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Belarus, Minsk
1 Level
738 Review
40 Karma

Review on Enhanced Sony PHA-2 Headphone Amplifier for Superior Performance by Micheal Looney

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Rugged Worthy Road Warrior

Gets quick and to the point. For a sub $600 rugged wearable that is compatible with iDevice, this is the best solution. I looked at other big players like Nuforce. Fostex, CEntrance, beyerdynamic, cypher, Fiio and more and it's pretty good. Built like a mature tank with excellent sound performance and qualities. I also used some line outs with my Rudistor NX-02 and the DAC worked fine. Long battery life and replaceable lithium battery. The downsides are that the input toggle button could be better, more convenient, and higher quality. You will also need an additional power adapter to charge it from a regular wall outlet. It can be charged via USB using a computer or a self-powered USB hub. There is no Apple Lightning adapter, but Sony rightly assumes that an iDevice already has a cable. This is truly a 4.5 star product. No regret. I know $600 is no joke but look at others and you will see that this is actually a good deal and look forward to the future. Update: I have decided to return the item. I'm not thrilled with the battery life and the time it takes to charge. The prices of these devices are starting to fall back to earth. I decided to just use a portable DAC. The R Solo encryption algorithm meets these requirements. I will initially use it as a home device with my Rudustor. Then I will follow prices for Sony Pha-2 The Cypher Theorem and Hifi M8. In the meantime, I'm looking for a quality portable headphone amp to pair with the DAC.

Pros
  • Consistent test results
Cons
  • There are nuances