[reevesy]

have just been looking at this....
http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Amps/headphone.htm
had got it down for a maybe for using with my senns sp25s and archos mp3 player.
anyone using one or got an opinion?
also,what sort of battery life will these 9v powered amps give you?
cheers in advance.

[PaulBoy]

reevesy - can't comment on the one you mentioned but I can recommend the PA2V2 here which I bought after reading glowing reports / reviews over at head-fi - the PA2V2 uses 2x rechargable batteries & they last for ages between charges (I haven't recharged mine for about a month & use it for about an hour every day )
Gary who builds them is in Canada & great to deal with - if you are in the UK he will send w/o charger (for a discount) & the jiffy fits thru your letterbox!
Soundwise the PA2V2 is superb - My CD Walkman never sounded so good
HTH - Paul

[KoThreads]

Originally Posted by PaulBoy

reevesy - can't comment on the one you mentioned but I can recommend the PA2V2 here which I bought after reading glowing reports / reviews over at head-fi - the PA2V2 uses 2x rechargable batteries & they last for ages between charges (I haven't recharged mine for about a month & use it for about an hour every day )
Gary who builds them is in Canada & great to deal with - if you are in the UK he will send w/o charger (for a discount) & the jiffy fits thru your letterbox!
Soundwise the PA2V2 is superb - My CD Walkman never sounded so good
HTH - Paul

Anyone know if this is better or worse than the improved Penguin? And how much to get one delivered here?

I love my little Penguin, but this seems more robust, my case is already showing dents and scratches, plus it has phono in and better battery life. But is 2 AA @ 3v better than a 9v? If the price was right I might try one, but if the sounds worse I wouldn't.

Then again there's Reano's to consider as well when the reviews start coming in, which looks even better.

[reevesy]

did'nt fancy the cosmetic look of the penguin...the pa2v2 looks a bit better seems to be well built.
also as the canadian (2 dollars to the £ rightish?) guy is ok to deal with, does he mind getting round customs....marking it as a gift for example?
still interested in comments from the original link i posted ,if anyone can help?

[KoThreads]

Originally Posted by reevesy

did'nt fancy the cosmetic look of the penguin...the pa2v2 looks a bit better seems to be well built.
also as the canadian (2 dollars to the £ rightish?) guy is ok to deal with, does he mind getting round customs....marking it as a gift for example?
still interested in comments from the original link i posted ,if anyone can help?

The canadian guy does state it will be marked as a gift. EVILJOHN2 has the BK and rates it highly. But their page doesn't give out enough technical info compared to the Penguin or PA2V2 so it's hard to judge, but the price ,-p+p, is good and it looks better than the others.

[PaulBoy]

My PA2V2 cost $56 including delivery which is £32 (the price is US$)
As I said the amp is quite light w/o the rechargeables in but is well made & very sturdy (high grade plastic - details on the site in my first post) Gary will mark as a "gift" & your postie will have it to you in less than a week ...
I can't compare it to anything else but the sound using it is superb
Paul
PS - As he doesn't ship with a charger you need to buy one at Maplins - I went for a variable one for about £8 (?)

[reevesy]

as in all these things it always comes down to a choice between 2 so its a toss up between the pair of them....prehaps i'll have to bend eviljohns ear on the pros of the bk.

[StevieDvd]

Up until recently any headphone amp running 9v or less was considered below 'good'. This was mainly due to the opamps in them, the better sounding ones were usually best at higher voltages.

Some newer opamps are now geared to lower voltages (my RS Hornet is a single 9v - an expensive and well thought of amp).

If considering any headphone amp just pop over to head-fi and do a search for it and see if it is liked and kept or quickly sold to upgrade.

It's a question of balance, good source, good amp & good headphones equals good sound. Replace any of the three with a poor substitute and the sound is poor. An amp or headphone cannot make a poor source good, a poor headphone can make a good setup sound poor.

It depends what runs out first, money or when the weak link in the chain is your ears.

Steve

[reevesy]

i've just spoke to eviljohn2 regarding the BK amp and hes got good things to say about it...(cheers mate )i'm mainly after gaining abit of volume for my sennies as i lose some with some tracks (as you do) compared with some sony in ears i've got.
looks like the BKs could do the job after being compared with the headphone out on most recievers.
i suppose it's a good as place to start as any.......

[Reano]

Mine is currently in review so I myself am waiting for the results and its with people that have the Penguin, etc (like I did). I paid enough on that and with all the upgrades I had to make to cable, battery (buying charger) and still it needs updating it costs more than the ones I got.

Note the one I get is based on a design from a guy who sells through USA so I won't take credit I supply some parts and do some soldering and eventually will probably supply all parts locally and improve the board design but some parts just cheaper from states, japan or else where than UK.

Note the one they (reviewers) have is better than the standard spec I posted the details for in another thread and as before has 12v of rechargeable power and so will drive the fullsize headphones quite well. I have tested it on my RS1 and HD650's. As for loudness where the Penguin goes say three quarters to a given volume this will get the same level in about 1/4 - 1/2.

If the reviews are poor I won't do any more that simple but from what I've heard (of course I'm biased hence the independent reviews) it beats comfortable any portable I've heard and compared to the big amps its on a par with a lot of well know names.

I've been selling off my headphone amps. My Graham Slee mark IV sold on eBay last week. I'm now chasing a none payer for my Project Headbox but I only want to remain with one main one and one portable one.

So hopefully will get some feedback this week. Hey guys if your reading this thread get the reviews in

[kevH]

Can only say great things about the PA2V2 amp its a great little amp and Gary is an absolute pleasure to deal with !!