The Mayflower Electronics CMOY portable headphone amplifier brings Objective 2 sound quality to a small and portable package. Housed in a similar (but significantly smaller) nondescript brushed aluminum enclosure to the Objective 2, the CMOY portable is a no frills mini headphone amplifier for use on the go and everywhere in between.
According to Mayflower's website, the CMOY portable was designed in accordance with many of the audio philosophies used in the Objective 2. The CMOY portable uses the same 4556 OP-amp found in the Objective 2, an OP-amp that is designed for driving headphones and also has the added benefit of not draining too much power for a portable device. The CMOY is equipped with a 280mAh battery which allows for 8 to 10 hours of battery life off of a single charge. Using 32 and 64 Ohm impedance headphones, I verified the 8 to 10 hour battery life claim in testing, typically averaging around nine hours of playtime before a recharge was required (at sustained loud volume levels).
Rear I/O
In terms of build quality, the CMOY portable is as solid as they come. As I mentioned earlier, the enclosure is constructed entirely from thick aluminum, with brushed aluminum on the back and the front. The rear of the unit provides a standard 3.5mm input and 15v power input. The volume knob, green power LED, and 3.5mm headphone output are located on the front of the unit. There is an internal two-stage gain switch located on the inside of the device, configured for 2x and 4x gain respectively. According to Mayflowers website, an adjustable gain switch will be made available on the CMOY at a later date. Either way, being such as simple device, it's not too difficult to open up the amplifier to adjust the gain. On-the-fly gain switching is not really an option yet, however. The CMOY portable ships with a spare 9v rechargeable battery, as well as four rubber feet that can be affixed to the bottom of the amplifier, which is definitely a nice addition. You will have to buy the 15v DC power adapter separately for an additional $10 if you don't have one lying around already.
Internals
While switching between listening to the new CMOY portable and my Objective 2, I found it nearly impossible to discern a difference in sound quality between the two with both plugged into power. Despite a less complex, and different internal design, the CMOY portable really does sound just like an Objective 2 but in a smaller and more portable package. While the Objective 2 does provide considerably more power, and can subsequently drive higher impedance headphones with more ease, most of my headphones are relatively low impedance making the power difference between the two amps almost imperceptible. Either way, the CMOY portable dishes out far more power than any standard MP3 player, smartphone or tablet can produce. There are certain advantages to having this extra power, even in $100 to $150 dollar low-impedance headphones such as the Audio- Technica ATH-M50X's, Sony MDR-7506's and Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's that I used extensively in my testing. Some of the standard outputs on smartphones and tablets can be surprisingly bad. When switching from these standard mobile device outputs to a quality amplifier like the Mayflower CMOY portable, you may notice an overall increase in resolution and detail as well as tighter, more accurate, and overall cleaner bass response. I did notice a slight but perceptible improvement in overall sound quality when using the CMOY portable with my headphones, as opposed to directly plugging into my iPhone 5's output. The CMOY portable obviously also provides the added benefit of driving low to medium impedance range headphones to earsplitting volumes. You will never find yourself complaining about your music not being loud enough ever again! In short, the CMOY portable cleaned up the audio from my mobile devices and helped more prominently display details in my music that were either unnoticeable or greatly subdued when using just purely my iPhone or Nexus 7's onboard amplifier circuit. While I am sure that the CMOY portable provides a greater benefit to higher impedance and less modestly priced headphones, it did provide a tangible benefit to my (relatively) inexpensive sets of headphones.
In short, it is ultimately up to you to decide if a portable amplifier is worth it for your specific listening needs and for the headphones that you plan on using with the amplifier. I can however certify that the CMOY portable does everything a portable amplifier should, increase the overall quality of the sound being sent to your headphones and providing a substantial power boost over the standard output of your mobile device. The CMOY portable is built as solid as they come, and is a simplistic and full-proof way to get a better and more powerful sound out of your mobile device.
Bravo Audio is a small Chinese startup that deals primarily with budget oriented and simple vacuum tube powered amplifiers for headphones. Most of Bravo Audio's amplifier lineup looks more like homemade DIY amplifiers than a production line from a company, a design aesthetic that I personally like for it's uniqueness. The Ocean currently represents Bravo Audio's top of the line headphone amp, and unlike Bravo Audio's other amplifiers, the Ocean is housed in a beautiful blue and black brushed aluminum enclosure.
The Ocean is a mini-valve class A tube amplifier that utilizes a Shu Guang 12AU7 tube which is essentially a pre-amp tube. It's 100% tube, as there is no integrated op-amp circuit. The Ocean has 30dB of set gain, and a 20 Ohm output impedance. Being a tube amplifier naturally make's the output impedance relatively high. It's small footprint is a nice addition as it takes up minimal desk space and you can also see from the picture that internally, it is a fairly simple design.
Internals
While the striking blue color of the brushed aluminum enclosure is disagreeable to some, I think that it looks very nice and gives the amp a unique flair. It stands out from the rest of the plain black hardware on my desk. The unit ships with a power brick, cord, and the amplifier itself. No other accessories are provided. The only other thing I wish Bravo Audio included were some rubber feet to tack onto the bottom of the amplifier. As it is, no rubber feet are provided or preinstalled, making the Ocean prone to sliding around on a desk. I ended up adding my own rubber feet to raise the amplifier off my desk (which also aids in heat dissipation) and prevents the amplifier from moving around on my desk. It is extremely easy to find and purchase your own rubber feet for very cheap, however it would be a nice inclusion to just have them shipped with the unit and I can't imagine it costing Bravo Audio much to include them.
Connectivity is not a problem with the Ocean, as the rear of the unit provides an RCA style L/R line in and line out, as well as a traditional 3.5mm input in addition to the power input. The line out allows the Ocean to act as a preamplifier, an aspect of the Ocean I utilized extensively during my testing. With the 12AU7 vacuum tube being in essence a preamp tube, the Bravo Audio Ocean worked quite nicely as a preamplifier for my speaker system. Front I/O includes a nice on/off flip switch, a 6.3mm headphone output and a 3.5mm headphone output as well as a silver brushed aluminum volume knob. The amplifier does not output sound on both headphone outputs simultaneously, it's either one or the other. An extremely bright red power LED is also located on the front of the unit and the amount of light it produces could definitely be reduced. The Shu Guang 12AU7 tube protrudes from the top of the unit, and is protected by a silver metal bar. As far as build quality is concerned, the Ocean is a very solidly built amplifier that looks and feels the part.
The Ocean is clearly designed to dissipate some of its heat by essentially utilizing the aluminum chassis as a giant heatsink. Because of this, the surface of the Ocean does get noticeably hot during operation, thanks in part to the tube itself which emits a generous amount of heat in addition to the mosfets used inside the amplifier. Anyone who has used a vacuum tube amplifier before won't be surprised, but to the uninitiated it can be slightly alarming. Just know that it is normal for this amplifier to run rather hot.
The Bravo Audio Ocean definitely provides that extra oomph of power to your headphones that any decent headphone amplifier should provide. The gain is set at 30dB which doesn't make it a great fit for super sensitive IEM's and just generally sensitive headphones. The noise floor with sensitive headphones is also noticeably high, so this amp is simply not suited for these types of headphones. That being said, the Ocean is a very powerful headphone amp and can drive high impedance headphones with relative ease.
Rear I/O
The Ocean is much more neutral and balanced than many other vacuum tube amplifiers I have tried. Some vacuum tube amplifiers tend to add too much warmth and distortion to the sound. The Ocean remains relatively clear and precise. It does add noticeable warmth over something like my solid-state Objective 2 amplifier, which is extremely neutral (which is it's primary reason for being my benchmark amplifier). It's interesting that this amplifier, despite being tube powered, remains only slightly colored in it's sound reproduction. Reading online, it was indicated to me that a more warm sound can be achieved by replacing the stock Shu Guang 12AU7 tube with an Elector-Harmonix, Genalex Gold Lion, Telefunken, or Mullard 12AU7 tube. Each tube has slightly different characteristics, so you will just have to do some research before purchasing a non-stock tube. While some other reviews have criticized the performance of the included Shu Guang tube, it suits my needs and I have no problems with it sonically. At some point in the future, I hope to acquire a few different 12AU7 tubes to try in the Ocean, but for now I am overall satisfied with the stock tube's performance. The Ocean helped fill out the mid range in some of my headphones that are known for being particularly lacking in the mid range frequencies. It also helped to really let the upper ranges sing out without becoming too harsh. Depending on your headphones, your mileage may vary, but in most cases the Ocean did a good job. With a good pair of headphones, guitar driven rock music sounds spectacular with this amp. Those of you using discerning mastering and monitoring headphones may run into trouble with the Ocean however. In select songs, my notoriously discerning Sony MDR-7506's picked up some upper frequency distortion. Replaying these same songs on the Ocean with my ATH-M50X's and various other headphones did not reproduce the same results. In short, monitoring headphones probably shouldn't be used with a budget tube amplifier anyway. Distortion is an inherit part of any vacuum tube powered amplifier, and extremely discerning headphones will pick up on that in an often times not so pleasant way.
If you are dead set on going the vacuum tube route as opposed to solid state and you want to stick to a reasonable price, the Bravo Audio Ocean is a fantastic choice. While the Bravo Audio Ocean sounds absolutely fantastic with many headphones, just be aware that certain headphones will pick up some of that tube distortion, and if you are using sensitive IEM's you should be looking at something in the solid-state amplifier realm.
Photo taken @ The Pepsi Center in Denver, CO for
the Rush R40 tour on July 11th, 2015 "Roll the Bones"
was being played.
Below I have listed a definitive compilation/ playlist I put together as a direct result of my unnatural obsession with Rush, their musicality and their incredible live performances. This compilation contains what I believe to be some of the very best live recordings of various different tracks, handpicked from the many different Rush live album releases. This compilation/ playlist contains (in my view) a roughly proportional amount of new and old material. I enjoy listening to Rush’s newer material just as much as their old material.
Having just recently seen Rush in concert for their 40th anniversary R40 tour, I was compelled to try and recreate the concert sound as much as possible. While nothing I own can achieve that true rock concert sound, I can at least get relatively close. I have been listening to Rush's live albums much more than their studio releases as of late, and I decided to create a playlist that contains the best songs from their live performances.
The live recordings in this compilation/ playlist come from the following live albums:
All the World’s a Stage (Live) [Remastered] {released September 29, 1976}
Exit… Stage Left (Live) [Remastered] {released October, 1981}
Chronicles [Remastered] (which contains four live recordings) {released September 4, 1990}
Rush In Rio (Live) {released January 27, 2004}
R30 (Live) {released November 18, 2005}
Snakes & Arrows: Live {released April 12, 2008}
Clockwork Angels Tour (Live) {released November 15, 2013}
Note: This playlist was created in iTunes. In order to smooth out the transitions between the songs (due to their live recorded nature) it is important to enable “Crossfade Songs” in iTunes preferences, under “Playback.”
I set the crossfade slider all of the way to the leftmost position. Fine tuning the slider will likely result in better transitions between songs, however some transitions will naturally be awkward, especially when bouncing from “R30” to “Exit Stage Left” for example. Not using crossfade at all however, naturally makes song transitions very abrupt.
Light show for "Spirit of Radio" @ The Pepsi Center in
Denver, CO on July 11th, 2015.
I ordered the compilation/ playlist with more regard towards a concert-like order of songs than a playlist where songs transition better together. However, I did try to group parts of the compilation/ playlist together by naturally progressing songs from the same live album (like Caravan, Clockwork, Anarchist, Carnies, Wreckers from the Clockwork Tour album) in other words, how that portion of the live album was originally ordered.
For those who don’t use iTunes, I know that most computer based media players have a crossfade option, or something similarly named but identical in function.
Due to the disparity in some of the recordings age, it may be necessary to boost the volume of the older recordings to reach the volume level or the newer recordings. I boosted the volume of “Exit Stage Left” and “Chronicles” tracks by around 45% (again, basing this off of iTunes).
I am constantly reordering this playlist. It seems like no matter what combination, it’s never just quite right. Obviously the order of the songs is highly subjective, but I feel that the current order works fairly well. I will likely continue to tweak it, and perhaps add additional songs. Any suggestions for better flow or less abrupt transitions are welcome.
The compilation is as follows:
1.) R30 – Overture – R30 (Live)
2.) Earthshine – R30 (Live)
3.) Animate – R30 (Live)
4.) Mystic Rhythms – R30 (Live)
5.) Caravan – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
6.) Clockwork Angels – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
7.) The Anarchist – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
8.) Carnies – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
9.) The Wreckers – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
10.) Roll The Bones – R30 (Live)
11.) Subdivisions – R30 (Live)
12.) Limelight – R30 (Live)
13.) Far Cry – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
14.) The Main Monkey Business (Live) – Snakes & Arrows: Live
15.) The Analog Kid – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
16.) Grand Designs – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
17.) The Body Electric – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
18.) Territories – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
19.) Force Ten – R30 (Live)
20.) Distant Early Warning – Snakes & Arrows: Live
21.) Leave That Thing Alone – Rush In Rio (Live)
22.) Wish Them Well – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
23.) Seven Cities of Gold – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
24.) The Percussor [I] Binary Love Theme [II] Steambanger’s Ball [drum solo] – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
25.) Red Sector A – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
26.) YYZ – Clockworks Angels Tour (Live)
27.) The Garden – Clockwork Angels Tour (Live)
28.) Ghost Rider – Rush In Rio (Live)
29.) Jacob’s Ladder – Exit… Stage Left (Live) [Remastered]
30.) The Trees – Exit… Stage Left (Live) [Remastered]
31.) Natural Science – Snakes & Arrows: Live
32.) Red Barchetta (Live) – Exit… Stage Left (Live) [Remastered]
33.) Digital Man – Snakes & Arrows: Live
34.) A Passage to Bangkok – Snakes & Arrows: Live
35.) Tom Sawyer – Exit… Stage Left (Live) [Remastered]
36.) The Spirit of Radio – Exit… Stage Left (Live) [Remastered]
37.) Xanadu (Live) – Exit… Stage Left (Live) [Remastered]
38.) 2112 – R30 (Live)
39.) What You’re Doing [Live] – Chronicles (Remastered)
40.) Anthem (Live) – All the World’s a Stage (Live) [Remastered]
41.) Working Man – R30 (Live)
Approx. total runtime: 4 hours, 9 minutes
(for importing this playlist into iTunes, you will need to have the identical songs in your library) CLICK HERE for the iTunes playlist text file R40 photos that I took @ The Pepsi Center in Denver, CO:
"Growing up it all seems so one-sided Opinions all provided The future pre-decided Detached and subdivided In the mass production zone Nowhere is the dreamer Or the misfit so alone"
The California Headphone Company (CHC) Silverado over ear headphones represent a breath of fresh air, an extremely well built, extremely inexpensive headphone that doesn't break the bank while simultaneously performing far beyond their respective price point. As of this writing, the CHC Silverado's will set you back a minuscule $50 dollars on Amazon. Amazon lists them as 78% off (or $176.95 off) from the original price of $225 dollars. They are listed as being $200 dollars on the CHC official website, so their obviously appears to be some pricing confusion. At $200 dollars, the CHC's wow factor is severely diminished, but the Silverado's have been listed as $50 dollars on Amazon for months now, so understand that this review will be inaccurate if the price happens to increase. I cannot explain why the headphones are currently so inexpensive and CHC did not respond to my email inquiry, either way, the headphones are a deal of a lifetime at $50 dollars.
The CHC Silverado's are built like absolute tanks. They are constructed from thick die-cast metal, beefy metal reinforced joints, and stitched leather. The headphone adjustment rails are constructed from thick silver metal and give out an satisfying, audible "click" for each level of adjustment. The hinges, also constructed from die-cast metal, allow for a 280 degree range of motion, allowing the Silverado's to "trip-fold" into a more compact package for storage and transport. The pads are extremely thick, and use supple leather for added comfort. The headband is also built with ample padding. In terms of build quality alone, these are among some of the most ridiculously overbuilt, durable headphones I have ever used. The quality of materials and construction quality is better than headphones three times its price. The durable materials used do come at a cost, the Silverado's are a very heavy set of headphones. These are not lightweight headphones that you forget are on your head, but the comfort level does not suffer terribly from the increased weight, and I would argue that the quality of construction outweighs the compromises made to comfort. The CHC website states that the Silverado's are "built to last" and the quality of these headphones validates their point.
To the rest of the headphone, the cable is comparatively average in my opinion. The cable is removable/ replaceable and has what CHC refers to as "Duo-Jack Technology" allowing another user to plug into a headphone located out on the cable, allowing for shared music. The "Duo-Jack" mostly just gets in the way and irritates me, and really only serves to fill out a marketing bullet point on a spec sheet. The cable construction itself is relatively average, it is braided which I actually tend to dislike (as the rubbing action of the cable against a surface can cause noise to be heard in the headphones) and although the CHC's are not plagued by this problem, I wish that they had chosen to just use a high quality rubberized cable. The cable is also a Y design and plugs into each ear cup, and while I wish that CHC had opted for a single cable that plugged into just the left ear cup, the ridiculously low price of the Silverado's pretty much invalidates my complaint. The cable also lacks an inline remote/ mic and iPod controls. Overall the cable is cheap and very thin, but replacing the stock cable with a better one is always an option (NOTE: It has been indicated on some forums that CHC wires the cable in a way that makes 3rd party cables not an option. This essentially means the CHC cable is proprietary. I have not confirmed this however, and I will need to complete more research in order to provide a definitive answer)
For $50 dollars, the CHC's absolutely provide some of the best sound reproduction for the price. While CHC markets the Silverado's as being designed for vocal, acoustic and guitar heavy music genres, the CHC's perform very well with almost all genres. The bass response is definitely pumped up, keeping in line with the popular "more bass is better" trend found in most headphones nowadays. Fortunately, CHC didn't forget about the rest of the frequency range, upper midrange frequencies are nicely represented as is the treble. Midrange on the whole is slightly recessed, with treble slightly exaggerated, they sound like darker versions of the ATH-M50's with less treble presence, if you are familiar with how those sound. The CHC's are lacking in soundstage and are fairly two-dimensional in their sound reproduction, an attribute that I fully expected with a low priced, closed back headphone. The have a low impedance rating and are easily driven to louder-than-you-should-ever-listen-to-anything-if-you-value-your-ears-volume-levels even from a portable device (in other words, no amp required!) Overall, I am very impressed with the CHC Silverado's.
In conclusion, the CHC Silverado's (at the $50 dollar price point) are absolutely some of the best over ear headphones you can buy. These are by no means "audiophile" grade, hifi headphones. Sonically, they are far from perfect, and I would argue that the full $200 dollar retail price these headphones, while still appealing, causes the Silverado's to lose a little bit of their flair, but the Silverado's are simply not a super accurate hifi headphones nor are they trying to be.
