I mentioned in another thread that I recently purchased the Fiio Kilimanjaro 2 portable headphone amp to travel with me, as I have found my older X5 to be very useful when sitting on planes for hours listening to music or watching movies on my Tablet or Samsung Galaxy G5 phone. It is also a godsend when I want to listen to the audio from the in-flight entertainment built into seats, especially on overseas flights.
My main headphones to use with the X5 and now the Kilimanjaro 2 are my trusty Shure SE535 IEMs with the large sized foam rubber expanding sleeves. I love the neutral tone, sound isolation, and comfort of these IEMs. Since I will often put them in my ears before boarding my first flight out and leave them in throughout my entire journey, usually 4 to 8 hours, but sometimes 16 hours, the comfort and isolation are every bit as important as the natural sound.
When I received the Kilimanjaro, I charged up the battery then listened with it from a few sources primarily with my IEMs, but also with my AKG K701, Grado SR80, AKG K240DF, AKG K270, and some other things I had laying around and found that it sounded great, but not necessarily better than my studio headphone amp nor the headphone output on my OnkyoPro preamp/processor. But, it was clearly better than the outputs on my portable devices, like the Galaxy S5, Dell Latitude Tablet, Apple MacBook Pro, and Dell Latitude notebook PC. The gain switch was really useful when switching between the high sensitivity headphones, like the Grado and IEM, and the studio headphones, like the AKG and Senns. The subtly bass boost was also very appropriate and while completely unnecessary at home, I learned it was helpful when sitting on jet-planes which are awash with a low rumble which can mask the bass from the headphones when listening at relatively low levels.
So, why am I writing a review now?
I just got back from a two night trip to NYC and I used the Kilimanjaro 2 on all four of the flights and found it a dream. The gain switch allowed me to get a much lower background noise and the bass boost was just right for hearing the boom of explosions in the shows I was watching. I also found the size and controls easy to work with in the confined space of an airline seat. Just for fun, I did a few A/B comparisons to my older X5 and found the sound to be only slightly different - what I thought I could hear (and it could very well be in my head considering how subtle it was and the A/B switch took about 10 seconds which is too long for my memory of sound to last) was a slightly lower distortion which made the sound more dynamic and, naturally, less exciting.
Distortion, at low levels and well balanced, can make the sound more compressed and "stronger" from the impression of more bass and more harmonics which a clean sounding recording of real life or acoustic instrument can sometimes seem to benefit from.
But, that perceived lack of distortion appeared to have made everything slightly more accurate sounding, more like real life, more natural. This allowed me to get away with slightly higher listening levels without experiencing listening fatigue. It also helped me enjoy what I was listening to more because I was less aware of the sound quality.
The battery lasted more than long enough for my 3.5 hour flight from NYC to Dallas. I'll need a longer flight to know the total playing time for the battery. It seems just fine, and I have a USB port on my tablet I could charge the headphone amp with, if need be.
The volume control was dead silent, and unlike all of the other 40, or so, portable headphone amps I've used ranging in price as high as $250, it didn't have a turn on or turn off pop - probably the single most differentiated feature of the Kilimanjaro 2. In fact, it is the only headphone amp I've ever used where plugging in or unplugging the audio signal or headphone cable caused no audible pop, fuzz, or static. I have no idea how that is possible, but it is. Very odd, but satisfying for me.
So, that's my review. I feel my money was spent well.
That said, if I forget it at home or the battery dies and I cannot charge it, I can still fully enjoy the music and movies my devices can play. I would not call it a necessity, but instead it is an affordable luxury.
My main headphones to use with the X5 and now the Kilimanjaro 2 are my trusty Shure SE535 IEMs with the large sized foam rubber expanding sleeves. I love the neutral tone, sound isolation, and comfort of these IEMs. Since I will often put them in my ears before boarding my first flight out and leave them in throughout my entire journey, usually 4 to 8 hours, but sometimes 16 hours, the comfort and isolation are every bit as important as the natural sound.
When I received the Kilimanjaro, I charged up the battery then listened with it from a few sources primarily with my IEMs, but also with my AKG K701, Grado SR80, AKG K240DF, AKG K270, and some other things I had laying around and found that it sounded great, but not necessarily better than my studio headphone amp nor the headphone output on my OnkyoPro preamp/processor. But, it was clearly better than the outputs on my portable devices, like the Galaxy S5, Dell Latitude Tablet, Apple MacBook Pro, and Dell Latitude notebook PC. The gain switch was really useful when switching between the high sensitivity headphones, like the Grado and IEM, and the studio headphones, like the AKG and Senns. The subtly bass boost was also very appropriate and while completely unnecessary at home, I learned it was helpful when sitting on jet-planes which are awash with a low rumble which can mask the bass from the headphones when listening at relatively low levels.
So, why am I writing a review now?
I just got back from a two night trip to NYC and I used the Kilimanjaro 2 on all four of the flights and found it a dream. The gain switch allowed me to get a much lower background noise and the bass boost was just right for hearing the boom of explosions in the shows I was watching. I also found the size and controls easy to work with in the confined space of an airline seat. Just for fun, I did a few A/B comparisons to my older X5 and found the sound to be only slightly different - what I thought I could hear (and it could very well be in my head considering how subtle it was and the A/B switch took about 10 seconds which is too long for my memory of sound to last) was a slightly lower distortion which made the sound more dynamic and, naturally, less exciting.
Distortion, at low levels and well balanced, can make the sound more compressed and "stronger" from the impression of more bass and more harmonics which a clean sounding recording of real life or acoustic instrument can sometimes seem to benefit from.
But, that perceived lack of distortion appeared to have made everything slightly more accurate sounding, more like real life, more natural. This allowed me to get away with slightly higher listening levels without experiencing listening fatigue. It also helped me enjoy what I was listening to more because I was less aware of the sound quality.
The battery lasted more than long enough for my 3.5 hour flight from NYC to Dallas. I'll need a longer flight to know the total playing time for the battery. It seems just fine, and I have a USB port on my tablet I could charge the headphone amp with, if need be.
The volume control was dead silent, and unlike all of the other 40, or so, portable headphone amps I've used ranging in price as high as $250, it didn't have a turn on or turn off pop - probably the single most differentiated feature of the Kilimanjaro 2. In fact, it is the only headphone amp I've ever used where plugging in or unplugging the audio signal or headphone cable caused no audible pop, fuzz, or static. I have no idea how that is possible, but it is. Very odd, but satisfying for me.
So, that's my review. I feel my money was spent well.
That said, if I forget it at home or the battery dies and I cannot charge it, I can still fully enjoy the music and movies my devices can play. I would not call it a necessity, but instead it is an affordable luxury.
