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Amp for IEM??

post #1 of 14
1/26/12 at 5:39am
Thread Starter 

Hi everyone.  I'm looking for some upgrades for my "music system" which includes my laptop and a pair of Shure IEM. Is there any amp which is good for IEMs? After researching, I really like the Hifiman ef2a and the Quinpu Q2, but will they work fine and add some positive effects to a low impedance IEM?? And how about the FiiO E7?? Any another good one?

Thanks in advance.

 

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post #2 of 14
1/26/12 at 1:59pm

I suggest the Total Bithead from Headphone.com.  It is what I use for my portable amp and really like it.  It works well with all of my current IEM choices and I think you will enjoy it as much as I have.  It is built really well and has two gain settings as well as two headphone outputs so a friend can listen too.  It is both battery and USB powered and made right here in the USA.

 

http://www.headphone.com/headphone-amps/headroom-total-bithead.php

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post #3 of 14
1/26/12 at 2:40pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NA Blur View Post

I suggest the Total Bithead from Headphone.com.  It is what I use for my portable amp and really like it.  It works well with all of my current IEM choices and I think you will enjoy it as much as I have.  It is built really well and has two gain settings as well as two headphone outputs so a friend can listen too.  It is both battery and USB powered and made right here in the USA.

 

http://www.headphone.com/headphone-amps/headroom-total-bithead.php

Thanks for your comment. This is exactly what I'm looking for. How is it compared to the Fiio E7?

How about the E7+E9 combo? is it a waste for IEM?

And I really want some info about the Hifiman EF2A + IEM, This one looks so good.Will they work fine? Any comment?
 

 


Edited by kalla - 1/26/12 at 3:06pm
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post #4 of 14
1/26/12 at 8:59pm

looks like too much gain on that.

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post #5 of 14
1/26/12 at 9:12pm

The E9 is terrible for IEMs - 44 ohm output impedance on the 1/8" headphone output, 10 ohms on the 1/4"...(highest impedance on the jack that would be used for IEMs?! Madness!). I think they did this to reduce the volume experienced by IEM's, but it's a terrible solution to a minor issue.

 

The E7 isn't bad, I think it may have been superseded by some superior products in the FiiO range, however.

 

The thing about IEM's is that they are mostly very easy to drive: low impedence and high sensitivity. The sensitivity is a double edged sword though; you really have to look out for sources/amps that have a very low noise floor, otherwise you're going to get buzzing, humming, whining, etc.

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post #6 of 14
1/26/12 at 9:17pm

My recommendation is the JDS cMoyBB. Cheap, light weight, effective, funky and cool. I have numerous very high priced portable amps, but with my W4's I just end up sticking to the cMoy. If you let John know what IEM you'll be using it with, he'll customise it accordingly.


Edited by Naim.F.C - 1/26/12 at 9:18pm
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post #7 of 14
1/26/12 at 9:41pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks a lot guys.

The Cmoybb is cool, but I cannot trust my laptop onboard soundcard, so something with a DAC intergrated should be better. Maybe the Fiio E10,E7 or the new E17? I don't care how big it is. Just the best sound. 

And because I don't need an amp at all for my IEMs, will the amp only make things worse? Any benefits? How about a good DAC only?

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post #8 of 14
1/27/12 at 11:13am

think about amps (and everything in hifi) much more in terms of purity than power. 

 

my jh13s don't need an amp to sound big and loud and full, they sound good right out of my iphone.

 

but the difference between my iphone and running amarra 2.3 to a USBridge to a usb-spdif converter to an EE Minimax dac to a pico slim amp is so night and day different I would not think they were even the same headphones if I could blind test them.  

 

One of the problems with cheap components is that they may introduce more problems than they solve.  Depending on your iem, if you have a way of controlling volume on your source before the dac, you might be able to use JUST a dac's output to the headphones directly.  I did this on a centrance dacport lx, and it sounded AMAZING.  Not quite as much fullness and bass, but the detail and realism was astonishing, without any amp.  

 

what kind of output do you have from your computer? if usb, try to find something with a good usb imput.  

 

Probably the best cheap all-in-one solution if you're starting out is the audinst:

 

http://audinst.com/en/bbs/board.php?bo_table=HUDmx1&wr_id=5

 

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post #9 of 14
1/27/12 at 11:17am

just saw this for you:

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/587258/audinst-amp-hp

 

there's also someone selling an audio-gd sparrow on the source forum which is very good for the money.  either of those would be much better than any fiio, in my opinion.

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post #10 of 14
1/28/12 at 8:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AVU View Post

just saw this for you:

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/587258/audinst-amp-hp

 

there's also someone selling an audio-gd sparrow on the source forum which is very good for the money.  either of those would be much better than any fiio, in my opinion.


This one seems great but I still need a DAC. Any good DAC only which is below $100 better than the one integrated in the HUD MX1 ?? If not I'd better stick with a HUD MX1, rite? 

 

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post #11 of 14
1/28/12 at 11:33am

No, there are no better dacs less than $100.  I would go with a combo dac/amp - audinst or audio-gd, maybe the yulong u100 - over separates in this price range.  Really up to $500 to be honest.  Go to headfonia.com he's got a lot of good suggestions.  

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post #12 of 14
1/28/12 at 12:02pm

My three favorite IEM amps, descending order:

 

1) Headamp Pico Slim

2) Leckerton UHA-4

3) Ray Samuels Tomahawk

 

Can't go wrong with any of the three.

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post #13 of 14
1/28/12 at 5:22pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks so much for all the help guys.

So among those iBasso, audinst, audio gd combo dac/amp, and now the Leckerton UHA-4, which one has the best DAC unit inside? Any better one I missed? 

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post #14 of 14
1/28/12 at 9:08pm

Lots of good choices for IEMs in the portables. My personal favorite is the EF1 but of course, it's not portable, although pretty transportable if you need to take it somewhere. Some of the hybrid tube amps out there are pretty darn good for the IEMs,


Edited by Spareribs - 1/28/12 at 9:13pm
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