[squirrelboy1210]

Oh and proton looks like we share more hobbies! I myself am a huge lover of pens

 

[altendky]

As mentioned before, it isn't necessarily a matter of the amp amplifying. Rather it is an issue of impedance interactions. Because getting a low output impedance tends to be more expensive (and not just in dollars) mass market sources will tend to have higher impedances than dedicated 'amps'. The dedicated amps will provide a high input impedance to reduce the effect of the source's high output impedance as well as providing their lower output impedance to reduce the interaction with the low impedance of the actual headphone drivers.

That is the electrical science of it, Proton007. And no, I have never used a headphone amp so it is not based on some wish to believe my money was well spent. Of course, how much a particular amp improves the accuracy (if at all) depends on the exact set of source, amp, and headphones.

 

[proton007]

As mentioned before, it isn't necessarily a matter of the amp amplifying. Rather it is an issue of impedance interactions. Because getting a low output impedance tends to be more expensive (and not just in dollars) mass market sources will tend to have higher impedances than dedicated 'amps'. The dedicated amps will provide a high input impedance to reduce the effect of the source's high output impedance as well as providing their lower output impedance to reduce the interaction with the low impedance of the actual headphone drivers.

That is the electrical science of it, Proton007. And no, I have never used a headphone amp so it is not based on some wish to believe my money was well spent. Of course, how much a particular amp improves the accuracy (if at all) depends on the exact set of source, amp, and headphones.

You're right.
Take a look at the thread link in my signature.

 

[altendky]

The M50 certainly does have a much more stable impedance than the HD280 Pro (just grabbed something to compare). Is this the basis for stating that the OP would not hear much benefit with an amp? Do we have a reference for the output impedance curve of the 'iPhone'? I have only seen nominal impedance numbers ranging from 1 to 4 ohms for a few different models. Is there a standard frequency used for reporting this?

 

[proton007]

Sorry, I am not yet cool enough to post the HeadRoom impedance graph link...

The M50 certainly does have a much more stable impedance than the HD280 Pro (just grabbed something to show a difference). Is this the basis for claiming that the OP would not gain much with an amp? How much variation is 'unnoticeable'? Do we have similar impedance curve references for the 'iphone' and some amps?

 
You're doing a great job, especially with this attitude, in so few posts. A bright future awaits you here at Head-Fi.

 

[altendky]

   
You're doing a great job, especially with this attitude, in so few posts. A bright future awaits you here at Head-Fi.

The first line was not directed at anyone here but at the fact that I couldn't even link to a HeadRoom graph (which now has shown up...).  My apologies if it came across otherwise.  Now, I can't really tell if you are being serious or sarcastic... one of those cases where I'm missing the physical cues of a real conversation.
 
Anyways, might you be willing to type in which particular scientific equations and numbers you used to justify the argument that the OP wouldn't benefit from an amp?  I suspect that would be more effective than suggesting that all amps can be considered ideal.  Also, my explanation suggests that while an amp may not be able to improve a signal fed to it from an ideal source, it can improve the signal transfer from a non-ideal real-world source and result in a better signal to the headphones (not saying always, but it is possible).

 

[Kingofthecrate]

An amp will drastically improve dynamics, background blackness, and low-level detail (if you get the right one) Anyone who says different struggles in real life situations. Voltage through iron or any other composite changes tonality. You can post wiki links all you want. your ears wont lie to you or you are not listening. 

 

[AsianBatman]

  An amp will drastically improve dynamics, background blackness, and low-level detail (if you get the right one) Anyone who says different struggles in real life situations. Voltage through iron or any other composite changes tonality. You can post wiki links all you want. your ears wont lie to you or you are not listening. 

 
I'm sort of confused. How does an amp improve background blackness? Thanks in advance for clarifying. 

 

[Kingofthecrate]

   
I'm sort of confused. How does an amp improve background blackness? Thanks in advance for clarifying. 

Lower floor noise (distortion) Think of it like clean power or a neutral that is not sharing with any other source. You will have a cleaner signal with less floor noise hence "Background blackness" In Merrican english, just a cleaner dedicated power source will give you lower distortion levels regardless of the receiver (or source) putting out a higher distortion %