Should I Still Amp My IEM Even If I Have A Good Source?

I am very interested in this myself, because I always thought the Cowon j3 had a decent amp built in.

well, I hope there is some feedback

Portable amp generally serves two major functions:

1) Give extra power (which the source can't provide adequately) to a demanding IEM.

2) Improve SQ by tapping into line-out.

I haven't heard the J3, but given that you feel it is enough to drive your IEM, the function (1) becomes less significant. For what I know, Cowon J3 doesn't have line-out, so function (2) can be ignored all together. Do the math.

Some improvement? Yes. Major improvement? Hard to say. It is always arguable on whether external amp is worth the money since many good quality one cost as much, if no more than the portable source. That begs the question of why most amp don't make the whole rig twice as good, if not more. The truth is, amping will generally improve the SQ, but not double it. It is the basic principle of diminishing return. The question you have to ask yourself is, do I really want to risk the extra miles for the last few percents, or will I be happy for what I already have? I can't really answer that for you.

IMO as another J3 owner a portable amp is not needed. It has enough power for my earphones and there is no line out. However not all line outs are created equal and improve the SQ. I typically have the J3 at around 15 and there's plenty more to go. The only reason to get an amp is if you have something difficult to drive such as a portable headphone or if you just want an amp for the heck of it. Of course I no longer amp portable since I'd rather spend the money on other things. A good portable amp can run from $100-$400 or so usually and that amount of money can be spent getting other things. Although if you wanted to get a portable amp that could double as a dac then it might be of consideration if you do not already have a dac for your computer use. I personally do not find portable amps to be of high value but I consider portable dac/amp higher value.

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvinong 

I'm actually also thinking of maybe changing my Cowon J3 to a Sony X. Maybe that would make a major difference.

 

Then you don't need an amp.  Sony always uses high quality amps in their portables.
 

I was somehow in a similar boat few months back. However I regretted my purchase and wished the money would have been better to be spent on desktop amp to drive my harder-to-drive cans. Hope this helps.

I recently invested in a portable amp - the Meier Audio CORDA STEPDANCE - to pair with my UM3X, also recently acquired. My source is the iphone 4. I don't know how the headphone out of the iphone 4 compares to the DAPs you mention, but I notice a significant improvement in sound quality when hooking the STEPDANCE up to the line out of the iphone to drive the UM3X. There is much greater clarity, detail, instrument separation, neutrality and better controlled, stronger bass. Having said that, until I got the STEPDANCE, I was happy with the headphone out of the iphone 4 and it is able to drive the UM3X to a very high volume.

If you're hooking an amp up to the headphone out of the DAP - because it doesn't have a line-out - I imagine the improvement may be less, as in effect you're just amping the output from headphone amp.

I was somewhat hesitant about getting the STEPDANCE as I was somewhat sceptical about how much of an improvement a portable amp could provide, but I'm very glad I took the plunge. Whether the improvement in sound justifies the entry price is another matter and is a purely subjective question only the person concerned can answer.

That is, for what I suspect, largely also thank to the active balanced ground in STEPDANCE. That in itself would have improved the performance of your headphone.