[lipidicman]

Hi

At home I use a dedicated amp, my XCANv2 to drive my HD650. So I appreciate the qualities of a good amplifier

My portable rig is a lowly shuffle and I have been surprised at how well it drives even my HD580. On full volume it is plenty loud enough for me (Euro limited shuffle too) and shows no distortion (and I hate distortion). After a few minutes I usually turn it down. I have never though 'I wish this would go louder'.

I usually use cx300 with the shuffle on the street for isolation and they are obviously fine without an amp. Now I want some better IEMs for home and on the go and I read that some benefit/need from amplification. My question is, does this requirement diminish if I like to listen at modest volume levels? I love IEMs turned down. Peace and quiet with lovely detail is a great combination and means I find I don't need my eardrums blown out.

I of course appreciate that an amp could add more control. It is just that I am always reading that the 580 needs a seperate amp, and I find I dont need one there. So, do I move to a nano with something like a hornet or just get the IEMs bung 'em on my shuffle and 'suck it and see'. I am thinking maybe an ER4P so I can add/remove the converter and get away without an amp.

One thing I have noticed is that my shuffle has a hissy noise floor, on the CX300, but this is not noticable with the higher impedance 580. Now is it the impedance or just that an IEM makes this noise floor more noticable? Is the line out of an iPod that much 'blacker'?

So opinions? and maybe the best 'better than a CX300' IEM for use without an amp

Thanks in advance

 

[lipidicman]

No input from anyone? I need portable rig inspiration

 

[mrarroyo]

I would strongly recomend the Supermicro IV by Dr. Xin. Other possibilities would be The Hornet "M", Go-Vibe 5, and SR71.

 

[lipidicman]

Thanks, I'm looking into the supermicro.

That said. I am looking for comments (by people who have portable amps) on the differences they experience when listening at low levels, ie if it isn't about power, how much else do these portable amps really offer? Also, if I skip an amp, what is my best choice for a better IEM?

 

[LeChuck]

I use a Total AirHead with my ER-6i's and my PX-100's out of my Rio Carbon. I think the difference in sound is huge, without the amp everything just sounds dead, harsh, and frankly... not that impressive.

I think people are sometimes confused about the need for amplification because they can drive their power hungry cans to ear-splitting levels without assistance. That's certainly true, my Carbon can drive my ER-6i's and PX-100's louder than I'm ever going to be able to listen to them, in fact, my laptop can drive my HD-650's louder than I can handle. But amps aren't made for people who have a thirst for ridiculous volume, there is a difference driving something to a high volume and driving it to its full and intended sound.

 

[kramer5150]

low impedence combined with high sensitivity cans will make most amps hiss. So that includes most (if not all) IEMS and canal phones. I think theres a high impedence version of the ER4.

I solved my koss plugs with a 68 ohm resistor in-line.

http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn77604wr.jpg

 

[lipidicman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 I solved my koss plugs with a 68 ohm resistor in-line. http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn77604wr.jpg

Literally in-line (in series) on the positive side?
I was going to make a short adapter to go between shuffle and CX300
but I was confused by this
http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/ see tips&tricks
Quote:

you might consider increasing the effective output impedance of your headphone jacket. The simplest method is to place an adapter between headphone jack and headphone as shown in the figure. The adapter has a resistor placed in series with each audio-channel of the headphone. The effective output impedance is the sum of the output impedance of the jacket and the value of the resistor

Now I wanted to increase the impedence of my CX300 to better match the source and attenuate passively so the hiss is reduced. However this will 'increase the impedance of the headphone jacket (socket)? I am confused!

 

[lipidicman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeChuck I think people are sometimes confused about the need for amplification because they can drive their power hungry cans to ear-splitting levels without assistance. That's certainly true, my Carbon can drive my ER-6i's and PX-100's louder than I'm ever going to be able to listen to them, in fact, my laptop can drive my HD-650's louder than I can handle. But amps aren't made for people who have a thirst for ridiculous volume, there is a difference driving something to a high volume and driving it to its full and intended sound.

I tried to make it clear that I do understand this, but.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeChuck I use a Total AirHead with my ER-6i's and my PX-100's out of my Rio Carbon. I think the difference in sound is huge, without the amp everything just sounds dead, harsh, and frankly... not that impressive.

....I guess here is the problem: My PX100 sounds nearly as good straight out of a shuffle as it does out of my XCAN (maybe I should do a test at home, I dont listen as hard 'on the go'). I didn't expect this and it has made me doubt the need for a portable amp. But a PX100 and a ER4S are two different things. At hoem they will lap up my XCAN, but if I like things quite quiet, will I get away withought an amp, or will the gap between amped and unamped be widened?