david watt 0 Report post Posted October 5, 2008 (edited) The black box at the top right of the CDP is the Sound Devices HX-3 amplifier. I use it both as a portable and home amplifier as it can be battery-powered (2AA) and accepts balanced XLR line-level inputs or unbalanced 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch stereo inputs. It is made of tough alumimium material. Excerpt of Mini-review at Head-fi by Skylab: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/mini-revi...plifier-170059/ "OK, so, how did it sound? Remarkably good. It has a remarkably open, clear sound. Stunningly so, actually. I was taken back by how clean it was. The HX3 sounded better and more transparent to me than the Xin Supermacro, but was not quite as transparent as the Meier Corda Aria. Both of those amps are a little more expensive than the Sound Devices amp, but not much. I prefered the sound of the Aria, but not by much. And the HX3 actually has slightly more powerful bass. The Meier HA-2 II/SE was better than the HX3 in every regard, but not my much, quite frankly, and that Meier amp is 3x the price of the Sound Devices. You pay a lot more for the last 5% of performance. The HA-2 II/SE is quieter, and more transparent still, but again, it's a LOT more money. So, where does that leave us? Well, if you have any need for a really good sounding amp that isn't a ton of dough, is indestructible, can drive any dynamic headphone to crazy levels, and can actually drive THREE of them, I enthusiastically recommend the HX3. It really surprised me. I expected that it would be built more for toughness than audiophile-quality sound, but it's clearly built to sound great. And it sure does." Minor cosmetic flaw-mild scratches Warranty Till 1/6/09 Selling price $320 FIRM Bought from Hung Bros on 1/6/07 for S$500. Includes box and manual/receipt/warranty card Edited October 9, 2008 by david watt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
david watt 0 Report post Posted October 8, 2008 Price is negotiable. Amp has been quite underused recently. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites