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Review and Measurements of New JDS Labs Atom Headphone Amp

deafenears

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Thank you for your detailed reply. I have a HE-560 and I believe it needs more power than the Atom can provide.
I hope @tomchr can release more information about HPA-1.
I have an atom driving the HE-560 just fine. It's definitely powerful enough.
 

JohnYang1997

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he560 doesn't need much power to begin with. Even if you use he6 or he6se, atom will still be enough.
 

mt196

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Thank you for your detailed reply. I have a HE-560 and I believe it needs more power than the Atom can provide.
I hope @tomchr can release more information about HPA-1.
Not true at all, @filo97s has them and can power them without any problem. If you are still looking for something more the thx AAA 798 balanced output is even more powerful (but you don't need it anyway)
 
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filo97s

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Not true at all, @filo97s has them and can power them without any problem. If you are still looking for something more the thx AAA 798 balanced output is even more powerful (but you don't need it anyway)
Totally agree.
The Atom has a ton of power available for the 560 but you know what? I have also a Teac UD-503, I use it as a dac and as a balanced amp (I converted the 560 in balanced operation just for trying something new but it hasn't changed that much... maybe just details, don't know if it is suggestion or what) and it still has power to handle the 560 without the minimum problem, with its 500mW per channel (less than half of the atom power). In my experience with those cans and and an infinite number of headamps to which they were plugged in, the power is definitely not a problem if it's above 270mW per channel.
Doing some math tells us also that with only 1mW of power, you still reach 90dB which is a considerable listening level. With 100mW you reach 110dB SPL which is actually quite a lot and leaving also some power for transients, anything that produce more than 270/300mW it's perfectly fine.
With the Atom I never go past the half of the potentiometer in high gain, counting that it is logarithmic, says enough regarding the power left.

(PS: this damn Atom sounds just a liiiiiiittle bit better than the Teac... 1000eur vs 100eur :confused: - or well, i should say 1000 eur vs 0 eur since mine is a review sample)
 

hlc1209

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Totally agree.
The Atom has a ton of power available for the 560 but you know what? I have also a Teac UD-503, I use it as a dac and as a balanced amp (I converted the 560 in balanced operation just for trying something new but it hasn't changed that much... maybe just details, don't know if it is suggestion or what) and it still has power to handle the 560 without the minimum problem, with its 500mW per channel (less than half of the atom power). In my experience with those cans and and an infinite number of headamps to which they were plugged in, the power is definitely not a problem if it's above 270mW per channel.
Doing some math tells us also that with only 1mW of power, you still reach 90dB which is a considerable listening level. With 100mW you reach 110dB SPL which is actually quite a lot and leaving also some power for transients, anything that produce more than 270/300mW it's perfectly fine.
With the Atom I never go past the half of the potentiometer in high gain, counting that it is logarithmic, says enough regarding the power left.

(PS: this damn Atom sounds just a liiiiiiittle bit better than the Teac... 1000eur vs 100eur :confused: - or well, i should say 1000 eur vs 0 eur since mine is a review sample)

The Atoms can drive the HE-560 to loud volumes. But one thing I noticed is that, if I use high gain, I will get a considerable sound improvement. I attribute it to higher output power in high gain.
 

JohnYang1997

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The Atoms can drive the HE-560 to loud volumes. But one thing I noticed is that, if I use high gain, I will get a considerable sound improvement. I attribute it to higher output power in high gain.
That's total misconception. You gain nothing in terms of output power by switching to high gain. You only introduced a voltage amplification in the signal chain. Output stage is untouched.
The difference you hear is only the louder volume it gives making you "feel" the sound is better but actually not. In fact SNR and distortion performance is a bit worse on high gain.
 

hlc1209

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That's total misconception. You gain nothing in terms of output power by switching to high gain. You only introduced a voltage amplification in the signal chain. Output stage is untouched.
The difference you hear is only the louder volume it gives making you "feel" the sound is better but actually not. In fact SNR and distortion performance is a bit worse on high gain.

I made this comparison at the same volume, and high gain didn't make the sound worse but better. I'm confused nowo_O
 

JohnYang1997

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I made this comparison at the same volume, and high gain didn't make the sound worse but better. I'm confused nowo_O
You shouldn't hear a big difference if any. Would you describe the difference? Is it more snappy, dynamic, forward and wide, generally more engaging? If it is, it's the volume. It's hard to match level with different gain settings also your mind may trick you thinking that way.
 

deafenears

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You shouldn't hear a big difference if any. Would you describe the difference? Is it more snappy, dynamic, forward and wide, generally more engaging? If it is, it's the volume. It's hard to match level with different gain settings also your mind may trick you thinking that way.
It has more plankton ;)
 

maxxevv

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You shouldn't hear a big difference if any. Would you describe the difference? Is it more snappy, dynamic, forward and wide, generally more engaging? If it is, it's the volume. It's hard to match level with different gain settings also your mind may trick you thinking that way.

Agreed. If there are differences, its very subtle at best, largely indiscernible.

Most definitely the volume differences if one doesn't use any measuring devices to match them.
 
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magicscreen

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I made this comparison at the same volume, and high gain didn't make the sound worse but better. I'm confused nowo_O
If you have not got any measuring devices to match the volumes, you can try listening to the high gain at slightly lower volume. Is it better as well this way?
 

Quizel

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My understanding when you switch gains all you're doing is swapping a resistor value or two. You're not really flipping a switch supplying the circuit with more power. The low gain setting can output the same max power as high gain. It just requires a larger voltage input signal to begin with.
 

hlc1209

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You shouldn't hear a big difference if any. Would you describe the difference? Is it more snappy, dynamic, forward and wide, generally more engaging? If it is, it's the volume. It's hard to match level with different gain settings also your mind may trick you thinking that way.

For now, what I can say is that the mids is smoother and the treble is more forward. It also has a better sense of depth.
 

Get a hearing test

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Shouldnt hear any difference except louder cause it's multiplying your dacs signal at a cost of sound quality. At least thats how i think it is.
 

tomchr

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