ultimate transportable AMP + DAC, you already know it's gotta be the iFi iDSD Micro Black Label.
And as always, a worthy mention is the Chord Mojo which seems to hold its value.
There's also the smaller, MUCH less powerful offerings from iFi - the iCan Nano and other Nano products - but IMO, they're not really worth it like the powerhouses their bigger brothers are.
One of the benefits is the battery charging system too - when you have it connected to a computer or something that powers it, the actual battery isn't used, so its life is much better.
Oh...one more - I forgot, the thing I use every day lol. The Creative E5 is awesome and portable and has an inbuilt EQ for all your basshead needs and blows up most things.
They've incorporated a sleep mode now in their newest edition which helps for battery life - but because I use it at a computer all day, after 1 year, the portable battery life deteriorated big time.
So whilst it's awesome especially at the price, I reckon true portable users (if they're not careful) will lose the benefits of decent battery life.
Creative do offer to replace it when the battery dies, but only at a 10% discount so... yeah.
Anyway, good luck