Review on Enhanced Sony PHA-2 Headphone Amplifier for Superior Performance by Ryan Selpasoria

Having used the Sony PHA-2 for over 6 months I thought it was time to talk about it. I really want to love the amp, but two issues keep getting in my way. 1. The amp cannot be charged while in use, which I think is a real design flaw. (Compare to any Fiio amp at all costs). But to make matters worse, the battery life of the device when used as a DAC/amplifier is just terrible. I recently did an experiment to find a number. I fully charged and connected the PHA-2 [using the Sony recommended charger] and my iPod Classic. I used Sennheiser M2 (18 ohm) headphones, medium volume, no bass boost, put the iPod in always-play mode, and selected Talking Heads "Remain in Light" (no particular reason). I let the couple work all day and check the start time from time to time. Units ran from 12:48 p.m. until the PHA-2 green light began flashing at 5:09 a.m. - a total of 4 hours and 21 minutes. Not very impressive and certainly not suitable for a flight from Newark to Seattle. Sony claims 6 hours but I just don't see it. So I use my Fiio X3ii when I need longer playback times. It just seems to play and play. Was thinking of the Oppo HA-2 but not sure about the sound quality - Sony's musical performance is wonderful. (What were the Sony engineers thinking?) Incidentally, I also used a Belkin charger and a good Ravpower battery to charge the PHA-2 and still can't get past 4 1/2 hours. (And Ravpower reportedly has smart battery management features built in.)