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Why would a portable amp be necessary - Page 3

post #31 of 38
2/16/05 at 4:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sumone
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.
I hear a substantial (read: just noticeable) difference when using portable amps on my iPod with any headphones. I can also tell the difference between the amps I'm using.

I use 256k AAC, which according to some research I did (including threads on head-fi) is equivalent to a higher bit-rate MP3 (maybe 320? dunno). I inquired about bit-rates a while back and some of the people who replied also just stuck to 224k AAC on their iPods. Maybe you should play around with higher bitrates as suggested earlier...
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post #32 of 38
2/17/05 at 12:46am
the karma does not have a line-out; only if used with the dock you get rca outputs. I could use the dock & get an rca->1/8 cord but then I'd have an amp, a dock, huge sennheiser 280s, & then the karma. The amp itself is enough for me to carry (this is for commuting on the train).

Quote:
But you really aren't going to hear anything at lower bitrates. I'd atleast double your current bitrates. This WILL give you a noticable increase in quality, and may make the amp easier to hear.
So basically if I use low bitrates there is definitely no reason to use an amp (unless I want more loudness)? What minimum mp3 or ogg bitrate & type (cbr/vbr) is recommened if you're gonna use an amp?

And wouldn't you have to know what the original recording was recorded at before you rip to a high-bitrate mp3? For example, if a song was recorded @ 192kbs what's the point of ripping it off a CD @ 320kbs?

Anyone else get static with their pocket amp? What I'm experiencing:

At any volume knob setting less than halfway, there is very audible static. Isn't a straight staticy sound; it coincides with the music. Goes away if the volume knob is around halfway or more (anywhere from 6-o-clock -> 11-o-clock) which I notice is the point where there's very little amplification of the signal. Don't get me wrong it cranks louder than I'd ever wanna listen at but due to the fact of it having that static at low volume knob settings, I keep that amp's volume steady & use the volume control on my mp3 player.
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post #33 of 38
2/17/05 at 12:57am
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)?
use it in the dock
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post #34 of 38
2/17/05 at 11:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by uzziah
use it in the dock
I agree with you, use the dock and if you are using non-rechargeable batteries use rechargeable batteries instead. Someone had posted a thread regarding static using regular alkaline batteries but as soon as they replaced it with rechargeables the static went away. I wonder if the Karma's line-out using a dock is a true line-out?
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post #35 of 38
2/17/05 at 1:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sumone
So basically if I use low bitrates there is definitely no reason to use an amp (unless I want more loudness)? What minimum mp3 or ogg bitrate & type (cbr/vbr) is recommened if you're gonna use an amp?
Doubling bitrates from the 128 that you mentioned to 256 or 320 will give you a noticable difference for free. The cost will be space on your player.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sumone
And wouldn't you have to know what the original recording was recorded at before you rip to a high-bitrate mp3? For example, if a song was recorded @ 192kbs what's the point of ripping it off a CD @ 320kbs?
Are these store bought CDs, or CDRs. If there store bought, the Bitrate is something like 1400kbs by the basic CD standard. If it's CDR, then who knows what the bitrate is.
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post #36 of 38
2/21/05 at 2:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by __redruM
Doubling bitrates from the 128 that you mentioned to 256 or 320 will give you a noticable difference for free. The cost will be space on your player.

Are these store bought CDs, or CDRs. If there store bought, the Bitrate is something like 1400kbs by the basic CD standard. If it's CDR, then who knows what the bitrate is.
what I don't get is that if I don't notice a difference between a WAV ripped from a CD & the encoded WAV @ 192kbs mp3, why I would need anything higher than that???

Right it goes on the CD @ 1400kbs, (most-likely from a straight WAV or vinyl/tape) but say if it was sampled at 22050hz, then once it hit the CD @ 1400kbs/44,100hz why would I want to do a high bitrate? Am I just overthinking it?

I think the karma's dock line out is a true-line out cause messing with the volume control does not affect the sound.
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post #37 of 38
2/21/05 at 3:55am

Deleted.


Edited by labrat - 8/18/11 at 5:41am
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post #38 of 38
2/21/05 at 4:10am
Oops, sorry, I didn't realize that it was already answered. Note to self - read all the posts and pages.
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