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Apogee GROOVE – Portable USB Headphone Amp and DAC, Bus Powered for Mac and PC

Original price was: ₹24,000.Current price is: ₹21,799.

SKU: B00XR5HRBU

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Brand Apogee
Compatible Devices Personal Computer, Headphone
Connectivity Technology Wired
Number of Channels 4
Item Weight 0.1 Pounds

  • USB 2.0 connection to Mac and PC with up to 24 bit / 192kHz audio
  • Enhances your iTunes, Tidal, Spotify, Pandora or other music listening experiences
  • Constant Current Drive provides smooth frequency response with any headphones
  • Quad Sum DAC , 4 DACs per channel for highest dynamic range and lowest distortion
  • Premium aluminum build quality, Built in the USA
  • Connects with USB-C iPad Pro Models
  • 1 Year Warranty
  • 1 Year Warranty
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Free Tech
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Secure
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Description


Product Description

groove

Experience High-Fidelity Audio: Introducing the Apogee Groove – Your Portable USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier

groove

Apogee Groove: Experience Audio Excellence Everywhere

Elevate your audio experience to new heights with Apogee Groove, the ultimate portable USB DAC and headphone amplifier. Designed for discerning music producers, audiophiles, and anyone who demands uncompromising audio quality, Groove delivers pristine sound reproduction in any environment.

groove

Unrivaled Audio Fidelity

Groove brings you lossless audio playback at an astonishing 192kHz, ensuring every nuance and detail of your music is faithfully reproduced. Its Quad Sum DAC design with 4 DACs per channel ensures high dynamic range and minimal distortion, providing a truly transparent listening experience.

groove

Optimized for Professionals

Whether you’re mixing tracks on the go or refining your sound in a studio, Groove’s Constant Current Drive technology a smooth frequency response across all headphones. Say goodbye to frequency boosts or distortions that can mislead your mix – Groove lets you hear your music with unparalleled accuracy.

groove

groove

Technical Specifications:

  • Memory: 2GB RAM minimum, 4GB recommended
  • macOS 10.8 or greater / Windows 7 or greater (driver required for Windows)
  • THD+N: -107 dB with 600 Ohm load @ 16 dBu / -100 dB with 30 Ohm load @ 10.5 dBu
  • Dynamic Range: 117 dB A-weighted / Frequency Response: 10Hz-20kHz +/- 0.2 dB

Enhance Your Sound: Discover the Apogee Groove USB DAC and Headphone Amp

  1. Uncompromising Audio Fidelity: Groove delivers lossless audio playback at 192kHz, ensuring every detail your music is faithfully reproduced.
  2. Professional Grade Performance: With Quad Sum DAC design and Constant Current Drive technology, Groove provides high dynamic range and smooth frequency response for accurate mixing and listening.
  • Simple Controls: It has straightforward controls, typically including volume adjustment and a headphone output jack, making it easy to use without complex setup or configuration.
  • USB Connectivity: It connects to your computer or mobile device via USB, allowing for easy setup and compatibility with a wide range of devices.

groove

Precision Sound at Your Fingertips: Apogee Groove USB DAC with Headphone Amplification

Apogee Groove redefines portable audio excellence with its uncompromising commitment to delivering the highest level of fidelity and performance. With support for lossless audio playback at an impressive 192kHz, Groove ensures that every note, beat, and detail of your music is reproduced with stunning clarity and accuracy. Its Quad Sum DAC design and Constant Current Drive technology work synergistically to provide a professional-grade audio experience, offering high dynamic range and a smooth frequency response that is essential for critical listening and accurate mixing. Groove’s versatility extends to its compatibility with a wide range of devices, including iOS, Mac, and Windows systems, allowing you to enjoy hi-res lossless audio from your favorite streaming services like Tidal and Apple Music.

groove

Portable Powerhouse: Apogee Groove DAC and Amp for On-the-Go Audio Excellence

Seamless Compatibility: Groove is your audio companion across devices, compatible with iOS, Mac, and Windows systems. Its USB 2.0 connection ensures a stable and high-speed audio transmission, allowing you to immerse yourself in hi-res lossless audio from sources like Tidal, Apple Music, and more.

Intuitive Controls: With its sleek aluminum build and multi-color LED indicators, Groove is as stylish as it is functional. Top panel buttons let you effortlessly adjust volume and mute, putting you in complete control of your listening experience.

Built for Perfection: Crafted with precision in the USA, Groove boasts premium build quality that exudes durability and reliability. Its ESS Sabre DAC, asynchronous clocking, and impressive THD+N and dynamic range specifications ensure that every sound you hear is delivered with utmost clarity and fidelity.

groove

Immerse Yourself in Pure Audio Bliss: Apogee Groove – Your Gateway to High-Resolution Sound

Additional information

Weight 0.04536 kg
Dimensions 9.5 × 3 × 1.6 cm
Product Dimensions

‎9.5 x 3 x 1.6 cm; 45.36 g

Item model number

‎GROOVE

Colour

‎Black

Compatible Devices

‎Personal Computer, Headphone

Connector

‎Micro USB

Hardware Interface

‎USB

Material

‎Aluminum

size

‎3.74 x 1.18 x 0.63

Operating System

‎Mac

RAM Size

‎4 GB

Item Weight

‎45.4 g

Manufacturer

‎Apogee Electronics Corp., Apogee Electronics Corp., Apogee Electronics Corp. 1715 Berkeley St. Santa Monica, CA 90404, USA

Imported By

‎Trimac Products Private Limited, Delhi, India 110015 email info@trimacppl.com

ASIN

B00XR5HRBU

Date First Available

27 May 2015

Packer

Trimac Products Private Limited,D-40, DSIIDC Packaging Complex, Delhi, India 110015 email: info@trimacppl.com

Importer

Trimac Products Private Limited,D-40, DSIIDC Packaging Complex, Delhi, India 110015 email: info@trimacppl.com

Item Dimensions LxWxH

9.5 x 3 x 1.6 Centimeters

Included Components

Apogee Groove, USB Cable (1'), Carrying pouch, Product booklet (Quick Start Guide, Warranty Information), Instructions for download of software and complete documentation

Generic Name

Digital Converters

10 reviews for Apogee GROOVE – Portable USB Headphone Amp and DAC, Bus Powered for Mac and PC

  1. kobinski

    Excelente
    No está a la última (no presume de redenderizar MQA, etc)… pero no le hace ninguna falta (creo que hay mucho marketing con esto del MQA: a veces “mejora” el original, pero no siempre). El Groove proporciona potencia y musicalidad. Sonido muy coherente y dinámico, claro y abierto sin ser, de ningún modo, duro. Me atrevería a decir que es de los mejores, si no un claro “best buy”. Lo apreciarás, sobre todo, si escuchas en plan “audiófilo”… sin obsesionarte. No obstante, hay que tener en cuenta dos cosas. Por un lado, absorbe mucha energía del portátil o el móvil; por otro, tampoco (Apogee lo indica en su web) es que sea muy amigable de los IEM con “controladores de armadura”. Frente a los Fiio o los ifi portables —también muy buenos—, el Groove quizá ofrezca una mayor coherencia. Con el Groove, la música está en primer lugar. Como suele decirse, el mejor árbitro es el que no se hace “el protagonista”.

  2. altaran

    Dac Usb di notevole qualità
    Apogee Groove è uno dei migliori DAC USB e amplificatore cuffie portatile per ascoltare al meglio la musica su Mac o PC(non dovrebbe funzionare su smartphone, invece sul mio, già ottimo, Lg V10 funziona benissimo tramite l’applicazione android “USB Audio Player Pro”).La qualità del suono di Apogee Groove è davvero alta con una precisa immagine stereofonica, bassi incisivi e alti chiarissimi.La potenza dell’amplificatore è capace di guidare cuffie ad alta impedenza anche da 600ohm.Il costo di poco superiore ai 300€ è davvero un affare considerando che suona anche meglio di DAC che costano oltre i 900€.Se volete ascoltare la musica con la dovuta qualità senza spendere cifre alte da audiofilo, questo dispositivo è il perfetto connubio tra qualità/costo.Altre info:’ Connessione USB 2.0 su Mac senza driver, invece su PC windows bisogna registrarsi al sito di Apogee per scaricare i driver necessari per il funzionamento.’ Risoluzione audio fino a 24 bit / 192 kHz.’ DAC ESS Sabre Quad Sum DAC’, 4 DAC per canale in grado di aumentare il range dinamico e abbassare la distorsione con segnale audio puro e privo di jitter.’ Grazie alla tecnologia proprietaria di Apogee ‘Constant Current Drive”; alla giusta potenza di uscita adatta per qualsiasi impedenza, Groove riprodurrà al meglio qualsiasi sitema audio.’ Indicatori di livello e di stato multicolore e 2 grandi pulsanti per il volume.’ Migliora l’esperienza di ascolto con file audio di alta qualità, iTunes, Tidal, Spotify, ecc..’ Compatto e trasportabile con un peso di 68g incluso cavetto e misure di: 94,5 x 30 x 16 mm’ Alimentazione via USB’ Costruzione di alluminio ed alta qualità made in USA.

  3. YukonJeff

    Runs off a Mac laptop flawlessly.
    I was sceptical ordering this unit. Based on reviews, I went ahead. WOW! Am I ever happy I did! This is a quality piece that looks and feels the part. I use it to power my Sennheiser HD650 headphones from my Mac laptop. It runs them beautifully and clean; actually better than I expected. I personally feel it was a worthwhile investment and recommend it to any music lover who wants to power a good set of headphones!

  4. Patrick Tracy

    No apologies needed here
    I researched my purchase of the Groove for some time, looking at a variety of options. These included much larger units, some of which feature tube amplification stages. The price range I considered was from around sixty dollars to verging on a thousand. In the end, the preponderance of positive reviews, as well as the claims of easy compatibility with a variety of computers, swayed me. It is something of a leap, initially, spending the best part of three hundred bones on a device approximately the size of my index finger.Let me say for those with limited time – if you’re willing to use high quality source material and have a good set of headphones, the Groove is well worth the cost. (That’s for the tl;dr crowd.)I purchased the Groove to serve as DAC/Amp for my Alienware 17R3, feeding a set of Sennheiser HD700s.Initial thoughts: I found the Groove to have rather sparse packaging. It appeared to have been opened, though nothing inside indicated that the device had been used. Perhaps the plastic round that sealed the box had simply let go because of the prevailing cold on my porch. In any case, the device came complete with all parts and documentation, and was in working order.The Groove, while diminutive, has an element of great solidity to the chassis. It is no-nonsense, all metal, and has surprising heft. Both the USB portion and the headphone jack fit quite snugly, such that you have to apply more pressure than is typical to fully engage the headphone jack. That’s good, in my book.It’s necessary to complete the registration to download the Windows driver for the Groove. Yes, Windows vaguely recognized the device prior to driver installation, but it couldn’t be made to function in a plug-and-play manner. I’m told Macs don’t have this issue.Once the drivers were installed and Windows was apprised of my wishes to use the Groove for sound, everything worked as expected.With a device like the Groove, my feeling is that you won’t know that there’s anything you’re not hearing until you listen to a familiar piece of music and start hearing nuances, or the lifting of veils that had previously lay across the soundscape. My laptop has a fairly high performance sound card, a SoundBlaster Recon 3Di. I’d been quite happy with the sound with the small Sennheiser PX100s before setting up the rig with the big cans. It had lots of potency, driving my headphones to all comfortable levels well before fifty percent power, and having a lot of slam.Well, you don’t know what you don’t know. Until you do. But don’t let me get ahead of myself…First of all, don’t make all judgments of the Groove on the first hour of listening. It will take some time to open up, and because it is a neutral, balanced delivery, it doesn’t create drama out of nothing. You have to take the time to let it prove itself to you. In the absence of bombastic bass, oversaturated mids, or zing-y highs, it takes a minute.The Sennheiser HD700s are not amongst the hardest of large headphones to drive. They are *laughably* easy to drive for the Groove. Anything above 20% volume may be foolhardy in regards to maintaining your hearing. Of course, this depends upon the recording level used in your source material, and the dynamic range employed. Classical and older recordings may require a bit more punch to come through at full song.Another note. With a Windows machine, you may not want to do a lot of tries at A/B testing between your onboard audio and the Groove. It caused me to have to restart after I’d done it once too often. Anyway, the Groove will beat your onboard audio by such a wide margin that you won’t need to think hard about it. Trust me.The Groove, at first, demonstrated its clarity, deep black noise floor, and effortless drive. However, in the first few records, it did induce a very slight fatigue. This was a fatigue that was difficult to ascribe to any audible phenomenon, but was nonetheless present. I found that, after several hours of listening to less critical sounds (games, videos, etc.), this went away, and the Groove ascended to an even higher plane of enjoyment for me.What to compare it to? Well, I pay it a compliment by saying that it compares favorably with the headphone output of my Onkyo CD player, which features Wolfson 24/192 DACs, having every bit the drive, clarity, and power of the output of that full sized device. Again, remember that this is a device just bigger than a pack of Juicy Fruit gum. And take my word for it, if there were a lot of faults to be found here, the Sennheiser 700s would allow me to do so.I don’t have a lot of experience with other DAC/amps, so I can’t put them all into perspective for you. However, I have been an audio enthusiast since I was old enough to reach the turntable on my dad’s stereo. I have heard some fine systems, including B&W, Wilson, Conrad-Johnson, Mark Levinson, etc.. I have some fair clue about how great Hi-Fi sounds. I am sure that there are devices that would be more to some tastes, in that they might have a tone or flavor, being warm or analytical, dynamic or laid-back. I would say that the Groove seems to introduce the bare minimum of editorial to the signal chain, just giving you the music and the sound of your headphones.In use, the Groove is exceedingly simple. It can be altered in volume either by the buttons on the device, or by the volume slider on the Windows Tray. I like the buttons, as they go up by one percent intervals, which is nice and granular. A pet peeve of mine is a volume control that moves in such large minimum interval that it is difficult to find a happy medium between too quiet and too loud. No issues like that exist here, at least in my implementation. I suppose, with the very highest possible efficiency ‘phones, it could. However, Apogee has to make the device such that it can power much more challenging transducers, so I think they have done as well as can be done with this aspect.I find the almost anachronistic feature of a reactive led column indicating program intensity to be, for whatever reason, highly amusing. It calls to mind the spectrum analyzers of the 80s, like the old JVC my father owned. There is something timeless about a reactive display of some sort. A V/U meter, or the like. I appreciate the inclusion of this element on an otherwise all-function device.The Groove appears to draw a fairly significant amount of power, so using it while on battery power with a laptop, or using some clever workaround to use it with a portable music player or phone will likely result is a fairly significant reduction in runtime. The device, while at idle or in use, remains slightly warm to the touch. I have never felt it get hot, per se, but I have also not run it for any length of time above around twenty-two percent power. Your results with a much more challenging load, or powering an input to a larger device, may vary.I should note that I used only full-quality FLAC rips from commercial CDs during my critical evaluation. I did use it for less critical listening, as well. Introducing realistic, non-boosted levels to gaming sound was…interesting. I don’t believe that a high fidelity rig is necessarily vital for that purpose, but I suppose it would depend on the game. Streaming videos featured the sound quality at which they were recorded, which is to say anything from abysmal to quite good. The Groove may tidy up low bit rate sound and give it the best sendoff it can, but a bad recording is not going to be miraculously saved by euphonic sugar coating.After all that bloviating, I can say this much: The Groove is a fine product. Even the rarefied pinnacle of the headphone kingdom will probably be, at the least, give its just dues by this little device. Are there better options? Perhaps. I would be inclined to believe that most of them are larger, more complex, and possibly more difficult to implement. Using a fine pair of headphones and the Groove, it is entirely possible to get revelatory sound from your computer. For far less than a thousand dollars, you can have a setup that will keep you up deep into the night, just listening to that one last track, that one last disk. For me, that’s pretty good return on investment.

  5. jeeyi345

    j
    Powerful dac that can power my HD650 (high ohms), HE400i(low ohms, high current required) without problem. Bass is slightly more solid. With it you can just buy the high grade headphones without worrying not able to power them. At least not for a while.

  6. kobinski

    Excelente
    No está a la última (no presume de redenderizar MQA, etc)… pero no le hace ninguna falta (creo que hay mucho marketing con esto del MQA: a veces “mejora” el original, pero no siempre). El Groove proporciona potencia y musicalidad. Sonido muy coherente y dinámico, claro y abierto sin ser, de ningún modo, duro. Me atrevería a decir que es de los mejores, si no un claro “best buy”. Lo apreciarás, sobre todo, si escuchas en plan “audiófilo”… sin obsesionarte. No obstante, hay que tener en cuenta dos cosas. Por un lado, absorbe mucha energía del portátil o el móvil; por otro, tampoco (Apogee lo indica en su web) es que sea muy amigable de los IEM con “controladores de armadura”. Frente a los Fiio o los ifi portables —también muy buenos—, el Groove quizá ofrezca una mayor coherencia. Con el Groove, la música está en primer lugar. Como suele decirse, el mejor árbitro es el que no se hace “el protagonista”.

  7. altaran

    Dac Usb di notevole qualità
    Apogee Groove è uno dei migliori DAC USB e amplificatore cuffie portatile per ascoltare al meglio la musica su Mac o PC(non dovrebbe funzionare su smartphone, invece sul mio, già ottimo, Lg V10 funziona benissimo tramite l’applicazione android “USB Audio Player Pro”).La qualità del suono di Apogee Groove è davvero alta con una precisa immagine stereofonica, bassi incisivi e alti chiarissimi.La potenza dell’amplificatore è capace di guidare cuffie ad alta impedenza anche da 600ohm.Il costo di poco superiore ai 300€ è davvero un affare considerando che suona anche meglio di DAC che costano oltre i 900€.Se volete ascoltare la musica con la dovuta qualità senza spendere cifre alte da audiofilo, questo dispositivo è il perfetto connubio tra qualità/costo.Altre info:’ Connessione USB 2.0 su Mac senza driver, invece su PC windows bisogna registrarsi al sito di Apogee per scaricare i driver necessari per il funzionamento.’ Risoluzione audio fino a 24 bit / 192 kHz.’ DAC ESS Sabre Quad Sum DAC’, 4 DAC per canale in grado di aumentare il range dinamico e abbassare la distorsione con segnale audio puro e privo di jitter.’ Grazie alla tecnologia proprietaria di Apogee ‘Constant Current Drive”; alla giusta potenza di uscita adatta per qualsiasi impedenza, Groove riprodurrà al meglio qualsiasi sitema audio.’ Indicatori di livello e di stato multicolore e 2 grandi pulsanti per il volume.’ Migliora l’esperienza di ascolto con file audio di alta qualità, iTunes, Tidal, Spotify, ecc..’ Compatto e trasportabile con un peso di 68g incluso cavetto e misure di: 94,5 x 30 x 16 mm’ Alimentazione via USB’ Costruzione di alluminio ed alta qualità made in USA.

  8. YukonJeff

    Runs off a Mac laptop flawlessly.
    I was sceptical ordering this unit. Based on reviews, I went ahead. WOW! Am I ever happy I did! This is a quality piece that looks and feels the part. I use it to power my Sennheiser HD650 headphones from my Mac laptop. It runs them beautifully and clean; actually better than I expected. I personally feel it was a worthwhile investment and recommend it to any music lover who wants to power a good set of headphones!

  9. Patrick Tracy

    No apologies needed here
    I researched my purchase of the Groove for some time, looking at a variety of options. These included much larger units, some of which feature tube amplification stages. The price range I considered was from around sixty dollars to verging on a thousand. In the end, the preponderance of positive reviews, as well as the claims of easy compatibility with a variety of computers, swayed me. It is something of a leap, initially, spending the best part of three hundred bones on a device approximately the size of my index finger.Let me say for those with limited time – if you’re willing to use high quality source material and have a good set of headphones, the Groove is well worth the cost. (That’s for the tl;dr crowd.)I purchased the Groove to serve as DAC/Amp for my Alienware 17R3, feeding a set of Sennheiser HD700s.Initial thoughts: I found the Groove to have rather sparse packaging. It appeared to have been opened, though nothing inside indicated that the device had been used. Perhaps the plastic round that sealed the box had simply let go because of the prevailing cold on my porch. In any case, the device came complete with all parts and documentation, and was in working order.The Groove, while diminutive, has an element of great solidity to the chassis. It is no-nonsense, all metal, and has surprising heft. Both the USB portion and the headphone jack fit quite snugly, such that you have to apply more pressure than is typical to fully engage the headphone jack. That’s good, in my book.It’s necessary to complete the registration to download the Windows driver for the Groove. Yes, Windows vaguely recognized the device prior to driver installation, but it couldn’t be made to function in a plug-and-play manner. I’m told Macs don’t have this issue.Once the drivers were installed and Windows was apprised of my wishes to use the Groove for sound, everything worked as expected.With a device like the Groove, my feeling is that you won’t know that there’s anything you’re not hearing until you listen to a familiar piece of music and start hearing nuances, or the lifting of veils that had previously lay across the soundscape. My laptop has a fairly high performance sound card, a SoundBlaster Recon 3Di. I’d been quite happy with the sound with the small Sennheiser PX100s before setting up the rig with the big cans. It had lots of potency, driving my headphones to all comfortable levels well before fifty percent power, and having a lot of slam.Well, you don’t know what you don’t know. Until you do. But don’t let me get ahead of myself…First of all, don’t make all judgments of the Groove on the first hour of listening. It will take some time to open up, and because it is a neutral, balanced delivery, it doesn’t create drama out of nothing. You have to take the time to let it prove itself to you. In the absence of bombastic bass, oversaturated mids, or zing-y highs, it takes a minute.The Sennheiser HD700s are not amongst the hardest of large headphones to drive. They are *laughably* easy to drive for the Groove. Anything above 20% volume may be foolhardy in regards to maintaining your hearing. Of course, this depends upon the recording level used in your source material, and the dynamic range employed. Classical and older recordings may require a bit more punch to come through at full song.Another note. With a Windows machine, you may not want to do a lot of tries at A/B testing between your onboard audio and the Groove. It caused me to have to restart after I’d done it once too often. Anyway, the Groove will beat your onboard audio by such a wide margin that you won’t need to think hard about it. Trust me.The Groove, at first, demonstrated its clarity, deep black noise floor, and effortless drive. However, in the first few records, it did induce a very slight fatigue. This was a fatigue that was difficult to ascribe to any audible phenomenon, but was nonetheless present. I found that, after several hours of listening to less critical sounds (games, videos, etc.), this went away, and the Groove ascended to an even higher plane of enjoyment for me.What to compare it to? Well, I pay it a compliment by saying that it compares favorably with the headphone output of my Onkyo CD player, which features Wolfson 24/192 DACs, having every bit the drive, clarity, and power of the output of that full sized device. Again, remember that this is a device just bigger than a pack of Juicy Fruit gum. And take my word for it, if there were a lot of faults to be found here, the Sennheiser 700s would allow me to do so.I don’t have a lot of experience with other DAC/amps, so I can’t put them all into perspective for you. However, I have been an audio enthusiast since I was old enough to reach the turntable on my dad’s stereo. I have heard some fine systems, including B&W, Wilson, Conrad-Johnson, Mark Levinson, etc.. I have some fair clue about how great Hi-Fi sounds. I am sure that there are devices that would be more to some tastes, in that they might have a tone or flavor, being warm or analytical, dynamic or laid-back. I would say that the Groove seems to introduce the bare minimum of editorial to the signal chain, just giving you the music and the sound of your headphones.In use, the Groove is exceedingly simple. It can be altered in volume either by the buttons on the device, or by the volume slider on the Windows Tray. I like the buttons, as they go up by one percent intervals, which is nice and granular. A pet peeve of mine is a volume control that moves in such large minimum interval that it is difficult to find a happy medium between too quiet and too loud. No issues like that exist here, at least in my implementation. I suppose, with the very highest possible efficiency ‘phones, it could. However, Apogee has to make the device such that it can power much more challenging transducers, so I think they have done as well as can be done with this aspect.I find the almost anachronistic feature of a reactive led column indicating program intensity to be, for whatever reason, highly amusing. It calls to mind the spectrum analyzers of the 80s, like the old JVC my father owned. There is something timeless about a reactive display of some sort. A V/U meter, or the like. I appreciate the inclusion of this element on an otherwise all-function device.The Groove appears to draw a fairly significant amount of power, so using it while on battery power with a laptop, or using some clever workaround to use it with a portable music player or phone will likely result is a fairly significant reduction in runtime. The device, while at idle or in use, remains slightly warm to the touch. I have never felt it get hot, per se, but I have also not run it for any length of time above around twenty-two percent power. Your results with a much more challenging load, or powering an input to a larger device, may vary.I should note that I used only full-quality FLAC rips from commercial CDs during my critical evaluation. I did use it for less critical listening, as well. Introducing realistic, non-boosted levels to gaming sound was…interesting. I don’t believe that a high fidelity rig is necessarily vital for that purpose, but I suppose it would depend on the game. Streaming videos featured the sound quality at which they were recorded, which is to say anything from abysmal to quite good. The Groove may tidy up low bit rate sound and give it the best sendoff it can, but a bad recording is not going to be miraculously saved by euphonic sugar coating.After all that bloviating, I can say this much: The Groove is a fine product. Even the rarefied pinnacle of the headphone kingdom will probably be, at the least, give its just dues by this little device. Are there better options? Perhaps. I would be inclined to believe that most of them are larger, more complex, and possibly more difficult to implement. Using a fine pair of headphones and the Groove, it is entirely possible to get revelatory sound from your computer. For far less than a thousand dollars, you can have a setup that will keep you up deep into the night, just listening to that one last track, that one last disk. For me, that’s pretty good return on investment.

  10. jeeyi345

    j
    Powerful dac that can power my HD650 (high ohms), HE400i(low ohms, high current required) without problem. Bass is slightly more solid. With it you can just buy the high grade headphones without worrying not able to power them. At least not for a while.

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