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| Headphone Amps (full-size) Discussion of desktop headphone amps. |
11-16-2006, 04:16 AM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Neither here nor there
Posts: 517
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Do I need an amp if I listen at low volumes?
As I understand it, what an amp does is to allow music to play at loud volumes without any distortion and to provide the power to drive high ohm headphones. If all my headphones are easy to drive and I listen at low volumes, doesn't that mean I have no use for an amp?
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11-16-2006, 04:19 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: South County, R.I.
Posts: 4,639
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...No, yea! Although, not necessarily...Maybe, so it depends upon what you want to hear...
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11-16-2006, 04:20 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: in the desert
Posts: 4,267
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not necessarily. amps are not merely for listening at loud volumes, but also providing enough current to properly feed your headphones. so while grados are low-ohm and easily driven by most amps, they require a lot of current to truly sound their best.
in any case, another thing that good amps have are good pots. a good pot will most noticeably be seen when listening at low volumes, as the sound will remain even in both channels, will remain steady, etc. amps do a lot of things besides providing juice.
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11-16-2006, 04:59 AM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 96
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by norseman8485
Do I need an amp if I listen at low volumes?
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No, but you'll need a dress 
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Headphones: ESI Juli@ -> Creek OBH-11 -> Sennheiser HD-580
Speakers: Pioneer VSX-1014TX -> BIC DV84's and SVS PB-10
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11-16-2006, 06:03 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Atlanta(ish), GA
Posts: 1,951
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Technically, headphones cannot function without a headphone amp at all. your iPod has a headphone amp in it, as does your crappy computer soundcard. In my personal opinion, the less things in the signal path, the better, but obviously, a better amp will sound better than a crappier one. So let's put it this way: if you power your headphones through an iPod and just want to listen at low volumes, and you don't want to EQ the sound, you're better off just using the iPod's built-in headamp. If you have a standalone CD player with standard analog RCA outs (red and white for the unsavvy), that won't have a variable output, and you'll need an external headamp regardless, in which case yes, getting a better one will make a difference, even at low volumes.
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11-16-2006, 06:22 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: The Beach, California
Posts: 14,520
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Meyvn pretty well summed it up. However, I wanted to add that a dedicated amp will give you nice stuff like class A operation and much lower distortion figures than a so-so amp inside an iPod. It's not just about power, it's also the linearity of the amp. If you play back through a good one at a low volume, distortion will be at a minimum and you'll have great sound.
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11-16-2006, 06:41 AM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Sacramento, CA and UCLA
Posts: 226
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by HiJon89
No, but you'll need a dress |
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11-16-2006, 08:22 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 5,350
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Yes.
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11-16-2006, 10:11 AM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Neither here nor there
Posts: 517
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But if I run the amp through the headphone jack of my laptop or pda, won't it be boosting the signal from the crappy internal amp in the first place? Won't it be worst?
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11-16-2006, 12:05 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Posts: 3,024
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by norseman8485
But if I run the amp through the headphone jack of my laptop or pda, won't it be boosting the signal from the crappy internal amp in the first place? Won't it be worst?
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That's why amp paired best when driven from True Line Out. I am running an old 3G iPod now and I could not describe how FULL they sounded compared to my previous ZEN Neeon Headphone out 
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11-16-2006, 01:52 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus 10*2kaiHead-Fi's Most Prolific Poster |
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Oslo, Norway
Posts: 30,081
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Yes! Headphones will not produce much/any sound without an amplifier.
If you need an external, or could be happy with the internal one, is a totally different question...
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11-16-2006, 05:18 PM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Neither here nor there
Posts: 517
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Sadly, I'm still on my axim as a dap, no line out option for me. Can't afford a total bithead either, so no usb out from my laptop either. I guess I'm stuck with headphone outs for now.
EFN: where'd you get your ipod and how much?
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11-16-2006, 11:29 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: RISD
Posts: 3,343
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by HiJon89
No, but you'll need a dress |
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11-17-2006, 01:50 AM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Neither here nor there
Posts: 517
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by HiJon89
No, but you'll need a dress |
I still don't get it...
Someone mentioned class A operation. What in the world is that?
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11-17-2006, 02:32 AM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 96
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by norseman8485
I still don't get it...
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It was a joke. I was calling you a girl for listening at low volume 
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Headphones: ESI Juli@ -> Creek OBH-11 -> Sennheiser HD-580
Speakers: Pioneer VSX-1014TX -> BIC DV84's and SVS PB-10
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