V2 Class A 12AU7 Tube Multi-Hybrid Headphone Amplifier

I've had the Bravo Audio V2 for only 3 days but I've found myself 'connected' to it most of the time that I am at home (no Netflix or Amazon Prime for the last 3 days!). The sound is great, I am impressed at the improvement I got for such a small investment.I am using an iPod touch connected using the Line-Out to RCA on the Bravo which is driving my 8 year old the Sennheiser HD590.As my Sennheiser HD590 are not as demanding as the newer HD600 (and above), with a rated Impedance of 120 ohms (Vs 300), I've always liked the sound straight out of my iPods and MacBookPro. Looking to see what is all the hype about headphone amps, and knowing my cans could handle a bit more power than an iPod I started looking. The idea of trying a hybrid amp was appealing to me as my musical taste goes from hard-rock to classical with jazz and blues to the mix and everything else in between including electronica. The Bravo V2 fitted the bill and at a price point I could experiment!The first thing I noticed was a fuller and more spacious sound and a beter soundstage. My cans gained new life!I also noticed that with the included tube (china-12au7) the sound was too bright (aggressive actually!). But It was no surprise as other reviewers claimed the same, so when i bought the Bravo I also bought 3 more tubes with it for experimentation:The Behringer 12AU7, the JJ Electronics 12AU7 and the Groove Tubes ST-12AU7 Preamp Tube Silver.It's really interesting to start rolling tubes and noticing the different nuances that they bring to the sound.First one I tried was the Behringer and the difference was staggering. The sound was now a lot smoother and more melodious. The vocal performances gained a new life without bringing the mids up overall. The aggressive treble was gone, but so was the bassy punch and although i really liked the Behringer, I usually prefer a darker sound and a bit more bass. The treble was also a bit too soft in some musical styles like hard-rock.After some more hours of listening to the Behringer, I swapped it with the JJ Electronics. The JJ enhanced the treble. It wasn't an issue anymore for Hard-rock! The bass was still smooth though (almost lacking) and now, the vocal performances were not as astonishing. One thing that i noticed too was the electronic interference from other devices (like my wireless router). I do not hear any interference at all with the other tubes...So on to the last tube: the Groove Tubes ST Silver. The bass is back! the sound is a bit more bright too, but not enough to cause fatigue even after multiple hours of listening to high volume music. Currently this is my default tube. It works very well with all musical styles although I feel it performs better for rock and electronica. (I need to do some more swapping, but my feeling is that the Behringer is my preference for classical and blues).Not knowing what to expect from this amp and knowing that it came with a vacuum valve I started with classical and blues which sounded really good and improved compared to just the iPod. But my biggest surprise was when I played Jambi from Tool. I could not believe my ears! The bass was immersive and the drums packed a punch all with a nice control to it. I kept listening amazed as I was moving to different bands (Foo Fighters, Evanescence, Rammstein, Muse, etc.).In sum, this amp has improved the sound on my Sennheiser HD590. To all musical styles too (although I may have to swap the tube for some :) ). I've also found that if you are willing to do some soldering, you can improve it even more with some simple mods. So far I don't feel that need, I may keep trying different tubes (maybe invest on a 1958 Mullard or Siemens and go vintage :) )I am very pleased with it, specially for its cost! If you have a decent pair of cans and you want to go to the next level without breaking the bank (less than $75!), this is it. Look no more!

The V2 on it's own is outstanding, the sound is very colorful, smooth & rich. The better the cans, the better the sound as you would expect. I use a older set of Bose headphones for now. I will prolly upgrade to something better in time. They have served me well for years now their time is coming to an end, BUT..if you want it a more full stage as I wanted. I linked it up as a pre-amp to a Fiio A1 Amp, in turn powers Micca Club 3's which are my main monitor speakers for my computer sound system, I also have a set of old Sony 3" satellite monitors I re-fitted with RS75-4 3" Reference Full-Range Driver's from Dayton & a 10" Kicker Comp Sub pushed by a Lepai LP-168HA for it's sub output. The Fiio A1 amp sounds rather nice on it's own, but paired with this as a preamp music really shines...giving me the beautiful near field sound stage I was aiming for. I tried many different configurations but in the end, the set up I have now gives me what I was after. A headphones sound without the need for headphones.I honestly don't think it would sound as rich & pure without this as the preamp. I didn't feel the stock tube it comes with was giving me the sound I thought it should be, so I swapped it out for a JJ Electronics 12AU7 / ECC82 Preamp Tube. In doing so, after the tube burn in time, it has really come alive the way I was hoping it would. Classical guitar almost brings a tear to your eye as if it were being played in front of you. Simply amazing. Bass isn't overly punchy, just deep & solid. Mids are richly enhanced & the highs accurately sparkle.It's size/thickness is comparable to two iPod classics stacked on top of each other with the tube popping out of the top. RCA input is on the right side (Use the RCA input, it's sounds better as apposed to the----> ) & AUX 3.5mm input is in the front, center front is the volume dial (not an ON/OFF dial), to the left of that is the 1/4" headphone jack. The ON/Off Power switch & 12V 3.5A DC power plug-in are in the back. (I'm thinking on upping the juice output a bit by using a 12V 4.5A power supply although the supplied power brick seems to do just fine for now). Overall it's pretty straight forward. The "bells & whistles" are it's AMAZING sound quality & visual appeal, it's got serious "cool factor" going on with it's soft "Blue Purplish" glow that separates into blue & red... It's not too obnoxiously bright. A Blue LED under the Tube (that makes the tube glow blue) & a red LED behind that. The heat sinks stay pretty warm to the touch but it hasn't clipped due to an overheating issue. Although I haven't had a need to turn it ALL the way up either. 1/3rd to 1/2 way seems to be just fine paired with the Fiio A1 amp also turned up to 1/2 way for my listening needs.I almost got the step up version of this (BRAVO Audio V3 Tube Headphone Amplifier) which also has a physical EQ added to it. But I went for this one for it's size & simplistic nature. Music should sound good as it is. Besides how often these days do you come across a media source that doesn't have EQ settings of some sort?!