So...what does an amp...do?

[gohanssjn]

I know it amplifies the volume, that seems pretty obvious. but why should I hook one up to my iPod? i see a lot of people doing it thought the dock adapter. What is all this? What exactly is the benefit? Worth it for my IEM's (SE310's)?

Thanks all, new to the whole nice headphones thing

[Hi-Finthen]

While hanging out(since '05) you might want to reserch box(top right in appropriate subforum), "What's a Dac, also"...

Fairly extensive answers to both questions were lively discussed historically.

Hope this helps~
Good luck~

[gohanssjn]

I will definite do that!

Funny thing is, the coolest part about your post is the '05 part. I tried to join about a week or two ago and it said my email address already had an account, so I tried to login and the account was already there. I don't even remember creating it!

Thanks though

[Hi-Finthen]

Originally Posted by gohanssjn

I will definite do that!

Funny thing is, the coolest part about your post is the '05 part. I tried to join about a week or two ago and it said my email address already had an account, so I tried to login and the account was already there. I don't even remember creating it!

Thanks though

You do deserve a comprehensive answer, and it really does take alot of typing, please understand I don't mean to be short or rude at all. It is a good question!

Best regards~

[bigshot]

In a nutshell... The headphone out of the iPod is tweaked to work well with portable headphones. If you plan to use full size home cans with an iPod, you might want to invest in a headphone amp and patch from the lineout to the amp and from there to your headphones. It will give you better sound quality.

See ya
Steve

[TheMarchingMule]

Originally Posted by bigshot

In a nutshell... The headphone out of the iPod is tweaked to work well with portable headphones. If you plan to use full size home cans with an iPod, you might want to invest in a headphone amp and patch from the lineout to the amp and from there to your headphones. It will give you better sound quality.

See ya
Steve

Yes indeed, but eventually there will be a point where it is best to invest in a real home setup if you plan on driving full-size headphones. And it is no contest or mystery that full-size headphones have a hugely better price-per-sound quality compared to IEMs in similar price brackets.

You could be a hybrid like I am right now though, and use an iMod as a home source.

[meat01]

An amp amplifies the signal as you mentioned. A separate amp does a better job of this than the amplifier built into your iPod, because it has more voltage and current to work with.

[bigshot]

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule

Yes indeed, but eventually there will be a point where it is best to invest in a real home setup if you plan on driving full-size headphones.

I don't think that's necessarily true any more. iPods are capable of performing as well as home CD players, and a computer source and iPod is a good sounding and practical alternative to the traditional stereo system.

See ya
Steve

[Assorted]

While we're on the same topic... here's an observation I made. It's been stated (on several occasions) that voltage = volume. Unamped sources, like portable DAPs, have a very low wattage of sub-50 mW, but there's plenty of volume for most of the hard to drive headphones, for example the K701/650/880.

So, does a dedicated headphone amp increase the current without making changes to the voltage? Does it also somehow relate to "headstage" -- another observation I made that external amps help make the sound wider -- I'm sure I'm oversimplifying things here, but I'm wondering if this is the right direction.

[Uncle Erik]

Originally Posted by gohanssjn

I know it amplifies the volume, that seems pretty obvious. but why should I hook one up to my iPod?

Because an iPod doesn't have vacuum tubes.