Word Of Madness
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2013
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Hi, I've been considering picking up a cheap (roughly under $70US) headphone amp. Would it be worth grabbing one to add to my audio setup, or is the money better saved to put towards my next set of headphones (or a dedicated audio player)?
I currently primarily listen to Grado SR80i from my desktop (Realtek ALC898 on a Z77 board, so pretty decent as far as on-board audio goes). I also have some Ultrasone Pro 550s which play from my Moto G when I'm on the go. I've also got a set of TTPOD T1-Es on order for when I need something compact. I listen to a lot of metal, but regularly branch out into a variety of genres, including jazz, classical, rap and various styles of electronic.
The amps/DACs I was looking at are the Fiio E11K, cMoyBB, Topping NX-1, TCG U-SKIN and the C&C BH (although this one is a little over budget). I was leaning towards the portable ones since I can use them wherever, and the Ultrasones I use when out seem somewhat source dependent. On the whole though, none of the headphones are particularly difficult to drive, so I'm guessing my money is probably better saved for other things (or for when I get some beefier headphones), but I thought I'd check in with some more experience audiophiles first.
I currently primarily listen to Grado SR80i from my desktop (Realtek ALC898 on a Z77 board, so pretty decent as far as on-board audio goes). I also have some Ultrasone Pro 550s which play from my Moto G when I'm on the go. I've also got a set of TTPOD T1-Es on order for when I need something compact. I listen to a lot of metal, but regularly branch out into a variety of genres, including jazz, classical, rap and various styles of electronic.
The amps/DACs I was looking at are the Fiio E11K, cMoyBB, Topping NX-1, TCG U-SKIN and the C&C BH (although this one is a little over budget). I was leaning towards the portable ones since I can use them wherever, and the Ultrasones I use when out seem somewhat source dependent. On the whole though, none of the headphones are particularly difficult to drive, so I'm guessing my money is probably better saved for other things (or for when I get some beefier headphones), but I thought I'd check in with some more experience audiophiles first.