JDS Labs The Element II Headphone Amplifier & USB DAC - Copper Ring

Replaced a Marantz HD DAC1 which is far from shoddy. The Element 2 was a small improvement, worth the hassle of selling the Marantz to fund this. It's drier, has a cleaner faster sound (like Naim), good microdynamics and space around instruments, detail etc. Works a treat with my Grado 325e and Hemp, though they are hardly a difficult load. The Marantz has a warmer slightly bigger bass, though not as fast, so tonally with Grados you might miss that thump a bit, other phones would be better balanced maybe, but these things are massively down to personal preference.I did try to compare the JDS DAC with the Marantz DAC, on the basis that the JDS DAC is measurably the weakest link, and the one in the Marantz is alleged (not seen any measurement data to back this up mind) to be it's strongest hand. In the end I preferred the JDS in one unit than Marantz DAC into the JDS amp, but that's another great thing about this unit, you can use either the amp or the DAC in isolation in a system.I marked it 4 starts for VFM because I'm going against most opinion, I don't think the build quality is special, yes it's small, but it gets hot, hotter than the Marantz. The connections feel slightly flimsy on the board, especially the phones socket. In this respect the Marantz feels like everything has been milled or forged from a single crystal Ti billet.Ultimately, it sounds like I thought it might after reading the test on ASR, so just shows that that the numbers are important. I like it, a lot. If the Atom is sonically close, then I'd suggest getting that instead, as better VFM!

Expensive but really nice, I wont talk much about audio quality as that is subjective. I use this with sennheiser hd660s and notice an improvement in quality over my previous device (Focusrite 2i4).Comes in some basic printed packaging with a UK plug adapter, the adapter is hefty and rather large, but still fit fine on an extension with other plugs to the side.The unit itself is premium to feel, its metal and looks great on your desk. The rotary knob on the top is super smooth, you can make it wiggle if you press hard on one side of the knob but that's to be expected because of its size.I have my headphones constantly plugged into the front and my speakers into the back and toggle between them. You do this by pressing the 'power' button; one short press to power the unit on or off and a slight hold to switch input. When I first read this I thought it was a little silly, but its easy to do and not a negative at all.The instructions say you can leave the unit powered on constantly, I however turn mine off on the night due to the light around the ring. It does get warm to the touch when left on for long periods; however I think this is by design, maybe the metal shell acting as a heatsink.All in all really expensive, but if your spending this much on one of these you already know about it. I really like mine.

Great device; simple, stylish, elegant. Powers headphones and pre-amp for speakers. What more do you need?