General Asylum: REVIEW: Corda (Meier Audio) Porta Corda Accessory by David Spear

Model:	Porta Corda
Category:	Accessory
Suggested Retail Price:	$160
Description:	Portable Headphone Amplifier
Manufacturer URL:	Corda (Meier Audio)
Model Picture:	View

Review by David Spear ( A ) on May 05, 2002 at 06:51:09
IP Address: 61.204.227.218

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I bought a Porta Corda a couple of months ago to replace a HeadRoom AirHead and have been very impressed with this cute little headphone amp. It's quite compact (about the size of a pack of cigarettes) and is very ruggedly built, but the thing that I find most impressive about the Porta Corda is its intelligent design. For example, the small Alps volume control (which doubles as the on/off switch) is located centrally on the top end of the unit between the two mini-phone jacks (for connection to the portable player and to the headphones). In addition, the control has a rather "tight" feel to it. As a result, there is little chance of inadvertently changing the volume level while digging around in your pocket or bag. The only other control on the unit is a small metal toggle switch for adjusting the strength of the "cross-feed" circuit. Also on the top surface is a small red LED to indicate that the unit is powered up. Finally, there is a removable belt clip on the back, and the amp comes with a short (male-male stereo mini-phone jack) cord for connection to the portable player and a special 120-ohm adaptor for matching the impedance to suit various headphones.
Power is supplied by a single 9-volt transistor radio battery, which is housed in an internal compartment behind a sliding cover. Battery life is approximately 48 hours.
I've been using the Porta Corda with a portable Sony MD player to drive a pair of low-efficiency Etymotic Research ER-4S in-the-ear transducers. The amp has plenty of power to drive the ER's.
The sound quality of the Porta Corda is very good, even when driving low-efficiency headphones. The cross-feed circuit is also quite effective in pulling the soundstage out of your ears toward your forehead. I find this to be very beneficial in minimizing headphone fatigue. Finally, all of the controls operate smoothly and silently and the unit appears to be well isolated from electromagnetic interference.
In summary, the Porta Corda is a rugged, intelligently designed headphone amp that offers very good sound quality for a fair price. Jan Meier of Meier Audio is also a real gentleman and a pleasure to do business with. My unit was shipped from Germany directly to my home in Japan without delay and was very well packaged.
PS. I actually ordered the Porta Corda along with a Corda Headamp-1, which I have found to be an equally impressive unit (used to drive a pair of Sennheiser HD 600's). Review pending.

Product Weakness: Meier Audio is a small company and therefore does not accept credit cards.
Product Strengths: Rugged, compact, intelligently designed, good sound quality, 48-hour battery life, plenty of power to drive Etymotic Research ER-4S's.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	N/A
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	N/A
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	N/A
Speakers:	N/A
Cables/Interconnects:	N/A
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Ranging from William Boyce (baroque) to heavy metal.
Room Comments/Treatments:	N/A
Time Period/Length of Audition:	A couple of months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	N/A
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition):	See "Inmate Systems"

Product Weakness:	Meier Audio is a small company and therefore does not accept credit cards.
Product Strengths:	Rugged, compact, intelligently designed, good sound quality, 48-hour battery life, plenty of power to drive Etymotic Research ER-4S's.