[dsrk]

Hi,
I read that if you use 3.5mm input on PA10, you can't use the 4.4mm output, is that true?

I am planning to buy it and I am going to use it with my Cowon PM2 which has only 3.5mm out.

 

[rkm7]

Hi,
I read that if you use 3.5mm input on PA10, you can't use the 4.4mm output, is that true?

I am planning to buy it and I am going to use it with my Cowon PM2 which has only 3.5mm out.

Yes, 3.5mm input will give output only to 3.5mm and 4.4mm input will give output only to 4.4mm

 

[dsrk]

Yes, 3.5mm input will give output only to 3.5mm and 4.4mm input will give output only to 4.4mm

Thanks.
That's a big bummer. Hmmmm

 

[VishnuKare]

For those using PA10 with mojo 2, are there any benefits with this pairing? According to my understanding of specs, Mojo 2 seems to output more wattage than pa10 on single ended. (600mw at 30 ohm on mojo 2 vs 3.1 vrms on pa10 SE) Please clarify as mojo 2 is also class A.

 

[dsrk]

For those using PA10 with mojo 2, are there any benefits with this pairing? According to my understanding of specs, Mojo 2 seems to output more wattage than pa10 on single ended. (600mw at 30 ohm on mojo 2 vs 3.1 vrms on pa10 SE) Please clarify as mojo 2 is also class A.

I used Mojo 2 with NX7 and I could see a little improvement in dynamics and impact especially when using full size headphones like HD650 and LCD2C.

With Mojo 2, you can only use the 3.5mm output on PA10. Mojo 2 is the most powerful single ended portable AMP out there right now, I don't think you will get any benefit with adding PA10.

I don't get this strage implementation from A&K.

 

[RIGATIO]

I used Mojo 2 with NX7 and I could see a little improvement in dynamics and impact especially when using full size headphones like HD650 and LCD2C.

With Mojo 2, you can only use the 3.5mm output on PA10. Mojo 2 is the most powerful single ended portable AMP out there right now, I don't think you will get any benefit with adding PA10.

I don't get this strage implementation from A&K.

The pa10 has superior amplification compared to the Mojo 2. You will get 3x more power to 32 Ohms using the pa10 + class A "smoothness".
In real life the numbers dont sound like they look on the paper very often but nonetheless, there is a significant more power in reserve.
With iems it doesnt matter but with full sized headphones, especially with open back planars, the difference can be heard.

 

[dsrk]

The pa10 has superior amplification compared to the Mojo 2. You will get 3x more power to 32 Ohms using the pa10 + class A "smoothness".
In real life the numbers dont sound like they look on the paper very often but nonetheless, there is a significant more power in reserve.
With iems it doesnt matter but with full sized headphones, especially with open back planars, the difference can be heard.

My point is if you can't use the full benefit (4.4mm) of PA10, it's not worth it. You are better off with other portable AMPs for that money.

 

[RIGATIO]

My point is if you can't use the full benefit (4.4mm) of PA10, it's not worth it. You are better off with other portable AMPs for that money.

Fair enough, agree.

 

[Tomm11]

Has anyone actually, independently tested the PA10 for power and other tech specs?
If so, a link to the source would be appreciated.

 

[artkillen]

For those using PA10 with mojo 2, are there any benefits with this pairing? According to my understanding of specs, Mojo 2 seems to output more wattage than pa10 on single ended. (600mw at 30 ohm on mojo 2 vs 3.1 vrms on pa10 SE) Please clarify as mojo 2 is also class A.

I didn't think this pairing complimented each other very well. Tried it with 3.5mm and a 3.5 to 4.4 input adapter. PA10 removed some of the Chord precision from the sound. Depth and width stayed about the same, imaging was a little worse with the PA10 than without. The difference in power wasn't noticeable with my HE1000se or HD560s, although those are both easy to drive anyway.

In my experience the PA10 is best for adding soundstage depth and more low end/mid bass/lower mid presence to audio. I thought the Mojo2 already had enough of those. If it added width, then I probably would've kept both devices.

 

[VishnuKare]

I didn't think this pairing complimented each other very well. Tried it with 3.5mm and a 3.5 to 4.4 input adapter. PA10 removed some of the Chord precision from the sound. Depth and width stayed about the same, imaging was a little worse with the PA10 than without. The difference in power wasn't noticeable with my HE1000se or HD560s, although those are both easy to drive anyway.

In my experience the PA10 is best for adding soundstage depth and more low end/mid bass/lower mid presence to audio. I thought the Mojo2 already had enough of those. If it added width, then I probably would've kept both devices.

Thanks for your feedback. This seconds my understanding as well. PA10 seems to be a good amp, but not necessarily a good pairing with the already excellent Mojo 2.

 

[TheFritz]

Just as a reminder that this is a device with an internal battery with all the possible implications:

After 3 months of very light indoor use, my Astell and Kern PA10 suffers from a failing battery; the runtime from fully charged (constant blue LED when charging) to empty was reduced to less than an hour last time I wanted to use it on the weekend (it was never great to begin with ... in the 3-4 hours range in balanced mode to IEMs when I got it) and I just detected this morning that the battery is obviously swollen, causing the rubbery bottom cover to bulge outwards (i.e. a spicy pillow develops underneath it) ... see picture.
I only charged it with a high quality 5V charger so far without any quick charging (9V) capabilities. Of course I won't use or charge it anymore and I contacted the dealer who wanted to contact AK (it is still in warranty) - lets see how it develops.

I am a bit disappointed from AKs device quality but these things happen to batteries. However, you should probably keep a very close eye on the battery performance and the bottom plate.

 

[BobSmith8901]

Just as a reminder that this is a device with an internal battery with all the possible implications:

After 3 months of very light indoor use, my Astell and Kern PA10 suffers from a failing battery; the runtime from fully charged (constant blue LED when charging) to empty was reduced to less than an hour last time I wanted to use it on the weekend (it was never great to begin with ... in the 3-4 hours range in balanced mode to IEMs when I got it) and I just detected this morning that the battery is obviously swollen, causing the rubbery bottom cover to bulge outwards (i.e. a spicy pillow develops underneath it) ... see picture.
I only charged it with a high quality 5V charger so far without any quick charging (9V) capabilities. Of course I won't use or charge it anymore and I contacted the dealer who wanted to contact AK (it is still in warranty) - lets see how it develops.


I am a bit disappointed from AKs device quality but these things happen to batteries. However, you should probably keep a very close eye on the battery performance and the bottom plate.

Wow, sorry to see this and my condolences. I hope you'll be able to get it fixed/replaced under warranty. That is very disappointing. Did it get very hot during charging or discharge that you're aware of?

I've never had great confidence in my PA-10's battery--it takes a few hours (3 or 4+) to charge up with a 9V/1.67A charger but with a 5V/2A it was taking 10-12 which was ridiculous. I wonder if the extended time charging (assuming yours was many hours too), could have affected it. I understand it's a Class-A amp and pushes hard on the battery and drains it fast but still, light use on your part. Thanks for posting and I will be paying much closer attention to charging going forward.

 

[BS5711]

I suspect it is just bad luck if it failed after only a few months use, seems unlikely that particular charging or use habits would matter over that short a time frame.

I have had three different devices fail in very short time due to bad batteries but oddly none swelled.

An iFi Diablo battery gave up a couple of months after I bought it new, the Diablo was replaced no questions asked.

The other two were FiiO Q5S both of which failed within a 3 - 6 weeks from brand new, the second one was a replacement for the first, money was refunded, I suspect that was down to a bad batch of batteries, seems extremely bad luck otherwise.

I guess with all the millions of batteries made some are going to fail prematurely.

 

[TheFritz]

Wow, sorry to see this and my condolences. I hope you'll be able to get it fixed/replaced under warranty. That is very disappointing. Did it get very hot during charging or discharge that you're aware of?

I've never had great confidence in my PA-10's battery--it takes a few hours (3 or 4+) to charge up with a 9V/1.67A charger but with a 5V/2A it was taking 10-12 which was ridiculous. I wonder if the extended time charging (assuming yours was many hours too), could have affected it. I understand it's a Class-A amp and pushes hard on the battery and drains it fast but still, light use on your part. Thanks for posting and I will be paying much closer attention to charging going forward.

Thanks. I never noticed it to get very hot - neither during charging nor during use ... but I didn't really monitor it closely while charging. The few times I charged it (probably twice a Month), I charged it mostly overnight with 5V/2A but it didn't take as long as yours to indicate the fully charged state. Probably simply bad luck with this one but I never encountered such an early battery failure with any of my portable devices and didn't expect it from one of the more expensive ones like this.