ATH-M50s need amp?

[BTFbossman]

Hey, i know this has been overdone but just a quick question ..i just got some ATH-M50s Anniversary edition. I will be running them out of my HP Envy Laptop and a little out of my ipod classic. Do you guys think i need an amp? Also most of the music will be hardcore but will be listening to everything as well

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
You don't need an amp.
 
Very best,

 

[Mutombo]

Mine do fine without an amp.

 

[jackwess]

If you want some extra oomph then yes...but they are easy to drive. 
 
Your choice. 

 

[GoldiLocks]

An amp will improve the performance of any headphone.  Try sampling your m50s with an amp (a lot of music stores will have amps set up that you can use) to see if it'd be worth it to you.

 

[BrownBear]

 
Quote:

An amp will improve the performance of any headphone. 

 
I tend to agree with this, although it might just be me making myself feel better about owning/purchasing my amp. Haha. But, there does seem to be some improvement with all my headphones, although normally I just attribute it to placebo. So, I agree with the suggestion to sample the M50 with some amps. I've read as well that a good cheap option is to buy the Fiio E5 and see if you notice any differences. I have one, and to me it does nothing, but that's just my experience, your mileage may vary.
 

 

[Dixter]

Actually depends on how you want to drive them....    if you want, the M50 phones work fine just by plugging them into your source...  if you want to jazz them up and really make
them sing then get a nice DAC/AMP and put Foobar on your computer..  then you can tune the M50 to sound great...   
and for your ipod,  the M50 works very well with a fiio E17 and  a LOD... 
or for super nice amp get an O2..   the ODAC for the O2 will be out next month...  thats going to make the M50 super sweet...
 
another great choice for the M50 is the JDS labs C421 amp.... and JDS plans on mating the C421 with a stand a lone ODAC in May also...
 
 

 

 

[BTFbossman]

this sounds really interesting, i looked up the O2 thing and from what i see it just looks like a circut board you make yourself? is that right? that would really only be used with a desktop amp not a portable one correct?
Quote:

Actually depends on how you want to drive them....    if you want, the M50 phones work fine just by plugging them into your source...  if you want to jazz them up and really make
them sing then get a nice DAC/AMP and put Foobar on your computer..  then you can tune the M50 to sound great...   
and for your ipod,  the M50 works very well with a fiio E17 and  a LOD... 
or for super nice amp get an O2..   the ODAC for the O2 will be out next month...  thats going to make the M50 super sweet...
 
another great choice for the M50 is the JDS labs C421 amp.... and JDS plans on mating the C421 with a stand a lone ODAC in May also...
 
 

 

 
 

 

[stv014]

Quote:

this sounds really interesting, i looked up the O2 thing and from what i see it just looks like a circut board you make yourself?

 
It is available pre-assembled and ready to use, but building it yourself is cheaper (assuming that you already have the necessary tools).

 

[BTFbossman]

just in a few words what does the O2 do? im new to the audiophile thing  so dont know what all these things do
Quote:

 
It is available pre-assembled and ready to use, but building it yourself is cheaper (assuming that you already have the necessary tools).

 
 

 

[Bill-P]

I wouldn't recommend the O2 for M50.
 
It does... absolutely nothing. It's a very transparent amp, so all it'll do is make the original source sound louder.
 
Maybe the ODAC + O2 combo (ODA) would sound different compared to whatever you are outputting now because you're switching to a completely different sound interface.
 
I would recommend the Fiio E11 if amping is what you are looking for. It cleans up high frequency so the M50 will sound more open, and it also has a bass boost if whatever amount the M50 is pushing out right now doesn't satisfy you.
 
But really, the M50 doesn't "need" amping to sound their best. You only want to amp the M50 if you want to make it sound more "fun".

 

[SanjiWatsuki]

The M50 is easy to drive and won't really benefit from an amp. 
If you want an amp for coloration, it's just the same effect as equalization, really.
 
Basically, don't get an amp. 

 

[tdockweiler]

I definitely don't agree that the M50 does not benefit from an amp. It's totally not required, but amping will most definitely improve it.
There will be a larger soundstage (try it with the E11 for example) and better controlled bass. If you try it with specific amps you can even help it's mids a bit.
The Nuforce Icon Mobile supposedly is an amp that measures very poorly, but it really will make you think the M50 doesn't have any recessed mids. I guess it's due to the rolled off bass on that amp

 
The M50 even benefits from a decent computer based DAC. Even more so than using it with an amp.
 
Of course the benefits of amping vary between sources. It's fairly easy to drive.
 
I would say the M50 seemed to benefit from amping more than my HD-598.

 

[BTFbossman]

i want one for my ipod. i can tell a great difference when i run them from my receiver and when i run them from my ipod. i was thinking a small amp would be good to get a little more power out of my ipod
Quote:

The M50 is easy to drive and won't really benefit from an amp. 
If you want an amp for coloration, it's just the same effect as equalization, really.
 
Basically, don't get an amp. 

 
 

 

[BrownBear]

 
Quote:

i want one for my ipod. i can tell a great difference when i run them from my receiver and when i run them from my ipod. i was thinking a small amp would be good to get a little more power out of my ipod
 
 

 
Well, another thing to keep in mind when running them from your receiver is the output impedance. That could be responsible for the differences you're hearing. I don't know what your receiver is, so I'm only speculating, but something like that happened to me. But with me, I hated the sound from my receiver. I plugged my K240 into it, and it was this bassy, muddy mess. One difference between the receiver and my amps was the output impedance. The lower output impedance of the amps I own helped with the control of the drivers of my headphones. Sure, the receiver has plenty of power for them, but the control might not be as tight if your receiver has a higher output impedance. And this was with multiple headphones and receivers, to varying degrees, however. Again, I'm not sure what you're actually hearing, and I don't know what your gear is. I'm only speculating based on my experiences with a few of my receivers and their headphone jacks.