PJB Bighead vs. Vox AmPlug, worth the upgrade for headphone practice?

[ShawnG]

I am pretty much practicing 99% of the time via headphones with my wife working from home now. I’ve been using a Vox AmPlug headphone amp and am wondering how much of an upgrade an HA-1 would be sound-wise? I plugged my headphones into my Rumble 25 and was pretty surprised by what I had been missing via the AmPlug.
The one plus of the AmPlug is allows me to be pretty mobile and not “tied” to an amp. Will the HA-1 also allow me to be “mobile”?

 

[JakobT]

I am pretty much practicing 99% of the time via headphones with my wife working from home now. I’ve been using a Vox AmPlug headphone amp and am wondering how much of an upgrade an HA-1 would be sound-wise? I plugged my headphones into my Rumble 25 and was pretty surprised by what I had been missing via the AmPlug.
The one plus of the AmPlug is allows me to be pretty mobile and not “tied” to an amp. Will the HA-1 also allow me to be “mobile”?

The HA-1 is excellent for headphone practice, and being rechargeable it does indeed allow you to be mobile. It also has great sound quality, and allows you to connect an audio device to play along to if you want. It even doubles as a recording interface. It’s not exactly cheap, but I’ve never regretted getting mine.

 

[ShawnG]

The HA-1 is excellent for headphone practice, and being rechargeable it does indeed allow you to be mobile. It also has great sound quality, and allows you to connect an audio device to play along to if you want. It even doubles as a recording interface. It’s not exactly cheap, but I’ve never regretted getting mine.

Thx!
I have one on the way from a fellow TBer! Looking forward to a more transparent signal with ability to add some eq.

 

[ShawnG]

I am replying in answer to my own question in the hopes that it will assist others who search for an answer in the future (Thanks, Jakob, for your informative reply!).
I received the HA-1 unit yesterday and it is indeed a worthy upgrade from my Vox AmPlug, that has been my companion these past four months with my wife working from home.
The AmPlug is a great tool, but in a completely different league from the PJB BigHead. The HA-1 is just like plugging into a "Big Head" or any other high quality amplifyer, which is exactly what I was hoping for.
The AmPlug just doesn’t have the clarity and/or definition I was desiring. It doesn't transmit the ringing of unmuted strings well, or the "clack" of poor fingering techniques, etc. and was allowing me to be lazy with my technique. The BigHead is very clear and with good phones (Sennheiser HD-25s) highlights my mistakes, which is what I am looking for as a new bassist. It's fidelity allows me to hear those things I need to work to improve on and which would come through when played through a quality amp/speaker.
The HA-1 is a beautiful, very well constructed unit. Quality is impressive. I will enjoy the ability to tweak the tone via the two-channel EQ (Bass & Treble, boost & cut).
As far as mobility goes, I’ve hot-glued the BigHead to an old iPhone OtterBox belt clip. Works awesome and truly allows me to be mobile and wander about while playing vs. being tied to an amp plugged into the wall (just like using wireless). Hot-glue just peels off when you are ready to remove it, which I don’t expect to do anytime soon.

 

[JakobT]

I am replying in answer to my own question in the hopes that it will assist others who search for an answer in the future (Thanks, Jakob, for your informative reply!).
I received the HA-1 unit yesterday and it is indeed a worthy upgrade from my Vox AmPlug, that has been my companion these past four months with my wife working from home.
The AmPlug is a great tool, but in a completely different league from the PJB BigHead. The HA-1 is just like plugging into a "Big Head" or any other high quality amplifyer, which is exactly what I was hoping for.
The AmPlug just doesn’t have the clarity and/or definition I was desiring. It doesn't transmit the ringing of unmuted strings well, or the "clack" of poor fingering techniques, etc. and was allowing me to be lazy with my technique. The BigHead is very clear and with good phones (Sennheiser HD-25s) highlights my mistakes, which is what I am looking for as a new bassist. It's fidelity allows me to hear those things I need to work to improve on and which would come through when played through a quality amp/speaker.
The HA-1 is a beautiful, very well constructed unit. Quality is impressive. I will enjoy the ability to tweak the tone via the two-channel EQ (Bass & Treble, boost & cut).
As far as mobility goes, I’ve hot-glued the BigHead to an old iPhone OtterBox belt clip. Works awesome and truly allows me to be mobile and wander about while playing vs. being tied to an amp plugged into the wall (just like using wireless). Hot-glue just peels off when you are ready to remove it, which I don’t expect to do anytime soon.
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Glad you’re happy with your HA-1. One of the most useful pieces of bass gear I ever bought!

 

[RedCoatMonster]

How does the big head stack up against the darkglass?

 

[forrestlaw]

I tried the Vox Amplug and just didn't care for it. Mine seemed constantly static-y and had a background hiss. I don't practice via headphones super often, so I just couldn't justify any of the PJB for my needs, but have heard nothing but really good things about them. OP, you might check out the Zoom B1 four... that's what I ended up getting instead. It's got a tuner and multi-effects built in along with a headphone jack. I like mine, but am not using headphones for practice nearly as much as you.

 

[ShawnG]

How does the big head stack up against the darkglass?

No experience with the Darkglass unit. Sorry. But I a month in, I would highly recommend the PJB headphone amp. Very happy with my purchase.