The quest for a decent portable headphone amp

[mdtransituserli]

For the past couple of years I've gone between using my cMoy amp or a generic "boostaroo" unit that I got from Radio Shack. The problem with the "boostaroo" is that I've had wire breaks, I am now on the 3rd unit. At $25 each, it's certainly not made well, considering I usually get about 6 months out of it before the sound cuts out because of a wire break. The 90 day warranety doesn't help me then, however it did happen within 90 day once, and I did get a free replacement.

I like the "boostaroo" unit because it is small and uses only 2 "AA" batteries which seem to last forever. The boost is sufficient enough to drive my Sennheiser headphones.

I am not thrilled with the cMoy I had built from a guy named "Zman". It was several years ago at least since I got it. I don't use it much because it gobbles 9 volt batteries, which are expensive, and the unit takes 2 of them. Also I have sound drop outs due to a lousy soldering job and I constantly have to open the case to fix it.

I generally get about 10 hours of play from it before the batteries get weak and the sound fizzles.

If the "boostaroo" was made with a removable cable (a jack, like the cMoy) then the wire breaks wouldn't be an issue. But I guess then they wouldn't make money then.

I dont know why the cMoy battery life is so bad, I usually have the volume knob set low, only about 1/3 of the way or less. Does it sound like I have a defective cMoy?

All I know is I'm not at all happy that I'm gonna have to spend either another $25 on a boostaroo or $40 on a cMoy.

I know I can build it myself but I dont have many tools (soldering iron,etc).

I'd just like an amp that would take AA batteries (9 volts are expensive, usually $5 each for an alkaline) and would last. A boostaroo unit with a jack instead of attached wire would be great.

I wonder if anyone tried modding a boostaroo to have a jack instead. This time I'd just like an amp that will not give me any probs. I'd get another cMoy if it was built right, used one 9V instead of 2, and got more like 30 hours battery life.

Edited February 23, 2007 by mdinthepines

[King Ghidora]

I've had one Boostaroo for several years and I haven't had a single problem with it. I know several other people who have them and they haven't had problems either. Maybe the quality control has dropped off since I bought my unit. You might try looking for an older unit like for sale on eBay so you could get one from a time when they were better built. Also it seems to me that you could possibly replace the cable that you're having problems with. I know the case is glued together but you could probably pry the case apart and glue it back together yourself. You would need to solder a new cable onto the board while you had it apart I assume. Solder irons can be bought for $5 or so some places. You will want one with a sharp point on it. I buy them at Big Lots (a discount store) when I have one quit which is only about every 5 years. I don't worry about buying models that have replaceable tips because it's so cheap to buy a whole new iron.

Also could you explain how your cables get broken? I searched Google for people having similar problems and I couldn't find anyone that mentioned this problem.

[mdtransituserli]

I've had one Boostaroo for several years and I haven't had a single problem with it. I know several other people who have them and they haven't had problems either. Maybe the quality control has dropped off since I bought my unit. You might try looking for an older unit like for sale on eBay so you could get one from a time when they were better built. Also it seems to me that you could possibly replace the cable that you're having problems with. I know the case is glued together but you could probably pry the case apart and glue it back together yourself. You would need to solder a new cable onto the board while you had it apart I assume. Solder irons can be bought for $5 or so some places. You will want one with a sharp point on it. I buy them at Big Lots (a discount store) when I have one quit which is only about every 5 years. I don't worry about buying models that have replaceable tips because it's so cheap to buy a whole new iron.

Also could you explain how your cables get broken? I searched Google for people having similar problems and I couldn't find anyone that mentioned this problem.

I think I said what I have been getting is a "generic" Boostaroo, it is from Radio Shack. Perhaps name brand Boostaroo units are of better quality? There really isn't much of a price difference, the only reason I got the Radio Shack one is it isn't carried in any stores, and if I had to order online I'd have to pay for shipping.

I'd rather fix it myself, actually I'd like to put a jack in there if possible, though I never used a soldering iron before.

I don't know how the cable got broken, I just carry it around in my bag alot, I certainly think I take good care of it alot, I haven't dropped it or pulled on the wire. But I use it almost everyday.

The wire break is at the coil before the 1/8'' jack that goes into the headphone output. Anyway, thanks for your help! I'd rather stick with the Boostaroo "model" is it is plenty of power for me, and it takes "AA" instead of 9V.

Also since I have NiMH AA batteries I prefer using the rechargables, which work well with it. The cMoy and it's 9V battery are a pain, and I haven't seen 9v rechargables.

[King Ghidora]

Radio Shack puts their name on the actual Boostaroo amps and sells them as their own brand. But they are made by Boostaroo. Mine is a RS model in fact. RS does stuff like this a lot. At one time they wouldn't sell anything that didn't have their name on it. Now they do sell stuff with other brand names on it but they always rebadged different things and sold them under their own brand. The Boostaroos go back to the period when everything RS sold was under their own brand. Maybe that's why they continue to sell them with their brand name on them. They already had the equipment to rebadge the Boostaroos so there wasn't any reason to stop doing it.