Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[DarkPenguin]

Anyone have one of these?

http://www.jdslabs.com/item.php?fetchitem=cMoyBB203

I just want a wee bit more oomph for my headphones than my iphone or walkman can deliver...

[mwillems]

I didn't have that specific CMOY, but I had a similar CMOY for a while, and listened to a few other CMOY designs as well.  They all definitely provided more volume, but I wasn't thrilled with the sound quality overall, especially when driving them from portable sources.  The amplification was not particularly "clean."  I used my CMOY for about a year and then replaced it with a Fiio E7, which is similarly priced to the CMOY you're looking at. 

I found the E7 to have better sound quality and to be more functional (it has a rechargeable battery with a long life, and is also a moderately nice DAC).  It was exhaustively measured over here: http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/05/fiio-e7-usb-dac-amp.html.  I've since moved on from the E7 for home listening, but my replacement is in another price range entirely, and I still use the E7 at work.  For the money, I'd certainly recommend an E7 for a portable headphone amp (with some bonus functionality).

The CMOY you're looking at looks a little more sophisticated than the one I was using (and costs a bit more), so it may have improved sound quality, but you've got my two cents ;-)

[InflatableMouse]

I got the Zigis.

I had a German brand before that, triple the price and sounded much worse. The Zigis sounds really good and can go very loud if thats your thing.

[mwillems]

I got the Zigis.

I had a German brand before that, triple the price and sounded much worse. The Zigis sounds really good and can go very loud if thats your thing.

Not to de-rail, but do you happen to know what kind of gain that Zigis can apply, or what the output power of is at 32 Or 16 Ohms?  It looks really cool, and if it can put out a watt or more, I may have a use for it :-)

[InflatableMouse]

I really haven't got a clue. It can work with a 9V battery or (in my case) on an adapter up to 24v but I think I have it set to 12v. And it really is just a cheap plastic case with the PCB in it.

On that ebay link you can see the PCB and zoom in on it, maybe you can learn something from it?

I do have a multimeter if that helps? .

[mwillems]

I really haven't got a clue. It can work with a 9V battery or (in my case) on an adapter up to 24v but I think I have it set to 12v. And it really is just a cheap plastic case with the PCB in it.

On that ebay link you can see the PCB and zoom in on it, maybe you can learn something from it?

I do have a multimeter if that helps? .

I don't know enough to really figure it out from the board, unfortunately, but I have a friend that does. Thanks for the measurement offer, but I'll just needle my EE acquaintance about it :-). 

I asked because the ad copy says it will "easily drive" 600 Ohm headphones, which suggests the power output at the lower ohm range is probably intense (assuming that's not just marketing).  I have a pair of High Frequency drivers that are almost as sensitive as some of the least sensitive headphones, which I'm currently running from a headphone amp.  So I'm always on the look out for high powered headphone amps that are reasonably priced.

[DarkPenguin]

So this thing?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A9LHLQ6

The price isn't bad.  The DAC could be interesting.  I'm not sure if it is a regular USB interface or not.  Doesn't matter since I have an HRT for most of my DAC needs.

OTOH the Altoids box design is way neat...

Thanks for the input.

[mwillems]

So this thing?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A9LHLQ6

The price isn't bad.  The DAC could be interesting.  I'm not sure if it is a regular USB interface or not.  Doesn't matter since I have an HRT for most of my DAC needs.

OTOH the Altoids box design is way neat...

Thanks for the input.

The one you linked to is an upgraded version of the one I have, which is the plain old E7 (no "K").  I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "regular usb interface."  The plain E7 has a standard mini usb input and requires no drivers (i.e. is fully USB compliant). 

It's not asynchronous, if that's what you mean, but the testing link I posted above explores the jitter issue a bit (with a generally positive verdict).