[savenger]

Hi all,

This is my first post so excuse my newbness.

I'm looking to buy my first portable headphone amp, and I'm a little bewildered by the conflicting choices.

These are the cans I own:
- Alessandro ms-1
- Soundmagic pl-30
- Sennheiser px-100
- Sennheiser px-200
- Etymotic er-6
- Yuin PK3

My source will mainly be a 5th gen classic ipod, but it's a bonus if I can use it with my work PC and home hifi too if it's up to the job.

I'd like to keep it under $100, but the lower the better as I'm on a budget. The amps I'm considering are:
- PA2V2
- Little Dot Micro+
- Fiio E1 (just for ipod I know) or E5
- Micro cmoy (the 9 volt battery puts me off a bit)
- This: Headphone amp - TI chip! - HAMMOND CASE- RECHARGABLE - eBay Other Amplifiers, Amplifiers, Audio, Electronics. (end time 14-Jan-10 19:34:32 AEDST) (I've heard bad things about this particular TI chip, which put me off a little)

Does anyone have any experience with these using these phones?

I live in Australia so availability of some of the nicer US amps are somewhat limited to me unless I want to add another $50 for shipping.

Thanks a million in advance for your advice

 

[userlander]

Definitely put the Hotaudio RM-1 on your short list (and cross off the FiiO

). RM-1 DIGITAL VOLUME HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER Digital Headphone Amplifier [RM-1] - $139.00 : HOTAUDIO.COM, Hand Made Audio Perfection!

It's a fantastic sounding amp with the TPA6120a2 chip, which is much superior to the one in that ebay amp. Sounds great with my MS-1s, PX100s and PK3s, and I even use it with my DT880s. You can probably get it within your budget just by making an offer.

 

[newzild]

The Fiio E5 is a good option for an Aussie on a budget because international shipping is free from dealextreme.com - you'll pay about US$17-$18 inclusive (I'm a Kiwi, so I understand what you're talking about with shipping costs).
 
The E5 has a bass boost button that will help lift the low end on the ER-6. The $7 Fiio E3 also lifts the low end. You can't go wrong with the E3, given that it's so cheap. My girlfriend uses one with her high-end Sennheisers.
 
I had the E5 and liked it a lot until the battery crapped out for no particular reason. I just ordered another one last night.

 

[newzild]

....I've just noticed that you have PX-100s. I also have those headphones, and the two cheap Fiios do improve the sound quite a bit when sourced from an iPod Touch or Sansa Fuze they - deepen the bass and widen the soundstage.