[xallarap]

Quote:

very sorry for the dumb question but im thinking about getting one of these and been reading alot about them. but i do not fully understand the gain control thing. i have a pair of modded Grado 325is and will be using a ipod 160gb classic. is this basically a listen and change (opinion) thing or certain headphones will be set at one thing and grados 325 at one thing ect.......... please help me understand in kindergarten terms thanks

I think you do not even need to tinker with the gain settings for your Grado as Grados are already efficient. Maybe somebody else can explain it better.

 

[zjred]

very sorry for the dumb question but im thinking about getting one of these and been reading alot about them. but i do not fully understand the gain control thing. i have a pair of modded Grado 325is and will be using a ipod 160gb classic. is this basically a listen and change (opinion) thing or certain headphones will be set at one thing and grados 325 at one thing ect.......... please help me understand in kindergarten terms thanks

Think of the gain knobs as secondary volume adjustments. If you are near maxing out the volume and still not getting the right volume, you can adjust the gain knobs so that you hit the desired volume level with, say, a quarter twist of the volume knobs.

If you switch headphones, they will probably have a different volume at the same quarter twist, then again you can always open the amp up to change the gain settings.

 

[Nelson Soong]

I finally own a pair of PA2V2 last week. I listened to music using my laptop and ATH M50s.
 
To be frank, based o the rave reviews, I was expecting at least a moderate SQ improvement ( I'm quite happy with the M50s). However, as hard as I try, I couldn't appreciate any improvement in sound quality. I can only appreciate louder volume. Tried adjusting the gain too but to no avail, I only get better volume control and hissing sound if the gain is set too high . Weird. I'm using laptop HP Pavilion g4 and I don't think it has an add-on sound card (only integrated sound card to motherboard I suppose) and I don't think it is that awesome enough to produce such top notch sound quality that adding a PA2V2 amp won't make a difference... =(

 

[shrews]

hi all, first post here

has anyone tried the PA2V2 with Shure SRH 840 ? I'm using an L9 LOD out of an iPhone 4 with ALAC only.
I'm also considering the Epiphany Acoustics EHP-02 which has a got a lot of enthusiastic reviews, it would be great to hear some opinions from someone that has them both...cheers.

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

I finally own a pair of PA2V2 last week. I listened to music using my laptop and ATH M50s.
 
To be frank, based o the rave reviews, I was expecting at least a moderate SQ improvement ( I'm quite happy with the M50s). However, as hard as I try, I couldn't appreciate any improvement in sound quality. I can only appreciate louder volume. Tried adjusting the gain too but to no avail, I only get better volume control and hissing sound if the gain is set too high . Weird. I'm using laptop HP Pavilion g4 and I don't think it has an add-on sound card (only integrated sound card to motherboard I suppose) and I don't think it is that awesome enough to produce such top notch sound quality that adding a PA2V2 amp won't make a difference... =(

 
 
Welcome Nelson,
 
FWIR the M50s don't need amplification per se.  That being said have you tried the amp from a different source other than laptop?  For laptop/pc use, bypassing the onboard card yields great results with a dac.  If you just connect the amp to the line out of pc you are introducing unwanted noise and not getting a clean signal.
 
Remember, the audio chain is as strong as its weakest link.
 
Cheers!

 

[Shroker]

It might simply mean the out from your laptop is pretty decent. A lot of us (I'm assuming) use it with handhelds and stuff like that.

The sound stage is a little bit deeper and has a warm yet detailed (in its own way) feeling.

It is also depedent on headphones. If the output from your laptop is already pretty decent. The sound difference provided may be bit more subtle.

 

[tanner116]

Just ordered the PA2v2, along with a pair of Grado 80i's, a FiiO LOD cable, and HD414 cusions. I'm pretty excited to try it all out with the 80i's and my M50s I already have

 

[twg1996]

so how much are these??

 

[Shroker]

55 CAD shipped I believe.

 

[tanner116]

so how much are these??

$70 shipped without batteries, $75USD with rechargeable recommended batteries

 

[Shroker]

Ah; there you go.

 

[tanner116]

Different money systems, it's all good

 

[nick n]

Using mine as I type
I had to adjust the gain screws up a bit because I was using some portable orthos with it ( more sensitive than most but needing a boost in gain ), and some demanding IEMs.
Just make sure you do them evenly should be easy enough. I never did bother using a multimeter to check, just aligning the philips screw lines with an edge on the gain screw housing itself.
Tried to set them for the balance between all of these differing headphones.
 
I have yet to recharge this thing, in fact I never have yet and it has been a while. I keep forgetting about that which is really nice.
 Rechargeables are best apparently giving a better sound.
Be sure when you get it also to go in and make sure the batteries are seated properly they may have shifted from shipping. Some people were saying this helped avoid any em interference issues.
 
Right now
Colorfly C3 - Natural Crossfeed cable - PA2V2 - T-Peos H-100 
 
I like the clear front panel better than the red one I saw in earlier pictures. This looks better.

 

[Shroker]

Quote:

Using mine as I type
I had to adjust the gain screws up a bit because I was using some portable orthos with it ( more sensitive than most but needing a boost in gain ), and some demanding IEMs.
Just make sure you do them evenly should be easy enough. I never did bother using a multimeter to check, just aligning the philips screw lines with an edge on the gain screw housing itself.
Tried to set them for the balance between all of these differing headphones.
 
I have yet to recharge this thing, in fact I never have yet and it has been a while. I keep forgetting about that which is really nice.
 Rechargeables are best apparently giving a better sound.
Be sure when you get it also to go in and make sure the batteries are seated properly they may have shifted from shipping. Some people were saying this helped avoid any em interference issues.
 
Right now
Colorfly C3 - Natural Crossfeed cable - PA2V2 - T-Peos H-100 
 
I like the clear front panel better than the red one I saw in earlier pictures. This looks better.

I put tin foil along the inside of the casing. the only interference I ever get is off the cell.

 

 

[ridhuankim]

When I first got my PA2V2, I was not satisfied and felt that it sounded better without the amp.
I was using iPhone 3GS + LOD + PA2V2 + ATH-M50.
 
But later one of the members told me that it could be because some combinations do not have good synergy.
 
Later I got my iPhone 5 and it sounded much better.
 
As I am using ATH-M50, I don't need any gain, in fact it doesn't even need amping.
But the  PA2V2 makes the sound  pretty crisp and tight.
I adjusted the gain control to all the way counter-clock-wise.
 
It was okay since then.
 
The only problem is, it does not have any shielding to block interferences so it gets annoying when it picks up wifi and phone signals.
Battery life is just outstanding... it just never dies.