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do i need a headphone amp?

post #1 of 29
10/9/05 at 5:28pm
Thread Starter 
hello all,

i'm new here. this is my first post.

i've been reading this forum and have been trying to figure if i needed an amp for my setup. i'm using an iPod with the Ultimate Ears super.fi pro 5. they run at 21 Ohms and someone mentioned to me that if used with an amp, there would be a lot of hiss.

i have no freaking idea what impedence or ohms are.

so in short, can someone give me a clue? thank you.
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post #2 of 29
10/9/05 at 5:35pm
Everyone needs an amp!

That low impedance could cause some hiss. In fact can you get amps which add impedance/resistance? I know it'd be quite easy to solder a resisitor onto the headphone out.
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post #3 of 29
10/9/05 at 5:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cazoo
hello all,

i'm new here. this is my first post.

i've been reading this forum and have been trying to figure if i needed an amp for my setup. i'm using an iPod with the Ultimate Ears super.fi pro 5. they run at 21 Ohms and someone mentioned to me that if used with an amp, there would be a lot of hiss.

i have no freaking idea what impedence or ohms are.

so in short, can someone give me a clue? thank you.
no you dont NEED an amp... run far far away and be happy... i would not bother with amping an ipod with the UEs... they sound great as is
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post #4 of 29
10/9/05 at 9:23pm
Yes you need an amp, but you need an inexpensive portable like the Headsave Go-Vibe.
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post #5 of 29
10/9/05 at 9:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fewtch
Yes you need an amp, but you need an inexpensive portable like the Headsave Go-Vibe.
so cruel

although the go-vibe is a very good little amp
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post #6 of 29
10/10/05 at 2:23pm
iPod and buds do not need an amp in my opinion. I tried a Headroom Total Airhead with buds, PX100, HD280. It was not needed and did nothing for the sound w/all three transducers. High impedance Senn's or Beyer's would need an amp to get loud.
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post #7 of 29
10/10/05 at 4:39pm
I can't really speak for IEMs and buds, but in general almost all cans can benefit from a decent amp. Amps are more than volume

--Illah
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post #8 of 29
10/10/05 at 6:04pm
Thread Starter 
thanks everyone for your input. i guess i'll start with an inexpensive one like some of the cmoy's i see for sale on eBay and if there's not really much of an improvement or if i do indeed get hiss, then i'll be happy knowing that i didn't shell out too much.
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post #9 of 29
10/10/05 at 6:14pm
Well my CMoy teamed with HD 580s is not great, but I'd think you'll get a much better sound from lower impedance heaphones.
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post #10 of 29
10/10/05 at 6:35pm

Deleted.


Edited by labrat - 8/18/11 at 11:40am
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post #11 of 29
10/10/05 at 6:56pm
Thread Starter 
thanks for that advice labrat! i'll read some more on the forums to see what my choices are.
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post #12 of 29
10/10/05 at 7:13pm
"If you start by buying a cheap amplifier, that would be your first money thrown away here." - labrat.

I recently bought a "cheap" amp (PA2) for my E4c and while I realize that it is at the bottom of the pile it does not add hiss and gives me a noticable improvement over my MD players output.

"Throwing away" my money is the last term that I'd use to describe the performance of PA2.

In another thread some remarked that an amp is not needed with IEM's, but I'm guessing that it really depends on the player, since my only portables are CD players and MD recorders(no iPod to compare with).

My E4c sound good without the amp, but at the point where the volume begins to satisfy me ,the bass begins to thin and a noticable compression sets in.

I know that many have remarked that the PA2 "colors" the sound and I won't argue that, but I'm used to decent quality/quantity bass and the PA2 adds the most in this area.
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post #13 of 29
10/16/05 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cazoo
i guess i'll start with an inexpensive one like some of the cmoy's i see for sale on eBay and if there's not really much of an improvement or if i do indeed get hiss, then i'll be happy knowing that i didn't shell out too much.
Thats a good decision. At that price, you surely wont be disappointed. If you can, also try a lineout device for your ipod like the pocketdock, the SQ improvement is significant. Actually the improvement in SQ is bigger with getting pocketdock than a cmoy amp. The only problem is that you wont have any volume control if you dont have an amp to go with your pocketdock.
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post #14 of 29
10/16/05 at 11:08am
Yeah...."need" and amp!! I'll have to say that when I first got here, I had just purchased the HD600's and wanted to see about a headphone amp. I had nothing...nada! First purchase was a Total Airhead. From there....well, you can look at my profile. Also note my signup date below my avatar.

Dude, you have no idea what a can of worms you've just opened up when you found this place on google. No idea!!!
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post #15 of 29
10/16/05 at 11:11am
If you do go with a cheap Cmoy amp (or something simular) you'd be best of to try to find someone to build it for you so you can have to gain set low for IEMs. That will prevent the amp from going too loud and you'll less likely have hiss problems.
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