Hi
 
I have a problem with my Cowon C2 and Monster Turbine Gold. Im very satisfied with the sound quality at low volume. But when I turn up the volume something happens to the sound, it loses its roundness, the mids go sharper and bass is not tight anymore.
 
So my question is Do I need an amp? Cause I have plenty of volume, that is not the problem. I just want the same quality at low volume and have it pretty loud.
 
Would an amp fix the issue, and if the answer is yes what portable amp do you recommend?
 
Thanks for helping

Have you tried changing the settings in your cowon. I'm assuming you're using a flat frequency setting. An amplifier tends to increase the volume, not separate frequencies.
 

No I havent. Im just using BBE Viva 2, havent done anything with the EQ if thats what you mean by changing the settings.
 
So an amplifier would not help? Is it the Cowon that cant handle it or should get educated in equalizing??

Seeing we're still in a recession my first response would be to play with all the controls Cowon put in their players before getting an amp.

Thanks for the help, I start playing with it right away.
 
Just one last question. Could "burn in" has anything to do with it as well? They have only went trough 8 hrs of music.

Put some music hours in and let them have some time to break in.

I've found that even ER4P respond well to amping. I bought a pretty expensive for what it is CMoy and tried some different op amps in it, and it was quite easy to get a warmer sound. With basically any usable op amp the bass was dramatically improved in depth and range. On the flip side, it does seem to remove the highest frequencies, although this isn't noticeable on most sources.

The ER4P is the reason I still have an XM6. The hardware bass boost, crossfeed, and additional resistance options are almost tailor made for the ER4P.
 
I remember that my original Turbines also sounded noticeably better that out of the XM6 than out of my Clip+. They're not very sensitive iems and I always had to raise volume by 30% when switching over to them from my TF10. Amping helped clean up the muddy midbass and improved the clarity of the Turbines.

Quote:

monsterask said:

Thanks for the help, I start playing with it right away.
 
Just one last question. Could "burn in" has anything to do with it as well? They have only went trough 8 hrs of 
 

Click to expand...

"Burning in" -So to speak is a subjective argument. If you believe it or not that's up to you. 
If it was to make changes it's not normally big changes.

I think in your situation what you're experiencing is a your turbines bass kicking in along with BBE Viva 2 which is making the sound muddy and over expressing the mids. An EQ setting will only stay stable for a certain amount of volume. There's nothing wrong with your headphones or player and an amp is only going to amplify the same setting. What you need to do is create a custom EQ dropping down the Mach3bass and EQ to suitable levels. BBE Viva 2 is quite exaggerated in those areas.

I have a C2 and Turbines right infront of me. Try this EQ setting.

80Hz - 0 - Wide
220Hz - 0 - Normal
1.4kHz- 0 Normal
4.1KHz +1 Normal
9kHz +2 Normal

BBE: 8
Mach3bass: 4 (lower this more so if it's still too bloated)

3D Surround off
MP Enhance on

Stereo Enhance: Off
Reverb: Off

Thank you for all your answers.
 
Specially you H20 for that setting. Its much much better, a clear sound but still with impact and I can go louder than before. I still cant go insanely loud, but that I think is just me forgetting that after all these are just IEMs and not full size speakers.