JDS Labs Atom Headphone Amplifier - UK Plug

It has no trouble powering up akg k702Its preamp outs are very usefulIt doesn't get hot, it's small.The only thing that could be better would be a price - before I bought I read it's $100 amp, not £140 amp

I had issues with my PC with humming noises even on the dedicated pCIe sound card (earth connected properly, most probably caused by the video card or the mobo, was barely audible but annoying) and the fact that even the dedicated sound card was capable of driving well the Sennheiser HD650, but definitely not the AKG K702, or at least not to their full potential.To drive these things you need proper power, and the listening experience changes, it feels more "controlled".I bough the Atom Amp as soon as it came out, following a couple of good early reviews.And it delivered since...It drives any headphone I have at home with no trouble, from large open cans to multi drive in ears. And it does so with the cleanest sound ever. It is impressive, literally.On top of that, any noise disappeared, like if there is a decoupler internally. There is no ground noise even at high volumes.By the way, using a USB sound card would have probably removed background noises as well, considering the digital signal is usually decoupled. But despite having a Focusrite and a IFI nano iDSD BL (this last one being amazing by the way), the power of the Atom is on top of everything.I am super happy.You also have 2 inputs that you can use (1 RCA and one 3.5mm jack) which can be selected. There is also a gain button that you can use when you switch between demanding cans and in ear, to have more control over the volume when using less demanding drivers.Only negative comment is on the volume knob which feels cheap with its plastic construction, the potentiometer behind it though feels ok. After months of use I haven't had any problem.A reviewer at the time complained about the volume being unbalanced left-right when lower than maximum. I fortunately didn't have that problem, so I am not sure if it was a faulty batch maybe.

Source is a Google Pixel 3XL playing Tidal HiFi with phone volume set to 100%.I am running a pair of Beyerdynamic 770 Pro (250 Ohm), and although this amplifier sounds amazing, I need to push the volume to 70-80% before I can get significant volume out of the cans. Tried my Audio-Technica ATH-M50X (38 Ohm) and they run much louder at 50%. I also tried my Bose Quietcomfort 35 II , and they run louder at 45-50%.I do understand that higher impedance headphones are harder to drive and need more power, but it is not ideal that you need to keep the volume at 80% to enjoy the music. Will be returning and looking for something more suited, as it stands my hybrid valve Nobsound amplifier that cost me £50 drives my Beyerdynamics much better, where 50% is louder than 75% on the JDS. The specs should not say that these are suitable for 250 Ohm headphones, because they are not.

Clean but a bit vanilla.