Deiz
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2007
- Posts
- 390
- Likes
- 10
So, I'm getting a friend into headphone audio. He's had a pair of SR60s and PX100s for a year or two, and is likely to buy either an AD500, K240S, or 7506 (with Beyer pads).
Keeping in mind that the AD500 is not the easiest to drive, and the K240S is a downright pig (91 dB sensitivity), if he goes with either of those he'd do much better with an amp (His portable source being a gen-5.5 iPod, and his semi-portable source being a laptop with a horrid headphone amplifier) whereas the 7506s are fairly efficient and likely passable without an amp.
Now, I am not a portable guy. I own one DAP, an iPod Mini I received as a present in 2005. It's seen maybe ten hours of use. Thus, I'm rather ignorant about portable amps.
From what I've seen, most cheap non-DAC amps are powered by a number of batteries, usually several AAAs or a 9V. I see that as non-ideal. There are good, rechargeable AAAs, certainly - But that entails opening up the amp and swapping the batteries. In the case of amps that are powered by 1-2 AAAs, that would quickly become a pain in the ass. With 9V batteries, AFAIK there are no good rechargeables, so constantly buying primaries would become a major expense in relation to the principal paid for the amp. There are also those that have a DC input for recharging. Again, pain in the ass for portable use as you've now got to have an outlet to recharge the amp, plus you need a wall wart.
It would seem that many DAC/Amps have USB inputs which provide signal and charge to a lithium ion battery, which is advantageous for two reasons: One, my friend says he plans to use the DAC/Amp at his desk mostly, and portability is just a boon. Thus, it makes sense to improve the signal path with an outboard DAC. Two, USB input means he can charge the amp from the laptop, which is handy for quick hook-ups at home, and useful for extending run-time on the go.
To rule brands out:
I prefer HeadAmp to RSA, thus the Pico trumps the Predator in my opinion.
Meier makes some great gear, but I hear they lack synergy with Sennheiser 'phones, plus all the portables are 9V-powered.
So far I've come across a few suitable amps:
$100 Vivid Technologies V1: Rock-bottom price. I hear good things, especially for the price. Feature-rich compared to other amps at this price point.
$100 Nuforce Icon Mobile: Again, very cheap. Low-profile, line and headphone outputs. Horizontal knob's less than ideal, but what else do you want with something so thin?
$159 Total Bithead: Fairly cheap, able to be run without batteries via USB. No USB charging makes it non-ideal.
$165 iBasso D2; Low price point's advantageous. Remarkably full-functioned. I dig the gain switch and volume pot.
$195 Go-Vibe Petite: Cheap enough. I know little about this amp. Doesn't use Li-Ion but it can charge its internal batteries via USB anyhow.
$499 Pico/DAC; Based on my love of HeadAmp, this is likely the best-sounding. It's very expensive for a newbie, though.
$599 Headroom Portable Micro Amp: I hear good things. Again, very expensive. Especially considering it'd be powering $80 headphones.
There's a big hole here, between $200 and $500. In all likelihood, my friend will be going for something cheap - He was thinking about the $10 Fiio E3 but I talked him out of it, as buying Eneloop AAAs plus a charger for the thing would cost more than the amp.
Keeping in mind that the AD500 is not the easiest to drive, and the K240S is a downright pig (91 dB sensitivity), if he goes with either of those he'd do much better with an amp (His portable source being a gen-5.5 iPod, and his semi-portable source being a laptop with a horrid headphone amplifier) whereas the 7506s are fairly efficient and likely passable without an amp.
Now, I am not a portable guy. I own one DAP, an iPod Mini I received as a present in 2005. It's seen maybe ten hours of use. Thus, I'm rather ignorant about portable amps.
From what I've seen, most cheap non-DAC amps are powered by a number of batteries, usually several AAAs or a 9V. I see that as non-ideal. There are good, rechargeable AAAs, certainly - But that entails opening up the amp and swapping the batteries. In the case of amps that are powered by 1-2 AAAs, that would quickly become a pain in the ass. With 9V batteries, AFAIK there are no good rechargeables, so constantly buying primaries would become a major expense in relation to the principal paid for the amp. There are also those that have a DC input for recharging. Again, pain in the ass for portable use as you've now got to have an outlet to recharge the amp, plus you need a wall wart.
It would seem that many DAC/Amps have USB inputs which provide signal and charge to a lithium ion battery, which is advantageous for two reasons: One, my friend says he plans to use the DAC/Amp at his desk mostly, and portability is just a boon. Thus, it makes sense to improve the signal path with an outboard DAC. Two, USB input means he can charge the amp from the laptop, which is handy for quick hook-ups at home, and useful for extending run-time on the go.
To rule brands out:
I prefer HeadAmp to RSA, thus the Pico trumps the Predator in my opinion.
Meier makes some great gear, but I hear they lack synergy with Sennheiser 'phones, plus all the portables are 9V-powered.
So far I've come across a few suitable amps:
$100 Vivid Technologies V1: Rock-bottom price. I hear good things, especially for the price. Feature-rich compared to other amps at this price point.
$100 Nuforce Icon Mobile: Again, very cheap. Low-profile, line and headphone outputs. Horizontal knob's less than ideal, but what else do you want with something so thin?
$159 Total Bithead: Fairly cheap, able to be run without batteries via USB. No USB charging makes it non-ideal.
$165 iBasso D2; Low price point's advantageous. Remarkably full-functioned. I dig the gain switch and volume pot.
$195 Go-Vibe Petite: Cheap enough. I know little about this amp. Doesn't use Li-Ion but it can charge its internal batteries via USB anyhow.
$499 Pico/DAC; Based on my love of HeadAmp, this is likely the best-sounding. It's very expensive for a newbie, though.
$599 Headroom Portable Micro Amp: I hear good things. Again, very expensive. Especially considering it'd be powering $80 headphones.
There's a big hole here, between $200 and $500. In all likelihood, my friend will be going for something cheap - He was thinking about the $10 Fiio E3 but I talked him out of it, as buying Eneloop AAAs plus a charger for the thing would cost more than the amp.
