# My review of the Govibe Single and Hippo Box



## mp3

GoVibe Single
   
  Portable headphone amplifier.
   

   
  Specs.
  Dimensions: 53x20x20mm
  Weight: 13g (without battery)
  AAA size external battery
  Price: $129
   
  Hardware and accessories.
  The Govibe Single is made of plastic and is very light. It comes with a 3,5mm cable to connect to the source, and a strap/lanyard. On one end of the Govibe Single there is the line in, and on the other end line out, on one side there is the on/off switch and a volume control and finally there is the battery cover. A very clean design and easy to use lay out. The battery used is a standard AAA.
   
  Sound quality.
  Connect the Govibe Single to your player with the provided cable, set the volume and there will be sound. During the week I have used various headphones and sources with the Govibe Single, to really test its abilities. It adds a warmth to the sound that almost makes it sound analogue, which is pleasant. There is a slight background hiss, but nothing too worrying. The Govibe Single does not really offer any amplification of the volume, at least not that I could hear, but as said, it gives a warm analogue sound.
   
  To sum up.
  The good: small and light, adds analogue warmth to the sound, separate on/off switch and volume.
  The bad: it doesn’t really boost the volume.
   
  Verdict: at $129 I can’t really recommend the Govibe Single as such, even if it has its qualities in adding more warmth to the sound. Have a look at the following Hippo Box instead.
   
   
   
  Hippo Box
   
  Portable headphone amplifier.
   

   
  Specs.
  Dimensions: 57x42x12mm
  Weight: 53g
  Built in battery
  Price: $109
   
  Hardware and accessories.
  The Hippo Box is made of metal, very sturdy but still lightweight, with classy and clean looks in the shape of a car amp. It comes with a USB cable for charging and a 3,5mm cable to connect it to the source. On one end of the Hippo Box you have the bass boost and gain boost, mini USB socket for charging with an indicator light, on the other end you have line in, power on light and line out. The battery lasts around 15 hours on a charge.

   
  Sound quality.
  To use the Hippo Box, simply connect it to your player with the provided cable, then set the volume on the source, as there is no volume control on the Box. To test the Hippo Box I have tried it with various headphones and sources for a week. The overall sound is more fullbodied with a better low end and a wider soundstage. The bass boost gives just that, a nice boost to the low end, and the gain (volume boost) gives a really nice sound character as well as it adds volume. The Hippo Box also cures bass rolloff issues that some sources have. There are some hissing noises, but only on higher volumes and not much even then. All in all the Hippo Box is a very capable portable amplifier that has much to offer, a very good first attempt by Hippo!
   
  To sum up.
  The good: the overall sound, solid metal casing.
  The bad: no on/off switch or volume control.
   
  Verdict: The Hippo Box is definitely worth a try if you need a portable amp to your rig. Recommended.


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## khakis359

Thanks for sharing, i did tested both but end up got myself Sr-71a


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## mp3

Thanks. The Sr-71a is a tad more expensive though


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## rickysio

Reviewed prior in ABi.
   
  Quote: http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56742 





> Very mini - about the same size as a Sansa Clip+, just _that_ slightly wider in all dimensions, except for thickness.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
   
   
  Quote: http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56754 





> Hippo Box measures and sounds nicely enough, at least at the high gain setting. The bass boost is more or less negligible, it's not much, especially at low gain it's a measly ~2.5dB (~5dB at high gain). Nothing an EQ couldn't do better. Build quality seems sturdy enough, but it's all a bit on the rough DIY side (Hex screws on one side, Phillips screws on the other, generic Chinese Windows serif font, etc). Not having a power button is a major hassle (it turns on when a phone is plugged in), not having a volume control is a slight nuisance as well if one likes analog volume dials. It hisses a bit with low impedance IEMs, but not much. Still, it's a nicely performing amp in high gain mode, if one needs a volume boost without detrimental effects on sound quality - and sometimes even beneficial effects (improved crosstalk and/or bass roll-off, depending on player/phone). I'm surprised this one's actually that nice, despite the lack of controls. It's no Headstage or Corda amp, but it's at least as decent as an iBasso T4. By the way, I think it uses the exact same battery as the Sansa Clip.
> 
> GoVibe Single is an overpriced toy, it doesn't really do anything at all. It measures slightly better than the worst amp I've tried, the Linearossa W1, but worse than the FiiO E5 (which costs a fraction of the GoVibe). It rolls off the bass with low impedance phones, and generally wouldn't improve the sound of any halfway decent MP3 player at all. Not to mention it doesn't boost volume at all - at most it delivers the same volume level the player it's connected to is capable off.
> 
> ...


 
   
  Quote: http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/showpost.php?p=489351&postcount=8 





> I played a white noise file on my Rockboxed Clip into my sound card (without load). Directly from the Clip it's -11dB. With Hippo Box on low gain it is the same: a completely useless -11dB. High gain manages to reach -7dB. So it's an additional 4dB gain - which isn't much, but better than a kick in the head, at least with the PFE. For reference, the Corda Headsix goes way over 0dB, into clipping my sound card - as expected from a real amp.
> 
> GoVibe Single gives - wait for it - a -14.6dB output. For the player that manages -11dB. Meaning, the Single amp _reduces _the output volume by 4.6dB. 'Pathetic' doesn't even start to describe that piece of junk.
> 
> Same test, this time with a 16 Ohm load: Clip gives -11.3dB, Hippo Box low gain gives the same -11.3dB, Hippo Box high gain gives -7.2dB, GoVibe Single gives -14.5dB. Corda Headsix gives -3dB (a respectable 8.3dB volume gain).


 
   
  The more you know~ Especially about the GoVibe.


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## winds of change

Thanks for your impression, I've found the single very nice with RE0 and clip+; it adds that quantity of bass that makes the result warm and soft. 
  For my MS1000 I admit that the Hippo box is quite better, the single has a problem with the absolute no gain in volume (it seems to lower it) and it's a pity.
   
   
  PS: I wouldn't like to disagree with ABI and Dfkt, but  but I've found the Linearossa W1 a little amp that does its job. It sounds good with RE0 (and this is important, 'cause we all know that this little baby needs a little boost); I respect all the RMAA tests but I have to say that, despite them all, I do not like Fiio E5.  Very often sound quality and personal pleasure can't be described by graphs. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
   
  [as usual sorry for my bad english 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




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## project86

Thanks for the review, I enjoyed it!


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## beachgeek

Great review, did you review the W1 linearrosa?


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## mp3

Thanks guys.
  Sorry, I haven't reviewed, or heard the W1.


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## Mochan

So, the Hippo Box is useless to people who use iPods and LODs?


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## mp3

I suppose that the lack of a volume switch would make it unsuitable to use with a lod on full blast.


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