seeberg
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2002
- Posts
- 2,619
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- 10
Well, I've been listening to one of Zemo's little budget killer amps for a while now(enough to get a thorough take on it), and I'd say I'm quite impressed, but now I find myself strangely wanting more.
I've been rocking out with one of his Epsilon amplifiers, which is the base model out of his present and growing 3 model lineup, consisting of the Epsilon, Mu, and Lambda. I find that the construction and aesthetics are top notch right from the get-go, as the only plastic or rubber to be seen anywhere on the Epsilon(and Mu-they share the same chassis) are the feet(clear rubber) and two black plastic pieces on the front and back to space out the panels just right. The rest is aluminum, and the unit is as compact as I'd ever want it, short of actually having the "guts" of the amp already in whatever source I'm playing from!
The unit gets great battery life, despite the fact that I'm presently using headphones that present an enormous load for it to contend with, HD580's(300 ohms, very thirsty for some drive). It's around 40-50 hours plus, and you'll definitely know when to change batteries- the bright blue LED will fade to a very dim purplish white when you need to change out for a fresh 9 volt. It has a back panel secured with some nice thumb screws to gain access to the battery, and this feature is quite welcome with me, as a snap on plastic panel would be more prone to breaking than an aluminum one using screws.
The sound of the amp is quite nice, but depending on the 'phones you use with it, it can get sort of unwieldly at times. The dynamics are great, bringing out much of what I feel my headphones have to offer, with punch and authority, albeit within a limitation. Most sub 100-ohm headphones can be driven to ear threateningly high decibel levels with an Epsilon at max volume, but my HD580's probably don't exceed 85 most of the time without additional gain via Winamp. Also, the volume control was a little unusual at first. The adjustments were a tad extreme on both ends, and the middle of the pot was very subtle. It's not until the knob is at 3/4ths of either direction that I percieve significant changes in volume. Despite that, with moderate impedance cans (sub 200 ohms, maybe?), the Epsilon will deliver. It might even kick you in the ass if you put on the right G N' R track (which I'm listening to as I type this up, it's just wow on my end
)
While the Epsilon will satisfy most peoples' needs as a CMOY type alternative -imagine a hot rodded, simplified, rollable opamp CMOY; essentially that's what I'd consider it-, I'm now using headphones that need more, and for that reason I'm considering getting my PCB changed out for the PCB inside the Mu if I can, and if Zemo got my email (I hope he did
). While the Epsilon is the best amp under $100 IMHO, when a pair of headphones needs more than that bang-for-the-buck can give, it's time to go to the next level.
Simply put, the Epsilon is an awesome amp, as long as your headphones aren't too demanding of it- the same can be said for any amp with 'phones that take too much, like K1000's- you don't want to run them off a CMOY
However, I'd consider myself to be a special (I'm insane and picky with thirsty cans) case, so I'd definitely recommend anyone reading this to give Z-Audio a shot and Zemo's amps a try(and try the Epsilon!). It might just be the boost your system needs, and right for any budget application you have.
,
Abe
-I'll chime in again if there's more I should add...
I've been rocking out with one of his Epsilon amplifiers, which is the base model out of his present and growing 3 model lineup, consisting of the Epsilon, Mu, and Lambda. I find that the construction and aesthetics are top notch right from the get-go, as the only plastic or rubber to be seen anywhere on the Epsilon(and Mu-they share the same chassis) are the feet(clear rubber) and two black plastic pieces on the front and back to space out the panels just right. The rest is aluminum, and the unit is as compact as I'd ever want it, short of actually having the "guts" of the amp already in whatever source I'm playing from!
The unit gets great battery life, despite the fact that I'm presently using headphones that present an enormous load for it to contend with, HD580's(300 ohms, very thirsty for some drive). It's around 40-50 hours plus, and you'll definitely know when to change batteries- the bright blue LED will fade to a very dim purplish white when you need to change out for a fresh 9 volt. It has a back panel secured with some nice thumb screws to gain access to the battery, and this feature is quite welcome with me, as a snap on plastic panel would be more prone to breaking than an aluminum one using screws.
The sound of the amp is quite nice, but depending on the 'phones you use with it, it can get sort of unwieldly at times. The dynamics are great, bringing out much of what I feel my headphones have to offer, with punch and authority, albeit within a limitation. Most sub 100-ohm headphones can be driven to ear threateningly high decibel levels with an Epsilon at max volume, but my HD580's probably don't exceed 85 most of the time without additional gain via Winamp. Also, the volume control was a little unusual at first. The adjustments were a tad extreme on both ends, and the middle of the pot was very subtle. It's not until the knob is at 3/4ths of either direction that I percieve significant changes in volume. Despite that, with moderate impedance cans (sub 200 ohms, maybe?), the Epsilon will deliver. It might even kick you in the ass if you put on the right G N' R track (which I'm listening to as I type this up, it's just wow on my end
While the Epsilon will satisfy most peoples' needs as a CMOY type alternative -imagine a hot rodded, simplified, rollable opamp CMOY; essentially that's what I'd consider it-, I'm now using headphones that need more, and for that reason I'm considering getting my PCB changed out for the PCB inside the Mu if I can, and if Zemo got my email (I hope he did
Simply put, the Epsilon is an awesome amp, as long as your headphones aren't too demanding of it- the same can be said for any amp with 'phones that take too much, like K1000's- you don't want to run them off a CMOY
Abe
-I'll chime in again if there's more I should add...
