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portable amps' usefullness - Page 2

post #16 of 29
6/22/09 at 7:14am
Well, not necessarily. You can use an LOD to bypass the internal amp of an iPod and use the external amp as your only amp, for example, which would almost definitely sound better. I know my iPod sounds pretty poor from it's headphone jack, even compared to my old Sansa e250. At least it goes louder
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post #17 of 29
6/22/09 at 7:31am
The question is: how good do you need/want to hear your music while you're on the move? Assuming that that implies being concentrated on doing something else, too.


IMO you only need serious hi-fi (meaning it's only worth the effort and money) when you have the pleasure and freedom of devoting yourself entirely to music listening.



I speak from personal experience, BTW. When I'm out at the university, I hardly even have the will to bring out my Creative Zen Mozaic + Senn MX460 and have a listen. And even when I feel like listening in some pause between other activities, the quality produced by that setup feels quite satisfactory, unlike what would be at home, where I rigorously keep my portable (and even modified to make them better) portable amps, besides the better phones of course.
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post #18 of 29
6/22/09 at 7:34am
I use my portable setup while at work (I regularly do absolutely nothing at work) so for me, the better the SQ I can get out of my portable rig the happier my work day will go. Also I go biking a lot with my rig, and I like to be alone with nature and my music while biking, so it's important to me there too. I wouldn't go too crazy, but the iPod's headphone out doesn't satisfy me.
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post #19 of 29
6/22/09 at 7:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kpalsm View Post
I use my portable setup while at work (I regularly do absolutely nothing at work) so for me, the better the SQ I can get out of my portable rig the happier my work day will go. Also I go biking a lot with my rig, and I like to be alone with nature and my music while biking, so it's important to me there too. I wouldn't go too crazy, but the iPod's headphone out doesn't satisfy me.
Well that's alright, hadn't considered such things.

However my sister's iPod Nano sounds pretty good, and is immensely easy to hide and carry around...


Anyway any sort of exaggeration would be perfectly alright too, provided you know & accept you've got luxury goods with you that are a weight for yourself and a possible temptation for others.
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post #20 of 29
6/22/09 at 7:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hopeless View Post
Anyway any sort of exaggeration would be perfectly alright too, provided you know & accept you've got luxury goods with you that are a weight for yourself and a possible temptation for others.
Fair enough. I don't care one way or the other what people think about my audio gear, I don't make an effort to hide it nor do I show it off, I just use it. I'm not gettin an amp just for the sake of having an amp; I didn't even when I bought my E5. I used it to boost the mediocre volume of my Sansa when I was using it, and it was my first foray into the world of amps. Almost wish I hadn't bought it...almost
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post #21 of 29
6/22/09 at 4:03pm
My Westone 3 sounds so much better with my Mustang than just out of the iPhone, so I use a portable amp whenever I listen to music on the go.

Jochen
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post #22 of 29
6/22/09 at 5:56pm
Only use my Travagans Colors micro amp with my Shuffle. Anything bigger than the shuffle ( mostly 80gb Ipod video) drives my IEM's and even my Full sized cans (low impedence) just fine.
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post #23 of 29
6/23/09 at 3:50am
BTW, I don't know if I'm the only one here, but aside from the bulk of it, I know I would never take out 'into the wild' any audio stuff that costs the likes of $300 a piece. I would keep it at home and cherish it... But then again, for home use I'd probably never buy a portable amp that costs $300. Thus I'd never buy a $300 portable for myself.

The most I'd buy for real(istic) portable use is something like this: Welcome to Audiophilechina (maybe it sounds as good as a $300 jewel, who knows...or in the worst case while being on the move I couldn't tell the difference )
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post #24 of 29
6/23/09 at 6:47am
I'm probably gonna end up buying a used iBasso T4, for under $100 USD...my iPod was $150 and came with the Shure E4c I use (the used to retail for $300 USD but since they were free I don't count them) and my LOD will most likely be a Sendstation which is $40 with shipping to me. Then there's my Cardas IC which I bought for about $25. So yeah, a bit more than $300 there...but take into account most of that is Canadian dollars so...that's less than $300 USD
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post #25 of 29
6/23/09 at 7:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hopeless View Post
The most I'd buy for real(istic) portable use is something like this: Welcome to Audiophilechina (maybe it sounds as good as a $300 jewel, who knows...or in the worst case while being on the move I couldn't tell the difference )
It's kind of strange that the link states that the Music Max is recommended for use with headphones with a resistance of 8-120 ohms, and it shows it paired with a Senn 650.
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post #26 of 29
6/23/09 at 7:07am
Blech, AA's. My days of replacing batteries have passed, and will never return as long as I can help it.
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post #27 of 29
6/23/09 at 9:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kpalsm View Post
Blech, AA's. My days of replacing batteries have passed, and will never return as long as I can help it.
I agree with that. I won't get it for that reason

I love my C&C BOX V2 modified with LME49721 opamps and Rubycon ZLH caps, anyway. It sounds just fine (at home, beside my bed, with HD238 or HD485 phones ).
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post #28 of 29
6/23/09 at 9:14am
If your only reason for not getting that amp is because of AA's you could always get rechargeable AA's...but an amp using AA's is too big for me anyway, so that point is moot
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post #29 of 29
6/23/09 at 9:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kpalsm View Post
If your only reason for not getting that amp is because of AA's you could always get rechargeable AA's...but an amp using AA's is too big for me anyway, so that point is moot
Of course, but that's 2x 1.2V = 2.4V , yielding very little output voltage swing

Anyway I don't think my C&C is inferior.
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