[Fessy]

Hi there,

So I want to know which way would give more sound, power etc:

1) Should I connect my A3 1st to my PD and then the A5 to my A3?

Or

2) Should I connect my A5 1st to my PD and then the A3 to my A5?

Because when I tried the number 2 way it "seemed" like I got more power but wasn't sure?

Also, is this "safe" in terms of it won't mess up the DAP/Amps??

Hope someone can answer please.

Thanks in advance

- Fes

 

[Victorfabius]

Why are you doing this?

Try PD to A5 alone.

A3 gets you 270mW at 32 ohms.
A5 gets you 800mW at 32 ohms. <-- More Power

A5 gets you more power, but if you double amp, you only get the power output of the last amp you use.

So, skip the A3 entirely if you want more power. I don't know what you gain besides heat, weight, and waste.

 

[Fessy]

Why are you doing this?

Try PD to A5 alone.

A3 gets you 270mW at 32 ohms.
A5 gets you 800mW at 32 ohms. <-- More Power

A5 gets you more power, but if you double amp, you only get the power output of the last amp you use.

So, skip the A3 entirely if you want more power. I don't know what you gain besides heat, weight, and waste.

I want more power, volume etc that's why lol.

I have both the A3 and A5, I know the specs but just figured auxing them would give me more power but I guess it don't work like it does with old school hifi's.

I see.

I wanted to get more power lol. Is there another amp, with a close budget to the A5 (£109)? Some in the range of £100-£150 and with more power??

 

[technobear]

I want more power, volume etc that's why lol.

I have both the A3 and A5, I know the specs but just figured auxing them would give me more power but I guess it don't work like it does with old school hifi's.

I see.

I wanted to get more power lol. Is there another amp, with a close budget to the A5 (£109)? Some in the range of £100-£150 and with more power??

Schiit Magni 3

https://schiit.eu.com/headphone-amps/magni-3

 

[Fessy]

Schiit Magni 3

https://schiit.eu.com/headphone-amps/magni-3

Thanks for this but I need a portable one like the Fiio A5/A3 because I listen to my music outside. Do you know of any like that please? WIth more power than the A5 and decent price just slightly more than the A5?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hi there,
So I want to know which way would give more sound, power etc:
1) Should I connect my A3 1st to my PD and then the A5 to my A3? Or 2) Should I connect my A5 1st to my PD and then the A3 to my A5?
Because when I tried the number 2 way it "seemed" like I got more power but wasn't sure?
Also, is this "safe" in terms of it won't mess up the DAP/Amps??
- Fes

It sounds like your trying to daisy chain amplifiers, that does not work.
Only the last amplifier at the end of the chain, is delivering amplification, any amplifiers back down the chain would not be contributing to amplification (driving the headphones).
So just use the A5.

 

[Fessy]

It sounds like your trying to daisy chain amplifiers, that does not work.
Only the last amplifier at the end of the chain, is delivering amplification, any amplifiers back down the chain would not be contributing to amplification (driving the headphones).
So just use the A5.

Yeah, that's what I was trying to do. Oh I see. It's just that when I was younger my big brother had a Sanyo hifi, auxed it to our Toshiba tape deck so we would get twice the volume, so thought this was the same thing because I could control loudness of the volume with the A3 and then if I closed the A3 volume, there was no volume from the A5 but guess not. Do you know of any other amps more powerful than the A5 around the same price? A portable 1 because I take it outside

 

[PurpleAngel]

Yeah, that's what I was trying to do. Oh I see. It's just that when I was younger my big brother had a Sanyo hifi, auxed it to our Toshiba tape deck so we would get twice the volume, so thought this was the same thing because I could control loudness of the volume with the A3 and then if I closed the A3 volume, there was no volume from the A5 but guess not. Do you know of any other amps more powerful than the A5 around the same price? A portable 1 because I take it outside

When you daisy chain the Cowan Plenue D headphone jack to the line-input on the FiiO A5,
do you max out the volume controls on the Plenus D, to send the strongest (best) signal to the A5?
What headphones are you using?

 

[Fessy]

When you daisy chain the Cowan Plenue D headphone jack to the line-input on the FiiO A5,
do you max out the volume controls on the Plenus D, to send the strongest (best) signal to the A5?
What headphones are you using?

No, on the PD I have it on 95 because I read that if you have it on max (100) it will mess it up (forgot the word they used). Some ok ones, beats ep. I used to use my JVC HAM55X ones but they were too big and these beats can actually handle the power of the amps and dap. Rounded bass and good treble IMO. The beats pro were absolute trash though lol.

 

[PurpleAngel]

No, on the PD I have it on 95 because I read that if you have it on max (100) it will mess it up (forgot the word they used). Some ok ones, beats ep. I used to use my JVC HAM55X ones but they were too big and these beats can actually handle the power of the amps and dap. Rounded bass and good treble IMO. The beats pro were absolute trash though lol.

Should not really be any differenve between 95% or 100%.
I'm not the expert, but never heard of using 100% volume messing something up, when daisy chaining to an amp, from a portable device.

 

[Fessy]

Should not really be any differenve between 95% or 100%.
I'm not the expert, but never heard of using 100% volume messing something up, when daisy chaining to an amp, from a portable device.

On all Cowon players I've had, when they come close to the max, for example the PD, when it goes from 95-98 it has like a burst of loudness and then when it reaches 100 it has another burst as I call it. I remembered the word, it was "clipped". People were saying, never take the source volume to max or it " clips" the amp. So that's why I don't put it on max. So, do you reckon I should take it to max? Also, you never answered if you know of a more powerful portable amp than the A5 with a similar price?

 

[PurpleAngel]

On all Cowon players I've had, when they come close to the max, for example the PD, when it goes from 95-98 it has like a burst of loudness and then when it reaches 100 it has another burst as I call it. I remembered the word, it was "clipped". People were saying, never take the source volume to max or it " clips" the amp. So that's why I don't put it on max. So, do you reckon I should take it to max? Also, you never answered if you know of a more powerful portable amp than the A5 with a similar price?

Try setting the PD's volume to 100%, if you hear clipping, then turn it down,
if no clipping, then I guess there is no issue.
I do not really use portable headphone amplifiers, last one was a $20 Fiio E6?
So not really sure what to recomend (but i'm biased somewhat to FiiO products)

Switching to a DAP with a dedicated line-output feature (for the add-on head amp) might offer a stronger signal.

 

[Fessy]

Try setting the PD's volume to 100%, if you hear clipping, then turn it down,
if no clipping, then I guess there is no issue.
I do not really use portable headphone amplifiers, last one was a $20 Fiio E6?
So not really sure what to recomend (but i'm biased somewhat to FiiO products)

Switching to a DAP with a dedicated line-output feature might offer a stronger signal.

Good idea and I thought of doing that but then got scared it might mess up lol but I will try and see what happens.

Hm, that's even less power than the A3 so that's a no but thanks for the suggestion. For amps, I have only tried Fiio and they seem to be awesome so if there's a good Fiio 1 after the A5 then please recommend?

I see. Do you know of any good daps like Cowon with a line output? So good battery life and sound.