This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the JDS Labs Atom Amp 2 headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $129.
The solid metal case makes an instant impression, erasing memories of the plastic case of the previous generation. A white LED surrounds the volume control giving it a nice touch. While 4.4 mm headphone output is provided, note that it is not "balanced" (differential). So it is for convenience, not more power. An input selector lets you choose between RCA and 3.5mm inputs:
Typical of other JDS products, it comes with the AC transformer which gets a bit warm.
JDS Atom Amp 2 Measurements
Let's feed the amp 2 volts and measure 2 volts out into 600 ohm load:
Very nice! Distortion is vanishingly low leaving us noise to dominate SINAD, easily landing the Atom 2 into our top 20 best headphone amps ever tested:
While noise dominates SINAD, it is still exceptionally low resulting in superb signal to noise ratios:
No worries here driving very sensitive IEMs.
Frequency response is flat and seemingly goes forever:
Multitone shows the excellently low distortion:
As does our THD+N vs frequency:
While not a nuclear power plant, there is plenty of clean power to drive just about any headphone:
And compliant with the spec as well.
Seems that the gain is set conservatively as we don't get clipping down to whopping 20 ohm:
Channel balance is excellent:
JDS Labs Atom 2 Headphone Listening Test
As usual, I start with my everyday challenging headphone load: the Dan Clark Stealth which has low impedance and sensitivity. The Atom 2 had no trouble pushing this headphone as loud as I wanted it to get. Comfortable (loud) listening was at 1:00 o'clock in high gain. Fidelity was superb with excellent detail and dynamics.
The Sennheiser HD-650 was an easier load (as is typically) for the Atom 2 which it was able to drive to insanely loud levels with no distortion. Crank it up and you get bass like you have not heard from this headphone. Then you worry about your hearing and turn the volume down but still enjoy the excellent fidelity of this combo. If I didn't have to take a picture of the Atom 2 for this review, I would still be listening to it!
Conclusions
For $129, you get an essentially flawless, state of the art headphone amplifier in the form of Atom 2. It is nice to see the company back in the saddle showing others how it is done while still designing and building in US. Combine this with their superb customer service (in US anyway) and you have an unqualified winner here. With the case lightness dealt with, you now feel good touching the unit as much as listening to it. Really, I can't think of anything negative to say even though I am good at that sort of thing!
I am happy to recommend the JDS Labs Atom Amp 2 headphone amp.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
The solid metal case makes an instant impression, erasing memories of the plastic case of the previous generation. A white LED surrounds the volume control giving it a nice touch. While 4.4 mm headphone output is provided, note that it is not "balanced" (differential). So it is for convenience, not more power. An input selector lets you choose between RCA and 3.5mm inputs:
Typical of other JDS products, it comes with the AC transformer which gets a bit warm.
JDS Atom Amp 2 Measurements
Let's feed the amp 2 volts and measure 2 volts out into 600 ohm load:
Very nice! Distortion is vanishingly low leaving us noise to dominate SINAD, easily landing the Atom 2 into our top 20 best headphone amps ever tested:
While noise dominates SINAD, it is still exceptionally low resulting in superb signal to noise ratios:
No worries here driving very sensitive IEMs.
Frequency response is flat and seemingly goes forever:
Multitone shows the excellently low distortion:
As does our THD+N vs frequency:
While not a nuclear power plant, there is plenty of clean power to drive just about any headphone:
And compliant with the spec as well.
Seems that the gain is set conservatively as we don't get clipping down to whopping 20 ohm:
Channel balance is excellent:
JDS Labs Atom 2 Headphone Listening Test
As usual, I start with my everyday challenging headphone load: the Dan Clark Stealth which has low impedance and sensitivity. The Atom 2 had no trouble pushing this headphone as loud as I wanted it to get. Comfortable (loud) listening was at 1:00 o'clock in high gain. Fidelity was superb with excellent detail and dynamics.
The Sennheiser HD-650 was an easier load (as is typically) for the Atom 2 which it was able to drive to insanely loud levels with no distortion. Crank it up and you get bass like you have not heard from this headphone. Then you worry about your hearing and turn the volume down but still enjoy the excellent fidelity of this combo. If I didn't have to take a picture of the Atom 2 for this review, I would still be listening to it!
Conclusions
For $129, you get an essentially flawless, state of the art headphone amplifier in the form of Atom 2. It is nice to see the company back in the saddle showing others how it is done while still designing and building in US. Combine this with their superb customer service (in US anyway) and you have an unqualified winner here. With the case lightness dealt with, you now feel good touching the unit as much as listening to it. Really, I can't think of anything negative to say even though I am good at that sort of thing!
I am happy to recommend the JDS Labs Atom Amp 2 headphone amp.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
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