Review and Measurements of New JDS Labs Atom Headphone Amp

[Boromirka]

Khadas + Atom combo finally finished, but not the cable management :d
Will do that soon

Thanks to @Frost for a 3D model
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...the-khadas-tone-board.5098/page-2#post-118310

 

[yummy]

any tear down?

 

[amirm]

any tear down?

JDS has already posted a picture:

Do you need more than that? I thought I also posted a picture earlier in the thread.

 

[ascorbyl]

How does one disassemble the Atom?

 

[graz_lag]

How does one disassemble the Atom?

You can simply put the unit in the oven keeping it overnight @ 195°F, the case will melt out so ...

 

[Dana reed]

I wish this had the option to get engraving like the EL amp. The volume knob going up to 11 would be cool. I saw a pic somewhere that someone had that done

 

[tlr]

How does one disassemble the Atom?

There are 4 Torx (I think) screws under the rubber feet on the bottom. Remove them and the top will come off.

 

[amirm]

There are 4 Torx (I think) screws under the rubber feet on the bottom. Remove them and the top will come off.

Correct. Be sure you don't lose one of them as I did.

 

[Gregorius]

Ordered an Atom from JDS' website in spite of a 3-day back-order on 1/15. Arrived today after a Holiday weekend. Stuck my 9028 SMSL M8A behind it. I am now clearing all this other crap that doesn't measure up off my desk.

'Cause, Damn.

 

[MrC]

I really need to stop reading this site, Atom is now on its way. I got informed that someone was coming to visit from the US so... ($99 instead of $190!!).

Now... should I order the SU-8...

 

[graz_lag]

I really need to stop reading this site, Atom is now on its way. I got informed that someone was coming to visit from the US so... ($99 instead of $190!!).

Now... should I order the SU-8...

$190 ? Why ? I paid it $135 delivered ...

 

[Jimmy]

That's calculated using retail price, the german importer won't purchase the units at such price, however I'm not saying that the asking price is unreasonable.

Knowing the markup applied to many audio products (over 100% in many cases), and I'm not guessing, I don't work exactly in the audio sector but I can buy from several distributors as a reseller, their margin may not be that high.

However, as a reference, amazon sells in europe the Monoprice 1060 headphones at 299€ including vat, and they cost 299$ directly from monoprice.

Common sense guys. Shipped from US to Germany $136 + 19% VAT + 2% currency conversion + possible duty etc = MINIMUM of 145€. That reseller is going to live like a king with those markups!

 

[graz_lag]

... However, as a reference, amazon sells in europe the Monoprice 1060 headphones at 299€ including vat, and they cost 299$ directly from monoprice.

If you work on the basis of budgets, as Amazon does, it is not that difficult ...
Do you want to get - just say : $10,000 as gross margin out from a trading business ?
If your expectations of sale are for 100 units, you do mark up with $100 each unit you sell ...
If your expectations of sale are instead for 10,000 units, you can limit your mark up to $1 per unit ...

 

[Jimmy]

The seller is a company called eutronics, not amazon themselves, and I would be surprised if they only make 1$ per unit. I'm hoping that they will carry in the future other products like for example the Cavalli Liquid Spark.

As I stated before markups for audiophile products are often hefty, but the number of units sold is relatively small most of the time, so it may justify it.

If you work on the basis of budgets, as Amazon does, it is not that difficult ...
Do you want to get - just say : $10,000 as gross margin out from a trading business ?
If your expectations of sale are for 100 units, you do mark up with $100 each unit you sell ...
If your expectations of sale are instead for 10,000 units, you can limit your mark up to $1 per unit ...

 

[MrC]

$190 ? Why ? I paid it $135 delivered ...

Because Spain are good at charging as much as possible for imports. Truthfully it would be closer to $175, here's a quick (rounded) summary:

$100 for amp
$40 shipping
$30 vat
$5 import tax
TOTAL $175

To buy from Germany is 145€ + 15.90€ shipping which is around $185.

But anyway, it only cost me $110 including shipping due to it being brought by a colleague.

 

[Kirsebaer]

Hi! What a wonderful review! I have watched Z reviews on Youtube a lot but I have no idea how damaged his hearing is, and he never provides any measurements (and he talks a lot), so this is much more helpful. I purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD 660 S two weeks ago and I use them with my onboard soundcard. It's bad. I am going to purchase the Atom based on this review, but I'm very new to the hifi world and despite having researched for about several weeks now I make slow progress.

My question is simple: What DAC do you recommend that I hook up to the Atom? I listen to music from my desktop PC and only use my Sennheiser HD 660 S. I'd prefer if I can keep my budget for the DAC between $200 and $400.

 

[mahirzukic2]

Hi! What a wonderful review! I have watched Z reviews on Youtube a lot but I have no idea how damaged his hearing is, and he never provides any measurements (and he talks a lot), so this is much more helpful. I purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD 660 S two weeks ago and I use them with my onboard soundcard. It's bad. I am going to purchase the Atom based on this review, but I'm very new to the hifi world and despite having researched for about several weeks now I make slow progress.

My question is simple: What DAC do you recommend that I hook up to the Atom? I listen to music from my desktop PC and only use my Sennheiser HD 660 S. I'd prefer if I can keep my budget for the DAC between $200 and $400.

Khadas Tone Board is the perfect match. 100$ DAC that beats a 1000$ DACs out there.
Just as you might in a few days (weeks), many have also ordered the Khadas Tone Board + JDS Atom as a perfect 200 - 250$ combo.
In order to beat that combination you might need to spend more than 1.5 - 2k$, and even then the improvement might not be noticeable.

EDIT: I my self have ordered the above combo after reading the reviews by Amir on this forum. In a very short time they have become the standard like the JDS odac+o2 used to be.

 

[jailbird]

Khadas Tone Board is the perfect match. 100$ DAC that beats a 1000$ DACs out there.
Just as you might in a few days (weeks), many have also ordered the Khadas Tone Board + JDS Atom as a perfect 200 - 250$.
In order to beat that combination you might need to spend more than 1.5 - 2k$, and even then the improvement might not be noticeable.

EDIT: I my self have ordered the above combo after reading the reviews by Amir on this forum. In a very short time they have become the standard like the JDS odac+o2 used to be.

Indeed! I have mine (in the nice 3D case designed here!) and they're an AMAZING combo!

 

[Kirsebaer]

Thanks for the suggestion guys. The Khadas Tone Board looks nice, but I am not sure I quite understand the concept. It's a DIY DAC without a case? I was hoping there was a DAC in similar appearance as the Atom, so that they matched together

Side note, I am located in Scandinavia so I need a DAC with an EU plug. And if I purchase a product from within the EU, the manufacturer has to provide 2 years warranty by EU law, so I am not too keen on buying something directly from China.

 

[flipflop]

My question is simple: What DAC do you recommend that I hook up to the Atom? I listen to music from my desktop PC and only use my Sennheiser HD 660 S. I'd prefer if I can keep my budget for the DAC between $200 and $400.

As metioned above, KTB is good, but it comes without a case, so you would have to pay for that, too, or just use it without one like some people do. If that's a problem to you, consider Topping D10 instead. Your mobo DAC might also be perfectly fine if you don't hear any noises coming from it when listening to your headphones.