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MP3 Player Volume Setting When Using An Amp - Page 2

post #16 of 28
3/13/09 at 2:57pm
Why are some people amping the headphone out?
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post #17 of 28
3/13/09 at 2:57pm
Thread Starter 
Gotta say, though, I've used the headphone jack out of the Vision:M into my car stereo (Bose), home stereo (NAD), and studio monitors (Fireface 800 AD/DA into Event ASP8s), and it always sounds great... for 320kbps MP3s... much better than an iPod's headphone out.
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post #18 of 28
3/13/09 at 2:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule View Post
Why are some people amping the headphone out?
Because most portable players don't have a line out?
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post #19 of 28
3/13/09 at 3:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by javahut View Post
Because most portable players don't have a line out?
because my ipod's dock has actually broken and only allows unhindered data syncing - even charging s buggered.
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post #20 of 28
3/14/09 at 6:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by javahut View Post
Because most portable players don't have a line out?
in which case you really shouldnt be amping imo
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post #21 of 28
3/14/09 at 12:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by imademymark View Post
in which case you really shouldnt be amping imo
Crazy scenario:

You have a DAP. It does not have line out. It has insufficient power for your needs. Amping the HP out sounds better.

Question:

WHY NOT?

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post #22 of 28
3/14/09 at 1:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule View Post
Why are some people amping the headphone out?
Because, with the Clip & Fuse at least, the headphone out is a very clean signal but insufficient power to drive anything but high sensitivity earbuds to best performance. Even my IEMs sound better amped than straight from the headphone jack.

As far as volume settings, the best setup is to put the player's output as high as possible without distortion and then adjust the amp for comfortable listening. If the player is set too low, the amp has to be cranked up high and most will start increasing the noise level too. Good quality modern media players can often be set to 100% output volume without distortion. (80% used to be a generally safe setting in the past with portable CD and various other devices.)
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post #23 of 28
3/14/09 at 2:31pm
Thread Starter 
FYI... just realized the Zen Vision:M does have a line out... on it's LOD. Ordered a cable from Qables.com that's line out only and higher quality. So I'll be using that to input to the P-51.

Also... it looks like Cowan's A3 has a line out... but it's behind a little door-flap-cover. Wonder if that flap's easily removable?

Seems like with all the people into "high end" portable audio, someone would make a purpose built HQ portable audio player, with the only output being an easy to access line out... specifically made for amping.
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post #24 of 28
3/14/09 at 2:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by javahut View Post
FYI... just realized the Zen Vision:M does have a line out... on it's LOD. Ordered a cable from Qables.com that's line out only and higher quality. So I'll be using that to input to the P-51.
I used a Qables LOD when I owned a ZV:M. You should be very happy with that paired with P-51.

Some old pics of mine:



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post #25 of 28
3/14/09 at 5:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreatDane View Post
Crazy scenario:

You have a DAP. It does not have line out. It has insufficient power for your needs. Amping the HP out sounds better.

Question:

WHY NOT?
yeah well, i've actually heard the trafalgans and the fiio which are meant to be for the hp out and while it colours the sound quite pleasurably, it seems to me at least to be gimicky more than anything

crazy scenario: another dap instead?
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post #26 of 28
3/14/09 at 5:50pm
I have more than a dozen DAPs so I'm not limited but if a person could have only one then they should seek a model that has a line out if they plan to use a portable amp.

I also like to play around and experiment which can be fun...and crazy.


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post #27 of 28
3/14/09 at 5:57pm
My Zune has a very clean and very well sounding headphone output but it sounds even better with the XM5 portable amp. Just because a DAP does not have a line out does not mean it will not gain anything from an amp.

The Ipods are notorious for having bad sound quality out of the head phone jack which is why most say to use the LOD but this is not the case with every DAP.
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post #28 of 28
3/16/09 at 1:42pm

Clip/Fuze setting

For my Clip/Fuze, I set it at about 4 to 6 clicks below max (about 85%). At max, I occasionally noticed some distortion. I don't set an EQ. The amps then are set at anywhere between 60 to 80%, depending on the recording.
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