[High_Q]

My CMOY is 9v(can increase to 18v) and with it I can roll opamps.  What makes amps made by RSA, ibasso, or pic etc... better than my CMOY?  I personally cannot hear difference between RSA amps and my CMOY, and my 9V CMOY amp would probably driver headphones better than RSA's $400 ~3v amp.   I have a burr brown opa2227 inside my CMOY.  Why are people paying up to $400 for RSA's amps? Are his amps worth that much?  For me, I cannot tell a difference in sound, but his balanced there is a noticible difference from single ended, but he's seems to be the only one selling a balanced amp, so he can charge alot for it.
 
 
I apologize for putting this topic in the wrong section, and for double posting on the portable amplifier section.  If you want to respond to this topic, please respond to the thread started on the portable amplifier section. 

 

[zyxwvutsr]

If that's the case and you are satisfied with the cmoy, then that is your good fortune.
I find the sonic differences between different solid state amps are much less noticeable compared to the sonic differences between different series of headphones. The same goes for DACs.

 

[hembergler]

If you don't detect any differences in your listening then don't bother with anything more expensive! I'm sure you could tell the differences if you sat down with each amp for a while and listened critically, but obviously that's not always an option.
 
Diminishing returns kicks in pretty quickly in this hobby, and the CMoy is a great little amp. Gotta keep in mind that many of the comments here proclaiming one component superior to another are all on a relative scale.