Best Value Amp on the go: CMOY Bass Boost (BB) Portable Headphone amplifier V2.03

CMOY ( abbreviation for "Chu Moy", so named after its creator) amplifiers have been around for more than a decade. In 1998, Chu Moy built a portable headphone amplifier and shared his design on the internet via the headwize.com website and generated lots of buzz among DIY audio enthusiasts. The original article can still be found here.
Fast forward to 2012, my interest was piqued when I recently came across a review for a modified version of the CMOY amp dubbed the CMOY Bass Boost. I read more reviews which were very positive so I decided to order 3 fully assembled set (I'm not much of a DIY guy when it comes to electronics) from its creator John Seaber from JDSLabs. 2 sets were for my fellow colleagues.
The basic set will cost you US$59.99 minus shipping. Shipping to Singapore only costs US$6.30 (via USPS First Class Airmail).  The shipping was pretty quick and the following package arrived in the mail:

Each amplifier was neatly packaged in an anti-static wrapper like so:

Tearing off the packaging, you would be greeted by an Altoids Box! This is one of the most distinctive casings used for CMOY amps. I guess it's because it's cheap, quite hardy and the right size to fit the components. Do note that the package does not include a Line-out-Device (LOD) cable i.e. an interconnect cable with 3.5mm jacks on each end that you use to connect the amplifier to your audio source.

On the left side of the picture above, (From Left to Right)  you can see the Power/Volume Control Knob, the 3.5mm input jack and the 3.5mm output jack.
When you open the cover to unravel the contents:

A very neat arrangement: on the left you have the Green Printed Circuit Board (PCB) with the components mounted while on the right you have the 9 Volt battery that powers the whole setup. If you look carefully at the PCB, you will see the Bass Boost toggle switch (it's the small black piece jutting out of the small white rectangle on the lower half of the PCB). Push the switch to the right to turn on the Bass Boost feature and push it to the left to turn it off.
Now all you need to do is to connect your audio source (MP3 player, CD player etc.) and your pair of earphones and headphones to start!


My Evaluation:

I connected my Grado SR60 headphones and my Ipod Nano (6th Generation) to the output and input jacks and turned the power / volume knob to the right.

First impressions? Wow!! Very pleasantly surprised by what I hear. In most of the songs I tried out,  I could hear greater amounts of detail. The background instruments could be heard more distinctly and the music had more nuance. Vocals were clear and warm. Soundstage was well represented.

Just for your information, I listen to a variety of music: from Pop to Folk to Rock and most of the songs on the player were encoded in at least 160 kbps to 320 kbps bitrate.
Where the CMOY BB does not do as well is in Classical or instrumental music. Especially in songs/pieces that weave multiple instruments into a crescendo, the sounds comes out slightly muffled and not so well defined but that probably means.
However, it does not change my view that this is an excellent piece of engineering and definitely worth its weight in gold and then some!

I also tried it with my Shure SE215 earphones and the improvement in audio quality is evident too.

Bass Boost: I turned on the Bass Boost by toggling the switch and it does amplify the Bass. Bass becomes louder and more thumping so those who like Hip-hop and Dance music may love this option. Personally I find it too fatiguing for my ears to listen for long so I prefer to leave it off.

Personal Comparison:
Just for the record, I am not that new to portable headphone amplifiers as I also own IBasso D2 Boa and IBasso T5 amplifiers. When compared side by side (as below):

  

You can see that the CMOY BB is the biggest of the lot, followed by the IBasso D2 and the iBasso T5.
In terms of sound quality, I find the CMOY BB is at least on par if not better than the IBasso D2 and better than the IBasso T5.  It isn't an apple to apple comparison as :

• The IBasso T5 is a lightweight miniaturized amp that has an in-built charger. With greater portability, some sacrifices have to made in terms of components and sound but the gap is closing. 
• The IBasso D2 is also a USB DAC i.e. you can connect to a USB port on your computer and it becomes like an external sound card so you can listen to better audio on the computer. 
• The CMOY BB runs on a single 9 Volt battery. You have to replace it when the power runs out. Depending on battery to battery, some say that the 9Volt battery can last up to 20 to 50 hours on a CMOY BB. You have the option to buy single use 9 Volt (S$1.40 to S$4) can always buy rechargeable 9 Volts and compatible charger

What may shock you is when I compare the price I paid for each:
I bought the IBasso D2 a few years ago for S$239 (approx US$192) and the T5 less than a year ago for S$230 (approx US$185). I got the CMOY BB at S$86.53 (approx US$69). So if I make a call purely on superior audio quality at lowest price, then it would be a no-brainer.

My portable rig now:

I'm using an Ipod Classic Hippocase (modified) to house my Ipod Nano and the CMOY BB. 
Verdict: An excellent, extremely affordable option for anyone who wants to achieve greater audio quality on the go. If you can live without a USB DAC function, do not mind replacing batteries regularly and are willing to carry an amplifier along, then this is for you. It won't replace a high end portable headphone amplifier (as yet), but it packs a lot of audio Bang for your Buck. Highly Recommended!


Where to get it: JDSLabs