Interesting news/reviews/deals from the portable audio market
Review: Audio Technica ATH-A500 + Headroom Total Airhead: fellow 9ruler Matt Burris reviews the headphone/amp combo he purchased recently, mostly from a gamer’s perspective. The ATH-A500 is probably the best closed heaphone for the ~$150 price range, and while I disagree with the amp choice (read: overpriced for what it actually delivers, as is the [...]
Review: Dared VP-16 integrated amp: 12 stereo watts of tube goodness for $790. Also to check in the same page: Dared’s MP-5 15-watt integrated amp with a headphone jack and USB input which goes for $560.
A newbie’s review of the Singlepower MPX3 head amp: intriguing to see what a newbie thinks of a head amp. The MPX3 starts from $950. [via]
Sonic Impact comes with the $139 Super T-AMP [via], an upgrade to the popular and great T-AMP ($39) with “quality binding posts, RCA jacks and the ability to draw power from either the wall or your car” among other improvements.
We had presented the T-AMP back in October, and posted a comparison versus other Class-T amplifiers [...]
Meier-Audio’s Corda Aria headphone amp: limited edition (500 pieces only), built-in DAC, can be connected to a USB port on your computer. First reviews coming in confirm that it sounds AWESOEM for its money. Having enjoyed another amp of Dr. Jan Meier ourselves, it’s not difficult to imagine this. Anyway, $395 for US residents, $450 [...]
Comparison: Sonic Impact T-AMP versus other Class-T amplifiers: to refresh your memory, the Sonic Impact T-AMP is this $40 amplifier with an out-of-this world performance (for its price range). [via]
Going audiophile as painlessly (for your wallet) as possible.
Ray Samuels’ Hornet portable headhone amp debuts: credit-card sized, and mighty powerful. The variable-gain switch makes it suitable for driving both low- and high-impedance headphones. You’ll have to part with around 350 bucks to make it yours.
What’s the use for an amp? It can drive inefficient headphones to loud volumes, something that today’s portable sources aren’t too good at (and justifiably so, since they’re focused on longer battery life).
This guide helps you build an amp similar (there are three differences) to Chu Moy’s popular and small headphone amplifier. You don’t need [...]
Review: Cambridge Audio Azur 340A integrated amplifier (goes for a mere—in audiophile’s terms—$250, yet earns glowing review; “When you buy forty watts, you should know what you’re not getting. The thing is, the forty watts that the 340A does deliver are of excellent, in fact audiophile quality, and more than enough for most real-world listening.”; [...]