Review and Measurements of New JDS Labs Atom Headphone Amp

[Bliman]

Play something bass heavy and keep turning up the level. If the bass doesn't get distorted before your ears complain, you have enough.

This is a good track:

Set it to comfortable level and then see what happens when the bass comes in at 0:35. The actual track sounds better than youtube but that one should do too. On Topping DX3 Pro I can turn it up so high without distortion that my earlobes start to vibrate.

Thank you

 

[Veri]

Maybe a side question, but how do you know you have enough power?
With my Beyerdynamic DT 250 250 Ohm I am playing on the computer with Peace(APO) Equalizer with preamplifier setting to -8 dB( to avoid clipping).
Now the sound is almost always loud enough. Would the JDS Labs Atom be a benefit in any way?

My pre-amp is on -13dB that's why I have the THX AAA. Like amir shows you need to test if you have sufficient headroom, especially problematic if you listen to more silent classical music.

 

[motorider]

I was wondering if it is possible to desolder the RCA JACKS of both Tone board and atom amp, and fit the board inside the amp
The ports can be connected by wires. That way it might look like a more compact and integrated device.

No, that will not work due to the way the cover is fastened to the atom circuit board. The top cover has 4 posts that align with the rubber feet on the bottom and are injection molded to go tight down against the circuit board. The hardware then goes through the bottom, circuit board, and threads into the top cover. I thought of that myself already. I plan to 3d print a cover to attach to the tone board and I will polish the plastic and maybe paint it to make the DAC/AMP combo look good.

 

[yue]

No, that will not work due to the way the cover is fastened to the atom circuit board. The top cover has 4 posts that align with the rubber feet on the bottom and are injection molded to go tight down against the circuit board. The hardware then goes through the bottom, circuit board, and threads into the top cover. I thought of that myself already. I plan to 3d print a cover to attach to the tone board and I will polish the plastic and maybe paint it to make the DAC/AMP combo look good.

ummm...

In this case I'd rather hide the tone board together with raspberry pi beneath the desk or behind the monitor and pretend it doesn't exist
To be is to be perceived.

 

[happythoughts]

Hi @amirm. New to the forum here. Thanks for having me. Two questions: Do you like the Loxjie P20 as a balanced supplement to the Atom and do you have any recommendations for budget balanced cables?

 

[Tatteredmidnight]

Play something bass heavy and keep turning up the level. If the bass doesn't get distorted before your ears complain, you have enough.

This is a good track:

Set it to comfortable level and then see what happens when the bass comes in at 0:35. The actual track sounds better than youtube but that one should do too. On Topping DX3 Pro I can turn it up so high without distortion that my earlobes start to vibrate.

holy cow! I just tried this with an Atom and HD-6XX and I could literally feel the reciprocation of the drivers moving in their enclosure, no distortion, absolutely amazing! It literally shakes my earlobes.

Hate the song though lol.

 

[Severian]

I got one of these today, my first real headphone amp after years of sufficing with a NuForce uDAC-2 and FiiO E18, both of which I always felt had enough power for my Grado SR325is.

Wow, this is an upgrade. I am looking forward to getting to getting some Hifiman HE4XXs soon.

 

[wadec22]

Hate the song though lol.

I hadn't heard it before but I actually really dig it lol

 

[Tatteredmidnight]

Gentlemen, I'm not sure this is healthy....

I assure you I survived. Definitely impressive on both the amp and headphone front, and the resilience of the human ear. Not something I intend to repeat for daily listening though.

 

[amirm]

Hi @amirm. New to the forum here. Thanks for having me. Two questions: Do you like the Loxjie P20 as a balanced supplement to the Atom and do you have any recommendations for budget balanced cables?

I have not unpacked it yet. On cables, I use Mogami Gold: https://www.amazon.com/Mogami-GOLD-STUDIO-15-Microphone-XLR-Female/dp/B001LNN2EQ?th=1

They are made quite sturdy. I have not played with anything cheaper. Open to doing so if people have some suggestions.

 

[amirm]

Gentlemen, I'm not sure this is healthy....

It is. It revitalizes you at the same that it reduces the lifetime of your hearing!

 

[amirm]

holy cow! I just tried this with an Atom and HD-6XX and I could literally feel the reciprocation of the drivers moving in their enclosure, no distortion, absolutely amazing! It literally shakes my earlobes.

Now you know exactly what I mean when I report as such in my headphone amp listening! If there is no distortion accompanying that, then you know you have more amp than ever need.

 

[ishmeister]

Atom actually has more power into a 300 ohms load with 0.25 watts against 0.15 watts of the 789.

This is enough power to fry the drivers in my HD600 (rated at 0.2W max).

 

[Veri]

Not sure how recent this is. Europe pre-orders:

http://www.headsound.de/epages/6302...Products/JDSATOMAMP/SubProducts/JDSATOMAMP-bk

 

[mahirzukic2]

Not sure how recent this is. Europe pre-orders:

http://www.headsound.de/epages/6302...Products/JDSATOMAMP/SubProducts/JDSATOMAMP-bk

WOW, 170E, that's about 193$, a hefty 93% markup.

 

[Veri]

WOW, 170E, that's about 193$, a hefty 93% markup.

indeed

 

[hege]

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!

 

[Tup3x]

SINAD is the inverse of THD+N, so it shows the exact same thing, but in a more relatable manner.
Take Ch 1 of the Atom for example. Go to http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-thd.htm and type in -113.679 in the 'Distortion attenuation' field and hit calculate. 'Distortion factor THD (k)' pops up as 0.000207 % - the same value as in the dashboard view.
If you got THD+N, you got SINAD and vice versa.


This is the unofficial crosstalk discussion thread. The consensus seems to be that it's a non-issue.
Even if your O2 is out of spec, I think a more likely explanation could be the channel matching. It changes with the volume setting, so turning up your volume might reduce channel mismatch and in turn improve the stereo image.

I do listen at rather low levels but since I do lower the volume from the source (a lot...), I'd use O2 around 10-11 o'clock. I'd imagine that it shouldn't be a problem. For what ever reason mine just doesn't seem to perform very well (also seems to compress the audible dynamic range). The fun part is that HD 6XX's sounds better directly through my phone than when routed through O2.

It could be that lower listening volumes make things worse but things should work great at those levels too. Though, the difference is so audible in my opinion that it might just be a crapola unit (but if it isn't I'd like to understand what causes it and avoid buying a device in the future that would perform in a similar way).

 

[drewfIr]

I do listen at rather low levels but since I do lower the volume from the source (a lot...)

Try with the source at about 98% volume and adjust the volume
by the amp instead.

 

[mahirzukic2]

What is the preferred way of listening to music and which way does it make the smallest distortion and best audio quality in terms of volume on machine (win/mac/linux) and on AMP?