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| Portable Headphone Amps Discussion of portable headphone amps. |
07-11-2008, 06:51 PM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Philadelphia, PA USA
Posts: 323
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Wow, this thread I started sure has grown since I last checked in!
Just thought I'd mention that dealextreme now sells the FiiO amp -- for $8.50 including shipping to the US!
Their shipping's not the fastest, but they're reliable & if you have problems with something they'll usually just send you another.
While you're at it, order a couple sets of their cheap and pretty good in-ear headphones.
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07-11-2008, 07:43 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Philadelphia, PA USA
Posts: 2,021
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarinthegourd
Wow, this thread I started sure has grown since I last checked in!
Just thought I'd mention that dealextreme now sells the FiiO amp -- for $8.50 including shipping to the US!
Their shipping's not the fastest, but they're reliable & if you have problems with something they'll usually just send you another.
While you're at it, order a couple sets of their cheap and pretty good in-ear headphones. |
I seem to be hearing the FiiO differently than many, as I am slack-jaw AMAZED at the SQ from this amp and its price (note that I did not say FOR the price, as I prefer the FiiO to the iBasso P2 and the PenguinAmp Caffeine, regardless of price). At the dealextreme price, I just picked up two more, plus two pairs of the inexpensive in-ear buds you'd reco'd. Thanks VERY MUCH for turning my attention to this simply unbelievable (but real) tiny (in size and price) DYNAMO (in SQ) of an amp.
__________________
Offline Rig: Pioneer DV563A, DV578A (VD David 1.0 PC) -> Sonicwave Glass Toslink -> Headroom 2007 Ultra Micro DAC (Desktop PSU, VD Nite II PC) -> VD Master 2.0 IC -> stock Purity Audio KICAS Caliente -> Senn HD650 (ALO 18AWG Jena Cryo cable), Yuin PK1, Ultrasone ALO-780
Computer Rig: Creative Emu 1212m (IeGO 70530 PC) -> Glass Toslink-> Same downstream as Offline Rig
Work Rig: iBasso D10 (Topkit) (USB DAC/Amp) -> Yuin PK1, Shure SE530
-OR- AMP3 with (stock) PAA-1 earbuds
Bedside Rig: 5.5G RWA iMod -> ALO VCap Dock (VHAudio OIMP) -> Zynsonix ZYN mkII RCA pair -> ALO/RWA Amphora (iMod version), Mapletree Ear+ Purist HD (VD Nite PC) -> Ultrasone ALO-780, HF-2 (#129), ALO-Modded SR225 (18AWG Jena Cryo cable), SE530, HD600(Cardas)
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07-12-2008, 01:40 AM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Richmond, NSW
Posts: 813
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I'm with you sbulack, i like the warm sound from this little box, and for the price it is a steal.
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07-13-2008, 12:55 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: London, England
Posts: 2,665
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Just bid on one (1p!). Should be a good little amp to go offroading with -no way I'm risking my Hornet or Xin on any downhill 
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07-13-2008, 12:58 AM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: California
Posts: 63
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A kid on the block has one, and trashes it...may be an indicator of the quality?
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07-13-2008, 01:14 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Boston, Mass
Posts: 1,619
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_lindemann
A kid on the block has one, and trashes it...may be an indicator of the quality?
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Translation? You mean he treats it like crap and it still keeps working -- which may be an indicator of good build quality/durability? Or he treats it like crap because it may be crap?
__________________
musicophile / euphonophile
team porta-fi / team exo-amplessness / team self-defeating bargain junkies
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07-13-2008, 02:04 AM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 338
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So it has arrived...
And well, it's not a match to the Minibox-D (obviously), but for the money it's a very good deal. It has a very good synergy with "portable" headphones, the OVC HC1000 are lovely paired with the FiiO amp. Not as impressive as with the Minibox-D, of course, but the FiiO cures the last small problem the HC1000 had - dip in low midrange.
The only possible snag with the FiiO is that it doesn't amplify volume by much. So with a low-powered player (Sony D-NE500 PCDP) it can't play loud with the K-240S. Looks like it's made with 100+ dB/mW headphones in mind.
__________________
AKG K-240S with Sweetcome cable, AKG K-240M, Denon AH-D1000, Koss Porta-Pro, AKG K-81DJ, OVC HC1000 (PX killer), Roland RH-50 (toy K-240S).
Gone: Equation Audio RP-21, Sennheiser PX100, PX200.
Amp: Minibox-D with silver cable.
Editor at http://www.headphonedeals.org.
Declip, a tool for restoring audio off poorly-mastered CDs. SoX, Sound Exchange - cross-platform audio filtering/transform tool.
Хедфайеры всех стран, объединяйтесь! - missing a headphones-and-wheat badge...
Last edited by Seidhepriest; 07-13-2008 at 02:16 AM.
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07-13-2008, 02:52 AM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Posts: 87
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So, is this recommended while using Porta pro?
Because one of the users said it causes a bit of static.
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07-13-2008, 03:13 AM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 338
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Static would be generated either by the source, or an overly powerful battery (a regular AA battery instead of an AAA makes the FiiO amp overdrive).
No trouble with the Porta-Pro here (FiiO on an alkaline AAA battery).
__________________
AKG K-240S with Sweetcome cable, AKG K-240M, Denon AH-D1000, Koss Porta-Pro, AKG K-81DJ, OVC HC1000 (PX killer), Roland RH-50 (toy K-240S).
Gone: Equation Audio RP-21, Sennheiser PX100, PX200.
Amp: Minibox-D with silver cable.
Editor at http://www.headphonedeals.org.
Declip, a tool for restoring audio off poorly-mastered CDs. SoX, Sound Exchange - cross-platform audio filtering/transform tool.
Хедфайеры всех стран, объединяйтесь! - missing a headphones-and-wheat badge...
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07-13-2008, 06:01 AM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 338
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So here's how it sounds with different gear...
Sony D-NE500 PCDP+recabled K240S, street: too quiet. Lacking volume (unsurprisingly). This is mostly the player's problem - the D-NE500 is very underpowered, running on a single AA battery and with a weak headphone out.
AC97 onboard audio+Denon AH-D1000 - rather nice, warmish, detailed, with good bass outline and good midrange texture. But there's that slight thick-packed-"squarish" character to the sound, it's almost Sennheiser/Ultrasone-like. The Minibox-D manages to sound natural and effortless, the FiiO doesn't get the same wide-open space soundstage and effortless sparkling dynamics. It's more like a good player amp (somewhat similar to Cowon *2 players) with more power and body. It does sound somewhat too edgy and lacking treble extension, looks like the FiiO slightly sacrifices spatiality for warmth and naturality for definition.
Cowon T2+AH-D1000: this can get unbearably bassy-boomy at times, but otherwise quite nice. But not natural. The amp's slight edginess adds to T2's slight darkness and edginess, and adds to the lack of harmonics (and hence lack of dimension) in MP3 files. To someone not familiar with the higher-end digital (or analogue) formats, this might be impressive, but the artificiality does get burdening after a while. The Minibox-D has an effortless, smooth, wide-open and powerful soundstage, very natural. The FiiO/T2/AH-D1000 combination is more like a show inside a glass box with square edges - it's transparent, but not very lifelike.
Cowon T2+HC1000: the artificiality is still there, but this is a more lovely combination. The FiiO cures HC1000's dip in low midrange, and HC1000's excellent frequency bandwidth gets a boost from the amp. HC1000 sound like full-size headphones powered by the FiiO; some trebliness is still there, but they fill much better. Some of the edginess is noticeable, but it's not as harsh.
Cowon T2+recabled K-240S: surprisingly well. It's still more artificial than the Minibox-D, sounds like a piece of kit (the Minibox-D tends to disappear almost entirely when playing), but it's a good piece of kit. The Minibox makes the Cowon T2 and lossy format files show their artificiality (the space isn't there, everything sounds flatter than it has to be), the FiiO amp just can't reproduce the same dimension/space as the Minibox. So the lack of dimension in lossy MP3 files isn't as obvious, instead what's still there is brought to focus.
__________________
AKG K-240S with Sweetcome cable, AKG K-240M, Denon AH-D1000, Koss Porta-Pro, AKG K-81DJ, OVC HC1000 (PX killer), Roland RH-50 (toy K-240S).
Gone: Equation Audio RP-21, Sennheiser PX100, PX200.
Amp: Minibox-D with silver cable.
Editor at http://www.headphonedeals.org.
Declip, a tool for restoring audio off poorly-mastered CDs. SoX, Sound Exchange - cross-platform audio filtering/transform tool.
Хедфайеры всех стран, объединяйтесь! - missing a headphones-and-wheat badge...
Last edited by Seidhepriest; 07-13-2008 at 09:57 PM.
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07-13-2008, 09:20 AM
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Junior Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 7
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Yet another impulse buy for me
__________________
Portable: iRiver Clix2 and IBM T60 laptop
Headphones: Denon AH-C351 and soon to be Senn HD 555
Music Genres:Jazz, Classical, Trance, Ambient, Soft Rock, Hip Hop
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07-13-2008, 10:12 AM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 606
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Me too  Looking forward to seeing how it fares against my Mini3, if not so well then $10 isn't all too much to pay for a paperweight ^_^
__________________
Headphones/IEMs: PX100 (earpads butchered), AD700, iM716 (cable murdered), HD600, Proline 750 (sold), ER-4P/S
DAPs: Xclef HD-500 (sold), iRiver H320, Creative Zen 4gb (sold), Cowon D2 (sold), Sansa Fuze, Apple iPod 5.5G 80GB
Amps/DAC: MisterX Mini³, FiiO E3, FiiO E5, audio-dg Compass
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07-13-2008, 10:58 AM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Newcastle, Australia
Posts: 249
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Dammit, I knew I shouldn't have come back to this place 
I just ordered two of them... but I was a good boy and didn't get tempted by the cheap earphones.
__________________
Home: Laptop -> Phase 26 USB -> [[SPDIF Coax -> DJM-800] -> NAD C372] -> Sennheiser HD-25 | ATH-ESW9 | Krix Equinox 5" speakers
Portable 1: Nokia N78 -> FiiO E3 -> Yuin PK1
Portable 2: Nokia N78 -> Crossroads MylarOne Bijou 2 | ATH-ESW9
Portable 3: Sansa Clip 2GB -> Yuin PK1 | ATH-ESW9
Work: MSI Wind U100 -> iBasso D2 Boa -> Denon AHD1001K | ATH-ESW9
Feedback thread
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07-13-2008, 11:09 AM
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1000+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Leiden, The Netherlands
Posts: 1,072
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Ordered one too. I love cheap Chinese crap. Of course they cut loads of corners but every once in a while the corners they cut are exactly the right ones and you end up with something that performs way above it's price range.
__________________
----------------------------------------------- "Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."
John Benfield
Cans: Audio Technica W10VTG|Stax SR-Lambda with SRD7-SB|Micro Seiki MX-1 Electrostats|Beyerdynamic 600 Ohm DT990 Classic|Sennheiser HD580|Audio Technica ATH-ESW9
Sources: Ipod 5g 30Gb|Black Sansa Fuze 8Gb|HTC Touch HD|Computer
Can Amps: Portable: Microshar uAmp 107B|Home: Xiang Sheng 708B-tube rolled
Feedback: ebaY | Head-Fi
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07-13-2008, 11:16 AM
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Junior Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 11
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is the amp available in singapore?
thks alot
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