JDS Atom Amp+ Review (Headphone Amplifier)

[MBWORLDZ]

I mean that you shouldn't have any problem with your headphone with the RAW-MDA1. You can of course add the Atom if you want.... but I believe it has less output than the unit you already have.

Why would he want to sell what he has to buy something else with lower specs?

I don't think I will return it cause I think the dac sounds great, it has dual ES9039Q2M. The features are great too. It has XLR and RCA connections. I will double check the settings tonight for the Gain. But I believe I set it to high already. PC also put the volume to max. I really don't know what else to do. Like I said from the previous post, most of the songs are playing just fine with my HD650 headphone. Just some songs (not many), I need to adjust the level to the max "0" in order to hear it little loud. May be just that album recording.

Be lets say if I want to improve the sound quality and better Volume Control. Will this JDS Labs Atom Amp a good choice ? I believe the HD650 has little high impedance.

 

[staticV3]

I really don't know what else to do.

Use a basic hardware store multimeter to make sure that you're getting the volumes that you're supposed to.

Disconnect the HD650 cable from the headphone and plug just the cable into the SMSL
Play the 60Hz test tone attached below on repeat
Set the SMSL to High gain and max out every volume control (computer and DAC)
Measure the AC voltage between the two pins that normally go into the headphone (left or right doesn't matter)

The multimeter should read 7.0V

 

[Steven Holt]

I think I prefaced that remark with MY OPINION. I don't like anything with MQA, to begin. I HAVE the two pieces that I referenced, I'll put them up against anything out there. Finally, while the SMSL may have better specs I will guarantee that you won't be able to hear the difference at all.

 

[MBWORLDZ]

I think I prefaced that remark with MY OPINION. I don't like anything with MQA, to begin. I HAVE the two pieces that I referenced, I'll put them up against anything out there. Finally, while the SMSL may have better specs I will guarantee that you won't be able to hear the difference at all.

Steven, I believe you. Not all the music I listen are MQA so it doesn't matter. I am sure your two pieces you are using are pretty good as well. I like the SMSL has the XLR and RCA built in, I can connect it to my Rose RS250A as an external DAC just for fun. I don't expect it will show a night and day different at all. But I am sure the dual ES9039Q2M ain't bad at all, they sound good.

 

[MBWORLDZ]

Are you sure you set the MDA1 to high gain?

Bro problem fixed. I double check the gain level, for some reason it was set to "low". I thought I set to high but probably didn't save.
Again. Thanks a lot. Also thanks for others who gave me the advise also. I really appreciate your help.

 

[Jimster480]

I think I prefaced that remark with MY OPINION. I don't like anything with MQA, to begin. I HAVE the two pieces that I referenced, I'll put them up against anything out there. Finally, while the SMSL may have better specs I will guarantee that you won't be able to hear the difference at all.

We understand that you hate MQA, but honestly its dead anyway. There is some MQA floating around out there, so who cares if you have a unit that supports it? I have several DAC's that support MQA and I listened to a ton of it on Tidal, sounded fine to me. However I didn't buy anything because of MQA, it was just included. So there should be no reason to be upset about anything including MQA (especially today) when it is totally free to include it... so of course manufacturers will do it now that they don't have to pay anything.
I also think you are right about not being able to hear a difference in most cases... unless somehow they have a headphone that would need the extra power of the MDA1... which is why it wouldn't make sense to sell what he has and lose money only to buy cheaper gear with lower specs... His gear should work fine and as we see here, he has now fixed it!

Bro problem fixed. I double check the gain level, for some reason it was set to "low". I thought I set to high but probably didn't save.
Again. Thanks a lot. Also thanks for others who gave me the advise also. I really appreciate your help.

Glad you got it working! I figured it had to be something with volume or gain, that unit has a monster headphone amp.

 

[MBWORLDZ]

We understand that you hate MQA, but honestly its dead anyway. There is some MQA floating around out there, so who cares if you have a unit that supports it? I have several DAC's that support MQA and I listened to a ton of it on Tidal, sounded fine to me. However I didn't buy anything because of MQA, it was just included. So there should be no reason to be upset about anything including MQA (especially today) when it is totally free to include it... so of course manufacturers will do it now that they don't have to pay anything.
I also think you are right about not being able to hear a difference in most cases... unless somehow they have a headphone that would need the extra power of the MDA1... which is why it wouldn't make sense to sell what he has and lose money only to buy cheaper gear with lower specs... His gear should work fine and as we see here, he has now fixed it!


Glad you got it working! I figured it had to be something with volume or gain, that unit has a monster headphone amp.

I was listening to the SMSL whole night while working on the pc. It really sound great. Yes MQA is dead, but there are still MQA in tidal streaming. I do listen to them somtimes but to be honest, they are not bad at all. Unless "Steve" got a super good ears that can tell the tiny difference with this Topping...etc. Look at all the high end streaming device like the LUMIN U2X, its like $10K , if MQA is trash then why would they still support it? They should have removed it. MQA files are backward compatible, meaning they can be played back at CD quality on devices that are not MQA-enabled. Its a good features that some audiophile purist might want to listen MQA format audio.

I do hear the different (not huge but its there) from the SMSL. Especially when I know the song well. We all do. I think it has to do with the DAC and the HD650 combined together. So far I am very happy with a simple fix, glad that you got my problem fixed hahahahaha.

I have attached a pic that I used the SMSL as a DAC on the Rose RS250, then later I removed it and put on my desk.

https://tidal.com/browse/track/133269779?u (When everyone is gone)
https://tidal.com/browse/track/281043864?u (Little Fugue in G Minor)
https://tidal.com/browse/track/205467086?u (Angela)
https://tidal.com/browse/track/192089108?u (Blue)
https://tidal.com/browse/track/215118119?u (Blue in Green)

 

[Theriverlethe]

I was listening to the SMSL whole night while working on the pc. It really sound great. Yes MQA is dead, but there are still MQA in tidal streaming. I do listen to them somtimes but to be honest, they are not bad at all. Unless "Steve" got a super good ears that can tell the tiny difference with this Topping...etc. Look at all the high end streaming device like the LUMIN U2X, its like $10K , if MQA is trash then why would they still support it? They should have removed it. MQA files are backward compatible, meaning they can be played back at CD quality on devices that are not MQA-enabled. Its a good features that some audiophile purist might want to listen MQA format audio.

I do hear the different (not huge but its there) from the SMSL. Especially when I know the song well. We all do. I think it has to do with the DAC and the HD650 combined together. So far I am very happy with a simple fix, glad that you got my problem fixed hahahahaha.

I have attached a pic that I used the SMSL as a DAC on the Rose RS250, then later I removed it and put on my desk.

https://tidal.com/browse/track/133269779?u (When everyone is gone)
https://tidal.com/browse/track/281043864?u (Little Fugue in G Minor)
https://tidal.com/browse/track/205467086?u (Angela)
https://tidal.com/browse/track/192089108?u (Blue)
https://tidal.com/browse/track/215118119?u (Blue in Green)

The Lumin U2X is pure audio jewelry. There's no reason to skimp on a (comparatively) small licensing fee at that price point. High-resolution PCM, DSD and MQA are all marketing checkboxes. There's nothing audibly wrong with them, but they're not better, either.

 

[Jimster480]

The Lumin U2X is pure audio jewelry. There's no reason to skimp on a (comparatively) small licensing fee at that price point. High-resolution PCM, DSD and MQA are all marketing checkboxes. There's nothing audibly wrong with them, but they're not better, either.

There is no licensing fee today lol, so it will be included everywhere.

I was listening to the SMSL whole night while working on the pc. It really sound great. Yes MQA is dead, but there are still MQA in tidal streaming. I do listen to them somtimes but to be honest, they are not bad at all. Unless "Steve" got a super good ears that can tell the tiny difference with this Topping...etc. Look at all the high end streaming device like the LUMIN U2X, its like $10K , if MQA is trash then why would they still support it? They should have removed it. MQA files are backward compatible, meaning they can be played back at CD quality on devices that are not MQA-enabled. Its a good features that some audiophile purist might want to listen MQA format audio.

I do hear the different (not huge but its there) from the SMSL. Especially when I know the song well. We all do. I think it has to do with the DAC and the HD650 combined together. So far I am very happy with a simple fix, glad that you got my problem fixed hahahahaha.

I have attached a pic that I used the SMSL as a DAC on the Rose RS250, then later I removed it and put on my desk.

https://tidal.com/browse/track/133269779?u (When everyone is gone)
https://tidal.com/browse/track/281043864?u (Little Fugue in G Minor)
https://tidal.com/browse/track/205467086?u (Angela)
https://tidal.com/browse/track/192089108?u (Blue)
https://tidal.com/browse/track/215118119?u (Blue in Green)

I'm glad you got it working and are enjoying it. I have also listened to tons of MQA tracks through Tidal over the years so I have benefited from having an MQA DAC. I didn't buy it on purpose for that but it did help.

 

[LSDionysus]

I got one question really need your expertise advise. Recently I just bought the S.M.S.L RAW-MDA 1 for my sennheiser hd 650. I noticed some music I play, I need to turn the volume all the way in order to hear it little loud. Does it mean the S.M.S.L RAW-MDA 1 doesn't have enough power for the HD650? Do I need to get a desktop headphone amp. My question is can I get this JDS Labs Atom Amp pair with my S.M.S.L RAW-MDA 1 ? Would I hear improvement ? Any help will be great

You are posting in the wrong thread as this is about the JDS Atom amp, not general headphone amp questions.

You really brought up a thread that was dormant for 2 years to ask a random question? Wow.

 

[King3567]

I have an atom dac and an atom amp functioning as both a headphone amplifier and a preamp to my active desktop speakers. I really like the company and I really like the quality of the product a lot - definitely the single best bang for the buck electronics purchases I've made in this hobby. JDS Labs, one piece of feedback - I will pay more for a version of your products with higher build quality! A metal enclosure and a more satisfying volume knob would go a long way. I understand that these changes might be totally in the opposite direction of your design philosophy, but some sort of upgrade pick would be very cool.

 

[frogmeat69]

I have an atom dac and an atom amp functioning as both a headphone amplifier and a preamp to my active desktop speakers. I really like the company and I really like the quality of the product a lot - definitely the single best bang for the buck electronics purchases I've made in this hobby. JDS Labs, one piece of feedback - I will pay more for a version of your products with higher build quality! A metal enclosure and a more satisfying volume knob would go a long way. I understand that these changes might be totally in the opposite direction of your design philosophy, but some sort of upgrade pick would be very cool.

The Atom amp 2 and Atom Dac 2 are all metal, here's the amp, https://jdslabs.com/product/atom-amp-2/

 

[King3567]

The Atom amp 2 and Atom Dac 2 are all metal, here's the amp, https://jdslabs.com/product/atom-amp-2/

Ok 1) I feel kind of dumb, 2) that’s awesome. Putting it on my list. Thanks for informing me in a matter of fact way. Anybody else who just wants a SOTA dac and amp combo, I’ve tried many over the years, this is where it’s at. Edit: meaning for the price to performance.

 

[Jimster480]

Ok 1) I feel kind of dumb, 2) that’s awesome. Putting it on my list. Thanks for informing me in a matter of fact way. Anybody else who just wants a SOTA dac and amp combo, I’ve tried many over the years, this is where it’s at. Edit: meaning for the price to performance.

Yeah, I had a custom O2 done by them many years ago and that one is also metal. So it's interesting that you're saying the first generation of atom amp is plastic.

 

[frogmeat69]

Yeah, I had a custom O2 done by them many years ago and that one is also metal. So it's interesting that you're saying the first generation of atom amp is plastic.

I have the first gen Atom amp, it's definitely plastic, but it still kicks butt.