|
Post by PinkFloyd on May 19, 2009 21:09:18 GMT
The Blue Jelly Banzai has arrived Banzai hereHand made by an audio enthusiast in Thailand, the Banzai is essentially a CMOY in a very nice custom made enclosure.... the "engine" is the JRC4556 dual opamp. Powered by 2 x 9V batteries which fit very nicely into a padded EVA foam "cradle". Build quality is superb with knurled aluminium knob, aluminum body and CNC formed acrylic plastic enclosure, good quality on / off switch and top class internal workmanship. It really does look and feel the business, you really wouldn't believe this little beauty only costs £23 GBP..... it's one of the classiest looking "portable" amps I have come across... it has an external LED as well as an external one so when the lights are dim the enclosure lights up in a nice soft glow.... I have the blue Banzai but you can also get a magnitude of other enclosure colours. So far so VERY good Question is, what does it sound like? Believe me guys I nearly shit myself when I attached my Audio Technica W-1000 and cranked the volume up! The Banzai is an absolute POWERHOUSE of an amp.... this little puppy will drive headphones so hard the diaphragms will come off their moorings and penetrate clean through your skull.... I'm not kidding..... this baby can go LOUD! Close your eyes and you'd think your headphones were connected to a one kilowatt power amp..... I jest not! OK, so it drives headphones to INSANE levels without distortion (if you are mad enough to subject your ears to those kind of SPL's) but what does it sound like at more "normal" listening levels?..... in a word, AMAZING! It's vibrant, dynamic and energetic with bass to die for.... one listen to Kraftwerk's "Minimum / Maximum" album was all that was needed for me to let out a loud "wow!".... I know this album like the back of my hand and NEVER before have I heard the bass so perfectly reproduced on "the robots"..... it's toe curlingly deep with perfect extention.... Soundstage is a tad two dimensional (in your head) but that may improve with burn in (I've only had her playing for about 3 hours so far) midrange is very open and informative with plenty of detail and treble is just right. The "weight" of sound is that you would only normally expect from amps costing a LOT more.... as I said before, if you closed your eyes you would swear the headphones were connected to something the size of a domestic fridge.... top class and for £23 GBP absolutely unbeatable in my opinion. I did a brief comparo between the Banzai and £175 Graham Slee Voyager: At first I thought the Voyager's batteries must have been dead as it sounded pretty "strained" compared to the Banzai..... I duly replaced the batteries with fresh ones and tried again.... nope, the Voyager (compared to the Banzai) was definitely struggling in comparison.... where the Banzai reproduced dynamics with consumate ease and panache the Voyager struggled to keep up.... where the Banzai sounded awesome at all volume levels the Voyager only sounded good at low to mid levels with it's "contour" circuit active. I've had the Voyager for over a year now and have got used to it's music making abilities..... until today I thought it was a very capable little portable amp but........ that was before I heard the Banzai...... There is no comparison, I don't want to embarrass the Voyager by listing it's flaws (and it's inability to sound good unless it's contour circuit is active) and I certainly don't want to get into the territory of "£175, are you serious?" Let's just say my Voyager will be on ebay in the next few days.... The Banzai has absolutely, hands down, shown me that "simple" can sometimes be "best" and the price tag that "Made in England" brings about means nothing other than you are paying an "Englishman" the going rate to keep him in the lifestyle he is accustomed to. In today's world (getting smaller by the minute) "Made in Thailand" means "attention to detail, quality and value for money"...... I must say the "customer service" that came with the Banzai is second to none... from the moment I ordered to receiving the amp I was kept up to date with things (tracking numbers etc.) I even got a nice smiley face sticker with the amp (nice touch).... all in all a VERY good transaction and "£23" for one helluva good sounding portable amp. Superb. I will be back with under the bonnet pics etc.
|
|
insomniac
Been here a while!
Team Zopiclone
Posts: 938
|
Post by insomniac on May 19, 2009 21:26:13 GMT
Cracking value for money there Mike... 23 notes, crazy It looks really well put together too and judging by your initial impressions, worth every penny. I've yet to listen to a CMOY based amp but its good to know a quality one can be picked up for such a reasonable price... tempting... ;D Does it have a power input socket or does it run on batteries only?
|
|
jonclancy
Been here a while!
Mr. Ripple Eater
Amateur EAGLEist
Posts: 1,131
|
Post by jonclancy on May 19, 2009 21:28:36 GMT
Interesting first thoughts, Mike! Apart from the case, what makes this different from any other CMOY? Cheers Jon It's £26 now...
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on May 19, 2009 21:49:02 GMT
Cracking value for money there Mike... 23 notes, crazy It looks really well put together too and judging by your initial impressions, worth every penny. I've yet to listen to a CMOY based amp but its good to know a quality one can be picked up for such a reasonable price... tempting... ;D Does it have a power input socket or does it run on batteries only? Batteries only Dave but a DC socket would be easy to fit on the back plate (plenty of room)
|
|
|
Post by prawn on May 19, 2009 21:54:14 GMT
Isn't the JRC4556 the chip that finds it's way into the Grado RA1 thingy? I wonder if what seems to be the humungus size of the Banzai will put people off, if it's marketed as a portable amp? The other very consideration is battery life - perhaps Mike you'd let us know how this pans out. I guess Graham will be gnashing his teeth when he reads your post!
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on May 19, 2009 21:54:52 GMT
Interesting first thoughts, Mike! Apart from the case, what makes this different from any other CMOY? Cheers Jon It's £26 now... Hi Jon, It's pretty much "basic" CMOY.... probably why it sounds so good.... and that JRC4556 is a surprisingly good engine..... absolutely superb with low Z 'phones (such as Grado / AT) I have yet to try it with higher Z Sennheisers..... Mike.
|
|
insomniac
Been here a while!
Team Zopiclone
Posts: 938
|
Post by insomniac on May 19, 2009 21:58:13 GMT
Cracking value for money there Mike... 23 notes, crazy It looks really well put together too and judging by your initial impressions, worth every penny. I've yet to listen to a CMOY based amp but its good to know a quality one can be picked up for such a reasonable price... tempting... ;D Does it have a power input socket or does it run on batteries only? Batteries only Dave but a DC socket would be easy to fit on the back plate (plenty of room) Nice that there's room for the option, I suppose batteries would be a cleaner power source anyway but would require getting into the habit of actually switching amps off when not in use. My amps like to feast on stand by power
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 19, 2009 22:19:38 GMT
Cracking value for money there Mike... 23 notes, crazy It looks really well put together too and judging by your initial impressions, worth every penny. I've yet to listen to a CMOY based amp but its good to know a quality one can be picked up for such a reasonable price... tempting... ;D Does it have a power input socket or does it run on batteries only? Batteries only Dave but a DC socket would be easy to fit on the back plate (plenty of room) Mike Are the 2 x 9V batteries in series, or used to give +- rails without a rail splitter I.C. , or would you then need to use an external regulated +-9V supply to give comparable results to the internal batteries ? If it uses standard CMOY circuitry incorporating a rail splitter, then you would need a single ,well regulated 18VDC supply. Alex
|
|
|
Post by charleyphogg on May 20, 2009 4:36:27 GMT
That is a fine looking amp, aside from the size of it, I'd also think the cap screw on top would be a problem, the feet can be removed. Now time for me to step on my soapbox . Damnit, stop buying Chinese and support countries that abide by the law. Stop supporting the countries that sell rip=offs and expose their own people to our exploitation and hazardous environmental atrocities
|
|
Nigel
Been here a while!
Watching over Gotham City keeping us safe
Posts: 2,064
|
Post by Nigel on May 20, 2009 8:31:50 GMT
Stop supporting the countries that sell rip=offs You seen some of the prices the UK companies are charging of late?
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on May 20, 2009 11:07:33 GMT
Now time for me to step on my soapbox . Damnit, stop buying Chinese and support countries that abide by the law. Stop supporting the countries that sell rip=offs and expose their own people to our exploitation and hazardous environmental atrocities Not another one! I had Graham Slee rambling on at me last night about buying "Chinese" (even though the Banzai is made by an audio enthusiast in THAILAND) "You can support as many eastern clones as you wish but by doing so IMO you condone theft of other people's hard work - the Chinese etc don't design - they copy! Neither do they comply with RoHS, WEEE or Eco-Design (allowed by the UK cheat-sneak Government since 2006...) like I am forced to - so they are also cheats in this respect! So the winner is a cheat? That's what it looks like from here - it looks like you support cheats!"erm.......... as far as I am aware the designer of the CMOY was Chu Moy and he is a Chinese gent (or of Chinese origin).... he put his design (the CMOY) into the public domain FREE OF CHARGE so people could build it if they wanted to. This chap in Thailand is building them and selling them for £23 a pop.... I have NO problem with that. I don't want to feel FORCED into buying British.... that's a very xenophobic way to be...... and calling the rest of the world "cheats" is just plain ridiculous. This thread was not meant to offend you Graham, I DO listen to amps other than yours and I DO buy from abroad. I am sorry you have a problem with that.
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on May 20, 2009 11:35:44 GMT
Stop supporting the countries that sell rip=offs You seen some of the prices the UK companies are charging of late? What REALLY gets me with these hypocrites who say the Chinese are crooks is the fact their "British made" amps are populated with Chinese parts! From the Chinese made power supply to the capacitors to the resistors to the....... CHINESE PARTS!! They talk about the Chinese as if they are a race of clueless bandits yet it is the Chinese who manufacture most of the parts required to keep these British companies in business! Oh....... I suppose the people "they" buy from in China are not "cheats" and "crooks" then? ;D
|
|
robertkd
Been here a while!
Electronics Engineer from sunny Queensland
Posts: 111
|
Post by robertkd on May 20, 2009 12:48:09 GMT
You seen some of the prices the UK companies are charging of late? What REALLY gets me with these hypocrites who say the Chinese are crooks is the fact their "British made" amps are populated with Chinese parts! From the Chinese made power supply to the capacitors to the resistors to the....... CHINESE PARTS!! They talk about the Chinese as if they are a race of clueless bandits yet it is the Chinese who manufacture most of the parts required to keep these British companies in business! Oh....... I suppose the people "they" buy from in China are not "cheats" and "crooks" then? ;D Interesting observation given that so much manufacturing occurs in East Asia by usually the "Mega" brands, I think you are pretty much spot on, the LCD panel in your display, the components in your computer and certainly the components that make up your amplifier your CDP and so forth. Yet at the end of the day we still cling onto some "homelyness" it (insert your equipment here) was made in the UK/Euro/USA/somewhere meaningful and so forth, TBH I admire the craftsman that still manages to manufacture a product in a local home grown way. However the truth is as much as we might despise it, we are all constrained by "mega-buck" business that extracts the absolute maximum for the absolute minimum cost and retails this to the great unwashed. It would seem we are ourselves our own victim of our greed, the sad part is we are mostly unwitting participants in this act of consumerism because lets face it our futures are driven by multi-nationalist. Robert
|
|
|
Post by prawn on May 20, 2009 14:53:04 GMT
Well Robert, that makes things very clear ( ). Back to the Banzai - any chance Mike of a peek under the bonnet mate? I'm wondering if it is an RA1 clone with that extraordinary oversize input cap. As I understand it the JRC 4556 doesn't seem to find a lot of favour in audio circles though it is useful here since it thumps out 75 ma or so.
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on May 20, 2009 14:58:09 GMT
Anyways...... I am wary of any manufacturer who refers to his competitors as "cheats"... totally below the belt. Thank god we can make our own minds up on who we buy from, where we buy it from and what we buy! Anyways....... back on topic..... more pics of the "Thai" made Blue Jelly Banzai to come... hopefully no more xenophobic comments from British manufacturers.
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on May 20, 2009 15:05:54 GMT
|
|
Will
Been here a while!
Ribena abuser!
Member since 2008
Posts: 2,164
|
Post by Will on May 20, 2009 16:55:09 GMT
Crikey! Someones pinched all the capacitors!
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on May 20, 2009 17:54:29 GMT
Crikey! Someones pinched all the capacitors! ;D As I say...... the kit comes without capacitors but the fully built version comes complete with 2 x 470uF ELNA caps: Very simple but superb SQ nonetheless!
|
|
Will
Been here a while!
Ribena abuser!
Member since 2008
Posts: 2,164
|
Post by Will on May 20, 2009 18:01:59 GMT
I really should learn to read
|
|
|
Post by idc on May 20, 2009 19:03:06 GMT
Going by the photo of the Banzai next to the Voyager, the Banzai is portable as in, it is a good size to take on holiday (to Thailand perhaps?) as opposed to one for the pocket.
How do they sound with the Koss PortaPro? At £42 for both it is a very tempting proposition.
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on May 20, 2009 19:23:15 GMT
Going by the photo of the Banzai next to the Voyager, the Banzai is portable as in, it is a good size to take on holiday (to Thailand perhaps?) as opposed to one for the pocket. I agree. The Voyager is definitely more of a "shirt pocket" type affair (it doesn't even have feet) where the Banzai is more of an "easy to carry around but when you get there plunk it on a desk" type effort.... the Banzai "does" have nice little rubber feet which grip the deck nicely. Seriously guys, for the likes of Grado and other low to mid impedance 'phones this little amp does the job EXTREMELY nicely... I must confess I have never heard the JRC chip in a portable until now and must say it's perfect for this application. A minimum number of components, top quality DC source (batteries) there's every reason why this simple little amp "should" sound good.... in fact, I have never heard my Grado SR-225 sound this good before.... usually I can't wait to rip them off my head but with the Banzai powering them it's a different story altogether.... I'll definitely be using this as my dedicated "Grado driver" from here on in. I still haven't tried it with the Sennheisers (too busy listening to the fantastic job it's making of driving the ATH W-1000 / Grado SR-225) but will report back as soon as I have. It just goes to show you..... $$$ (or £££) doesn't mean a thing, an amp's either got it or it doesn't, this little Thai beauty has it, in spadeloads. £23? Run, don't walk, to your "terminal" and hit that buy now button... you will not be disappointed
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on May 20, 2009 20:53:37 GMT
Isn't the JRC4556 the chip that finds it's way into the Grado RA1 thingy? Yes. It's far from "humungus" but is certainly not the kind of amp you'd slip in your pockets unless you wore a combat jacket type thing.... I'd class it as more of a "mini" amp that can easily be carried from A to B. I most certainly shall. I am using rechargeable batteries and will monitor just how long one charge lasts.... It's been on, and playing quite a lot, for two days now and still full of juice.... I'm going away for a few days soon and will monitor the battery life "as is" as this will be my only source of music. You could say that.
|
|
jonclancy
Been here a while!
Mr. Ripple Eater
Amateur EAGLEist
Posts: 1,131
|
Post by jonclancy on May 20, 2009 21:32:14 GMT
Interesting first thoughts, Mike! Apart from the case, what makes this different from any other CMOY? Cheers Jon It's £26 now... Hi Jon, It's pretty much "basic" CMOY.... probably why it sounds so good.... and that JRC4556 is a surprisingly good engine..... absolutely superb with low Z 'phones (such as Grado / AT) I have yet to try it with higher Z Sennheisers..... Mike. Seems it'll do +-70mA into a 150 Ohm load... Datasheet took a while to find... ;D Japan Radio Corp is now New Japan Radio - part number NJM4556A at less than sixpence each from RS!! Cheers Jon
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on May 20, 2009 21:47:21 GMT
Hi Jon, It's pretty much "basic" CMOY.... probably why it sounds so good.... and that JRC4556 is a surprisingly good engine..... absolutely superb with low Z 'phones (such as Grado / AT) I have yet to try it with higher Z Sennheisers..... Mike. Seems it'll do +-70mA into a 150 Ohm load... Datasheet took a while to find... ;D Japan Radio Corp is now New Japan Radio - part number NJM4556A at less than sixpence each from RS!! Cheers Jon JRC 4556 datasheet here: www.5mv.com/ebay/mini_amp/hfkit/4556ad.pdfIt does what it says it does and it only costs pennies....... Cool
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on May 20, 2009 22:24:27 GMT
She just ran out of juice as I was typing..... from tomorrow I will monitor power consumption...... I think she consumes a lot of juice though
|
|