Ken Rockwell – Apogee Groove Review
“This is the best portable DAC and headphone amp there is, especially for higher impedance headphones which usually need an outboard amplifier.”
“This is the best portable DAC and headphone amp there is, especially for higher impedance headphones which usually need an outboard amplifier.”
“What I’ve learned: Among the five pint-size, USB-powered DAC-headphone amps I had on hand, the Apogee Groove excelled at pushing high-impedance headphones like the Sennheiser HD600s, and just sounded better with anything I hooked up to it. Dynamics opened up, and details were more clearly defined.”
“If you compare the Groove with the lackluster sound you get from the headphone jack on your computer or phone, the improvements in clarity, dynamic impact, and soundstage spaciousness from a first-class digital converter/ headphone amp will be hard to miss”
“A good DAC can open up music, allowing subtleties to come through and offering a new listening experience for music stored on a computer or streamed through an app. But a high-quality DAC can be expensive, often costing $1,000 or more. The Groove DAC from Apogee offers many of the upsides for under $300…The company, which has three decades of experience developing technology for recording studios, has built the device to adjust the sound to any type of headphones.”
“If you find yourself frequently editing audio on the move, or you simply want better audio quality from your system, the Groove has to be worth a listen.”
“The sound is marvelous—the best I’ve heard yet from portable headphone/DACs I’ve used in the past. It sounds like the mix I know well—clear high frequencies with accurate and distinct bass”
“In the end the Groove can make your music sound the way it should be listened to. The overall sound is balanced with great retrieval of details.. To top it off it can drive most headphones with it’s amp section. It sounds better than higher priced dedicated desktop amp/dac combos that I have used. Whatever magic they did in this little unit, just works…It’s not every day I get to demo something that gives me that WOW factor, the Groove has definitely shocked me.”
“I could hear the biggest difference when listening to the bluegrass band Punch Brothers. Even when the full band was playing, the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and other instruments all stand on their own. Groove is also capable of handling high-res audio up to 24 bit/192kHz, so folks who prefer FLAC will feel right at home. And yes, you can leverage the high-quality streaming from Tidal here as well.”