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Need a recommendation for an affordable amp for my son

post #1 of 17
4/4/10 at 11:31pm
Thread Starter 
Hello,

My son has a 2 gig 1st gen ipod nano. He loves music like I do. I just ordered a pair of sound magic PL-30 iem's from ALO. I want to finish the rig with an amp that will provide the best bang for the buck. This is obviously going to be a budget rig. I've looked at Skylab's round up and really don't know what to settle on. I'm attracted to the ibasso line. Can anyone give me some recommendations? Thanks, Chris.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Soundmagic Pl30 In-ear Headphones
post #2 of 17
4/4/10 at 11:34pm
What does he need an amp for? IEMs are supposed to be driven directly from an ipod. Is there something special about the PL-30s?
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post #3 of 17
4/4/10 at 11:51pm
^ What he said. An amp is superfluous IMO. Not only that, amping an iPod DAC isn't bang for any buck.
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post #4 of 17
4/5/10 at 1:21am
Thread Starter 
Wow I didn't expect these responses. I've had nothing but great experiences with amps. The ipod has the great bur-brown dac. The signal then gets degraded or constricted as it travels to the iem out. So incorporating an amp with a LOD bypasses that signal degradation. An amp also provides head room which enhances the treble and bass which enriches the sound. Details can be heard that normally would not. My current rig is a Red Wine Audio imod with an ALO LOD connected to an RSA P-51 Mustang amp. My iem's are Westone's UM3X's. The music is phenomenal! With all due respect I disagree with your opinions.
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post #5 of 17
4/5/10 at 1:48am
This is the full sized amp forum. Many of us are very skeptical, I suppose, of portable amps here. Try the portable amps forum?
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post #6 of 17
4/5/10 at 1:53am
Well, I wish my father were like you when I was a kid.

And since no one else seems to want to offer suggestions, I'll violate Rule No. 1 of Head-Fi and suggest something I have not heard: I know if I were in your position I would get the Corda Headsix for $160.
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post #7 of 17
4/5/10 at 8:23am
welchie,

full size amps tend to hiss or hum with low impedance in-ears.
I tried X-Can V8, Creek OBH- 21SE and Earmax pro with my Sennheiser ie7 (16 ohm). All of them produce nasty sounds because of the low impedance.

Your in-ears have especially low 12 ohm (did a quick online lookup). My tip would be to double check and listen carefully to the amp before you buy.

Earmax silver edition is made for low impedance phones. But I did not listen to one myself.
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post #8 of 17
4/5/10 at 8:46am
FiiO E1? Never heard one (I refuse to deal with iPods) but supposedly good bang for the buck. Still, seems rather superflous to amp a 20USD IEM
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post #9 of 17
4/5/10 at 11:06am
Welchie, the iBasso T3 might be something to consider. The size is a nice match for the Nano and I find it to be an incredible value.
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post #10 of 17
4/5/10 at 11:15am
It's absolutely pointless to amp the PL30. Your son will have MUCH better SQ if you use the funds of the amp to buy a better IEM. For example, an Ibasso T3 is what? $110? The PL30 is $30? If you spend $150 on something like the Panasonic HJE900, or even a Head Direct RE0 ($80) with a Fiio E1 ($20) the sq will be tremendously better. Reconsider! Read the portable threads!
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post #11 of 17
4/5/10 at 11:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by welchie View Post
Wow I didn't expect these responses. I've had nothing but great experiences with amps. The ipod has the great bur-brown dac. The signal then gets degraded or constricted as it travels to the iem out. So incorporating an amp with a LOD bypasses that signal degradation. An amp also provides head room which enhances the treble and bass which enriches the sound. Details can be heard that normally would not. My current rig is a Red Wine Audio imod with an ALO LOD connected to an RSA P-51 Mustang amp. My iem's are Westone's UM3X's. The music is phenomenal! With all due respect I disagree with your opinions.
Though I only have limited experience with them, I gather the Westones benefit from amping. That's why I asked specifically about the IEMs you are ordering, as other IEMs I've owned have did not benefit from amping, at least not as much as buying better ones did for the sound quality.
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post #12 of 17
4/5/10 at 1:31pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks

Thank you everyone for the great info. It all makes perfectly good sense. The PL30's should be arriving today. I'm going to do a test with and without my P-51 Mustang. I'll post my findings. Again, thank you, Chris.
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post #13 of 17
4/6/10 at 12:51am
Thread Starter 
Well we received the Sound magic PL30's today. Very interesting and positive test results.
First off, i unpacked them and noticed they're a little on the light weight side. The fit was perfect though with the stock buds that were on them. I brought out my Imod with the Imod LOD connected to the RSA P-51 amp. I listened to some Nirvana with my UM3x's. Sound great with detail through out the frequency range. I then plugged in the PL30's and was truly amazed at the sound. It was very full and rich with great base. The frequency's seemed packed in with a shortage on detail. I believe this to be an effect of the single driver. It just can't produce what the 3 driver UM3X can. I then plugged them, unamped into the ipod nano and what a difference. They sounded tinny or bright. They didn't have the awesome impact sound as when they were amped. I found the "Rock" EQ setting to be the best at enriching the sound. I didn't have a proper mini to mini or LOD to amp the nano. But seriously though amping these $30.00 iem's makes a huge difference. I'm pleased and will definitely stay on the hunt for an amp to drive these little gems. The price point is what make these a worth while pick. Thanks, Chris.
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post #14 of 17
4/6/10 at 2:20am
Thanks for posting a detailed update. I did notice some of the IEMs I owned had more bass when used with a portable amp than without, sometimes it was too much. Your description sounds a bit like you're experiencing the same thing.
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post #15 of 17
4/6/10 at 9:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Negakinu View Post
It's absolutely pointless to amp the PL30. Your son will have MUCH better SQ if you use the funds of the amp to buy a better IEM.
This is way better value for money. Put money in something that sounds better to begin with, than bugger around with something that needs tweaking.

Reading on that imod, it sounds like marketing hyperbole. I'm especially suspicious of testimonials that use the term 'giant killer' and 'CD players $1500 or more' don't compare.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Soundmagic Pl30 In-ear Headphones
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