WEBVTT 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:12.120 the fractal designed Define R4 case gets featured on the wow build logs of the 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:16.119 week section more than any other case click now to learn more about it welcome 00:00:14.559 --> 00:00:21.240 to my unboxing and overview of the Mayflower O2 or objective 2 headphone 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:26.199 amp and we've actually also got the odac headphone amp combo unit as well uh in 00:00:24.279 --> 00:00:30.119 terms of packaging they're a pretty small company so we got I guess about 00:00:28.720 --> 00:00:34.200 the best you could expect from a small company so it arrived in a box with packing materials and all that good 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:36.920 stuff I took some pictures at the time but I have since gotten rid of it 00:00:35.719 --> 00:00:41.160 because I was on my motorbike and I couldn't take the box away with me so 00:00:38.800 --> 00:00:45.360 let's start with what is a headphone amplifier in the simplest possible terms 00:00:43.320 --> 00:00:49.399 it's a component of your audio setup that allows you to drive volume higher 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:54.000 and assuming it's reasonably welld designed it can also noticeably improve 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:58.399 the audio quality on any device that is plugged into whether it's a PC phone MP3 00:00:56.280 --> 00:01:03.440 player or whatever else so what is this thing specifically this is a variant of 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:07.080 the objective 2 it's from Mayflower as I said before it aderes strictly to the 00:01:05.320 --> 00:01:11.560 original O2 design so the quality of the internals is undeniably solid and it 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:14.799 features a rugged aluminum housing that is available in silver or black there 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:18.960 are other options available on the Mayflower website such as a quarter-inch 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:22.720 Jack option uh there's upgraded knobs which we do have here on the black one 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:25.799 and you can check out all of the options in the pricing and availability Link in 00:01:24.240 --> 00:01:29.960 the video description there may even be a special discount for lonus Tech tips 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:35.079 for members just throwing that out there the O2 or objective 2 was designed by an 00:01:32.479 --> 00:01:41.799 audio engineer Enthusiast guy who went by the name of nwav guy or Northwest AV 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:44.439 guy with the goal of creating a simple 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:48.200 value optimized amp that purely does what it's supposed to do amplify the 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:52.119 signal from your audio Source without altering the sound signature so that is 00:01:49.759 --> 00:01:56.439 to say with a neutral sound signature or flat frequency response this will allow 00:01:54.799 --> 00:02:00.799 audio files without spending a ton of money to get the most out of their 00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:04.680 expensive cans he's basically dropped off the face of the Earth at this point 00:02:02.399 --> 00:02:09.759 but not before giving permission to diyers and entrepreneurs like Mayflower 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:13.720 alike to manufacture the design that he created all of the io is on the front of 00:02:12.200 --> 00:02:18.800 this unit which is great because it can be put on a desk or even shoved into a 00:02:16.440 --> 00:02:22.760 bag due to its ability be to be powered for 8 to 10 hours by two rechargeable 00:02:20.760 --> 00:02:27.879 nickel metal hydride 9volt batteries from left to right we see DC power in 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:32.200 the power button itself the headphone out volume adjustment knob a gain toggle 00:02:30.720 --> 00:02:34.920 which is essentially a switch to increase the loudness of the signal 00:02:33.720 --> 00:02:40.200 depending on the impedance of the headphones you're trying to drive you may need more gain for higher impedance 00:02:38.200 --> 00:02:44.840 headphones the stock configuration is 2 and 1/2x gain and 6 and 1/2x gain but 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:50.599 that can be changed if you want anything from 1X to 12x and finally Source input 00:02:48.480 --> 00:02:55.000 that can be anything with a 3 1 12 mm Jack or even an adapter using the O2 amp 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:59.400 is simple no drivers or anything just turn up the volume of your Source like 00:02:57.239 --> 00:03:03.360 your phone to the maximum plug it into the amp plug in your headphones I would 00:03:01.440 --> 00:03:06.799 suggest turning the amp down initially because you could like blow your ears 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:09.680 out and then adjust to the point where it's comfortable and you're ready to 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:14.360 hear a difference in the quality of your music or other content with that said 00:03:11.720 --> 00:03:18.159 the amp is only one part of the audio pipeline so to speak you may find that 00:03:16.440 --> 00:03:20.799 while a better amp can noticeably improve the listening experience 00:03:19.440 --> 00:03:26.040 particularly with decent quality headphones let's say in the $200 range 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:30.000 in up it can also draw your attention to deficiencies in other parts of the 00:03:27.760 --> 00:03:34.599 pipeline that you never noticed before lowquality compressed MP3s will sound 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:38.360 muddy and ugly and pops and random interference from particularly terrible 00:03:36.480 --> 00:03:44.519 audio sources like bad onboard computer audio will come through loud and clear 00:03:41.720 --> 00:03:50.239 improving the source audio files audio files sorry that always 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:55.239 cracks me up the the files um using higher quality files such as lossless 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:56.840 formats or even 320 bit MP3s will help 00:03:55.239 --> 00:04:01.200 regardless of whether you've got a fancy new amp but if your Dax solution built 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:05.079 into your PC is still terrible then you'll need a deck you can get a sound 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:09.239 card or you can get an integrated unit that's designed to perfectly match the 00:04:06.519 --> 00:04:13.239 O2 amp the OAC the second unit right here so this is the silver one the black 00:04:10.720 --> 00:04:17.239 one's just the amp contains the O2 amp and the odac within the same chassis it 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:21.120 looks mostly the same other than that it shows off a different external finish in 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:25.520 front knob this is the cheaper knob except that it has a USB port at the 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:29.400 back that USB port requires no drivers to be installed and works on PC and Mac 00:04:27.440 --> 00:04:33.720 all it does is apply the same principles of driving for high quality with no 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:38.280 changes to the sound signature of the original track and simple design to 00:04:35.840 --> 00:04:41.639 achieve very very respectable results if you're an audio geek you can check out 00:04:39.919 --> 00:04:44.919 the performance measurements of the odac online but if you're not then you'll 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:50.400 just have to kind of take my word for it it's very very good especially 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:52.120 considering the price so who is this for 00:04:50.400 --> 00:04:57.479 these two solutions are priced at around $130 and $250 respectively which might 00:04:55.400 --> 00:05:01.000 sound like a lot but if you're a budding audio file and you're picking up a nice 00:04:58.919 --> 00:05:04.520 pair of headphones anyway it could be argued that it is a great investment 00:05:03.080 --> 00:05:08.320 there's cheaper stuff out there from the likes of F and others and there's much 00:05:06.520 --> 00:05:12.440 more expensive stuff out there but the O2 hits that sweet spot where the 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:17.080 general internet consensus seems to be that spending less gets you a noticeably 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:20.880 worse experience and spending more doesn't necessarily yield much of a 00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:25.800 return on your investment until you spend a lot more just the amp itself 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:29.680 made my phone sound noticeably better with my relatively inexpensive imem but 00:05:27.880 --> 00:05:34.319 I didn't notice much of a difference compared to say for example a decent 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:39.840 sound card with all of that said other than my Sennheiser HD 555s my headphone 00:05:37.080 --> 00:05:44.720 collection consists largely of very unexceptional Cheapo gaming headsets so 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:49.000 take everything that I say about my experience with it with a grain of salt 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:52.880 speaking of salt audible.com Linus is the place to go where for the same price 00:05:51.280 --> 00:05:56.880 as a packet of salt at a fast food restaurant that is to say free you can 00:05:55.000 --> 00:06:01.080 get an audio book when you sign up for a new membership they have over 150,000 00:05:58.960 --> 00:06:05.360 audio books in including salt sugar fat how the food Giants hooked us by Michael 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:09.479 moss and salt a world history by Mark kolansky so you can get one of those 00:06:07.599 --> 00:06:13.599 particularly that second one for free if that sounds interesting or something 00:06:11.440 --> 00:06:18.000 else if you prefer remember guys that's audible.com Linus for a free audio book 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:21.919 check it out like this video if you liked it dislike it if you disliked it 00:06:19.960 --> 00:06:25.840 leave me a comment with your thoughts on the O2 don't forget about that discount 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:32.960 code that you might find on the lineus tech tips Forum depending when you're watching this and as always don't forget 00:06:30.479 --> 00:06:43.389 to subscribe