[Jeffreybar]

So I got a Super Mini Moy last week to power some DT770/80s. The 770/80s just arrived yesterday, so I'm still getting used to their sound, but I have been playing around with the SMM powering my old AKG K240Ms and Shure E2s as well. What I've discovered is that the SMM does a fantastic job at powering the E2s, a less fantastic job at powering the 770/80s, and a fairly abysmal job of powering the 240Ms.

I'm willing to write-off the 240Ms, since I wasn't really planning on using them outside the house anyway, but I was really hoping the SMM would be able to make the 770/80s sound great. It doesn't do a terrible job with them, but the Beyers still sound a lot better out of my Onkyo receiver -- more mids (a lot more -- through the SMM there are hardly any mids to speak of), less harsh, and better bass (boom!).

So I guess my question is: what are my portable alternatives for driving the Beyers which will make them sound comparable to my fairly modest home setup? I don't have a ton of money to spend (the SuperMacro might be just barely within budget, but that's definitely the top of it), and I want it to be not too much larger than the SMM. Is it possible to do this at all, or will my portable amp always sound worse than my Onkyo receiver?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Kirosia]

Well, fist off, I see you have a IHP as a portable source, I do as well and I personally think it's not too great. Okay sounding, but that's it. And when you say your amp can't "power" them, are speaking about volume and headroom? It may just be that your amp has too low of a gain to handle the higher impedance phones. You could ask drewd to up the gain if that's the problem. I have no experience with the moy, but I had a xin supermini that experienced this as well. It couldn't power my dt880s well at all, except for plain ol' volume. A higher-end portable amp would definitely be better, with a good amt of gain of course.

 

[Jeffreybar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia Well, fist off, I see you have a IHP as a portable source, I do as well and I personally think it's not too great. Okay sounding, but that's it. And when you say your amp can't "power" them, are speaking about volume and headroom? It may just be that your amp has too low of a gain to handle the higher impedance phones. You could ask drewd to up the gain if that's the problem. I have no experience with the moy, but I had a xin supermini that experienced this as well. It couldn't power my dt880s well at all, except for plain ol' volume. A higher-end portable amp would definitely be better, with a good amt of gain of course.

Hmmm...well, I'm pretty sure that this isn't a source issue. I'm using the iHP as a source in both cases: on one hand, iHP -> Onkyo -> 770/80s; on the other hand, iHP -> SMM -> 770/80s.

I'm not talking about volume here, sorry if I wasn't clear about that. The SMM drives the 770/80s plenty loud enough, but they are excessively bright, bass is muddy, and midrange is almost non-existent. In comparison, when driven by the Onkyo, the treble is much more reasonable, bass is more present but also more defined, and midrange is much more prominent. In fact, I'm listening to the Beyers right now straight out of the iHP, and I think they sound a little better unamped than from the SMM (although obviously not as loud). Would upping the gain fix this, or would that only increase the volume out of the SMM?

 

[Kirosia]

Upping the gain may help increase the headroom and dynamics, etc. But if it's beyond the amp's capabilities then it's moot. But like I said, I have no experience w/ the Moy. Why not ask drewd, to see if he thinks a gain increase would help in this case.

 

[Jeffreybar]

Good idea...I think I'll drop him a line.

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

You should really take Kirosia's advice and talk to Drew. My friend bought a pair of Beyer 250-80s and used them out of his Nomad, where they were grossly underpowered. He got a CMoy built by eyevancsu (great job, btw, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him), which really made his phones shine.

 

[Jeffreybar]

Just a little follow-up in praise of Drew and should anyone else have a similar issue...I emailed Drew about this and he responded very quickly. He said that he does think it could be a gain issue and that he'll be happy to adjust the gain if I send the SMM back to him.

Yay Drew!

I'll let you guys know how it turns out...



-Jeff