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Cowon S9/Amp

post #1 of 12
8/14/09 at 11:58pm
Thread Starter 
Does Cowon S9 benefit from amping? Is the internal amp good enough to forego an external one (like D10)? Does it have line out?

Thanks
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post #2 of 12
8/15/09 at 12:02am
S9 doesn't have a lineout. If you want to amp you'd be amping it from the headphone out
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post #3 of 12
8/15/09 at 12:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by raymondu999 View Post
S9 doesn't have a lineout. If you want to amp you'd be amping it from the headphone out
which defeats the purpose of amping.

can anyone comment of the sound quality of S9 vs DAP/LO+amp combo?
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post #4 of 12
8/15/09 at 12:18am
It doesn't really defeat the purpose if the S9 can't put out enough power to drive whatever headphones you are using.
If you can drive them then yes, amping would be beneficial.
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post #5 of 12
8/15/09 at 12:20am
I guess he was just looking for some SQ improvement by bypassing the internal amp.
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post #6 of 12
8/15/09 at 1:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bellsprout View Post
Does Cowon S9 benefit from amping? Is the internal amp good enough to forego an external one (like D10)? Does it have line out?

Thanks
Have not tried amping the S9 via the phone jack. As for the internal amp, it's very powerful and can go even louder than the X. I have no problem driving my DT880/250s.
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post #7 of 12
10/20/09 at 11:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by techfreakazoid View Post
Have not tried amping the S9 via the phone jack. As for the internal amp, it's very powerful and can go even louder than the X. I have no problem driving my DT880/250s.
"louder than the X" Do you mean the X5? I loved my DT990pros with the X5. Since I'm new to most things hi-fi, I was confused for a while why it seemed I ddin't need an amp to drive them. I thought I might have gotten a conterfeit pair of Beyers. At the moment listening to K702s with the X5 and I think it's amazing. No difference in sound when amping with a cmoy.

(Pair of DT990/600s on the way. Interested to see if I can get away with the X5 and a cmoy-- especially since I don't often listen at high levels.)

Thinking of selling the X5 to get an S9. Glad to know the S9's got the same power. Thanks, techfreakazoid.
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post #8 of 12
10/20/09 at 12:14pm
you still get better sound if you amp the headphone out - you just have to have a good amp. cowon are famous for that cowon bass roll off. a good amp will eliminate that and provide much better channel separation at the same time.

line does not always mean better. x5 for instance is a horrid implementation of the line out and even apple's line out which is better in every way isn't as robust in certain items compared with the headphone out.

an amp helps the weak signal of an internal amp (any amp) by unloading the signal (the phones load it hugely), allowing the player to output as clean a signal as it possibly can.
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post #9 of 12
10/20/09 at 12:24pm
Nothing wrong with amplifying the headphone out.

If the phones you are using demand a more powerful amp, it's worth it. Plus as shigzeo said it flattens the output of cowon's weak bottom end.
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post #10 of 12
11/6/09 at 8:17am
Hi guys! would a senn ie8 and cowon s9 rig benefit from an amp??

if so, which amp would be the best to go with?
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post #11 of 12
11/6/09 at 8:18am
sorry.. double post.. crappy internet..
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post #12 of 12
8/9/10 at 10:16am

Hey guys, sorry for digging up an old thread. But I have the same question which is would a Cowon S9 and Senn IE8 benefit from portable amp? Thanks for the help guys!

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