JDS Atom Amp 2 Headphone Amplifier Review

[JimmyBuckets]

Is this a noticeable upgrade from an atom amp+ ? I don’t have much use for balanced but the volume knob and overall build quality does look enticing

No I have both. I bought the A2 because it looked sexier...sounds is more or less the same. Only if you need more power which I would fine hard to believe.

 

[BennyB]

I use a Chord Mojo as a dac/amp for powering my HD650 - would an Atom Amp 2 improve the sound when added to the chain?

 

[staticV3]

I use a Chord Mojo as a dac/amp for powering my HD650 - would an Atom Amp 2 improve the sound when added to the chain?

An Atom Amp can give you higher playback volume, but sound quality will not change.

 

[harrisonjr98]

Anyone else's Atom 2 amp (and dac) have a very faint/slight rattling sound if you tilt them from side to side? I don't think it is any of the buttons because I'm pressing into them to make sure they're not moving when I hear it. Just want to make sure it's normal/expected as I just got them in and can hear it on both.

 

[harrisonjr98]

Oh and another question. I didn't expect the RCA outs to react to the "gain" setting, I would've thought that was only for the headphone output. Is the monitor out part of the amplification circuit or is it just passive attenuation? If the former, what's the benefit there? If the latter, why give it two "steps" with the gain control?

 

[NTK]

The pre-amp (RCA) output and the headphone output are both fed by the headphone amp. The obvious reason is that it is the simplest (and cheapest) way to implement a pre-amp out. The realizable benefit is that sometimes you need a boost in the source signal voltage to feed an amp or active speakers. For example when the amp has XLR (balanced) inputs and is expecting a source with a nominal (max) input voltage of 4 V, and you want to drive it with an Apple headphone dongle that outputs 0.5 or 1.0 V.

Obviously it can be a problem if you have very low sensitivity headphones and is causing a huge difference in sound loudness levels when switching between headphones and amp/speakers. In that case you'll probably want an amp that has its own volume control or some other means to attenuate the input signal. Individual input and/or individual output volume control is not very feasible for a device in this price range.

 

[JimmyBuckets]

Mine have a small rattle in side also. Never noticed until checking for you. I'm guessing it's the relays inside?

 

[harrisonjr98]

I didn't think of the relays, I bet that is it. I wasn't too worried since both my amp and dac have the sound.