Simpl A1 iPod headphone amp reviewed and loved
By Joshua Fruhlinger 
posted Jan 21st 2005 11:54AM
posted Jan 21st 2005 11:54AM
Ron Harris of the Press Democrat thinks the iPod is really shiny. "It gleams," says he. All love stops there, however. You see, Ron also says the iPod sounds too tinny without Simpl Acoustics' A1 iPod clip-on headphone amp. The unit adds what is supposed to be louder, deeper sound response for those who want a little extra kick in their pods. Ron sure seems to think the A1 makes a difference, and he even tried them out with everything from the stock Apple earbuds to the Sennheiser 590 earbuds. His conclusion? The $149 Simpl Acoustics A1 is a good thing.
His own personal set of headphones were Sony MDR-V300? Don't trust this review. If you want real amps, try some of the opinions at www.head-fi.org. Admittedly, the amp looks like a nice package, with the rechargable battery and all. But seriously, a cheap CMoy amp can be just as portable and run on a pair of AA's for many hours longer.
It is a nice looking package that complements the iPod well - the problem I have is that it doesn't use the line out from the dock connector, and instead uses the headphone out. Maybe one day someone will get this right.
I think his choice of music is to blame for his crappy sounding iPod. Just my opinion of course.
Yeah, you'd need a lot more than an amp to make John Mayer sound good.
You can get ten times the quality for a third of the cost by asking around at Head-Fi. For that price you can get a custom amp that will actually improve sound quality and use the line-out.
This is, for lack of a better term, a posuer headphone amp.
Copy of an email I sent the author of that review:
I saw your article about the ipod amp. My take on the ipod sound was
identical to yours until I found a utility called eupod
(www.eupod.com), which instantly increases the volume tag on every
music file in your ipod. The net effect is that the ipod amp is
driving music that is already at a much higher volume, so the amp
doesn't have to work as hard. My ipod now drives my inefficient (but
great sounding) Koss KSC-35 headphones at full volume -- with no
distortion -- with the volume meter on the ipod at 40%. Everything
sounds smoother and richer and the bass is much improved (although I
still would kill for an equalizer with custom settings).
Only downside: you have to turn off the volume boost before syncing
the ipod or Itunes will try to reload everything onto the ipod (Itunes
interprets the volume boost as a changed file.)
yes, the eupod.com pod booster application was designed for ipods released in Europe where in some countries apple had to place a restriction on the ipods amp volume. The ones designed in the states are without the cap and plenty loud with a nice pair of headphones. If you need an amp for headphones from the ipod, you have ear problems. Mine hurts my ears with it turned all the way up, and I like to listen to loud music!
I think too many have missed the point.
1: Yes, there very well may be better portable headphone amplifiers. Some may not cost as much.
Still, others posting comments have not tried it either! It's like the kid who won't eat shrimp, because he doesn't like shrimp, though he has never tried them.
I don't know how it sounds -- YET, because I just ordered the Simpl A1 so I have yet to have a chance to try it. Once it gets here I will actually be in a position to have an informed opinion!
I do know the form factor is pretty nice.
2: I am going to buy the Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline SR-71 amp as well. Yep, it costs twice as much, and it is about four times the size, but it will be fine driving my Etymontics ER-4s earphones on airplanes and other relatively stationary locations, but for general knocking around, the form factor of the Simpl A1 can't be beat. I don't even have to worry about having a second thing in my shirt pocket scratching up my iPod.
3: For those dismissing the need for ANY external headphone amplifier: They are not intended for driving the Apple ear buds, or similar portable earphones, or even high effiency headphones. My Koss Pro 4 AA and AAA headphones play fine directly from the iPod. But, they are very efficient.
External headphones amplifiers are for those (rare) people who wish to improve on their portable listening pleasure by improving their sound quality. The better sounding 'phones are generally less efficient, thus need more power.
My point is; for those who understand the need, don't dismiss the product just because it is commercial. For those who don't understand the need, just because you don't understand the need, doesn't mean there isn't one.
I need a preamp boost to drive my stereos - boat, car, home - in otherwords an output signal equal to other remote devices.
The headphone output, cranked to 90% loses fidelity and still does't produce enough signal to drive my stereo at normal levels.