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Date |
: Oct 1st, 2001 |
| Category |
: Audio |
| Manufacturer |
: Evergreen |
| Author |
: Jin-Wei Tioh |
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The RumbleFX amplifier comes in an attractively designed box, with an audio conversion jack (from 1/8" to 1/4"), a 10 foot 1/8" to 1/8" cable, a 110/120V DC adaptor, a brief instruction guide and the usual legal brouhaha. Destined for retail channels, that's for sure.
The amplifier unit itself looks flashy, with a dark bluish-green iMac style plastic enclosure measuring 35x130x115mm (HxWxD) along its largest dimensions. On the back of the unit are gold-plated RCA and 1/8" connectors for both input and output. The 1/8" connector's output is amplified, with the amp power (3 Watts) being on par with most sound cards. Fortunately, Evergreen also decided to provide an unamplified output in the form of RCA connectors, a very important feature if you're going to hook up the RumbleFX to amplified/powered speakers.
On the right is a 1/8" headphone output connector and a volume control dial that affects the output level through every connector. To the left sits the WOW and TruBass level adjustment dials. The lowest possible level afforded isn't zero, which is why the 3D Sound on/off switch on the unit is a Godsend on occasion. The exterior looks quite alright, so let's see what's under the hood.
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Inside the RumbleFX unit is a single circuit board, with an odd empty space next to the amplifier IC. We can only speculate that the original design was based on a different chip. Besides that waste of space however, it is a very clean board with none of the dodgy wiring that is common in some consumer electronics products.
Of special mention is the DC adaptor that powers the RumbleFX. The provided adaptor is a 110/120V unit that outputs 15 volts. While there doesn't seem to be a 220/240V equivalent, you can still operate the RumbleFX using a 700mA-rated DC adaptor for 12V operation. An ordinary 12V 1A multi-plug adaptor will work just fine, as tested in our labs.
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