The AP001 from Brainwavz is a headphone amplifier designed to give your audio signal a boost when on the go. In the box is the amplifier itself along with a short 3.5mm to 3.5mm headphone cable and a micro USB cable for charging.
The amplifier is a small unit measuring 38mm square and 12.7mm deep while weighing only 15.5g. This is fashioned from a very dark, see through plastic with an usual cutout design and hole through the centre. While there is no reference to this design in the packaging, I’m assuming it can be used to wrap cable around to secure it in place if required.
The amplifier features a rechargeable battery which is good for around 12 hours of usage. The supplied micro USB cable is used to charge this via the socket on the left hand side. At the bottom is the 3.5mm input socket which can be connected to your portable media source using the supplied cable. There is no power button because the device automatically powers on when it detects a signal and turns off when disconnected. Charging and power statuses are indicated by the LED that glows from the centre of the amplifier but unfortunately, there is no indication of remaining or low charge. The amplifier features two audio out ports on top and I’ll come back to this later as this is a key feature in my opinion.
The specifications indicate a 120% increase of the original audio output level but this is actually the total output so the increase is only 20%. Not a massive increase but definitely noticeable. The increase seems across the board so the sound in general feels stronger but the lower frequencies in particular saw a good boost.
Not everyone will have the need for a portable audio amplifier but there are specific usage cases and one of those comes as a result of the dual headphone outputs. This is a great way to share your music or the audio from a movie with another person, say on a flight. Using a cheaper splitter cable to achieve this means a reduction in volume to each headphone but this amplifier maintains a higher volume level for both headphones, especially important when in a noisy environment such as on an airplane. For a single user, the benefits are boosting the audio level of a music player that has a low level to start with or to compensate for headphones that require a more powerful signal to drive them. There is also another benefit in those who wish to extend the music playing time of their device, the amplifier allows them to lower the output volume on their music device which should save a little battery life for the source player. The same is true for those who want an extra kick to their music without the need of resorting to the build in Equaliser settings.
In my testing, the amplifier worked well enough but I did encounter an issue with interference when using it with my iPhone. This won’t pose an issue for a normal music player such as an iPod or iPad with no cellular connection or if your phone is in Airplane mode but it is something to be aware of. Because of this, I can’t give a full recommendation to those that may be affected by this unless Brainwavz can address this potential issue with improved shielding. If you don’t intend to use this with a phone as the source or are planning on using it for flights in Airplane mode however, it is a great option.
I got this from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brainwavz-A...id=1420714373&sr=8-1&keywords=brainwavz+ap001
Video review:
The amplifier is a small unit measuring 38mm square and 12.7mm deep while weighing only 15.5g. This is fashioned from a very dark, see through plastic with an usual cutout design and hole through the centre. While there is no reference to this design in the packaging, I’m assuming it can be used to wrap cable around to secure it in place if required.
The amplifier features a rechargeable battery which is good for around 12 hours of usage. The supplied micro USB cable is used to charge this via the socket on the left hand side. At the bottom is the 3.5mm input socket which can be connected to your portable media source using the supplied cable. There is no power button because the device automatically powers on when it detects a signal and turns off when disconnected. Charging and power statuses are indicated by the LED that glows from the centre of the amplifier but unfortunately, there is no indication of remaining or low charge. The amplifier features two audio out ports on top and I’ll come back to this later as this is a key feature in my opinion.
The specifications indicate a 120% increase of the original audio output level but this is actually the total output so the increase is only 20%. Not a massive increase but definitely noticeable. The increase seems across the board so the sound in general feels stronger but the lower frequencies in particular saw a good boost.
Not everyone will have the need for a portable audio amplifier but there are specific usage cases and one of those comes as a result of the dual headphone outputs. This is a great way to share your music or the audio from a movie with another person, say on a flight. Using a cheaper splitter cable to achieve this means a reduction in volume to each headphone but this amplifier maintains a higher volume level for both headphones, especially important when in a noisy environment such as on an airplane. For a single user, the benefits are boosting the audio level of a music player that has a low level to start with or to compensate for headphones that require a more powerful signal to drive them. There is also another benefit in those who wish to extend the music playing time of their device, the amplifier allows them to lower the output volume on their music device which should save a little battery life for the source player. The same is true for those who want an extra kick to their music without the need of resorting to the build in Equaliser settings.
In my testing, the amplifier worked well enough but I did encounter an issue with interference when using it with my iPhone. This won’t pose an issue for a normal music player such as an iPod or iPad with no cellular connection or if your phone is in Airplane mode but it is something to be aware of. Because of this, I can’t give a full recommendation to those that may be affected by this unless Brainwavz can address this potential issue with improved shielding. If you don’t intend to use this with a phone as the source or are planning on using it for flights in Airplane mode however, it is a great option.
I got this from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brainwavz-A...id=1420714373&sr=8-1&keywords=brainwavz+ap001
Video review:
