Headphone Amp

[JohnLT13]

Looking to pick up a nice portable Headphone amp. I recently got one on ebay. its not to bad for the money, adds db but SQ is lacking. Looking for something as portable but with better quality.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-Cmoy-h...item3a7d700a10

[Destroysall]

The FiiO E11 - http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E11-Porta.../dp/B0053KWDES.

Destroysall

[Gofre]

Originally Posted by JohnLT13

Looking to pick up a nice portable Headphone amp. I recently got one on ebay. its not to bad for the money, adds db but SQ is lacking. Looking for something as portable but with better quality.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-Cmoy-h...item3a7d700a10

Budget?

[JohnLT13]

Originally Posted by Gofre

Budget?

no more then 300? I dont know alot about them, but have been doing some homework. need portability, and SQ is important. I know with db increase comes clipping, so im looking for +5 db from my iPod classic with no distortion increase.

[quasinormal]

What headphones are you using?

Personally I think portable headphone amplifiers are an unnecessary hassle. I've found the Headamp Pico Amp I have makes a minimal improvement to the iPod's default output with Etymotic ER-4P phones.

[Gofre]

Originally Posted by JohnLT13

no more then 300? I dont know alot about them, but have been doing some homework. need portability, and SQ is important. I know with db increase comes clipping, so im looking for +5 db from my iPod classic with no distortion increase.

Amp's don't just add a set amount of volume, when paired with a line-out they take over from the iPod's volume controls.

For this price I'd go for the ALO Audio National, for $299 (I assume you're after dollars?) it's about as good as it gets. You will need to lump up a few more dollars for an LOD, however the $10 FiiO L9 is more than good enough. They can be purchased from aloaudio.com and amazon respectively.

Also, as asked above, what headphones are you using? $300 will get you a pretty serious amp, but it won't matter too much if your cans are the bottleneck.

[JohnLT13]

I have a few pairs of headphones, Just going to list my favs.

Focal Spirt
B&W P3
B&W P5
Sennheiser HD 598

[Gofre]

Originally Posted by JohnLT13

I have a few pairs of headphones, Just going to list my favs.

Focal Spirt
B&W P3
B&W P5
Sennheiser HD 598

I'd think about if you really need a portable amp, assuming you don't already have desktop gear for the 598s (And don't use them as a portable pair). Putting aside my opinion that the B&W line of headphones are extremely overrated, I find that they don't really respond much to more powerful amping in terms of improving audio fidelity. If all you want is the additional volume, a $60 FiiO E11 will do the job. I can't speak for the Focals, however. The rest can be put towards different cans or improving your home setup.