[Sambones]

Most of my dynamics are sensitive enough to be run fine from an amp, and I didn't notice any improvement coming from my amp. My orthos, however, aren't very sensitive, and definitely need an amp.

 

[EternalEmpire]

I've never owned a pair of headphones worth amping. My most expensive pair so far has been the Sony V6 and they sound absolutely fine unamped.

 

[Uncle Erik]

It all depends on how difficult the headphones are to drive. I'm perfectly happy running IEMs, Grados and the 7509HD right out of an iPod. They're not difficult to drive. Expecting an iPod to drive a K-1000 is like trying to tow a railroad car with a bicycle. You have to use the appropriate tool for the job. iPods and other DAPs are engineered for maximum battery life - not output power - because consumers pay more attention to battery life. People who care about output power are probably a small fraction of one percent of buyers.

 

[acid604]

I think it depends on the headphone your using, I have a set of HD555's, and plugged straight into my iPhone they deliver great sound.
I've added a Fiio E5 and it makes no audible difference.
 
But I've also tried other headphones, for example something from the Shure line - seems to really open up its soundstage when amped.
I think it depends on the listener and set of cans being used.
 
But I say no - for me I can use 'em unamped with no complaints.

 

[David.M]

really depends on the headphone tbh. M50's, iems, 840's, etc... don't really need an amp in order to achieve decent s.q.  But any built in dac/amp combo definitely cleans up/improves their sound.
 
but for mid-fi headphones,  once you go amped, there's no going back to anything else. Trust me  
 

 

[MuuMuu]

If I unlock the volume limit (usually have it about 50%) I find that even my ipod can drive my bigger headphones just fine.  I can see problems occurring with classic music (or anything else that makes liberal use of the dynamic range), but for pop/rock/whatever it's a nonissue.
 
I still drive my headphones out of an amp back home, but that's both for convenience and to have fun w/ some of the colorations that amps provide to the sound.

 

[baka1969]

I use the RE0 and Denon D1001 out of my iPod. Even if they sound a little better amped. When I was choosing between the iBasso or Nuforce Icon to give to my brother, I choose the Nuforce because I though the iBasso sounded better. Given a second chance, I'd keep the Nuforce. It's smaller and is the size of my iPod Classic and is just a better ergonomic package. In noisy environments the sound quality differences are minimal. So now I do without the amp with those two headphones. They sound good but not spectacular.

All my other cans get "the juice".

 

[shane55]

Quote:

I amp the headphones that need it and don't worry about those that don't.

Yup.
I'm good with my M50's straight out of my iPod classic, playing lossless files. Very nice.
The D5000 were actually extremely good straight out of the iPod (though better amped) as well.
 
I wouldn't think of doing that with my DT880/600's or the HD600/650, etc.
 
My Xonar STX will power most cans, including the 600 ohm Beyers, but most often I power them with my DAC/Amp. Ahhhhhh....
 
shane
 

 

[Achmedisdead]

All of my 'phones will play just fine un-amped, and outside the house that's how I roll. My full-size 'phones do scale up nicely with an amp if I'm chilling at home, though.

 

[GoldfishTX]

I enjoy my JH 16s un-amplified directly from my iPod, but the sound doesn't compare at all to the same IEMs hooked up balanced through a protector.  I also love the sound of the Grado 80s straight out of anything.  

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Quote:

really depends on the headphone tbh. M50's, iems, 840's, etc... don't really need an amp in order to achieve decent s.q.  But any built in dac/amp combo definitely cleans up/improves their sound.
 
but for mid-fi headphones,  once you go amped, there's no going back to anything else. Trust me  
 

x2.

 

[Seamless Sounds]

I haven't built my amp yet because some of the parts are backordered until late september 

 The suspense and wait is killing me! But it'll be worth it in the end. My K701 is ampless. So no I am not satisfied. And yes, I've heard them amped vs unamped at Canjam.

 

[kingtz]

My SRH840 sounds pretty good unamped.
My HD650 sounds like crap unamped (although, I'm still in the process of burning it in).

 

[baka1969]

Quote:
Originally Posted by kingtz  
" My SRH840 sounds pretty good unamped. My HD650 sounds like crap unamped (although, I'm still in the process of burning it in)."

Even with burn in the HD650 will sound like poop without an amp. even though the sound signature wasn't to my taste, the Senn sounded really nice with my Gilmore Lite. I found the HD650 to be quite amp dependent.

 

[Mr Joboto]

Yeah, I agree, not much point in running them unamped