Amp for Phonak Audeo

On my D2+ very good sound and bass with Go-Vibe Petit, used you can find for less then 100$ it is small and  4xAAA batteries gives more than 40 hours of fun. If the size doesn't matter GrahamSlee Voyager gives you one of the best bass effect.

You won't notice any difference between the PFE amped and unamped, unless the amp is one of those circuits designed to lead to more bass or what have you. With a transparent amp there will be no difference as they are more than efficient enough to be run by the amp of any dap. That's my experience anyway.

If you want an amp, something like the Arrow recommended above would give you most for your money. I haven't heard it but have read reviewers I trust implicitly state it is fantastic. Even though you won't get many sonic improvements with the amp, the adjustable bass and cross feed should give some new life into the PFE.

I agree with you about black filters by the way, in my mind they are supposed to increase bass but they decrease it's clarity, along with the clarity of the mids and treble too! Grey filters ftw :) Arrow bass boost could be good for adding more bass without losing the clarity and sparkle of the grey filters.

The Black filters don't add bass, they filter mids & treble to give the illusion of more bass. I've found the PFE to need an amp more than most IEMs that I've used.

Yeah I do realise that (how could a filter increase the volume of a part of the frequency? - I'm not stupid ) but reducing the treble and mids and increasing the bass, when it comes to balance, should mean the same thing (+ a little volume).

It doesn't though, since it muffles right across the board and ruins the PFE clarity that is their main selling point.

Personally diagree on the PFE needing an amp.

I've tried them with the D10, Predator, MK V and Cantate.2 and if there is any difference it is extremely minor, which is what you would expect from an efficient and not particuarly sensitive IEM. When I first got a portable amp I thought it did make a difference to the PFE, but after a while and some proper volume matching I realised that was placebo and confirmation bias.

The exception was the Predator, which is coloured and adds sub bass (to my ear). IMO that is why people say phones that really don't need amps improve with them - the differences they might hear would not be there if the amp was transparent. Whether colouration is an "improvement" or not is down to subjective taste.

Obviously the Cantate.2 adds cross feed, and the Arrow could do the same, which is an improvement and is why I would recommend that as an amp.