Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Headphone Amp

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.
 
JohnLT13 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

Focal Spirt
B&W P3
B&W P5
Sennheiser HD 598
Click to expand...

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.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back