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This is a Review of FiiO E11k portable headphone amplifier. http://www.fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?ID=100000060416193&MenuID=105026001 , available from FiiO's US distributor MICCA Store: http://www.miccastore.com/fiio-kilimanjaro-e11k-portable-headphone-amplifier-p-126.html (as well as on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Kilimanjaro-E11K-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00MFMW29I) for $59.99.
If you think the only purpose of headphone amplifier is to make a sound louder, you will be in for a big surprise to discover how much it can shape the sound and contribute to improvements in details, soundstage, etc. It is true that some headphones require more power to drive them, but I would like to focus in my review on the contributing factor of the sound improvement while using amplifier connected to a portable audio source. With E11k being my first portable headphone amplifier, I don't have too many references for comparison, though prior to E11k I have used E18 as an amplifier. Here is my impression of this latest product from FiiO.
Actually, I should start first by mentioning this is an updated version of FiiO popular budget amplifier, E11. One impressive thing about FiiO, beside constantly working on new products, they also revisit their older models to improve the design and to update the components. That's exactly what happened with E11 model where the design was updated from inside out.
Arrived in a small box (as it turned out, my review unit had an older packaging where 2nd batch will be similar to E10k), beside E11k there was also a charging usb cable, a basic 3.5mm audio cable, a pair of silicone bands, 6 pieces of rubber feet, instruction manual, and warranty card. The unit itself is very compact, measuring about 91mm x 56mm x 13.5mm, with a solid aluminum alloy body that feels very smooth in your hand and also relatively lightweight at only 92g. The shape reminds me of a drinking flask due to it's rounded toward the edges surface and volume potentiometer knob between two ramp up pieces at the top. Next to the volume, you have toggle switches for Low/High Gain and Bass boost on/off. The power turns on by turning the dial of the knob past zero where on the opposite side you will find a blue led indicator next to micro-usb charging port. On the same side as micro-usb port, you also have headphone output and aux input (3.5mm ports) located symmetrically on each side of micro-usb port.
I do have to mention it was a bit awkward to see Headphone and Line In ports on the opposite side of the volume knob, and perhaps for some this will affect a connection of audio cables and the logistics of placement to have access to volume control. At the same time, it really doesn't require to use two fingers to turn the volume knob, and I was able to use just my thumb. As a matter of fact, I tried my X5 with HS6 kit (designed for a larger E12 amp) using a single rubber band to hold down E11k, and found it to be working quite well. Also, want to mention that I really like the audio cable from HS6 kit, something you can get separately as L16 short cable from FiiO. Furthermore, I know some will notice a shape of E11k to be not perfectly flat, but next to a flat surface of a DAP (even using X5 without a silicone skin for the purpose of HS6 kit) - it felt sturdy without wobbling. For an extra security, you can use included rubber feet that just stick on to the body of E11k. Personally, I think E11k will make a PERFECT pair up companion for the upcoming X1 DAP.
Don't let the small size of this amplifier fool you since it actually hosts a hefty 1400 mAh battery (non replaceable) which can provide over 16 hours of continuous play. I have been using E11k in a low gain setting for almost two weeks now and have a feeling it can probably stretch pass that limit. And even if you run out of juice, you can continue using amplifier while charging it up. Gain toggle provides a decent boost in volume to assist in driving demanding headphones, and the extra power actually helped to bring up more details even in less power hungry IEMs. I also found Bass boost to be surgically clean, where flipping that toggle provided a more controlled enhancement of sub-bass quantity and some mid-bass punch without spilling into mids and muddying the rest of the spectrum. In contrast, E18 bass boost wasn't as tight, and bleeded a bit into lower mids.
So how good does this amp sounds and how much improvement are you going to get over your built-in amp? There is no simple short answer to this question, and that is a beauty of amplifiers where it will depend on it's pair up with your source. One thing I found for sure: the sound will always improve, but to what degree you can never predict so it was a journey to try different hardware sources as well as using connection to Line Out (LO) or Headphone Out (HO) to find a better combination. Typically, you want to drive your external amp from LO, but it never hurts to experiment. At the current moment my two main DAP sources are X5 and AP100, and for example I found E11k connected to HO pairs up better with AP100 rather than X5. But once I switched to using LO port, I found a combo of X5 + E11k to show more improvement over AP100 + E11k. As a matter of fact, while I prefer AP100 built in amplifier over X5 built in amplifier (by comparison of direct HO connection and while AP100 is in 24b/192k oversampling mode), X5 actually sounds much better with E11k from LO. Also, comparing the sound between X5 with direct headphone connection vs LO with E11k, I found the sound to get wider and deeper (soundstage), overall tighter, brighter with more details while still being smooth, and a significant bass improvement (deeper and punchier). A performance of X5 paired up with E18 as amplifier connected to LO was inferior in sound quality to E11k where E18 colored the sound to be darker, less transparent, and with less details in comparison to E11k.
Overall, I found that amplifier adds another variable to a complicated equation of sound where you already have an array of file formats, different hardware sound sources, and various headphones. There could be numerous combinations and it's a never ending journey. One thing I discovered for sure, if you are serious about sound quality - amplifier is a must have addition to any setup. With E11k being a very portable and a very capable amp, I found it to provide a noticeable improvement to X5 DAP when comparing direct HO connection vs LO w/E11k. It has just a perfect balance of clarity and transparency with a touch of warmth without adding too much color or distortion when paired up with a capable DAP that has Line Out. For use with smartphones or supported tablets, I would still recommend E18 which goes straight from digital domain to internal DAC/amp of E18. For everything else, E11k is an excellent portable amplifier on a budget!
Here are the pictures.
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The smallest and the cheapest mp3/flac audio player - ONN Q6 Review
This is a review of ONN Q6 audio player. http://www.dx.com/p/onn-q6-mini-1-5-screen-mp3-player-w-fm-clip-silver-4gb-172334#.U_d8RmO5Q08
After my recent review of E11k, I'm on a constant mission to find different hardware audio sources to pair up with that headphone amplifier. Though I'm using a higher quality DAPs and smartphone to listen to music, I used to have Sansa Clip+ in the past until it recently broke. It was an OK sounding mp3 player which benefited from pair up with an amp, and when I was looking for a budget replacement I came across a series of ONN audio players including a small Q6 clip-on model for around $21 plus change. That picked my review interest, and here is what I found.
Arrived in a small clear top box, to me it resembled a smartwatch (like Sony LiveView) since all you can see was a framed 1.5" screen. Inside of the box they included a pair of earbuds and usb to mini-usb charging cable. I didn't even bother testing earbuds since I have a very extensive collection of IEMs already. First impression out of the box was how small this player turned out to be. Q6 felt very solid in my hand, with a quality plastic shell and a metal clip in the back. Left side had mini-usb connector, unfortunately not a common micro-usb but the same as Clip+. At the top, it has a power button which also used to turn the screen on when it times out and has functionality of Play/Pause - a very convenient location for a playback control. On the right side, there is 3.5mm headphone jack and 4 small control buttons for volume, menu, and multifunction up/down. The player itself is about 19g in weight and has 250 mAh battery with a playback of 5hr, probably longer at reduced volume with screen off.
Once you turn the power on, you are greeted by a bright 1.5" screen with 128x160 resolution. Unfortunately, the default language setting was Chinese so I had to poke around to get to Setup to change it. Luckily, its really easy to find your way around. The main display menu has large colorful icons that self explanatory. You have selection of Music (supports mp3, flac, wav, ape, wma, and ogg), Movie (it plays avi clips), Record (wav files from internal mic), Play (recorded clips), Radio, Pictures (jpg, bmp, gif), Setup (universal icon for that), Text (txt files), Games (it actually comes with a video game), and File Browser. Language was a 3rd selection down in Setup menu, and once I switched to English, it was very easy to navigate through all sub-menus.
Controls are very intuitive, and as I already mentioned Play/Pause button at the top is very convenient. The main playback display has a nice layout with a play time, scrolling time bar, song name, file format, EQ setting, volume level, and even dynamic EQ bar for the currently playing song. Status bar at the top has playback mode indicating repeat/replay and battery status. With up/down buttons, you can switch between songs or press'n'hold to fast forward. They are also used for volume adjustment. I do have to mention that due to a small size of the player itself, buttons are very small as well. I probably have average size fingers and didn't find any problem operating these. But I can see how some people with sausage fingers might find it a bit small for their liking
When it comes to a sound, I found it to be relatively clear, with a decent extension down to sub-bass and all the way up to upper treble. The sound signature is warm and smooth, not too much coloration or distortion, and surprisingly not muddy or veiled. It actually sounds the same, if not even better than Clip+. It paired up very nicely with external amp, and actually worked well with E11k in high gain - sound became more detailed, crispier, and wider. It also has a built in EQ for sound tuning.
Overall, I was very impressed with it's build and sound quality, considering such a small footprint and budget price. Of course, this is not an audiophile quality DAP, but I don't think you will be able to find anything smaller and with a better sound quality for $21 shipped. Definitely something to consider if you want a portable mp3 players on the go without sacrificing too much of sound quality (relative to it's price range).
Here are the pictures.
This is a Review of Cozoy Astrapi Hi-Res USB OTG dac/amp. http://penonaudio.com/COZOY-DAC-AMP.
Also, since Cozoy is still working on their official website, you can visit their FB page for the latest updates: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cozoy/1531647370419283
In my recent review of FULLA usb dac/amp I was very clear about not being a fan of "jack of all trades" devices, but it did get a bit frustrating when that usb dongle turned out to be a "master" of only one trade connected to my laptop, and I wasn't able to get it to work with my smartphone. The same story happened with E10k where you have to jump through hoops to connect it to your smartphone while using external power supply and splitter. With E18, I found its sound to be less transparent and device itself to be too bulky for a pair up with smartphone. When it comes to Beyerdynamic A200p (rebranded Astell & Kern AK10), it was getting down to a more manageable size with a true "jack of all trades" functionality, but sound was a bit on a cold digital side, footprint was not as friendly to attach to a smartphone, and proprietary cable connection to the unit was getting loose all the time. Sooner or later we all come to a conclusion that nothing is perfect, but one company came out with the most elegant all-in-one solution I have ever seen. In this review I would like to share with you about Cozoy Astrapi USB OTG dac/amp and how it performed in my testing.
Arrived in a small and very sturdy white carton box, it has a lot of "Apple" appeal from outside with a very minimalistic labeling of the company name on the top, model name on the side, and even Made for iPod/iPhone/iPad around it. There is also a brief info with general instructions, basic spec, list of accessories, and vague drawing of a design on the back of the box. There was no mentioning about internal components to shed a light about the type of DAC and amp used in the design, and no mentioning about USB OTG support for Android devices or USB support for use with PC/laptop. Usually companies like to over-exaggerate functionality of their product with marketing hype. Instead, here it was a very modest list where I had to figure out myself from clues of lightning connector (for Apple compatibility), micro-usb to micro-usb (USB OTG for your Android smartphone or tablet), and micro-usb to usb (connection to your laptop or PC).
Unboxing.
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Basically, these 3 cables are the only included accessories, but cables itself were of a high quality. It was nice to see included micro-usb to usb cable, though in theory you can use any smartphone micro-usb cable for connection to your PC/laptop, while other cables had a unique design to accommodate smartphone connection. I don't have any iDevices to test Cozoy connected to iPhone or iPad, but had no problem testing it with my Galaxy Note 4 and S5 where I assume the included micro-usb to micro-usb cable enables direct USB OTG functionality without a need for an adapter. I was especially pleased with a solid connection of this cable to Cozoy Astrapi and my phone - nothing is more frustrating than a loose cable connection that going to affect digital audio stream.
Accessories.
The moment you take Astrapi out of the foam cutout in the box, you will instantaneously fall in love with this tiny gadget. I don't think I ever used a phrase "fall in love" in any of my previous reviews, but it's an absolutely truth when I was holding this feather light 8g stick with a dimensions of 52mm x 16mm x 6mm resembling a thumb drive. With solid aluminum alloy housing, the design is very clean with just micro-usb port on one end and 3.5mm headphone jack on the other end. Each end has 2 tiny screws with a rare 5-point star torx head. The side of the body toward headphone jack has two indentations for an easy grip, very good idea since a slick aluminum finish can get a bit slippery. Also, the back has a quality metal clip with a durable spring. A bit puzzled at first with a purpose of that clip, I realized later how convenient it was to clip it inside of my jeans pocket with a smartphone connected to it in a pocket and with an easy access to headphone jack of Astrapi facing up.
Design.
As I mentioned already, Cozoy Astrapi is truly a jack of all trades being able to support external USB connection to a laptop/PC, USB OTG connection to Android phones, and Lightning connection to iDevices. Since I don't have any Apple devices, I'm just going to assume it will work as expected since I have verified it with two other connections where it worked flawlessly.
Starting with a connection to my laptop, there was a little hiccup until I realized that you can only use Astrapi with USB2.0 port. I verified it on 3 different laptops running WinXP, Win7, and Win8, and it was consistent where Astrapi wasn't recognized connected to USB3.0 port but worked without a problem connected to USB2.0. Also, due to internal DSP chip and some protocol handshaking (I assume), I experienced a 5 second plug'n'play delay once you connect the device. Since I have on-screen volume bar indicator enabled in my Thinkpad laptop, it was easy to see when connection was established once a volume bar came up on the screen indicating a new volume scale. The volume adjustment in Cozoy Astrapi is based on output gain level steps with 3dB/step for a total of 16 steps. And to make it even more interesting, once you raise the volume to the max level, HO output of Astrapi turns into LO which indicates that internal amp was disabled in favor of pure DAC output.
Using my various full size and IEM headphones for testing, I was very impressed with a sound improvement over my noisy laptop HO output where Astrapi exhibited a black background and clean sound with no static interference. I would consider sound signature to be nicely balanced with a great level of transparency. But one enhancement that made it stand out the most was the improved width/depth of the soundstage. The depth of staging was on the same level as E10k and FULLA, but Astrapi width was better than E10k though not as wide as FULLA. The improvement in retrieval of details was on the same level as E10k and A200p, while FULLA was still a bit ahead of competition. With Cozoy Astrapi you can also hear a sound gaining an extra layer of texture and improved layering/separation of instruments with some airiness effect. Connected to my laptop, I was able to use Astrapi as an external sound card which came very handy on one of my laptops where I have a broken HO jack. Even so I have other USB dac/amp devices, they are all too bulky while Astrapi felt like an extension to a cable.
Next was a pair up test with my Galaxy Note 4, something I was really looking forward to. Similar to connection with laptop, there is a slight delay when you connect Astrapi to micro-usb port of your smartphone. Right away it’s recognized with a notification message of “usb device connected”, but it takes about 15-20 seconds before it gets self configured and you hear a sound from Astrapi output. In parallel, I was still being able to use HO output of my Note 4, very convenient while switching back’n’forth for headphone sound comparison. Consistent with laptop performance, a sound opened up with a wider and deeper soundstage, a slightly better retrieval of details, and a more linear non-distorted performance as I raised volume to the max. Now keep in mind, I'm comparing it to the current Galaxy flagship phone, Note 4, which has an excellent sound performance to begin with even from HO. Thus a sound improvement, with an exception of staging, was only marginally better. This will be probably common with other brands flagship phones, but for majority of other people who use basic cheaper Android models or who use their older Android phones as DAP for streaming - Astrapi will introduce a higher margin of sound improvement. Even with Note 4 at the top of the volume level from HO a sound was getting distorted, but with Astrapi it was not an issue!
Where I found this DAC/amp to absolutely shine with a smartphone was when paired up with external amp. Without a single doubt in my mind, a synergy of Cozoy Astrapi with either C5 or E12A was significantly greater than paired up directly from HO of the phone. In addition to an improved and more 3D soundstage, the output power of external amp added more finesse to a sound, making it more balanced and enhanced across entire frequency range. Also, it improved the tonality, making it more organic and smoother. I didn't notice any difference when I raised phones volume to the max which supposed to put Astrapi in LO mode. Either way, I found the performance to be equally great at any volume level. Comparing to HiFimeDIY, which is Android only DAC, I found Astrapi sound performance with external amp to be on a similar level, though soundstage was better with Astrapi. Also, I found Astrapi micro-usb cable connection to be less finicky, while HiFimeDIY always gave me issues with disconnects.
FULLA, E10k, Astrapi, and HiFimeDIY
Overall, I was actually quite happy with a fact that Cozoy Astrapi turned out to be a jack of all trades. The convenience of this super slim and lightweight aluminum stick being able to work with any smartphone, iOS or Android, as well as Windows laptop - was simply priceless! There was no need to use any USB OTG adapters or splitters, no need to power it up with external battery, and no need to secure it with a rubber band to keep the micro-usb cable from moving or disconnecting - it was a simple plug'n'play, always recognized by my phone. The same with my laptop, no need to install any drivers or to configure anything - as long as you use USB2.0 port it was a simple plug'n'play. I have tested a number of usb dac/amp devices, and each one had its strength and weakness. None of these devices have an identical set of features where you can just focus on sound quality for direct comparison. Instead, some have analog volume controls while others gain switch and bass boost, some might have a dedicated LO while others support both USB and USB OTG, some might only work as USB dongle with laptop while others support both Android and iOS. Cozoy Astrapi had to sacrifice a lot of extra functionality in favor of a super small size that only has micro-usb and 3.5mm ports, and lower output power in order to be compatible with USB OTG without draining too much of smartphone battery. As a result, Cozoy was able to accomplish not just a "jack of all trades" device, but also a design which you can consider as a Swiss Army Knife of audio interface. It is a bit pricy at $129, but you are paying for compatibility with every phone and PC/laptop, a proprietary DSP design, and a footprint of the smallest device with external audio interface!
damn i just bought a pico slim too or else I would try this.
G1_enthusiast said:
damn i just bought a pico slim too or else I would try this.
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Astrapi is AWESOME!!! Highly recommend!!!
This is a Review of Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless Bluetooth headphones (M2 AEBT). http://en-us.sennheiser.com/momentum-wireless-headphones-with-mic , also available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SNI44CQ/
While waiting to receive my review unit of recently introduced Sennheiser Momentum 2 Wireless headphones, I was both excited and a bit concerned. Personally, I thought it was a risky move for Sennheiser to make a leap from a wired headphone world where they are a well known audiophile player and into a wireless universe dominated by products fueled with celebrity endorsements and exaggerated bass. Wireless Bluetooth technology has been maturing year after year, and now with BT4.x and aptX codec the performance of BT headphones have improved significantly with a sound being less compressed, more dynamic, and with a better transparency through a digital domain delivered to your headphones. But you still need to consider D/A conversion, amplification, and transport of analog signal to your headphone drivers. This fusion of digital wireless domain and analog driver tuning is the biggest challenge to tackle in order to deliver a transparent natural sound, something Sennheiser wired headphones are well known for. So, was Momentum 2 able to accomplish this wirelessly? You BETTER BELIEVE IT!!! Here is what I found.
Arrived in a sturdy cardboard box packaging, I had to pause for a second while looking at the cover picture. Even so it was a familiar image from my review of the original wired Momentum, I still took a moment to enjoy sexy lines of their design. Before opening the box, I usually like to take a tour around it to get acquainted with key features, list of accessories, design details, and technical spec data. Some of this info really stands out with key features of 22 hr battery life, BT + aptX support, NFC pairing, Active Noise Canceling (ANC), foldable design, wireless and wired connection, and 2 year warranty – quite an impressive list to get you excited for what awaits inside of the box. With a cover off, you will find a compact case made out of a soft material (kind of reminds me of suede texture) inside of a foam cutout, a familiar display setting I found with other Momentum models, though case material usually varies.
Unboxing.
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In addition to this soft touch case with a yellow stitching around the edges, other included accessories (all inside of the case) were a detachable audio cable, usb to micro-usb charging/data cable, a flight adapter, a soft draw-string pouch with headphones inside and the pouch placed in the case, and a comprehensive quick guide. Personally I prefer a more heavy duty hard shell case and eventually will look for one which shouldn’t be a problem to find since Momentum 2 has a foldable design, but I do have to admit this case looks really sweet with a yellow stitching matching the one used on leather headband. Audio cable has a right angled gold plated slim connector going to your audio source and 2.5mm twist-on connector going to earcup. This is the same connector used in the original wired Momentum, and my only comment here is that I would have liked to see some kind of an alignment marker so you know when connector is engaged and twisted correctly inside of earcup, but with a few tries you get used to it anyway.
Flight adapter is rather rare to see nowadays, but it also very appropriate since a lot of people use headphones with ANC during their travel, and sometimes you're required to turn off Bluetooth on a plane (putting your phone in airplane mode). Having a wired connection gives you the flexibility to use headphones when battery is low or when you don’t have access to Bluetooth or in a situation like an airplane. USB to micro-usb connector is obviously for charging, but there is also another undocumented feature which I’m going to talk about later in the review.
Accessories.
I already mentioned that unfolded Momentum 2 looks just like its original predecessor. You get the same stainless steel metal arc headband, split at the top, partially wrapped in premium leather with a dense foam padding inside and yellow stitching around the edges. Instead of a typical height adjustment mechanism and headphone yoke, you can slide the earcup up/down across a slit of exposed stainless steel headband sides. The sliding adjustment is very fluid and easily controlled with one hand without being too tight or too loose. The earcup itself is attached to a mounting pin and has a full 360deg pivoting rotation to adjust comfortably to the anatomy of your head and your ears. This adjustment mechanism has a pure German engineering quality written all over it, and at the same time it has a very fashionable modern-classic look. The wires from earcups going to headband are flexible and still have a heavy duty shielding. At the point of their entry to headband you will find 4 metal screws for additional security.
One of the most noticeable design changes introduced with Momentum 2 (both wired and wireless) has to be a foldable headband. Such mechanism is easy to implement with a traditional headband where you can design-in foldable hinges. Looks like Sennheiser decided to challenge themselves keeping the original design, making it look identical from outside, and adding a durable locking hinge on inside right at the point where leather band wrapping begins. This is another example of well executed German engineering - done with a slim hinge which is hardly noticeable from outside. The only comment I have here, you have to be careful when folding earcups in to make sure metal endpoints of the headband don't brush against leather earpads.
And speaking of earpads, you will be pleased to know these have been updated with a bigger opening in comparison to the original Momentum headphones. I never had issues with those original Momentum earpads, though my ears are just average and about 60mm in height. For me with original earpads it was tight but still comfortable. The new earpads are just perfect with an approximate opening of about 65mm in height, but that doesn't mean that 70-75mm ears won't fit in. The earpads are deep, with memory foam and a soft leather wrapping. According to a quick start guide, they are removable and replaceable, so it's definitely a big plus. The donut shape of earpads is not symmetrical where the thicker part is faced toward the back making fitment more comfortable. This also means that you can't flip left/right sides and always have to put headphones one way. The L/R marking is inside of the headband, right underneath of the hinges, and you also get 3 dimples on the outside of the left side at the folding edge, though I wish those dimples would be a little bigger for a “blind” id.
Looking closer at earcups, you will find the Left one having NFC pair up area and what appears to be a two microphone grills. A spec of M2 Wireless lists NoiseGard hybrid feature using 4 mics where I assume these are two of them. Right earcup is where you will find the actual controls. First of all you have a port for 2.5mm cable with twist-on lock, and also micro-usb port for charging and USB DAC input (more about it later). As a right handed person, I prefer cable attachment on the left side, but it’s not an issue moving forward since I’m planning to use these headphones mostly wireless. Right next to it you have another long microphone grill and 2 control buttons. One is a Power button (with led next to it) which also serves a purpose of initiating BT pair up once you hold it down. The other control has a spring-loaded rocking multifunction push button where you push it once for Play/Pause/Call and rock it up/down for a volume control. Furthermore, double and triple click while playing audio will trigger skip track next/prev, and double click and hold or triple click and hold will trigger a fast-forward/-back transport control. In idle, triple click informs you about battery status.
Design details.
Moving on to Bluetooth functionality of these new Momentum beauties, let me first start with a "digital" domain of the design. As it was mentioned before, Momentum 2 Wireless supports BT4.0 and aptX codec which is among the latest Bluetooth standards that enables high definition sound without lossy compression of the source. Pair up was effortless and headphones connected to phone and media audio without a problem. As an alternative you can also use NFC pair up. Keep in mind, with power on, ANC will be enabled automatically and you can’t disable it. Also, I had no issues making/receiving clear phone calls, though it was a bit of a new hearing experience considering ANC noise isolation.
Another way to connect to your source is wired, using detachable cable. With wired connection you have an option to use headphones in passive mode (with power off) or active mode (with power on). According to Momentum 2 spec, this will change input impedance (where btw, the packaging box has a typo so please refer to a spec on the web), thus you will be able to drive Momentum 2 wired with power off like a regular pair of cans, even with addition of external portable amp if you prefer to. With a power on, I would recommend direct connection without any external amping to avoid sound artifacts. I don’t know the exact chipset inside of these earcups, but once you turn the power on sound becomes wider/deeper, more textured and better balanced (especially when it comes to bass) - suggesting a high quality of internal DAC and maybe some amplification stage. Furthermore, with addition of ANC you will also hear a cleaner black background.
Now, here comes a total undocumented surprise! You can push Momentum 2 wired performance even further by using a direct USB connection to your smartphone or laptop/PC. Yes, in a typical fashion of USB OTG connection (to your smartphone) or USB DAC connection (to your computer) you can now bypass analog HO driven by low quality internal DACs inside of your phone or laptop. It’s hard to quantify the level of improvement since with some of the latest phones, like my Note 4, I find a lot of USB OTG DACs to offer only a marginal step up, but when it comes to laptops – you can expect a better wired sound through usb cable.
USB OTG / USB DAC functionality.
Before I proceed to a more detailed sound analysis, I want to bring up another key feature of these headphones – Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). I typically don’t require ANC in my everyday routine since I don’t take public transportation or work in a noisy environment. As a matter of fact, I probably wouldn’t even take these headphones outdoors. But I’m well aware that a lot of people rely on it during their daily activities and very serious about the quality of ANC implementation. I have briefly tested ANC offered by other headphones, and a lot of you probably will agree that Bose is at the top of that game, but I also found Momentum 2 Wireless to be not too far behind and sometimes even better than others (such as noisy hiss of Beats Wireless Studio). Personally, I was pleased with a quality of noise reduction implemented in Momentum 2, and found no annoying hissing or periodic pulsating white noise. There were some occasional bursts, but it happens rarely. I’m not going to carry on about these having the best ANC in the world, and in my opinion if this is your only top priority – Momentum 2 Wireless is not for you. But considering everything else these headphones have to offer and their outstanding performance, ANC implementation is just an icing on a cake!!! And just to be clear, ANC implementation in Momentum 2 Wireless doesn't feel like an afterthought feature added to make them look complete. This is actually a well functioning active noise cancellation!
So how do these sound? I tested them both wired and wireless, and found some interesting differences. As it was previously mentioned, in wired mode you have an option of passive mode (w/power off) and active mode (w/power on and ANC enabled). In passive mode the input impedance is 28 ohms and headphones function just like a regular wired set of cans which you can drive directly from HO of your audio source or through external amp. Even so stock OFC cable does its job well, I was testing these using Whiplash Modular Cable (Pure Silver Litz cable) with a custom 2.5mm connector that plugs right into earcup without a need for a twist-on lock.
Whiplash modular cable.
In this passive mode I found sound to be well balanced and with just slightly overwhelming mid-bass hump. What is interesting, the impact of this bass enhancement only comes out to play in the tracks with a strong 4x4 kick/bass drum, while it was hardly noticeable in mellow tracks. In general, wired passive mode is OK if you completely drained your battery, but I personally prefer to keep active mode always on. As soon as you turn on the power of active mode, you are greeted with an improved sound tuning and an expanded soundstage. One interesting phenomenon, most likely due to internal DAC, in active mode the input impedance goes up to 480 ohms (!!!), and it becomes quite noticeable since the volume drops and you need to compensate it from your source.
In active mode with a stock cable sound signature was close to a wireless mode performance. It was a very impressive comparison since this is a truly best audiophile quality wireless sound I heard to date. When I switched to Whiplash Pure Silver cable, level of detail retrieval went up and sound became just a little bit brighter and crispier. That was also expected and I was very pleased with a level of improvement using a custom cable. But for the sake of my testing, I will refer to how Momentum 2 sounds in a wireless mode of operation since I consider it to be the most important characteristics of these headphones.
So, overall I found Sennheiser Momentum 2 Wireless to have a balanced sound signature with a smooth warm organic tone and moderately enhanced bass.
Starting with a low end, you have a good extension down to a sub-bass layer which is smooth and well balanced with a mid-bass punch. The bass presence is excellent and builds a strong warm foundation without muddying the sound or overwhelming the rest of the frequency range. Also, it is well controlled without spilling too much into lower mids. The mid-bass hump I experienced in passive wired mode was completely gone and smoothed out as soon as you enter active mode.
Mids are warm and smooth, maybe just slightly recessed. They contribute to a full body sound starting with a thicker lower mids and going into a detailed lush of upper mids. Both male and female vocal delivery was very smooth and organic with an intimate feeling. Even though mids are warm and smooth, they still have an excellent retrieval of details without being harsh or analytically bright.
Treble is relaxed, detailed, organic, not too crisp or grainy and without any sign of sibilance. These are definitely great for extended listening period without ear fatigue. Some might perceive treble extension as a bit rolled off, but after a closer listening you realize that it's just a warm nature of the sound.
As I mentioned before, in passive mode soundstage was just average, controlled by your source, but once you put it in an active mode - soundstage expanded to a 3D depth and width with an amazing separation and layering of sounds.
Conclusion.
Overall, I know that wireless experience can vary depending on the make and the vintage of your phone or tablet, BT version and aptX support, Android vs Apple (where aptX is not even supported by iDevices), and perhaps your location due to surrounding that can interfere with a signal. But in my everyday use during a test period I experienced a flawless performance with a wireless sound quality that rivals some of the top wired headphones I’ve tested. Of course a big factor in sound quality has to do with a great job Sennheiser team done in tuning of these headphones to have a warm and natural full body sound that oozes with a high level of detail retrieval. When people think of wireless headphones, usually convenience of cutting a chord is at the top of their list. With Momentum 2 Wireless you don’t have to compromise a sound quality and can add it at the top of your priority list as well. On top of that Momentum 2 Wireless has a remarkable 22hrs battery life, a choice of wired or wireless connection, USB DAC support to connect to your smartphone or PC/laptop, very high quality build and comfortable fitment, convenience of foldable design, latest Bluetooth with aptX support and also NFC pairing, 2 year extended warranty, and of course a bonus of very capable Active Noise Cancellation making Momentum 2 Wireless a complete package with a great value even at its premium price.
smatree said:
seems great
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It's the BEST!!! Pure Sennheiser sound quality in BT wireless with aptX audio codec.
Great review.
Got two questions tho:
1. How can you tell that aptX mode is enabled and working. Is there any notification icon on Android device?
2. Is it possible for you to receive record your voice? I am heavy phone call and Lync/Skype/Hangous user and the quality of my voice is extremely important for me.
Thank you for a really good review.
These headphones are really really good, bought them during a 1 hour sale for around 360 bucks, money that I dont reaaaaally had for the moment but it turned out to be worth it .
1 question. In one of your pictures you have connected the phones to your computer via usb and it shows up as an input/output device, do you need to do something with the headphones to do that or?
sorcgsdf said:
Thank you for a really good review.
These headphones are really really good, bought them during a 1 hour sale for around 360 bucks, money that I dont reaaaaally had for the moment but it turned out to be worth it .
1 question. In one of your pictures you have connected the phones to your computer via usb and it shows up as an input/output device, do you need to do something with the headphones to do that or?
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You need to have the power on (so that internal usb dac is powered) and just connect it. If I remember correctly, it was recognized by Win7 as is.
I know this is pretty old, but I came here from google looking for info and your review its much better than browsing 200 pages of head-fi.
thanks for it, appreciated.
Headphones
The best headsets under Rs.1000 is definitely the Boat Rockerz 510. It comes with an exceptional build quality and marvellous sound perfect for Gaming. It is designed specially to run for long hours. I bought these headsets from VPLAK as they offered me the headsets at a much reasonable rate compared to other websites.
Insanely good review! This is how all reviews should be!
I can add to your excellent review that trying to connect the Momentum 2 AEBT to the Sennheiser Smart Control app is a friggin' mega-pain.. (if even possible). I can connect them to my phone without any problems at all, but it's impossible to get the sennheiser app to find any device AT ALL.. tried everything and the app just won't find my headphones. I have followed every guide, checked compatibility with my phone and still no success. I have seen that some people even reinstalled the app 10 times before they got it working..
Exanimus said:
Insanely good review! This is how all reviews should be!
I can add to your excellent review that trying to connect the Momentum 2 AEBT to the Sennheiser Smart Control app is a friggin' mega-pain.. (if even possible). I can connect them to my phone without any problems at all, but it's impossible to get the sennheiser app to find any device AT ALL.. tried everything and the app just won't find my headphones. I have followed every guide, checked compatibility with my phone and still no success. I have seen that some people even reinstalled the app 10 times before they got it working..
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Thanks! I shared this review 7 years ago which considered to be ancient I moved on to review high end audiophile equipment on Head-fi years ago as well as mirroring everything between Head-fi and my own review site.
If you don't need ANC and ok with TWS earphones, my favorite is still Hiby WH2 (DD version). Was the first pair of TWS to feature LDAC last year, even before Sony introduced it in their wf-1000xm4, not to mention it cost 1/3 of WFs.
Review of LH Labs GeekOut 450 & 100 USB DAC (Android support) with lots of pics!!!
This is a Review of LH Labs GeekOut 450 and GeekOut 100 portable High-Res usb DACs. http://marketplace.lhlabs.com/collections/portable-audio, available on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Geek-Out-IEM-100-Headphone/dp/B00NAJ450Y/ and http://www.amazon.com/Geek-Out-450-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00JD0CQ6E/
I thought I was done with my round of portable USB DAC reviews until I got contacted by LH Labs to check out their GeekOut series of portable hi-res DACs. Formed back in 2010 (under Light Harmonics name), LH Labs is well known and highly respected in audiophile world, and I was excited to release my inner-Geek Out-to-play with this new toy! After my recent series of reviews where I looked at half a dozen of different USB DAC models, I came to a conclusion that most of them have a lot of similarities in sound quality, and the biggest difference was mostly in extra features and exterior design details. Don’t get me wrong, they don’t sound exactly the same, but none of them made me go “Wow!” like I experienced it the first time I plugged my headphones into GeekOut 450.
Even so GeekOut was crowdfunded (a very successful campaign), Light Harmonics Lab team is not novice and has a lot of other popular audio products behind their belt. From their famous Da Vinci USB DAC which pushed boundaries of 32bit 384kHz audio resolution to a number of other successful crowdsourcing campaigns with Pulse series DAC/headphone amp and the upcoming GeekWave DAP – they try to appeal to serious audiophile listeners who understand the meaning of high quality audio. The challenge with GeekOut was to encapsulate this high-res performance inside of a small portable USB DAC you can plug into your laptop or desktop and use as an external soundcard on the go. As a result you still have access to a very powerful ESS9018K2M DAC supporting 32b/384kHz sample rate and DSD playback which you can take anywhere with you in a pocket. But the most impressive result – they made this technology portable and affordable to get everyone’s attention, not just hardcore audiophiles. Due to design similarities between different GeekOut flavors, I will go into more details about GO450 and GO100 differences in sound analysis section, while the rest of the review will refer to them as GeekOut (or GO). So, let’s take a closer look at what I have found.
Arrived in a rather small packaging, you know right away you’re dealing with a portable powerhouse while looking at the box suited to fit a pair of sunglasses. It looks like the GO450 packaging had universal intention since there was a picture of GO100, GO450, and GO1000, including corresponding max power specs. GO100 packaging also had GO720 included in the list, quite understandable considering variety of GeekOut versions and logistics to use a common packaging, though each unit comes in a distinctive color where I received GO450 in silver and GO100 in black.
Unboxing GO450/100.
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You are not going to find a large variety of accessories included with this product, only a short usb extension cable and a small storage draw string bag. Since GeekOut plugs directly into usb port of your computer, to prevent interference with other adjacent devices, usb extension cable is very convenient. But after my extensive testing, I actually found it to take an edge off the sound quality making audio a shade darker and a bit narrower in soundstage. I don’t think it’s just a quality of the cable since I also tested and found the same consistent results with GO and DragonTail extension cable. I’m used to dealing with headphone replacement cables for analog audio signal, but when it comes to high res audio and sampling of digital high bit-rate signal, degradation of the digital waveform will have a negative effect on sound quality as well. For the best audio performance results, I would strongly recommend connecting and using GeekOut directly from your computer.
Accessories GO450/100
For a device with an impressive power spec, GeekOut actually has a very small footprint with dimensions of approximately 65mm x 35mm x 12mm (smaller than a deck of cards), and weight of about 35g. The first thing you notice is all aluminum enclosure with aircraft quality T6061 hardening alloy. The build is solid and it looks slick, but the main intent of the aluminum alloy enclosure is for heat dissipation since you can expect its DAC and Class A amplifier to run hot. The rectangular footprint of GO has full size usb connector on one end and dual 3.5mm output on the other end. You can connect headphones to both of these ports and control output volume simultaneously right from your computer. The difference between these ports is one having 0.47 ohm output impedance and the other one with 47 ohm output impedance, mentioned as Line Out in some references though it doesn’t function like a traditional LO set to a fixed max volume. Personally, I had no issues using either of these headphone ports, but expect different output loudness level due to impedance difference. As a matter of fact, for a better volume resolution 47 ohm output works great with higher sensitivity headphones so they don’t get too loud at low volume level.
There are also 7 LEDs on the top of the unit, partitioned in two groups of 4 LEDs (3D, 2x, 4x, 8x) and 3 LEDs (44.1k, 48k, DSD) corresponding to sample rates. Furthermore, there are 2 buttons on the side – a bit loose with not much of tactile response, but still usable. To be honest, I found these LEDs and button control to be a bit confusing, especially reading some old posts from people referencing early firmware functionality where buttons were used for volume control and later where buttons were suppose to change between Time Comprehension Mode (TCM) and Frequency Response Mode (FRM) digital filter modes. There is also mentioning of 3D “Awesomifier” mode which I assume 3D led refers to, though it didn’t lit up for me. The bottom line, 3 LEDs indicating a playback sample rate are straight forward and quite informative. Regarding other 4 LEDs – I wouldn’t even care and just leave it as is. Upon power up the sound is already 3D and sounds “awesomified” to me!
Design details GO450/100
Connection and pair up with a laptop was straight forward, though the first time it’s not a typical plug’n’play and you do need to manually download and install drivers from LH Labs website. The same goes for additional drivers required for Foobar2k setup to play high resolution lossless files. I don’t have too many DSD files in my collection and only use a few with my portable DAPs for testing. Even so I got all the necessary drivers for Foobar2k setup, I still had no luck playing DSD (issue related to my laptop setup), but no issues otherwise with high-res FLACs.
After the initial driver install and setup, GeekOut was recognized instantaneously every time I plugged it in. Also, as expected, unit got rather hot even after a short period of operation. The aluminum case worked great as a heatsink, but you do have to be aware not to touch the case. This also brings me to another very important point regarding usb-cable extension. When GeekOut is plugged into your laptop or computer USB directly, it’s fixed with surface being “air-cooled”. Once you connect it through usb cable, it dangles down and comes in a contact with a surface while being hot. This just reinforces my previous point about trying to use GeekOut connected directly to your computer.
Laptop/PC connection GO450/100
When it comes to Smartphone connection, not too many vendors are willing to list it as a supported feature. It will be challenging to guarantee compatibility of every combination with different hardware setups and OS versions. Another factor to keep in mind, GeekOut USB DAC is very power hungry, drawing close to 0.7A from USB port, and a lot of smartphones won’t be able to support that. With USB OTG connection you bypass internal DAC and go straight with a digital audio over USB. Some less powerful USB DACs support it directly with OTG cable, while others require USB OTG hub with an additional power input to bring in external portable battery. With my Note 4, Verizon pushed Lollipop (Android 5.01) update to my phone the day before I received GeekOut. Even so I was skeptical, I still decided to plug in GeekOut to my phone through a cheap USB OTG adapter, and discovered that IT WORKS!!! There was no need to use any external battery or USB hub, and I was able to play audio from any app. Although I do realize it puts a toll on my phone’s battery while draining it at higher rate, a mere fact that I plugged it into my Note 4 was a miracle to me!!!
Smartphone connection GO450/100
At this point, I covered enough about design and hardware build and pair up with your computer and even smartphone. Plenty of other USB DACs I have reviewed are capable to do this, but NONE can sound as good as GeekOut. Period! It is not a matter of sounding just a little bit better; we are talking about a noticeable difference! I started my sound test with GeekOut 450 since I figured 450mW is plenty of power to cover all of my full size and IEM headphone needs. Turned out it was actually a bit too much power from 0.47 ohm output, so I switched to 47 ohm output which due to higher output impedance has lower output power.
The first thing you notice once you start playing music is soundstage expansion (width/depth) full of airiness and very impressive layering/separation of instruments and vocals with nearly 3D placement. I was impressed with how natural this 3D soundstage felt. I heard some 3D effects in the past and they always felt artificial to my ears, but not in case of GeekOut. A sound was very dynamic, musical, and exciting, with a great extension at both low end and top end of the spectrum. Also, output had quite an impressive black background. Of course, you need a quality pair of headphones to appreciate what GeekOut has to offer, and in my case I'm still rocking a high-res ATH-MSR7 which paired up really well with GO. I didn't even realize MSR7 was capable of such an impressive bass clarity and articulation, with organic full body mids having plenty of revealing details, and extended treble with sparkle of analytical quality without being sibilant or grainy. None of my other audio hardware sources were able to bring out all that in MSR7 before. It was quite an impressive non-fatigue listening experience that was equally engaging from either my ThinkPad laptop or Galaxy Note 4 smartphone.
I know that smartphone support is still "unofficial", but that was the most pleasant surprise to me since in my previous experience with other USB DACs supporting USB OTG the improvement was very marginal. When it comes to my laptop, any "usb stick" sound card will improve the sound. With Galaxy Note 4, Samsung done a pretty good job with a sound quality and in most of my previous reviews I mentioned that improvement was very marginal. Using GeekOut - soundstage improvement really jumped out with my Note 4, and the sound became more dynamic and more exciting. 3D soundstage expansion was especially great since I enjoy watching Netflix on my phone.
All these sound improvements are applicable to GeekOut 100 as well, but GO100 version has another secret weapon under its hood. Beside the obvious reduction in output power down to 100mW (which is still plenty for a lot of headphones), it's actually designed for a more sensitive headphones. So in addition to expanding a dynamic range of volume control where you don't have to blow your ears with volume setting at 5 clicks, you also get a significant background hiss reduction. For example, I'm usually careful with my pair of ATH-IM50 due to higher sensitivity and consequent background hissing. With GO100 I wouldn't say that background hissing was completely gone, but it was noticeable reduced!
I did mention that I found GeekOut sound quality to be better than other USB DACs I reviewed in the past. Of course, such statement is based on a relative comparison, and my own preference, and my specific headphones. YMMV, but without a single doubt in my mind the improvement is definitely there.
FULLA, GO450, GO100, DragonFly, Astrapi, dSp, E10k
I will not go into a detailed comparison of each and every USB DAC, but do want to mention the improvement was consistent with GO sound being more resolving, with a better retrieval of details, being a touch brighter (might not be everyone’s cup of tea if you prefer other DACs like DragonFly or E10k with a warmer/smoother sound sig), definitely more airiness in the sound with a better layering and separation of instruments (FULLA is no slouch in that department, but still can’t reach GO level), and 3D soundstage that stands out above its competition (even Astrapi couldn’t reach the same level of depth). I do have to admit, GO runs hotter than competition and cost more, but improved performance justifies the cost. Also, there are other DACs that integrate with Smartphones (dSp and Astrapi) through USB OTG and will be more appropriate to rubber-band to your phone for a portable use. GO works flawlessly with a smartphone, but I wouldn’t attach it to my phone/case due to overheating. But for a desktop use, turning your Smartphone into a quality DAP capable of playing and streaming high res audio – it works quite well. Just remember to keep your phone battery in check since a drain going to be higher than other “lightweight” USB DACs. Perhaps, usb hub with a separate power input would make sense in this case.
Overall, let me start my Conclusion with: If GeekOut can transform my laptop and smartphone into such high quality audio source - I can’t wait to see and to hear how GeekWave is going to sound!!! Based purely on a sound quality, I found GeekOut to be superior to other USB DACs I’ve tested so far. Also, the flexibility of being able to use it with your laptop/PC/MAC and Smartphone (through USB OTG adapter and with Lollipop update) is priceless. You can pick and choose the exact flavor of GeekOut USB DAC you need based on your power requirements, though in my opinion 450 hits a sweet spot in the middle for most of the full size and IEM headphones designed around “portable use” impedance. If background hissing drives you crazy with your sensitive headphones, GeekOut 100 will be a cure for that headache. Would I say it’s a “must have” product for everybody? Not really, since there are other alternatives that run cooler and have smaller footprint. But if you demand the best sound quality from your portable USB DAC, I can’t think of any other portable USB DAC (relative to what I have tested) that can match its sonic performance.
This is a Review of Oppo HA-2 portable headphone amplifier and DAC with USB OTG support. http://www.oppodigital.com/headphone-amplifier-ha-2/
I have been preaching in a number of my portable amplifier reviews that many people get these amps for a wrong reason. Instead of using them with high impedance cans (or earbuds), or driving low sensitivity and less efficient headphones, or applying them to extend battery life of your source (lowering source volume while boosting amp) – people want their portable audio setup to look cool with a small amplifier strapped to the back of a DAP or a smartphone. When it comes to Oppo latest HA-2 portable amp – forget about anything I said, and just look for any excuse to use this slick little audio gadget!!!
In my recently published PM-3 review, I referred to these latest Oppo products as a “dynamic duo” because their synergy is fantastic. But it would be a one-trick-pony to use only for that functionality. When you look at HA-2 spec, you can see it’s not only a portable headphone amplifier, but also a high quality ESS Sabre Reference DAC compatible with PCs and MACs, and USB OTG DAC compatible with Android phones, as well as iOS. Plus, in addition to having a high capacity battery for its own internal power up, it can be used as external battery charger for your smartphone. The list of features and technical spec behind it is very impressive, but just like with PM-3 – design details overshadow everything. Now, before anybody jumps into conclusion that I’m shallow when it comes to audio gear, let me go into a more detailed write-up to describe the brains behind this beauty.
Unlike a formally dressed gift box packaging found with PM-3, here Oppo changed its strategy with an eye popping 3D artwork on the front and the side. You also get bold highlights of all the main features, a very detailed spec, and what appears to be a quick start guide describing every port and every supported connection. The “gift box” is still there, but now it’s wrapped in a packaging sleeve with all this info on the cover. I think the idea of such quick-start guide is really interesting where you don’t have to go digging for manuals and can just look it up fast by flipping over the packaging box.
Once the box is out of the sleeve and the cover it off, you can see a tray with leather wrapped HA-2 and a brushed aluminum top with a volume pot. Underneath of this tray you will find documentation and the wall charger with another flap under documentation to reveal included cables. This particular unboxing experience is nothing short of unpacking a… smartphone! You get a smartphone shaped super-slim HA-2, a wall charger and cables – no surprises here since Oppo is also behind a lineup of popular smartphones.
Unboxing.
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Looking closer into the included accessories you will find a wall charger with a heavy duty premium (low gauge wire) cable, a short LO 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio interconnect for an analog audio input from a source, a digital micro-usb to micro-usb OTG short cable for a direct connection to Android phones, a full size usb to lightning connection for iPhone/iPad, and a pair of rubber bands to strap HA-2 to your source. USB OTG cable is great and very convenient to use without a need for OTG adapters, but I wish they would include one with right angle connectors. Just think about it, usb connection is at the bottom while HO is at the top, so when smartphone/HA-2 stack is in your pocket it will be sitting on the cable/connector. Though right angle usb otg cables are available on eBay (just ordered one now), I wish Oppo would offer a shorter version of their own which I’m sure will be a higher quality. Since I have Apple-free household, I didn’t test lightning cable but aware this one doesn’t require a camera kit.
So how about that wall charger and a stiff usb cable? This is a great example of tech collaboration under Oppo umbrella. VOOC rapid charge technology was already introduced in Oppo smartphones where it’s backward compatible to source a typical 5V @2A power or accelerated charging with 5V @5A in devices that support it. Though the industry standard now is leaning more toward Qualcomm QC2.0 for rapid smartphone charging where output voltage switches to 9V or 12V depending on the device, Oppo is pushing their own standard. VOOC rapid charger cuts down time significantly where HA-2 3000 mAh battery gets charged fully in 90min, but HA-2 is still backward compatible to use with any smartphone 5V/2A charger. To support high current, HA-2 usb cable uses low gauge thicker wire and a custom crafted micro-usb connector. The only negative here is once you get spoiled by its fast charging and if something breaks, you have to buy genuine Oppo replacement, since I wouldn’t trust anything else from ebay. But like I said, it’s not a showstopper because it’s backward compatible with any standard charger.
Accessories.
Moving on to a design, I can’t help but to continue using “smartphone” reference in HA-2 description, undeniably with iPhone inspiration. With dimensions of 68 x 137 x 12 mm and at 175g this is definitely in a territory of slim smartphone footprint. The first thing you notice when looking at HA-2 is the leather-wrapped exterior with a neat white stitching around it. Obviously, the leather material is not stitched to a metal, but it creates a premium effect and a feeling of an expensive gear in your hand. You probably going to call me crazy, but I have mixed feelings about the leather. It looks like a million bucks in standalone application, and you don’t have to worry about your DAP rubbing against HA-2 surface, but it also means that you can’t apply Velcro to the back or to apply re-usable 3M double-sided sticky strips. I love the look of HA-2 wrapped in leather, but a part of me wants to feel an even thinner and lighter all brushed aluminum surface of this amp/DAC.
Leather wrap aside, all the controls occupy the top, the bottom, and one open side of this device. At the top you have a shared Line Out and Audio In 3.5mm port, and Headphone Out 3.5mm port. Everything is clearly labeled and has a letter code next to the port (more about it later). In the corner recessed you will find an analog volume potentiometer with a nice turn resistance preventing from accidental volume bump, while still allowing turning it with a swipe of a thumb. As you twist to turn it on, you are greeted with a soft green led light to indicate the power on and to give you some visual of the level in the dark. This knob is part of a dual volume control where the volume in ESS Sabra DAC gets mapped to a digital volume of your device and you can further adjust it with a pot to give you more control.
On a side you have H/L Gain switch, where High gain is capable of driving 300mW into 16 ohm load, while switching to Low gain will be more appropriate for sensitive IEMs. Between gain setting and dual volume control, you have a lot of flexibility to drive nearly every type of headphones. Before I go any further, I have to talk about one feature which I haven't seen anywhere else. Gain switch has a volume mute/fade-in functionality which is simply BRILLIANT!!! How many times have you switched from low to high gain while forgetting to turn down the volume? Here after the switch you get a short sound mute followed by a fade in effect to slightly delay a full blast of high gain power - just enough to give you a few seconds to react by either turning the volume down or ripping those headphones off your head. Hard to imagine nobody else thought of something like this before.
Above gain control you have Bass boost which affects both sub-bass and miss-bass frequencies. This worked great with EL-8C headphones to warm up their sound, but was a bit overwhelming with PM-3, unless you are a certified basshead. Either way, it’s an option to experiment with different headphones. Even so I’m fully Android vested, I do know these Gain and Bass boost sliding switches have a lot of resemblance with iPhone volume/mute button. Above the switches you have a power check button which triggers 4 green led segments (in 25% increments) to show the battery health. If you press and hold it down, it will trigger to lit up the fifth blue led to start charging externally connected device. Battery life is quite impressive with 12+ hours of use as analog amp and almost 7 hours of use as a digital DAC/amp.
The bottom of the device has full size usb port labeled with “A” (for Apple) where you attach cable with lightning connector tip to pair up with your iOS devices, and micro-usb port with “B” label for USB OTG cable for your Android phone pair up or connection to PC/MAC for use as USB DAC. For the reference, Audio In on the top had “C” label, while Line Out has A/B label indicating DAC output from either your smartphone or computer digital audio sources. All this ties up to A/B/C switch located at the bottom which selects functionality and input/output of HA-2. If you want to connect to Apple device, switch to A and connect corresponding cable to A-port. If you want Android or USB DAC functionality – switch it to B-port. If you want a straight analog in/out amplifier – switch it to C. It takes a few minutes to get used to it, and afterwards it becomes second nature.
I just wish there would be an implementation of transport control buttons to Play/Pause and Skip, similar to A200p or E18.
Design.
Once I got familiar with all the ports, controls, switches, I couldn’t wait to pair it up with my Galaxy Note 4. There is no need for any USB OTG adapter to connect to your smartphone; using the included short micro-usb to micro-usb cable is all that needed to connect HA-2. I assume the cable already has internally shorted (pin 4 to pin 5) connection to enable OTG host interface on your phone. As I mentioned before, my only wish here is to have right angle connectors to avoid arching of the cable and making it more uncomfortable when placing in your pocket. Other than that, everything worked flawlessly and I had a dual volume control to adjust from my phone and from HA-2 volume knob.
While you can drive PM-3 from my Galaxy Note 4, there is not enough power to drive it with authority to bring Oppo planar magnetic headphones sound to their full potential. Paired up with HA-2, I found bass to sound more articulate, tighter, especially mid-bass being faster and punchier. Mids sound improved with more clarity and better retrieval of details, and I also noticed an improvement in treble extension with more airiness in sound. Direct connection of PM-3 to Note 4 is convenient since I don’t need to carry an external DAC/amp, but once you hear how much better PM-3 sounds with HA-2 – there is no going back.
Keep in mind, while paired up with your smartphone, HA-2 should be drawing its power from the internal battery rather than your phone. And if your phone is running low on juice you can use HA-2 to charge it up. Just attach full size USB to port A while selecting A-port switch, and hold'n'press Power check button until blue led light turns on - now you are ready to charge your phone!
Smartphone pair-up/charging.
In addition to pair up with a smartphone, HA-2 can also be used as an external usb audio interface with your laptop/PC/MAC. To get it recognized, you do need to install drivers for your machine by visiting and following directions in: http://oppodigital.com/headphone-amplifier-ha-2/headphone-amplifier-HA-2-Support.aspx - keep in mind, only Windows users need to install the driver, while no driver is required to use with MAC and obviously no additional driver requires for iOS or Android. Once drivers are installed, HA-2 was recognized right away BUT it only worked from USB2.0 port of my ThinkPad T430s w/Win7, USB3.0 port wasn’t recognized. I found this limitation with a few other usb DACs I tested in the past, so just want others to be aware of it.
With a digital input, from either your computer USB port or smartphone micro-usb port, sound is being processed through a mobile version of ESS Sabre 32bit Reference ES9018-K2M DAC. This particular DAC is advanced enough to support PCM sampling frequencies of 44.1 kHz to 384 kHz, with a bit depth of 16/24/32-bits, and also DSD sampling frequencies of 2.8224 MHz (DSD64), 5.6448 MHz (DSD128), 11.2896 MHz (DSD256, native mode only). For some people spec numbers don’t mean much and you just care about end results, but in general a support of all these sampling frequencies up to a high level of lossless format means that a sound is not going to be internally down-sampled, keeping the original bit depth resolution and bandwidth of frequency content.
Paired up with my laptop and tested with PM-3, the sound quality improved significantly in comparison to stock HO and built-in audio chip. I experienced a smooth detailed tight sound with an improved dynamics, and also enjoyed the benefit of external volume control accessible right from HA-2. In comparison, GeekOut 450 offered a deeper bass extension, more mid-bass punch, slightly less details in mids, and less treble extension (noticeable in slightly reduced airiness). I was actually a bit surprised that sound quality of GO450 in comparison to HA-2 was a bit less refined and even a touch more veiled when connected to my laptop. With DragonFly, low end was also a bit elevated, while mids came closer to the level of detail retrieval though a bit darker. Actually, DF pair up with my laptop and PM-3 was not bad at all, just smoother and warmer in comparison to HA-2. Last but not least, pair up with FULLA made mid-bass a little more punchier, mids a little darker and smoother, and a little less detailed. Now keep in mind, all of these USB DACs are among my favorites, and comments above are just to describe a relative difference.
Since I already jumped into sound analysis with my comparison above between different USB DACs and with laptop and smartphone, let me step back and talk more about HA-2 sound quality based on its amplifier section without DAC in the loop (audio input driven from Line Out of my DAPs). The spec of HA-2 is very impressive with 1 Vrms audio-in and line-out, low HO output impedance of only 0.5 ohms, and being able to drive headphones up to 300 ohms. Also, output power (per max high gain setting) scales down from 300 mW @ 16 ohm to 220 mW @ 32 ohm and 30 mW @ 300 ohm which was still enough to drive 470 ohm R70x with authority.
In my testing I was using Cayin N6 as a Line Out source and noticed a common thread with different headphones where HA-2 was making sound smoother without any added coloration, just smooth and transparent with a noticeable improvement of detail retrieval. A soundstage width and depth wasn’t significantly affected, just remained average and similar to a source. Also, I wouldn’t call HA-2 having a perfect 100% black background, and I did hear a little bit of hissing with some of my sensitive IEMs.
In my personal experience it’s usually not easy to describe amplifier sound because it’s a function of headphones sound sig and a source driving it. Instead, it makes sense to describe it in a comparison to other amplifiers using the same source and headphone reference. That’s what I would like to do in my description below using N6 as a source and comparing HO vs pair up with Cayin C5 amp, FiiO E12A amp, and HA-2.
With PM-3:
- N6: has less aggressive bass, a bit smoother, clear/detailed mids, treble is moderately extended (thought with some roll off), not as airy.
- N6/C5: excellent pair up, deep articulate bass, more clarity/details in mids, a little more airiness in treble, soundstage gets more 3D with improved width/depth, and also improvement in separation and imaging.
- N6/E12A: very similar improvement as with C5 (more articulate bass, more clarity and better retrieval of details), but soundstage is not as wide/deep as C5.
- N6/HA-2: bass doesn't get deeper, but becomes tighter and more articulate with a better definition. Mids are more detailed but still remain smooth; treble extension improves and becomes a touch more airy. This is a perfect example of transparent sound improvement without changing the original sound and still showing a step up in detail retrieval.
With EL-8C:
- N6: bright mid-forward revealing sound, tight punchy bass without too much slam, bright detailed mids with a touch of metallic sheen, great crunchy airy treble.
- N6/C5: improved sub-bass extension, more punch in the mid-bass, detailed bright thinner mids, more pronounced mid-forward signature, and improved 3D staging.
- N6/E12A: same improvement as C5 minus soundstage expansion.
- N6/HA-2: bass is still tight and punchy and a little smoother, no longer sensing a metallic sheen in upper mids, definitely adds smoothness without taking away details. A bass boost adds more body to a sound, making it more balanced.
I found HA-2 to pair up very nicely with planar magnetic headphones, but it worked well with some other headphones in my collection.
ATH-R70x - smooth detailed transparent sound, drives these 470 ohm open back cans with an authority and I didn’t even have to switch HA-2 to a high gain.
ATH-MSR7 - tightens up the low end, makes upper mids smoother, sound is still detailed but a touch less harsh, a typical HA-2 improvement in making headphones sound smoother.
A83 - improves bass extension, and smoothes out upper mids without losing retrieval of details.
W60/UMPro50 - tightens the bass and improves retrieval of details in upper mids, while sound remains Westone-smooth.
Conclusion.
When it comes to HA-2, I was serious when I said you will be looking for any excuse to use this portable DAC/amp even on occasions when you don’t need an amp! HA-2 offers a unique combination of a fine crafted design with a high quality build, excellent ergonomics of controls including cleverly placed volume pot, and swiss-army knife functionality to use it as USB DAC connected to your PC/MAC or paired up with your iOS/Android phone or used as an external DAC (with Line Out output) or analog standalone portable amplifier. If that is not enough, you can use it as an external battery to charge your smartphone. And to top it all, it actually sounds very good with a smooth transparent detailed signature and plenty of juice to drive even some of the most demanding headphones. One might argue that often people use external amplifier to color/change a sound, and in that regard I found HA-2 to be on a safe side offering more subtle change. Maybe HA-2 is not the best sounding DAC/amp I ever heard (though definitely in the top), but I can safely say it’s the most versatile and the best looking portable DAC/amp I have tested to date.
Ha-2se + ath-msr7
Hello there, I am considering HA-2SE together with ATH-MSR7. Could you recomend this combo? Is volume knob well sensitive with MSR7? Is there any channel imbalance? Did you heard backgroud hiss together MSR7? I am looking for DAC+AMP for MSR7 featuring USB input and either optical in or line in. Thank you for comments. Tomas
likvido said:
Hello there, I am considering HA-2SE together with ATH-MSR7. Could you recomend this combo? Is volume knob well sensitive with MSR7? Is there any channel imbalance? Did you heard backgroud hiss together MSR7? I am looking for DAC+AMP for MSR7 featuring USB input and either optical in or line in. Thank you for comments. Tomas
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MSR7 is not sensitive so shouldn't worry about hissing, and HA2 is pretty quiet to begin with, and volume range should be adequate. Honestly, never came across channel imbalance with full size cans, only IEMs if they are improperly tuned. If I hear, or measure, channel imbalance - they go right back to manufacture for retuning cause that's not a normal behavior.
Though HA-2 can drive ATH-R70x quite loud, but the quality will still be better when drive by those amp with enough voltage and power.
I also using this combination for a week, but after tested the sound using HA-2 Amp and Line out to iFi ican micro se, the different make me pull the trigger.