Boostaroo Portable Amplifier - Clear

Rating:
Summary: simple, compact, works great
Review: I bought this at an airport kiosk after my kids and I got tired of straining to hear our DVDs and other portable electronic devices over the engine roar. Just 2 AAs needed (which last a long time), 3 people can plug into it at once. Fits in your pocket easily. Very nice little gadget.

Rating:
Summary: simple, compact, works great
Review: I bought this at an airport kiosk after my kids and I got tired of straining to hear our DVDs and other portable electronic devices over the engine roar. Just 2 AAs needed (which last a long time), 3 people can plug into it at once. Fits in your pocket easily. Very nice little gadget.

Rating:
Summary: Great for office, gym, air travel
Review: I've had a Boostaroo for several years now. I purchased a fantastic pair of Sennheiser HD580 headphones several years ago. I wear them in my office (cube) hooked up to my PC. The Sennheisers are great, but somewhat inefficient so the PC can't drive them very effectivly, Boostaroo to the rescue. Now I can really *hear* my music!

I have also used Boostaroo in the gym and when traveling. Again, a great, inexpensive fix for loud jet engines and distortion.



Rating:
Summary: does what it does.
Review: Strangely you can find the exact same model at any Radio Shack (ask for a portable headphone amplifier). It does what it does. It boosts the volume output with up to 3 attached headphones. However, it seems incapatable with some headphones (crackling signal), so you should give this an audition first or make sure there's a return policy before you buy.

Rating:
Summary: A little overpriced.
Review: The Boostaroo amplifier is not a "bad" item. Being new to high-end headphone technology, I was thinking that a headphone amplifier should act similarly to an amp that you'd power a car stereo with. You won't find any bass amplification here. This unit simply allows you to listen at normal volume levels when the audio output you're using doesn't provide sufficient power for your headphones (such as a PC with a low audio output). I own a pair of Sennheiser HD 202s, which are already suited for low power sources, so I didn't really benefit from combined use with the Boostaroo.

That's fine, I told myself, since I would probably be purchasing a higher end set of cans in the near future that'd benefit from an amplifier. Sadly, even that may not be a saving grace for this purchase. You see, when you plug a Boostaroo into your audio source, it creates a low static sound. It's not noticable when the music's on, but I fear that a hi-end set of phones will pick up this sound, effectively ruining the crystal clear sound I shelled out the bones to hear in the first place. I can't really comment until I've purchased the new headphones and tested this theory out, but I'll post an updated review if/when I do. On a side note, the plastic piece that covers the battery compartment doesn't stay "snapped" on when there are batteries in place. I didn't mention this before because it could just be that my particular unit has a defect. In any case, I've gotta use a rubberband to keep it secure. Ten to fifteen dollars would have been a better price point for this item.



Rating:
Summary: Great piece of device, didn't expect it to be so big tho
Review: The built-in speakers on my laptop sucks and I usually watch videos on it with a friend or two. It's quite impractical for me to tote speakers wherever I go. More convenient to bring around headphones. I gave Boostaroo a try to see if it's better than the typical "headphone jack y-splitter" thingy that I used to have. Boostaroo works like a charm! No loss of quality or volume at all across the 3 audio output (which was a problem with the y-splitter I used to use). Only one thing I have against it: it's size--it's quite a biggie. I know they had the dimensions of it in the specs. Didn't really pay much attention to it when I was buying it tho. lol The thing works great, but it doesn't really look cool when I use it with my iPod.