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I'm a big time noob, need help deciding on a portable amp

post #1 of 9
4/23/10 at 11:19pm
Thread Starter 
Hi all,

As the title says.. I am a hug noob to all this great stuff so i'd love some informed advice!

Here's my current situation:
I have a dell mini 9 that I use when I travel. I use it to watch movies and such when I fly and when I road trip. I use my Westone IEM (es3) to get the best isolation. However, it seems that I'm always having to run the mini at about 95% of full volume to hear well. Often when I travel with friends they'll plug into the signal too to watch the movie too... I'm sure this exacerbates the problem. I'm thinking that a portable amp might be in order.

Can you recommend me a small, portable amp? I'm looking for something to help me get more volume but without hiss, grainyness, and distortion. I've seen some options like the Fiio e5 or the bostaroo. What might you recommend? Thanks!

-jon
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post #2 of 9
4/23/10 at 11:57pm
Got a budget?

Go USB out to eliminate puter noise. Low side, I've really liked the Headroom Bithead (two headphone outs) and best has been the Pico DAC/AMP or a TTVJ Slim with DAC; digital volume in latter rocks. Both are also very good with Grados if you get full-size cans.
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post #3 of 9
4/24/10 at 11:19am
Thread Starter 
thanks for those reccos. My initial thought was something that went through the USB. That Bithead looks awesome. However, it is a little outside of my budget. I know it is considered rather affordable in the amp world, but I've got to scrimp as much as I can on these type of purchases these days.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I see that the Bostaroo has a USB powered option. it may not be the best sound, but would that be an option for an inexpensive entry into headphone amps?
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post #4 of 9
4/24/10 at 11:38am
jrm,

if you can give a budget range, you will get a more focused response. Also, consider buying used as it will get you more for your money. You can type your budget into the search of the amps F/S forum to see what comes up.
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post #5 of 9
4/24/10 at 12:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrm View Post
Hi all,

As the title says.. I am a hug noob to all this great stuff so i'd love some informed advice!

Here's my current situation:
I have a dell mini 9 that I use when I travel. I use it to watch movies and such when I fly and when I road trip. I use my Westone IEM (es3) to get the best isolation. However, it seems that I'm always having to run the mini at about 95% of full volume to hear well. Often when I travel with friends they'll plug into the signal too to watch the movie too... I'm sure this exacerbates the problem. I'm thinking that a portable amp might be in order.

I have a Dell Mini 9 running Mac OS X, and there's no problem with the sound volume at all. It also has no problem with audio output volume when booted in linux. If I tried to listen to a movie or music at 95% max volume, it would blow my ears out!

It sounds like there may be something wrong with your DM9's sound hardware. You might want to try a usb sound interface like this:

Newegg.com - SYBA SD-CM-UAUD USB Stereo Audio Adapter

This will bypass the built-in sound hardware. I have one, and it works great. I usually use it for audio applications because I think it sounds a little better than the built-in audio hardware, but they both (the usb and the built-in) put out about the same volume.
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post #6 of 9
4/24/10 at 1:12pm
The boosteroo isnt what you want. Its not a headphone amp, its a 3-way amplified distribution box.

The way youre talking about boosteroo and fiio, im thinking your budget is like $20.
If thats the case, then just get a Fiio e3 if you dont need bassboost and a rechargeable battery, or the Fiio e5 if you want bassboost and a rechargeable battery.

Theyre not the greatest amps, but you do get what you pay for.

If you can move your budget up to $85 , check this amp out. I havent heard it yet, but reviews are good and its new on the market. Pretty cheap for an amp/dac combo.

Fiio E7 - FiiO E7 Headphone Amplifier/USB DAC Review
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post #7 of 9
4/24/10 at 3:44pm
Thread Starter 
wow you guys, thanks for the info! As far as a budget, I'd like to keep it below $100. But in all reality, the "cheaper" the better ; ) That e7 looks awesome... I wish it was available now, but it looks like may 15? I'll be traveling a lot in the next few weeks, so it would be great to have something sooner.

Thanks for the Newegg link too, the only thing that bums me out is that it is mono and that it doesn't give any of a volume boost. Looks like an easy low profile way to bypass the internal headphone circuitry. Yep, my mini is running OSX too.. it just seems quieter lately than it used to be.
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post #8 of 9
4/24/10 at 6:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drag0n View Post
The boosteroo isnt what you want. Its not a headphone amp, its a 3-way amplified distribution box.

The way youre talking about boosteroo and fiio, im thinking your budget is like $20.
If thats the case, then just get a Fiio e3 if you dont need bassboost and a rechargeable battery, or the Fiio e5 if you want bassboost and a rechargeable battery.

Theyre not the greatest amps, but you do get what you pay for.

If you can move your budget up to $85 , check this amp out. I havent heard it yet, but reviews are good and its new on the market. Pretty cheap for an amp/dac combo.

Fiio E7 - FiiO E7 Headphone Amplifier/USB DAC Review
Picking up one of these day one. The E7 looks really nice, and I don't quite need the ibasso D10 yet.
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post #9 of 9
4/24/10 at 8:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrm View Post
Thanks for the Newegg link too, the only thing that bums me out is that it is mono and that it doesn't give any of a volume boost. Looks like an easy low profile way to bypass the internal headphone circuitry. Yep, my mini is running OSX too.. it just seems quieter lately than it used to be.
Only the input is mono. The output is stereo. Look at the specs page on newegg.

----8<----
Connectors: USB Type-A, Stereo output jack, Mono microphone-input jack
----8<----

It works very well. It gives no volume boost, but it really doesn't need one. It's a complete replacement for the DM9's audio circuitry. It shows up in Mac OS X in

System Preferences -> Sound -> Output

and

System Preferences -> Sound -> Input

as

"C-Media USB Audio Device".

Just select that and see how it works. On my DM9 hackintosh it works great, and it's cheap. I use it for live music performance. It works very well.
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