If you are on the fence on this stack, just pull the trigger if this is your budget or really anything from a dac amp or stack standpoint below 600-700. You get a wonderful clean sound, excellent power and small footprint. This can even be used bedside if you really wanted as an affordable option for any headphone or iem( because both sound great and clean). Not a flavored Dac, very transparent so do keep that in mind.

This is the first Atom 2 amplifier I've purchased, having bought an Atom 1 some 5 years ago. This new setup is for my son, who is taking his first steps in composition, and is using the amplifier with JDS Labs' DAC 2, and a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 headphones. Both of us are very pleased with the results, which deliver far and away the best computer-audio experience we've tried.

I found JDS LABS when researching the Objective DAC/amp. I really liked the specs on the Element III MK1 and also JDS LABS' approach as a business. They avoid the jargon and "magic" and focus on making the best DAC/amp that they can (go check out their about page). I bought the MK2 and it was amazing (still is). It is dead quiet when not processing sound. And it sounds amazing when processing sound. I had an issue with the Element II and they repaired it, free of charge. Amazing customer service. Bottom line, this product is so good that I bought the MK2 when I needed another DAC/amp for my home office. I have the Element III MK2 paired with Klipsch 2.1 speakers and 600 ohm DT990s. You can't go wrong with this product.

I'm using the Atom 2 to drive my 300 ohm Sennheiser HD 6XXX headphones. I could eke by without it, but the Atom now does most of the heavy lifting. I'm still working on adjusting the volume of the source unit with the volume on the Atom and how it all relates to the gain. I am very happy with the results so far!

I am very happy with the Atom Amp 2. I use it as a pre-amp for a Carver Amplifier and Revel bookshelf speakers. It sounds clean and distortion free and it needs very little from the volume knob to get loud. It feels well-made and I love the small footprint and small price tag. I only wish I knew I could use a headphone amplifier in this way sooner. I would have bought it a long time ago.

I have used JDS Labs stuff since the OG atom dac + amp and not only is this thing amazing, but their customer service has never failed to amaze me over the years with a few replacement parts and a single repair. They are very customer focused and it is worth the extra money vs something you may find on Amazon due to quality and customer service IMO

I bought the atom dac2 when I realized that my wiim mini did not have a proper dac, so I now I connect it via optical to the atom and from there I use rca to my amp. Really happy with it (the improvement in sound quality is clear specially when playing loud) Also: great customer service, for EU-customers like myself as well.

Have it hooked up to my TV via optical cable and it gives a punchy and detailed sound. When using headphones I have it connected to my Atom Amp 2 and I’m getting superb results from my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro X LE The customer service and fast shipping is another bonus. Great company to deal with and great products

Im glad you sent this email, i've been meaning to leave a review to let you know how much I like this DAC/amp. It has been working perfectly, and every detail is perfectly addressed, which is really rare in almost any product. I really love that the usb is powered, the last amp I tried didn't work because of usb power issues. The knob is great, it's really easy to adjust the volume and looks great. Maybe the best part is the screen that allows for precise volume adjustment and many other functions, very cool. Overall pretty much perfect amp. The only one flaw which is cosmetic is the finish on the outer case. There are some discolorations, kind of like smudges or looks a bit "worn off", basically it's just not perfectly uniform black. It not bad, it just is one thing that could be improved a bit. I am grateful for this amp, it saved me from buying a sub-par amp that I wouldn't have been happy with, and I use my headphones a lot, so thanks for making this amp. I will recommend this amp if I get the chance to.

I have been really enjoying using my new JDS Atom Amp 2 the last few weeks. Form/Factor is really good and the light around the gain knob is perfect. Shape of the case and it's layout is well designed and is virtually silent in operation. Can we get a recognition of the channel balance of this amp and the fact attention is paid to getting consistent potentiometers that are checked ! That is very important to me and JDS gets my respect for getting that done. I contacted the support line for a couple of questions and was answered like immediately. Received product well packed and quickly. Plus it is affordable

I bought the Atom 2 DAC and Amp combo to go along with my new HifiMan Ananda Nano. What a pairing, I must say! The Atom 2 has so much more headroom to power even more demanding headphones, so I'm covered for future headphone upgrades too. At this price point (or even +$200), I don't think there's any make or model that can rival the Atom 2 line.

Purchased Atom 2 stack recently (really wanted element 3 boosted but was outside of my budget). Atom 2 DAC/AMP are phenomenal quality especially for the price. The stack drives my headphones flawlessly, easy to use and the sound is very clean (not a hint of noise even on high gain and sensitive headphones). When I had questions John was very quick to reply and very helpful. I purchased from JDS Labs directly (shipping to Canada was quick and I received the products in perfect/new condition). I highly recommend JDS Labs products to all my friends, family and gaming buddies. Great quality products all around and 5 star customer service.

I recently purchased the Atom DAC 2 and have found it to work excellent as a USB sound card for Windows PC. There were no drivers to install, and it works flawlessly. I also use it as the DAC for my music streamer so the button on the front of the Atom DAC 2 is an easy way to switch back and forth between PC and Streamer. Originally, I tested the Atom DAC 2 in my Home Theater setup and found the Atom to be very accurate. My setup makes it easy to tell DAC’s apart, but the Atom and my Home Theater Receiver were nearly indistinguishable. I like that the Atom is to the same accuracy as my “Elite” Home Theater. I like it so much; I bought a second one for my work PC.

Excellent quality, easy to build, and dead quiet. This device is very small, and minor adjustments with the knobs are readily apparent in the sound. I only moved the mid band and bass band a few degrees to get the sound I desired. I’m running all tubes with the only control being a volume knob. This device allows me to tweak badly recorded tracks to sound more pleasing

These were the first items I've bought from JDS and their shipping was very rapid. Customs here in the UK made a bit of a meal of releasing them so they got held up for a few extra days. First impression upon unpacking was that they're high quality items for their price, very solid feeling and nicely finished. The units were bought to use on my desk at work. They replaced an iBasso DC06 dac from the (android) phone and an O2 amp being used with a much larger than supplied transformer. Headphones are 64ohm Sennheiser HD280PRO (need robustness rather than ultimate sound quality). The sound quality improvement over the old setup was immediately obvious, and it continued to improve over the next few hours of use. The units run nicely warm; I have them arranged dac over amp for convenience, but that has the useful side effect of keeping the dac physicaly warm when it switches off after not being used for a while. The usual source is USB from the phone but I have also used the optical S/PDIF input and it's just as good. Overall very pleased with them.

The sound coming thru the DAC is good. However, I was getting a lot of dropouts when connecting to the optical toslink output on my tv (short moments of missing audio, super annoying). I found the guthub repo with the cli tool and an article to downgrade the software. After that the dropouts are gone. I think the software binary was for ATOM DAC+, not 2 though. Please let me know which software would be best for ATOM DAC 2!

Love everything about the Element III MK2. The build quality is excellent, and it’s dead simple to use. Of course, that knob feels amazing. And the sound is stupendous. I’ve got the boosted version and almost never need to go to high gain. It’s helping me get the best out my headphones, and I don’t feel like I’ll ever need anything else for my audio setup…until some Element down the line ;-)

Ok so this is my first dac/amp stack and the first foray into "audiophile" desktop equipment and i must say it is fantastic, music through my dt880 pro 250 ohms has never sounded better, and the fact that you can get free custom engraving is the icing on the cake, great service from a great company.

I purchased the Atom DAC 2 to upgrade my desktop audio. I was using the headphone out from my PC as an input to a pair of older powered speakers. Now I’m using a usb output from the PC to the Adam DAC 2. Then from the DAC to a RSL iA255.1 desktop integrated amp. The completed setup is a big step up from what I had before. Sounds really great.

People always talk about how good some company is [*Insert your fav company here*] but I am here to tell you that JDS Labs just doesn't make great products they also provide you with Amazing customer service that I have not experienced anywhere else! The customer service team, and the owner have responded to my e-mails over the weekend - simply amazing folks working here.

Hi, recently purchased The Element, must say that it is the best DAC/AMP that I've used in it's price range, in my eyes (ears) it surpasses even DAC/AMPs double it's price. Love the product, support was great, keep up the great work guys. I'm excited to see what other products you put out in the future.

I just wanted to let you know how much I love my Element 3.  I use it with a the Audeze LCD-X (2021) and a Tascam CD-500B cd player through S/PDIF.

The Element 3 ‘wowed' me with its soundstage right from the first listen. Then, I was drawn in by the pure, effortless, naturalness of the music.

I’ve only ever heard two other systems in my life that have impressed me so much: a Teac-JBL based system in a studio at my college radio station back in the early 1990s and a $20,000+ system based on a tube-hybrid Musical Fidelity CD system with ProAc speakers (the owner was a jazz sax player and academic, and a close friend was house sitting).

Thanks for making it, I’m really enjoying it.

I'm not sure if this is the right place to send this e-mail, but I just wanted to say that I ended up choosing your Element III as my very first AMP/DAC, and I couldn't have been happier. I'm newish getting into the high quality audio scene, and I feel like this is going to last a very long time. You guys are ****in' awesome.

I got them! And I gotta say I’m VERY impressed! The Element III would be my first serious audiophile equipment and I LOVE IT! It absolutely brought my headphones to life and the bass gain DOES help with the HD800s! It’s now clear and airy, dynamic and I can pick part different tones in the music now aaaa! 😍😍

Just want to say I am SUPER happy with my new Atom DAC 2 and Atom Amp 2. I've never owned a DAC or a headphone amp before. Totally blown away at the sound quality coming out of my speakers and headphones. Also great results pre-amping my Marantz receiver. Very pleased to upgrade my audio experience for a reasonable cost. Thanks!
 

The Element III MK2 is such a well designed and executed DAC/AMP combo. The look, feel and function surpassed all of my expectations. Power is abundant and sound processing is clean and accurate. This thing powers my HD650's to ear shattering levels without a hint of distortion. Well done JDS labs!

I just received my atom 2 stack and I had to drop you a line to say this is just absolutely mental! The quality of this little stack is just beyond anything I was expecting. Just perfectly clean balanced sound. Thank you so much for developing this product as it has truly brightened my day. Listening with a pair of Grado’s and I haven’t stopped smiling.

I gotta say the Element 3 definitely flipped my views on audio on it's head!

It's a magnificent product and never thought I would hear a true difference between Element 3 and... well... pretty much everything else I own! It makes me question everything I know... or... umm... knew about audio. 

Every time I thought I heard something "better" in the other products I owned, including my EL AMP 2+ and a $2,000 piece of audio equipment, I would switch back to Element 3 and immediately thought "Oh wait... wow... never mind. Element 3 is doing something special here that I can't put my finger on."

Using Element 3 as a new reference allowed me to hear the dirtiness in my $2,000 DAC that I have sitting in my home theater system. That was quite the revelation! When I swapped it for the Element 3 preamp/DAC, I was blown away by tiny details and cleanliness of the audio I was hearing!

Holy smokes did you guys at JDS Labs work your magic on Element 3 and that's why I am sold on it and will be buying one to call my own!

I can't say enough good things about the Atom amp.
Putting other brands with overpriced marketing hype aside, the Atom is audibly flawless.
You want to hear instruments, mics and speakers / headphones. Not sure why people want to hear an amp or DAC.
I think you have shown that it's possible to make 'correct' amps and DACs at actually affordable cost.

This DAC & amp combo is excellent. I am overjoyed with the quality of the audio and how clear the signal is. Not even a hint of static, which I tend to be quite sensitive towards, often hearing what others are oblivious to.

I won't hesitate to recommend your products in the future. Have a great day.

Hello! I am just reaching out to provide some feedback on the Element 3 that I just received. I have the element 2, atom dac+ and amp+ from you guys. I seriously wanted to just say I am absolutely blown away with the quality of this device. I was stunned with element 2 and atom, finding myself once again shocked.

- The laser etching, I honestly cannot believe how good you guys got it. It is absolutely perfect and exactly what I envisioned, please let whoever was in charge of this know they are doing some great work. I am very impressed.

- Element 3, I mean what can I even say. I am putting it through its paces now on some of my favorite albums and I just cannot believe the quality on this thing. I'm listening from dt1990 and the pairing is made in heaven. Display is great as well as the auto gain, I think that was an awesome idea. I really love the quick switch between spdif and usb from pushing the dial, works really well in the setup I have here.

Sorry if this is out of the ordinary, I just wanted to thank you guys once again for shipping out another incredible product. Wishing you guys a great rest of 2024. Lifetime buyer here!

I’ve spent quite a bit of time this weekend listening to my new EL Dac 2+.It’s paired with a Yamaha cds 303 which I thought sounded pretty good with the internal dac. I was mistaken about that. I never dreamed what I was missing. This relatively inexpensive (379.00) cd player now sounds like something much more expensive. My cd’s have never sounded so good. I’m guessing you probably hear this frequently. Thank you for making such a wonderful, quality product! I’m glad my search for my first dac led me to JDS. Thanks again

I’m loving my Atom+ and my Element 3 mkii.  The former inspired me to purchase the latter sight-unseen after running a cheaper DAC through the Atom.  Music I’ve listened to for years comes alive—or begins to show sins of its production.  For example, Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories has instrumental details in Giorgio by Morodor that keep unveiling themselves.  Industrial metal music shows clear separation between guitar parts; sometimes even clean separation between the guitar and its pedals.  Setup:  Sennheiser HD-650 and HiFiMan Edition XS headphones, Linux OS, cdparanoia-ripped FLAC, and the default firmware options.”

I’m not one for words of praise like this, so apologies if it’s rough.

I’m considering purchasing a second one for work, but at work I have to use in-ears.  Would you be able to recommend an attenuator for it?  I’m a little hesitant to run sensitive IEMs with such a powerful amp.  Do you think my hesitation is warranted or should I be a little less cautious?

Thank you again.  You’ve truly made my year with this amp/dac.

Such a great DAC. I have it playing audio flawlessly from my Switch and PS5 going to my main amp. The engraving is such a cool touch as well. 
But best of all might just be the speedy customer service. 
This company sets the bar high for sure especially being such an affordable product for what you get.