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Why would a portable amp be necessary

post #1 of 38
2/11/05 at 6:16pm
Thread Starter 
Why would a portable amp be necessary esp through a mp3 player. Wouldn't the compression of files already downgrade the quality.

What are the dis/advantages of getting a portable amp as oppose to a home amp? (in terms of quality and price overall value)

I'm still new to this hobby and any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
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post #2 of 38
2/11/05 at 6:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by toincoss
Wouldn't the compression of files already downgrade the quality.
depends on your compression. with mp3 @ 320kbps vbr, the quality is virtually indistinguishable from cd audio.
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post #3 of 38
2/11/05 at 7:05pm
Yes there are many levels of compression that still sound fantastic compared to the CD, such that having a portable amp is highly advantageous.
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post #4 of 38
2/11/05 at 7:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by toincoss
What are the dis/advantages of getting a portable amp as oppose to a home amp? (in terms of quality and price overall value)
ideally you would have both. i use my SuperMini whenever i'm going to be listneing to music away from home for more than just a commute (for instance i've been sitting at a computer lab for 5 hours today, and i've been using the SuperMini), but i quite prefer my corda when i have access to it, which is at my apartment.
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post #5 of 38
2/11/05 at 8:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by toincoss
Why would a portable amp be necessary esp through a mp3 player. Wouldn't the compression of files already downgrade the quality.

What are the dis/advantages of getting a portable amp as oppose to a home amp? (in terms of quality and price overall value)

I'm still new to this hobby and any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Besides iPod supports Lossless Apple Compression which virtually the exact information from the CD. Well portable and home? it's like comparing Laptop and Desktop computer. You want the best performance that money can buy you buy the best desktop, or the best home amp. If you want the best but portable amp that you can carry around everyday then buy laptop or Supermacro, SR-71.

It's your choice really. No advantages or disadvantages. They are just different. The best portable Amp can also compete with many home amps.
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post #6 of 38
2/11/05 at 8:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sinbios
depends on your compression. with mp3 @ 320kbps vbr, the quality is virtually indistinguishable from cd audio.
[nitpick] You can't have vbr at 320kbps[/nitpick]

Back on topic
I should be getting a portable amp next week, I'm intruiged into how much difference it makes.
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post #7 of 38
2/11/05 at 10:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by toincoss
Why would a portable amp be necessary esp through a mp3 player. Wouldn't the compression of files already downgrade the quality.
You really need to understand what an amp does. It doesn't just make it louder, it is able to amplify the entire spectrum whereas an mp3 player kind of does what it can. There may be more signal there, but the mp3 player can't amplify it across the entire spectrum, nor is it able to reproduce the dynamics effectively. Even though it may still be in the file, the mp3 player just can't get it to the headphones.
But of course it's kind of overkill to get a great amp if you're going to be using lots of compression.
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post #8 of 38
2/12/05 at 4:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DevilDog
You really need to understand what an amp does. It doesn't just make it louder, it is able to amplify the entire spectrum whereas an mp3 player kind of does what it can. There may be more signal there, but the mp3 player can't amplify it across the entire spectrum, nor is it able to reproduce the dynamics effectively. Even though it may still be in the file, the mp3 player just can't get it to the headphones.
But of course it's kind of overkill to get a great amp if you're going to be using lots of compression.

So basically I'd only need an amp when dealing with high volumes (or with headphones with high impedance)? I'm new to this too. I know when I went from just a normal radio to speakers in the car to radio->amp->speakers, the difference was phenomenal in terms of quality. High-hats sounded more like "tt" with the amp instead of like "sh"...which was really just distortion. But overall the sound was much more "cleaner".

I ordered a pocket amp 2 as my first amp but something's telling me that I'm not gonna get that big of a difference in quality...pretty much just loudness. It's for my sennheiser hd280s & rio karma mp3 player. Will I really notice a difference????
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post #9 of 38
2/12/05 at 6:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sumone
It's for my sennheiser hd280s & rio karma mp3 player. Will I really notice a difference????
Not really sure how an amp works in this particular system but it is mostly needed for the use of a. difficult to drive phones (280 are known to be sensitive and easy to drive ?) or b. very low amplification portable (don't have a clue on rio karma in this case) and more likely a must for combination of both a & b.

Btw you got it right that amp does more than loudness just like in your car system - you can use standard head unit to get seriously loud but it will sound like crap, all that strained music etc.
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post #10 of 38
2/12/05 at 2:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sumone
So basically I'd only need an amp when dealing with high volumes (or with headphones with high impedance)?
No, actually an amp would help more with low volumes. Without an amp you just wouldn't get the same details.
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post #11 of 38
2/12/05 at 6:26pm
I just received my Pocket Amp 2 today, using this with my 4G iPod and Koss Portapro. All I can say is that I'm still new to headphones and amps but my Portapro sound great before the amp; now it "Sings". The music is just sound so much fuller and with lots more detail. It's like wow are these the same headphones on my head!!! I can't wait to try them on my AKG 271 that I just got yesterday that I'm literally hiding in the closet from my wife, hehehe. The amp was only $60 and worth it.
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post #12 of 38
2/12/05 at 9:38pm
Since the rio karma only has a headphone jack (no line out), isn't that in essence the same as just reproducing a bad signal but at a louder volume if I hook the amp to the headphone jack? It does have a line out if used with the dock (which then connects to RCA) but the dock wasn't meant to be portable. So if the mp3 player has bias against some frequencies, won't that bias still exist when amped (if connected to headphone jack)?
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post #13 of 38
2/12/05 at 9:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sumone
Since the rio karma only has a headphone jack (no line out), isn't that in essence the same as just reproducing a bad signal but at a louder volume if I hook the amp to the headphone jack? It does have a line out if used with the dock (which then connects to RCA) but the dock wasn't meant to be portable. So if the mp3 player has bias against some frequencies, won't that bias still exist when amped (if connected to headphone jack)?
I'm currently using the PA 2 on the headphone jack on my 4G iPod and it sounds fantastic! I ordered a Pocketdock (for the lineout on the iPod) a little over a week ago, still waiting. I'm not sure how the PA 2 will sound on your Rio. I'm doing 192 vbr LAME.
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post #14 of 38
2/12/05 at 10:29pm
I use my Go-Vibe for a couple of different reasons.

In my car, I need an amp with high gain for the FM Modulator I had installed. Obviously, the resulting sound quality isn't very good (after all, it's only FM), but with my car, it's the only way I can listen to my iPod (d@mn integrated anti-theft audio systems ).

For everywhere else, I use the MX500 earbuds, which don't need an amp. However, they still do benefit from the Go-Vibe, giving me better sound quality at the low volumes I usually listen at.

My MINT actually worked much better for the car, since it had a higher gain, but I gave it away as a gift. I really should get off my @ss and build another one to replace it...
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post #15 of 38
2/14/05 at 7:06pm
Just got my pocket amp 2....like 5 minutes ago

Just tried it out...can't really say I notice a difference. I put karma's volume on 20/30 using just the headphones. Then I plugged the amp up to the karma & adjusted the volume so that they were equal in loudness. What differences should I be noticing???? Could it be a burn-in thing??? Hope I didn't waste money on this when I didn't even need it. Could it be cause of my music, which is mostly 128k mp3, with some 192s & 160s, and then a slew of 128k ogg vorbis? I don't get it.
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