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Headphone Amp For Practice

#41
NotAGardener said:
Thanks for that info; the external speaker would only be used for listening to streaming music out in the yard/beach/whatever, not for bass practice. I wouldn't expect a lot of such a small speaker but is it decent for garden variety listening when away from my real stereo? It sounds like you're perfectly happy with it's headphone performance. Thinking about it more, I'd be using a pair of older Sony cans, not my IEMs; I wonder if it can drive that ok. I've seen some well respected brands, used on ebay, but mail order used electronics seems an iffy proposition.

That said I'm leaning towards the Saturnworks or maybe the Mooer; and I get the feeling that a separate external speaker for simply listening to music may be a better route.
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I have used it with a few different headphones, on IEMS and it sounds fine. Streaming music via the speaker is fine. It sounded a little thin at first and I was concerned until I found an EQ setting for playback (I forget exactly where but it's in there - a set it and forget it kinda thing) and now it has a decent sound. I pre-ordered mine so I got it for $109, they are currently $129 on PG's website.
I think it's a worthwhile purchase - best $100 i've spent in a while. I use it with an inexpensive Samsung Tablet. I use the Spark app and have customized the 4 hardware presets and enjoy trying out the different patches (mostly aimed at guitar) and tweaking them etc. The Spark app has plenty of backing tracks too (again mostly aimed at guitar) I have loaded a bunch of MP3's onto that tablet and am using the "Music Speed Changer" app for looping track sections, slowing down parts and for general music streaming. Quite happy with it all.
I still use and appreciate my Pandoras but for playing along with and learning tunes the GO is great.
One qualifier: I use it without cans mostly when playing 6 string guitar. For guitar I think it's perfect and sounds fantastic. For bass it seems better with headphones.
As a BT speaker it is good. Maybe not as good as a $150 Bose. Decent volume and a fairly balanced sound.
 
#42
I am using two of the items that you are discussing, so I have some experience with both.

I bought the Nux Mighty Plug because of the advertised bass setting. I plugged it in and paired to my phone to find out that they no longer have specific bass settings. I use a setting for a clean guitar amp and use this about 90% of the time that I am playing. I have not had any issues with it bumping into things. After I got over my initial disappointment, I’ve been very happy with it.

My newest acquisition is a PG Spark go. I play by myself in my bedroom all the time. I just wanted a portable small amp to jam along with music from my computer. This works great for that and can be used as a Bluetooth speaker. Although not as small as the Nux, I’m really happy with the Spark Go
 
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#43
It's worth mentioning that many (most?) multi-effects units often double as headphone amps, and can run on batteries.

I have a Boss GT-1B that will run on (4) AA cells, makes a great headphone amp, and has a stereo aux input for play alongs. It's also my main multi-FX when velcro'd to my board an powered by a power supply. It's even got a tuner. Four Eneloop AA's will power it for many hours before needing a recharge.

Many smaller amps also include aux in and headphone jacks. I have a Boss Bass MicroCube that includes excellent amp models and makes a fantastic headphone amp on batteries or AC.

I have a few of the Amplugs, an ancient Bass Rockman, and some USB interfaces, and the GT-1B and MicroCube are by far my favorite headphone amps.
 
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#44
#47
Thanks for everybody’s input; it’s been helpful not only from technical or performance perspectives but for sharpening focus on what’s important to me; and I now realize that being completely untethered, having solid, clean IEM performance and BT streaming capability are the mission; if it’ll drive cans that’s a bonus but tertiary like the external speaker. That’s where I started out but I lost focus bc there are so many options with excellent performance. Getting all of your perspectives and then, last night, schlepping my Peavey Max 158 into the house generated the necessary clarity; it’s not huge, is portable but it’s got cables, requires 120 vac in and it won’t hang on a belt.

One of you noted that placement of the bass jack would affect the likelihood of damage and that rings true with me; mine is a G&L Kiloton with the jack pretty much right where I wouldn't want it if using a Vox or Mustang type headphone device; I'm careful but...no.

I’m going to give the Spark GO a whirl.
 
#48
NotAGardener said:
Thanks for everybody’s input; it’s been helpful not only from technical or performance perspectives but for sharpening focus on what’s important to me; and I now realize that being completely untethered, having solid, clean IEM performance and BT streaming capability are the mission; if it’ll drive cans that’s a bonus but tertiary like the external speaker. That’s where I started out but I lost focus bc there are so many options with excellent performance. Getting all of your perspectives and then, last night, schlepping my Peavey Max 158 into the house generated the necessary clarity; it’s not huge, is portable but it’s got cables, requires 120 vac in and it won’t hang on a belt.

One of you noted that placement of the bass jack would affect the likelihood of damage and that rings true with me; mine is a G&L Kiloton with the jack pretty much right where I wouldn't want it if using a Vox or Mustang type headphone device; I'm careful but...no.

I’m going to give the Spark GO a whirl.
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Do let us know what you think of it. Your thread inspired me to play bass along with some MP3's though it using headphones for a few hours yesterday. Quite satisfying. I did a few through the builtin speaker as well. Not too shabby.
I think you will like it, it should cover your needs, even if not completely I think you'll not regret having one of these.
 
#49
One thing always worth mentioning, most modern class D amps can be used without a speaker connected to it. So if you have a Mesa Subway, Genzler, Quilter, or any number of other amps you can plug in your bass as usual, most have headphone jacks (may require a 1/4-1/8 mini plug adapter, and many have an aux in also for playalong. May not meet all your criteria but def a viable option for many. And some (not all) combos will cut off the speaker if you plug in headphones.
 
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#50
MasterMonkeyMan said:
Do let us know what you think of it. Your thread inspired me to play bass along with some MP3's though it using headphones for a few hours yesterday. Quite satisfying. I did a few through the builtin speaker as well. Not too shabby.
I think you will like it, it should cover your needs, even if not completely I think you'll not regret having one of these.
Click to expand...

Ordered today, and I'll close the loop here.
 
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#52
I have the VOX bass headphone amp and I totally agree, the hissing is unbearable. I've since switched to the Ashdown Tone Pocket, and I highly recommend it. It's feature packed and can be used for more than a headphone amplifier and it is specific for bass. Check out this review...
 
#53
Lately, I have been using the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, which (in addition to being an excellent audio recording interface) makes for a very good headphone amp. I imagine the Solo has the same headphone amp, and it retails at $130, which is very reasonable for all you get.

The Bergantino SuperPre also has a great headphone amp, and like others, I also dig the PJB Bighead Pro.
 
#54
I'm looking forward to the Spark GO. Aside from the ease convenience, and freedom it brings to the world of silent, cordless practice, relatively decent, small streaming speakers will be nice for washing dishes, earbud fatigue while pulling weeds or whatever; I use them a lot. We don’t use the house stereo cause it’d drive our dog nuts; and we live for our dog; our lives are in service to our dog. It’s probably pathetic but those few of you so afflicted will understand. I can get hi volume listening and practicing fix in the small corner of my shop that is my studio. It’ll be nice to have 2” speaker oomph rather than my smartfone’s micro speakers; our dog won’t mind that. Like right now, another morning of heavy overcast, intense T-storms and I need to wash the dishes (yes, I know), do some bookkeeping. Flipping on music with speakers as much better as a speaker this size can be will be stellar. Should be here tomorrow.
 
#57
I've been working with the Spark GO for a couple of days. Short version: I love the physical unit; it does exactly what I want and I'm keeping it.
  1. I've heard only a few, small external BT speakers for when you want more than a smartphone will deliver. I think this one sounds great. It's belt-loop/guitar strap mobile with a 2" mono speaker so it's obviously not going to replace a stereo system and it's not going to have authoritative bass, but it sounds great. Bass lines come through streaming music as well as I think one could expect; the Mini sounds better, particularly the bass, of course it does, but you're not going to hang it on your belt or strap. If you don't mind that then the Mini is the more capable speaker system; I couldn't do side by side comparisons but my recollection is that the Mini had pretty surprising bassline authority.
  2. Headphone Amp: A tiny bit of hiss; a fraction of my experience with the Vox bass headphone amp. I'd love to say it has none but the tiny bit it has, and it is quite tiny, is perfectly acceptable to me. The neutral bass amp sounds as I think it should; very pleased.
  3. Speaker with Bass: It sounds very good; not as much bottom end authority as the Mini but, again, how could it be? It does very well, does what I want it to do and I think as much (or more) as reasonable expectations cold desire from a package this size; but for me, this is really for practice with cans or IEMs and both work well.
  4. The App: My phone is a Samsung A12. The app does way more stuff than I do, or likely will do, so I can't really comment other than to say that it has a bunch of different amps and they definitely make a difference; it woke up in something that wasn't in my sonic or the bass guitar Zip Code; easily remedied once I got a little familiar with it's operation. Operation of the app; I'm finding it a tad fiddly, a tad annoying. The Tone Control display indicates "connected"; the Blue Tooth Audio display indicates that it isn't connected, yet I BT stream music to it. Maybe I don't know what that indicator really means but for the present it's a minor annoyance that hasn't impacted any functionality that I'm aware of. I'll remove and reinstall the app for the third time. But note that I previously installed the app when I demoed the Mini at GC; maybe that's got something to do with this issue and the one below.

    It appears in my phone's BT settings as Spark Go Audio, but there's also a Spark GO BLE listed as an available device. I don't know what that is and I can't get it to connect via A12 settings or the Spark app. I scanned, not read, the manual and haven't seen mention or description of what Spark GO BLE is. I'll read the manual more closely but....grrr; note to Spark: Make label meanings obvious.

    The firmware upgrade went without a hitch.
So, there you have it. I really like it and I'm certainly going to keep it.
 
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#58
NotAGardener said:
I've been working with the Spark GO for a couple of days. Short version: I love the physical unit; it does exactly what I want and I'm keeping it.
  1. I've heard only a few, small external BT speakers for when you want more than a smartphone will deliver. I think this one sounds great. It's belt-loop/guitar strap mobile with a 2" mono speaker so it's obviously not going to replace a stereo system and it's not going to have authoritative bass, but it sounds great. Bass lines come through streaming music as well as I think one could expect; the Mini sounds better, particularly the bass, of course it does, but you're not going to hang it on your belt or strap. If you don't mind that then the Mini is the more capable speaker system; I couldn't do side by side comparisons but my recollection is that the Mini had pretty surprising bassline authority.
  2. Headphone Amp: A tiny bit of hiss; a fraction of my experience with the Vox bass headphone amp. I'd love to say it has none but the tiny bit it has, and it is quite tiny, is perfectly acceptable to me. The neutral bass amp sounds as I think it should; very pleased.
  3. Speaker with Bass: It sounds very good; not as much bottom end authority as the Mini but, again, how could it be? It does very well, does what I want it to do and I think as much (or more) as reasonable expectations cold desire from a package this size; but for me, this is really for practice with cans or IEMs and both work well.
  4. The App: My phone is a Samsung A12. The app does way more stuff than I do, or likely will do, so I can't really comment other than to say that it has a bunch of different amps and they definitely make a difference; it woke up in something that wasn't in my sonic or the bass guitar Zip Code; easily remedied once I got a little familiar with it's operation. Operation of the app; I'm finding it a tad fiddly, a tad annoying. The Tone Control display indicates "connected"; the Blue Tooth Audio display indicates that it isn't connected, yet I BT stream music to it. Maybe I don't know what that indicator really means but for the present it's a minor annoyance that hasn't impacted any functionality that I'm aware of. I'll remove and reinstall the app for the third time. But note that I previously installed the app when I demoed the Mini at GC; maybe that's got something to do with this issue and the one below.

    It appears in my phone's BT settings as Spark Go Audio, but there's also a Spark GO BLE listed as an available device. I don't know what that is and I can't get it to connect via A12 settings or the Spark app. I scanned, not read, the manual and haven't seen mention or description of what Spark GO BLE is. I'll read the manual more closely but....grrr; note to Spark: Make label meanings obvious.

    The firmware upgrade went without a hitch.
So, there you have it. I really like it and I'm certainly going to keep it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the update. Yeah, I would remove all paired Spark devices, uninstall and reinstall App. I use it with a brand new Galaxy Tab A Lite that I bought just for this purpose. Everything installed and paired without problems.
 

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