[sebastian589]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chef Medeski /img/forum/go_quote.gif After double reading. I doubt about it. And this is the thing. I took the amp out of the equation and found the music to sound better. Now this hasnt been proven. But for some reason I plugged it straight into my PowerBook and all of sudden these details and warmth are overcoming me, its eargasm. The music not only sounds great but more important I'm getting into it. The beats more alive, Im digging it more. Its like I rediscovered my headphones. Except I've always used these heapdhones, I just plugged it in without the amp. Its great. Its as if. I didnt notice much of a step up. But going back I feel like I jumped up the SQ ladder. But, I just took out the amp. Its really odd. Im just happy. That means I dont have to lug this amp around anymore even though its quite small, I can be quite happy. Save some money. Save some space. Save some sanity. Just Enjoy the music. Its nice....

This is precisely my point.

I'm not saying that when you take an amp out of the equation it will sound much worse, I'm saying it will sound different than when you had the amp. The music will sound different, whether this change is for better or for worse is really up to the listener.

The way people like their music to sound is just as varied as people's taste in music.

 

[luckybaer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morph201 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the real topic of this thread is not so much do amps make a difference, they do, even if it's JUST a volume increase. The real topic is the difference between amps, does the granularity of change justify the 200% markup? If you can't tell the major differences between a pa2v2, GV5 or tomahawk??

I certainly can tell the difference between my PA2v2, Hornet, and Micro Amp.

The PA2v2 struggles with my better headphones (DT880, K601) and has a dark, colored sound. It does charge the batteries, but it doesn't have a shut-off when the batteries are fully charged. It also doesn't have cross-feed or a gain switch. It has great battery life, though.

The Hornet can power my better headphones. It needs a lot of burn-in time, though. The sound right out of the box is pretty darn good, but the treble (highs) are grainy and buzzy on some of my music - especially noticeable with the DT880. Hornet is built like a tank and has some pretty heavy duty jacks. It does not allow rechargeables to be overcharged, so that is really cool.

The Micro Amp is my favorite to listen through so far. A smooth, neutral sound is delivered. It has a 3-position gain, just like the Hornet, but adds a crossfeed filter. It doesn't charge batteries, which, IMHO, sucks. It is bigger than the other two, but is built like a freaking tank. I'd say it is quite sturdy. I don't really consider it portable, though. It is my tiny desktop solution.

So the question becomes this: Is the Micro Amp $240 better than the PA2v2? In my opinion, and for my needs and enjoyment it is. Now, is the Hornet $305 better than the PA2v2? I'm not so sure about that one yet. If it can be as enjoyable to my ears as the Micro Amp, I'll give it the nod for the battery charging, the extreme size, the cool color, and the quality parts.

 

[trose49]

I was trying to add some levity that's all. sure headphone upgrade is number one biggest improvement. let's face it if packin's were that good this web site wouldn't even exist.

I don't believe the tomo demo for the thread starter could have long enough to really evaluate. and it's a hobby as well. I can own ten kites they all fly but they all fly and look differnent so I own more than one. do I need a hornet and a hr-2? like my sig says the difference between want and need............. you know the rest!

I personnaly could not live with the "subtlties" my amps provide. they arent so subtle to me!

"Enjoy the hobby" should be the 2007 standard head-fi response instead of saying instead of "sorry about your wallet"

 

[JLai]

I still think this is a matter of "do amps make a difference...FOR LOW IMPEDANCE HEADPHONES"

People say amps don't do much for the HD595...cool...i didn't notice much difference either.

Now that people are saying it doesn't improve much for ER-4s and HF-1s its suddenly "amps don't do squat"?

Talk about going to extremes. Like I said before...its all system dependent.

 

[Morph201]

I'm just waiting for this thread to take that... "Does the wire make a difference turn..."... Ratshack vs. ALO .....

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morph201 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm just waiting for this thread to take that... "Does the wire make a difference turn..."... Ratshack vs. ALO .....

Absolutely, just have to learn what to listen for, just like they tell ya.

 

[trose49]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif Absolutely, just have to learn what to listen for, just like they tell ya.

I'm sure rat shack uses .999 silver in all their 4.99 cables right? I still say you guys are just trying to ruffle my feathers. is this headfi or martha stewart.com?

 

[Chef Medeski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trose49 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't believe the tomo demo for the thread starter could have long enough to really evaluate. "Enjoy the hobby" should be the 2007 standard head-fi response instead of saying instead of "sorry about your wallet"

Yeah Im thinking of giving it some more time trying it out from a decent CDP, seeing how it goes. I spent so much to get it here might as well play with it a bit. Ill see.


I like it. "Enjoy the hobby". I mean I like Enjoy the Music, but that is Head-Fi

.

 

[Chef Medeski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif hey chef, thanks for the er4s and good final road to 1000 posts! cheers mate.

Yeah! 1000 LETS GO!!! Marathon. I NEED SOME WATER.

 

[Skylab]

I do think this is very source-and-headphone dependent. There is NO DOUBT that using an amp makes using 250 ohm headphones with an iPod a VERY different experience than trying to drive 250 ohm cans with the iPod's built-in headphone amp

Also, some amps offer other features to enhance the listening experience. There is also no doubt that listening through the Meier Opera's DAC and headphone amp sounds a zillion times better than the headphone output built into my Sony Laptop. Also, I like amps that provide a crossfeed feature, which encances my enjoyment of headphones.

 

[Coltrane]

Might as well act like a man in a trench coat and expose myself now.

I have a DT880, a Total Bithead, and a ALO Bling Bling dock. What does the 250 retail do for the sound between the amp and dock? The only night and day difference is volume. Soundstage, details, bass, clarity? Um, maybe a difference. Not too much though. Maybe not at all. Ive spent a lot of time A-Bing the setup. Its pretty hard to match volumes, so its hard to be 100% sure, but I am certain that the differences are subtle. Very subtle.

Anytime I read people say that amps make a HUGE difference I take it with a boulder of salt. Same as when people say there is a HUGE difference between mp3 and CD. There simply isnt. Just nobody wants to be labelled as not being refined enough to tell the difference. I am a musician, and I know I am very good at picking out details and listening closely, I dont have any ear inferiority complex to deal with.

In fact, I was recently at a meet where i listened to a 2,500+ all tube cd and amp set up. Huge difference between the ipod? Nope, subtle. Not the best circumstances for auditioning though. Then again, as a musician I might just be focusing too much on the notes, and not how the notes attack and decay or whatever. Maybe I need more time, but i have spent literally hundreds of hours with the bithead, and I dont notice all the bug differences that I should be hearing.

The jump between SR80s and DT880 however was massive.

Team Heaphones are 99% of the sound!

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coltrane /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anytime I read people say that amps make a HUGE difference I take it with a boulder of salt. Same as when people say there is a HUGE difference between mp3 and CD. There simply isnt. Just nobody wants to be labelled as not being refined enough to tell the difference. I am a musician, and I know I am very good at picking out details and listening closely, I dont have any ear inferiority complex to deal with.

Keep telling yourself that. Personally, I don't feel the need to try to prove to others that I am right and they are wrong. I just trust my ears.

 

[j24]

I agree that amp make a big difference with high impedance headphones. Now do they make such a big difference like JLai mentionned on low impedance headphones? I'll be curious to see if in a blind test with the same source and same headphone but just changing the amp in the middle, people can recognize the amp that is being used or maybe rate the amps. I'll wonder if the end results would match the rating given to some of the current amp offerings.

 

[Coltrane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif Keep telling yourself that. Personally, I don't feel the need to try to prove to others that I am right and they are wrong. I just trust my ears.

Im not trying to say everyone is faking or anything like that. Are some people faking? Absolutely. I am saying that there are huge disagreements on what constitutes major differences. I have no doubt that people can tell the difference. I also have no doubt that people feel the difference is worth the money, and that is fine with me. However, the power of self-delusion is absolutely immense, and it is highly underrated on these forums. When someone says there is a world of difference between FLAC and 320 mp3 or a world a difference between unamped and amped IEMs (especially low impedence) they are either:

a) Lying
b) Deluding themselves
c) Have a completely different definition of what a world of difference is than I do.


I suspect the majority of people are in category C. The vast majority. But the fact is people are also in the first two categories as well. Im just giving my impressions. I think a big problem with the board is there is so little balance, largely because people are afraid to post because someone will call them out or give them and eye roll smiley. Im still relatively new, only had the bithead and DT880s since October, but I know the differences are relatively subtle, atleast to my ears.

 

[griff2]

If I were talking portable amps, I would definitely consider buying a Hornet and dock for my Ipod, so that I could drive my 650s. However, I wouldn't consider using the Hornet with the Ipod to drive my PX 100s. Why? Because I'm happy with the PX 100/Ipod combination as is, and I don't think the PX 100 would sound any better through the Hornet. The 650s would sound spectacularly better, purely because the Ipod cannot drive them.

The big problem is: would I take the 650s with me on a trip? The answer is no, they're just too big and cumbersome