Is this portable amp a winner?

Here is another portable amp on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250678926352&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Honestly, if it were me I'd be looking for something a bit more established. And I'd be searching the FS forums here or other audiophiles sites you may know of. Something like the Meier Audio Headsix or the iBasso T3 will clock in at around the $100 mark (not too much more than your eBay amp) and those aren't the only options. And the Meier and the iBasso are both pretty respected portable budget options around here.

I just think that you would get better value going with a product that's been well reviewed here, by a respected member, rather than taking a blind shot off eBay.

As far as a member to trust to direct your opinion; my first choice is usually Skylab and he's actually done an extensive review of portable amps. About 50 or so in one thread. I would check that out first and go from there.

I'd say increase your budget a bit and get the HeadRoom Total AirHead. Or the NuForce iCon.

I was merely suggesting an amp as he was looking at cheap ones...

I say buy a Lisa III nothing like it...

I'd say that's a semi-portable...

You should browse the for sale forums on head-fi. You can get a lot of decent audio equipment for a fair price. If I were you, I wouldn't take a chance with the amp on ebay; I'd go for something more established that has more feedback from others. Especially since its hard to listen to equipment before you buy it, its really useful to read reviews/feedbacks from others.

 

I see a lot of people selling the portable mini^3 amp for around $100. I think the amp sounds really impressive for the price. I compared it with my nuforce icon mobile, and thought that the mini^3 was much better. 

In my experience, the M50's benefit very little from amping (though you'd perhaps extend the battery life of your ipod since it would no longer be driving the headphones directly). You would perhaps change the sound signature, but wouldn't really improve it. If you want some crossfeed or bass boost, then get the cheapest option that offers that. If not, save your money until you move up to headphones that benefit more from amping.

Yeah...I would spend a few more bucks and get something that is known to be decent quality. Some of the iBassos in the lower price range for example. Good luck...

The LOD does not improve sound quality. It merely bypasses the internal amplifier of the ipod, so that music may go straight from the ipod's dac into an external amplifier (which is presumably of better quality than the ipod's). The fact that you have lossless files has no bearing on whether you should use a LOD.

 

As I mentioned earlier though, the M50s do not improve appreciably with amping, so you might as well just use the ipod's built-in amp and not carry an extra piece of hardware around. The LOD will still be handy for hooking up to a home system or for when you eventually move along the upgrade path.