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JDS Reliability

SimpleTheater

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After spending over a year with the AudioEngine HD3, I've come to realize the little speakers are fun to listen to, but the headphone amp leaves much to be desired. AudioEngine claims 1 watt and recommend headphones with an impedance from 10 ohms to 10K ohms.

After getting a pair of Sennheiser HD 6XX from Massdrop, I realized the headphone amp in the HD3's just isn't up to driving them. I plugged them into my other amp (rated at 1/2 a watt) and it drove them so easily I came to the conclusion that AudioEngine's ratings must be made up. And now I'm looking for a new headphone amp. But because the AudioEngine is also a DAC, I'm looking for a DAC/Headphone Amp.

I've whittled it down to the Topping D50 with the JDS Atom Amp, or JDS Element. The two setups are nearly identical in price and my only concern with Topping is reliability. But I haven't seen much on JDS reliability.

So any input from JDS owners would be appreciated, including any customer support feedback.

Thanks in advance.
 

amirm

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The only thing I have heard about the Atom is a relay that gets stuck when new. You have to tap on it to get it going. Otherwise, despite ton of discussions, there aren't much reports of reliability issues.
 
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SimpleTheater

SimpleTheater

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Being it got a very good review (maybe not stellar) and the fact that they are an American company, I'm going to pick up the JDS Labs 'The Element'. It is also cool they do free engraving of that giant knob. Making the purchase tomorrow, so hopefully pictures by the end of the month.
 

monkeyboy

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I have a JDS Element, and have had their O2 amp and O2 DAC in the past. Before purchasing I had an email exchange with them about the components and they were great!...I've been very happy with their products...
 

artnoi

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They sure have very good customer support. I bought twice from them, first time the power supply for Massdrop O2 (50Hz) and then the Atom amp. When I asked them if my Atom will work properly because there is mismatch in frequency between Thai mains AC and Atom power supply, they went in-depth to assure me the unit will function just well given the voltage is correct.
 
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SimpleTheater

SimpleTheater

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They ship quick, even with custom engraving. I'm listening now so I'll give my impressions later, but here are the pics.

JDSLabsElement.jpg
JDSLabsElement_AKG.jpg
 
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