[Hi-Finthen]

So what's the upshot here Chef? You're selling all your useless amps and listening to what, A PowerBook G4 with HF1s and Ety, right?

Glad that'll work out for you and save alot of the other readers a lot of grief and time, which you haven't had the time to test this theory out of your iPod by listening closely... Let that be a lesson then..... Amps, Pffft...

In the interest of saving time, some cash and listening closely... Your plan may be appealing to many. Sticky!

 

[Chef Medeski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hi-Finthen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Glad that'll work out for you and save alot of the other readers a lot of grief and time, which you haven't had the time to test this theory out of your iPod... Let that be a lesson then..... Amps, Pffft...

I said my piece. Never spoke of an iPod. I also never said good riddens to Amps, just possibly they are overrated. I'm just trying to check the over inflatedness of some of these amps thats it. Im sure that is helpful. Im no cynic, Im definetly going to have an amp if not now but in the future. Most likely for the home. I understand that they do change it. Just not enough to make it worth it I guess or maybe its just not my sound signature. You never know. Im still open, and this path is a journey. Im still debating if a Xin amp would better suit me. I just put this out there to see what other people think. Its obvious others feel slightly similar so its a good thing to discuss periodically.

 

[M3NTAL]

Not sure if this thread is alive or not anymore.

I happened to hop in here because since day 1 of owning my HD650s they have been on either a Go-Vibe 5 or a M3 (2x637 G-627) and have sounded good. I thought it was just the nature of the HD650

Tonight I hooked them directly to my X-Fi sound card - once I found out how much that sucked, I plugged them into the Logitech control center thing for the Z680's - still utter crap!

Amps work well for me, and I am sticking to my guns with that.

 

[wnewport]

I think the Op is referring more towards low impedance cans. Some higher Ohm phones like the hd650 require more power to drive them to proper volumes.

I somewhat agree. I will purchase the E500 way before I spend 200+ more on a Hornet. No doubt the Hornet is a superb amp, but from my experience the headphones make the most noticeable different first.

It's all about personal diminishing returns anyway. It's an individual journey, no amount of advice can compare to experience.

 

[Freed]

I'm on the fence about ponying up the money for a Tomahawk to 'enhance' my e500. But after reading through some posts on this thread, I think to myself: "Will it be worth it to spend ~$320 (TH) + ~$60->150 (nice ICs) which is nearly ~$400 to $500 for a portable amp that gives the e500 a "subtle" improvement in treble and a "tighter" bass? Will the sound be improved THAT much to justify the price of another brand new Shure e500 (off ebay) and possibly another MP3 player?" ....

I don't know... I'm totally sold with the X5 + BBE & M3B giving these IEM enough to shine. I'm just think how bright can an e500 get right?

Btw, I do have a lot of funds to play with, but I'm still iffy about amping for a minimal gain.

 

[Rick Hunter]

For me amping is essential: my 2nd generation ipod nano has a nice good lineout but a crappy headphone out.

- My ipod is a european volume-capped model so it has really low juice: at 100% volume it drives my grado SR-60 to just the right volume for listening in a quiet room.

- The Nano 2G is known for having not the nicest internal amp... it has a little smeared highs and quite undefined bass.

So for me, since these are the facts, the "M" Hornet makes a big difference both in terms of volume and sound quality.

I'll add that since I have a HD650 I would just NEED the Hornet even if it was a matter of raw power only, since my soundcard and my ipod are nowhere near capable of driving them decently. (too high impedance)

 

[griff2]

Chef Medeski wrote: Quote:

The Limit Theory is the basis of calculus.. .

Well, more specifically, the sum to infinity is the basis of integration. In differentiation, the denominator of the ratio must only ever approach zero for obvious reasons. Also, if you think of an asymptotic curve approaching a line, that curve will never reach that line, but the line is ultimately the final answer, or "the true" answer.

Quote:

without it we couldn’t do any of Modern Physics. However, technically..... the limit at infinity doesn’t exist

So true, without Newton's discovery, we'd all still be back in the 17th century, but this is already way of topic.

 

[porschemad911]

I agree, but in part. My LDII+ improved my HD595 noticeably. It wasn't a night and day difference, but it was noticeable. Then my K501 arrived. Now that was a huge upgrade. But, plugging my K501 directly into onboard sound? Ouch. Worse than HD595. So for me it's 'phone dependant.

 

[Morph201]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freed /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm on the fence about ponying up the money for a Tomahawk to 'enhance' my e500. But after reading through some posts on this thread, I think to myself: "Will it be worth it to spend ~$320 (TH) + ~$60->150 (nice ICs) which is nearly ~$400 to $500 for a portable amp that gives the e500 a "subtle" improvement in treble and a "tighter" bass? Will the sound be improved THAT much to justify the price of another brand new Shure e500 (off ebay) and possibly another MP3 player?" .... I don't know... I'm totally sold with the X5 + BBE & M3B giving these IEM enough to shine. I'm just think how bright can an e500 get right? Btw, I do have a lot of funds to play with, but I'm still iffy about amping for a minimal gain.

You have a very valid point. You'd be surprised how many people I've spoke with (and also the gear I tested), are hard pressed to find a MAJOR difference between amps ...enough to make you say WOW!.. More than likely a well built amp sold for an $80 dollar price point compared to one built for a $300+ price are sonically similiar, hardly worth the price jump unless you're

a) Trying to impress yourself
b) Impress others
c) Just like the aesthetic (artistic) appeal
d) all of the above

I,also, don't mind spending the money on quality components, but SHOW ME, that it's worth the price... hearsay is not enough.

 

[Coltrane]

So you do feel that your ALO is worth the premium price difference compared to more reasonably priced models?

 

[bhd812]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freed /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm on the fence about ponying up the money for a Tomahawk to 'enhance' my e500. But after reading through some posts on this thread, I think to myself: "Will it be worth it to spend ~$320 (TH) + ~$60->150 (nice ICs) which is nearly ~$400 to $500 for a portable amp that gives the e500 a "subtle" improvement in treble and a "tighter" bass? Will the sound be improved THAT much to justify the price of another brand new Shure e500 (off ebay) and possibly another MP3 player?" .... I don't know... I'm totally sold with the X5 + BBE & M3B giving these IEM enough to shine. I'm just think how bright can an e500 get right? Btw, I do have a lot of funds to play with, but I'm still iffy about amping for a minimal gain.

why dont you buy one peice then another peice to make sure each peice is worth it..
buy the headphones first and formost, look around the used market to save a few bucks. listen to them for awhile,get to know them well.
then try out the headphone amp, again go used to save money...and to get one with 300 hours of burn-in so you can enjoy rite off the bat.
then after you like and know the amp (if not sell/return then try something else) and headphones now its time for the tweaks..umm i mean cables.
go with the cheap of cheap HR cable to have a base, then try the cardas for for $20..youll hear your upgrade there.
after you get to know the amp,cans,cable then throw $100+ into a mini cable and see if its really worth it to you.

audio is about trying out this and that to get your sound you love/like..no one can say what goes with what and sounds perfect to everyone.
the only reason why everyone is buying the $$$ mini lineouts is cause the amp makers used the product in their pics..everyone jumps on the board then.
samething can be said with the amp also, fotm is a big thing on the forums..
the E500's some may not like but Shure is true to their product..

edit I am not saying cable and amps are not true, but less marketing with other companies.

 

[Vicomte]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coltrane /img/forum/go_quote.gif Absolute truth is of course unachievable. But that doesn't mean it isn't something we should strive for.

Hell, I'm all for the striving toward absolute truth.


A guy's gotta have a hobby.

 

[chris in mo]

With my current set up I can tell a bigger difference in amp vs no amp on sound quality than I can between a 128 vs lossless codec of the same song. When I unplug the amp and go to the Ipod out I think well that doesn't sound bad it sound pretty much the same. It is when I go from the Ipod headphone jack back to the Amp that I can tell the difference. The music sounds much less flat and there is a noticable quality difference in the mids and highs using the SF 5pros. I would agree that the sound difference between using my old Sony EX 51 and the SF pro is a bigger change than the difference of the SF pro amped vs unamped. That said I enjoy the amped sound of the IEMS much more than the unampped. The amped IEM sound has actuially made me interested in getting a set of headphones to try out with the set up. I am thinking of a pair of Grado sr225.

I will qualify this by saying the Tomahawk is the first and only Portable amp that I have used. I like how it improves the sound from my Ipod. I jumpped on the Tomahawk because I didnt want to go through a series of upgrades wondering if another amp may be better. I figured the Tomahawk was a pretty safe bet and the intro price made it a bit more attractive because if I dindt like it I would recover most of my investment on resale. I can say it is not going anywhere.

 

[granodemostasa]

here is a thread where little amps are greatly appreciated and talked about: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...highlight=PINT

 

[diff_lock2]

Just got my cmoy.
I feel the music to be more real.
Test: Headphone out from a cd player, then switch to cmoy (line out)...
Cmoy defiantly sounds more natural, and a lot more clear.

But with mp3s, and the line out from the pc, i realy don't hear a difference...
But my audigy can drive my portapros beyond there audible limits... so its all good volume wise.