ALO Audio - The National portable headphone amplifier in review

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TouchMyApps review of The National portable headphone amplifier

An ALO spring
It's been too long since TMA has hosted ALO products. The wait is over. ALO's big splash came with the Rx, an amp that two years after its sudden and surprising debut still stands as my benchmark for performance. This year, following the Continental, ALO's first valve-powered headphone amplifier, is The National, a 100% solid state amp with just enough accent to make things exciting again.

Design and build
If you hate finger prints and scratches, you'll love the National's mottled chassis that sheds stains and resists all but the most intentional of abuses. It is cool and slick in the hand, so keep a good grip around its exterior. The volume knob turns smoothly, is comfortable, and never grinds on the chassis.

Then, there is the casually-lit charge/ON lamp. It's not too bright, nor too dull. Go ahead, leave the amp on while you sleep, its LED won't keep your better half up. Volume? That's another story. So, too, may be the in/out ports. They are in the perfect place for using any size headphone connector. Go ahead, even use ALO-recabled headphones (which have massive ports), since the in and out ports are on opposite sides of the amp, you won't have to worry about stressing the jacks or the ports.

What causes some head-scratching is the graphic indication of in and out. They are cutely placed arrows, same as the ALO Rx, but depending on how you have your amp and source situated, and whether or not you get along with maps well, you may inadvertently stick your headphones into the in port, not the out port, and visa versa. I don't think this at all the of the icon, but it can confuse here and there.

Next to the perfect placement of in/out ports and the wonderfully balanced volume pot, the next best thing (and indeed, the first think you are liable to notice) is the National font. Wow. ALO are proud of their products, and it shows. They don't hind behind Helvetica clones or in vogue small-case print. The details of the rear logo, the large emblazoned National, and the non-standard chassis case itself are selling points themselves.

Never purchase from a company that isn't proud of its offerings.

The only grump I have is with the battery. It is large and can drive a pair of DT880 600Ω for around 15 hours (this isn't 100% accurate as I've not had much time to test battery life) on high volume, BUT, it flops around the inside of the amp. It should have a bit of pressure foam to keep its innards sturdy and quiet. That's a small price to pay for such an otherwise well-designed amp. Remember, too, that the MST FiQuest (a much more expensive and powerful amp) also has a floppy battery.

The National flavour
Yep, unlike the Rx, the National comes flavoured. At first, it is a flavour extremely bright. It takes time to savour, to really dig into. But when you do, that is when you enjoy. The Rx is ruler flat, some say to a fault. The National is bright and very powerful, but its emphasis in the higher mids is a special sort of accent, that pleasantly rings.

Bass doesn't yawn quite as deeply as the Rx does, but I don't think that is the point. The National's larger battery and caps give more volume into larger headphones. The DT880 600Ω are perfectly artefact free even at 100% volume and at high gain. At high volumes, the National may outperform the Rx.

At low volumes, even with very sensitive IEM's, channel balance is exact, seesawing at only the lowest of volume levels. Considering the power that is output from the National at high volume settings, this is a great sign. Many high power amps lack control at low volumes, opting instead to advertise their driving capabilities to users of power-hungry headphones only.

Musical?
You betcha. As with Jaben's VestAmp, the National has a soft side. Partly, it comes from a little channel bleed. Knowing Ken's other designs, I'd reckon it's a design choice. It sounds great. In particular, binaural recordings are entire-ably loveable.

The rest including RMAA stress tests and 50SQ waves and pictures and real sound opinions? It's to come. I hope this answers some early questions.

TouchMyApps review of The National portable headphone amplifier