I had wanted a Fiio Mont Blanc for some time because I read many reviews saying how it can drive power hungry headphones and my MP3 player didn't have enough volume for me without maxing out the volume. The headphones I use for my MP3 player are Sony street-style headphones so, not necessarily as power hungry as the large over-ear headphones you see many people using these days. The Mont Blanc is "okay" for a very modest boost in volume but only with the volume at max and the gain switched on. Without the gain turned on it is nothing special. The bass boost seems to do nothing. I bought this used Mont Blanc since the model was discontinued and also I have learned that the new version of this amp, the Fiio A5 has LESS gain than the Mont Blanc. I certainly didn't want to spend more than I paid for this even for a new item with warranty if it had LES gain. I have tried the Mont Blanc with a few other headphones and there was more of a difference with the other sets than with my Sony street-style and yet not enough gain even then to warrant the glowing reviews I have seen for the E12. The E12 Mont Blanc is well made and seems durable. It just doesn't have the amount of gain I was expecting. I do not listen to my music at ear-splitting volume (not these days anyway). I just wanted to have enough boost so that I didn't need to max out the volume on my MP3 player so that I can extend the battery life between charges. I DID expect to need to max out the volume on the Mont Blanc to get the boost I wanted though I was not sure if I would need to use the gain boost to achieve it. Fortunately I got this for a lower price than I would have paid for a "new" old stock Mont Blanc or the newer A5 with even less gain. Even knowing that different headphones will react differently with this amp I would not recommend it unless you are trying to use extremely high impedance headphones with your portable device. And even then I would not expect it to raise your volume all that much. It's not a bad product but, I don't see it as "the beast" that so many people describe it as. For build quality and design I give it high marks. For actual performance.....maybe a grade of B- or C. Thanks to the seller I bought this from for having such a good price that I don't feel it is the waste that the price of an A5 or new E12 would have been. I give the seller high marks.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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