JDS Atom Amp 2 Headphone Amplifier Review

[Ear-Wax]

Doesn't the RME have built-in parametric EQ? I'd miss that for sure.

It does but EQ APO is much more versatile IMHO.

 

[Swin]

Awesome, now if only local dealers here in Europe wouldn't have scalping prices on JDS Labs products that would be great(seriously, Atom Amp+ is $248 here while it's $99 on JDS labs website... there's VAT but that's only 23%, it's a bit of a joke)

Exactly, very nice product and nice people at their customer service, but way to expensive in EU.

Bit cheaper than your example, VAT is OK but no EU warehouse so $ 45.05 shipping on a $ 129 amp.

But cheaper than the nearest reseller i Norway, 2790 NOK or $ 266.

Have to think this over, a Topping is not the same thing but free shipping from both from EU and CN.

 

[MRC01]

Exactly, very nice product and nice people at their customer service, but way to expensive in EU. ...

Can folks in the EU find a trusted individual in the US to buy the amp and then ship it to them? I am not suggesting bypassing taxes or fees or anything else illegal. Put differently, if you had to pay customs fees & VAT but nothing more (no scalping) would it still be economical?

 

[Swin]

Can folks in the EU find a trusted individual in the US to buy the amp and then ship it to them? I am not suggesting bypassing taxes or fees or anything else illegal. Put differently, if you had to pay customs fees & VAT but nothing more (no scalping) would it still be economical?

Yes, that is one possibility, or ask someone to take one in their luggage, you can legally import goods up to a certain value.

A smuggling operation with JDS Labs products into EU would double your money on each item you can get over the border

Hmmm, if I buy 20 Atom DAC 2 and 20 Atom Amp 2, I end up with only $ 72.33 in shipping, that is only $ 1.80 on each item, but then I would have to pay $ 77.40 in insurance.

So why not set up a local JDS Labs shop in EU, and start making big money

More on topic - why not a local JDS Labs warehouse in EU, say Poland as Hifiman, than taking huge amount shipping one eatch item ?

 

[Steel Squirrel]

Can anyone tell me why you'd want a 4.4mm headphone jack if it's not outputting more power? Like Amir says, is it just for convenience if you have your headphones set up with 4.4mm balanced cables and don't want to swap them out (or can't if you've modded your headphones)?

And would the 4.4 out have any meaningful difference over the 6.35?

 

[staticV3]

Can anyone tell me why you'd want a 4.4mm headphone jack if it's not outputting more power? Like Amir says, is it just for convenience if you have your headphones set up with 4.4mm balanced cables and don't want to swap them out (or can't if you've modded your headphones)?

Correct.

And would the 4.4 out have any meaningful difference over the 6.35?

No difference.

 

[Steel Squirrel]

Correct.


No difference.

Thanks! I'm fairly new to a lot of this and trying to figure out whether or not balanced makes a significant difference in sound... so far I'm gathering it does not unless you're running extremely long cables that are susceptible to noise?

 

[staticV3]

Thanks! I'm fairly new to a lot of this and trying to figure out whether or not balanced makes a significant difference in sound... so far I'm gathering it does not unless you're running extremely long cables that are susceptible to noise?

For connecting a headphone to a mains-powered Headphone Amp, balanced makes no appreciable difference, IMO.

Balanced's biggest advantage is for Line-level connections between, for example, DAC and Amp.

If your Headphone Amp is working with a limited supply voltage (e.g. powered by USB or internal battery), then balanced headphone output can help achieve higher output power.

 

[oleg87]

Thanks! I'm fairly new to a lot of this and trying to figure out whether or not balanced makes a significant difference in sound... so far I'm gathering it does not unless you're running extremely long cables that are susceptible to noise?

Well, it's not a balanced output in either case. Running a regular output over a balanced cable is trivial. The cable will necessarily have separate ground conductors so you might have less channel crosstalk than a low-quality non-balanced cable, but most decent cables have separate ground wires joined at the connector anyway.

 

[Steel Squirrel]

Well, it's not a balanced output in either case. Running a regular output over a balanced cable is trivial. The cable will necessarily have separate ground conductors so you might have less channel crosstalk than a low-quality non-balanced cable, but most decent cables have separate ground wires joined at the connector anyway.

Yeah, I was just talking about in general, not necessarily this unit.

For connecting a headphone to a mains-powered Headphone Amp, balanced makes no appreciable difference, IMO.

Balanced's biggest advantage is for Line-level connections between, for example, DAC and Amp.

If your Headphone Amp is working with a limited supply voltage (e.g. powered by USB or internal battery), then balanced headphone output can help achieve higher output power.

Thanks! Great info!

 

[Deckard01]

Should anyone upgrade from the Atom dac/amp to the new Atom 2 or Elements do you think? Do we miss something that is worth paying as new things have been added to newer versions?

 

[BDWoody]

Should anyone upgrade from the Atom dac/amp to the new Atom 2 or Elements do you think? Do we miss something that is worth paying as new things have been added to newer versions?

Do you need more power? If not, then no particular reason unless you really want a metal case instead of plastic.

 

[Deckard01]

Do you need more power? If not, then no particular reason unless you really want a metal case instead of plastic.

Thanks for the response,

I do not know if can drive nice my HD600 or maybe the K701 that need power.

Also especially about the dac I do not know if there are really differences as I can not find in forum info about the first atom dac.

 

[nathan]

Nope. (I mean, tell us the problem you are hearing with the current version, and maybe that would indicate an upgrade will help, but it seems unnecessary in all but the most extreme circumstances.)

Should anyone upgrade from the Atom dac/amp to the new Atom 2 or Elements do you think? Do we miss something that is worth paying as new things have been added to newer versions?

 

[Deckard01]

Nope. (I mean, tell us the problem you are hearing with the current version, and maybe that would indicate an upgrade will help, but it seems unnecessary in all but the most extreme circumstances.)

It is just that I find an offer at 120 euro for the Atom dac+amp and I am not sure if it is worth buying or should I buy the Atom 2 or Atom + as I see that are the current versions.

My cans are HD600,K701.

Now I am with an Onix Alpha that I am very happy with, but always thinning for an upgrade (not sure if I really need to).

Moreover as I see Atom can not be connected to Laptop or PC with USB but dc power is needed, so extra cords to my desk that I always try to avoid.

Then again I think that an upgrade that really worth is a dac/amp with an EQ option, something that as I check Atom does not offer.

 

[nathan]

It is just that I find an offer at 120 euro for the Atom dac+amp and I am not sure if it is worth buying or should I buy the Atom 2 or Atom + as I see that are the current versions.

My cans are HD600,K701.

Now I am with an Onix Alpha that I am very happy with, but always thinning for an upgrade (not sure if I really need to).

Moreover as I see Atom can not be connected to Laptop or PC with USB but dc power is needed, so extra cords to my desk that I always try to avoid.

Then again I think that an upgrade that really worth is a dac/amp with an EQ option, something that as I check Atom does not offer.

If by “worth it” you mean “is there a difference”? Yes, the new amp will play 3db louder with challenging headphones.

Edit:

There are other small ways in which it measures better and I’d guess in a double blind test I could not tell the difference.

If by “worth it” you mean: Am I getting twice as much performance by paying twice as much money? No, not at all.

If by “worth it” you mean: Will it change the music? Probably not. Those headphones are not super hard to drive, and the other measurable differences are not something I could hear in a double blind test.

If by “worth it” you mean “Will I always wonder and will buying the higher end version help with that second guessing?” Then yes, if you pay twice as much you can say to yourself “I bought their best offering” until version three comes out in a few years.

 

[Deckard01]

If by “worth it” you mean “is there a difference”? Yes, the new amp will play 3db louder with challenging headphones.

If by “worth it” do you mean am I getting twice as much performance by paying twice as much money? No, not at all.

If by “worth it” you mean will it change the music? Probably not. Those headphones are not super hard to drive.

If by “worth it” you mean “will I always wonder?” Then yes, if you pay twice as much you can say to yourself “I bought their best offering” until version three comes out in a few years.

Thank you for the response, so does it worth in your opinion the price for stack atom dac/amp? or a product with EQ would be more preferable, as with Tidal I can not use APO.

 

[nathan]

If I wanted EQ I would only get something with EQ.

 

[MRC01]

Should anyone upgrade from the Atom dac/amp to the new Atom 2 or Elements do you think? Do we miss something that is worth paying as new things have been added to newer versions?

If by “worth it” you mean “is there a difference”? Yes, the new amp will play 3db louder with challenging headphones.

Also, the new version is a bit quieter/cleaner at low to moderate listening levels, having a slightly higher SNR at 50 mV.
Also, it's made entirely of metal, the volume knob has better average L-R channel balance, and it rotates more smoothly. And it has a revised/improved DC protection circuit.

 

[Blake]

I seriously love this thing. I bought one recently on a bit of a whim. I didn't need it. I've got a couple of Magni Heretics that are working fine for me and are well reviewed here, and the power output is roughly comparable, from what I remember in the spec sheets. But I like what I've read about JDS Labs here, and their "sound as science" design philosophy appeals to me. And sometimes you just want a new toy, you know?

The Atom Amp 2 is awesome. Things I like over the Heretic: It feels solid, like it's not going anywhere. The volume knob is larger, and I like that it's also the power toggle (turn all the way down and click it off). I like the glowing ring around the knob. And the free engraving looks great!

The main two areas where the Heretic has an advantage, to my mind, is the greater distance between the volume knob and the headphone jack, and the presence of a low/negative gain. That last one doesn't matter much to me, but I'll come back to it in a moment.

Just to put it through its paces (I knew it would be fine) and have some fun with headphones I haven't gotten out in a while, I've so far tried all of these with my Atom Amp 2:

Audeze LCD-XC (2021 revision) - my daily driver
DCA Aeon RT Closed
Sennheiser HD 6XX
Etymotic ER4SR
Truthear x Crinacle Zero:RED

There's no need for high gain with any of those headphones. I've turned high gain on just to verify it worked, but the farthest I've had to turn the knob in low gain was with the Aeon RT when using my preferred EQ, in which case I took it to around 1:00 or 2:00 o'clock, depending on the track.

The HD-6XX is at a comfortable volume for me around noon or 1:00, again depending on which track and whether I'm using EQ. (I always use EQ unless I'm playing around like this.)

For the LCD-XC with my preferred EQ, I keep it around the noon position or so. Without EQ, it can start getting uncomfortable to me before 11:00 (not unexpected since the LCD-XC is meant to be fairly easy to drive).

For the IEMs, it actually starts getting too loud around 9:00 or so. I'm unlikely to use IEMs with the amp very often if at all, so this doesn't matter much to me, and even if it did, I still felt there was enough room to play with the volume for my liking. I consider it a non-issue.

Side note: Maybe my headphone tastes are more varied than I think, but I'm kind of blown away by how good all of the above models sound even without EQ. The Etymotic is the only one that's a bit iffy because it's so much more on the analytical side, but they're all really good. I was particularly struck by how good the Aeon RT is after having had it hanging up for a while.

Anyway, the Atom Amp 2 is a fantastic amp and I'm glad I bought it! At some point I guess I have to get an Atom DAC 2 (which I also don't need) just to have a matching stack.