Hello,
I was really excited to discover this little gadget.
On paper, it’s great, and indeed it sounds pretty good.
But in the end… what does this little headphone preamp actually do? It applies an EQ and a reverb… Enough to skew your mix? Probably… maybe not… a little…? Your call.
When it’s not plugged into the outlet, it works very well. Great! Wow, all the presets, you can choose your headphones, your studio monitors, and add a room reverb. Okay. It matches my expectations. Nothing to complain about.
But that’s not the problem. No, the real problem is that this device does not hold its battery. 3–4 hours of use and it needs to be recharged. So if you work many hours with headphones, you have to keep the device powered through its supplied USB-C cable.
And then, big problem, a buzz or a hiss (depending on where it’s plugged in) appears… At first, you don’t pay much attention, you’re discovering the gadget, but once you’re used to it, it becomes noticeable, stronger and stronger… and in the end, that’s all you hear… It becomes obsessive and you can’t focus anymore…
I tried several power sources:
My computer, my USB hub, my standing desk… Always the same issue. The noise is different, but there is always background noise. You might say my electrical power isn’t good, but I have a battery UPS that regulates all that. So no, that’s not it.
And if that were the issue, why isn’t it sold with a power adapter?
I used it for 10 days, and sent it back to Thomann, who has an amazing customer service.
Thank you Thomann, goodbye IK Multimedia.
