[Conan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox Am I the only one that thinks it is just the headphones he is using? No offense, as I think the Koss are a great budget headphone, but they don't really improve all that much with a better amplifier.

None taken. I know the headphones I have right now aren't the cat's meow, but I just thought there'd be a noticeable difference. Even with cheesy car speakers or home speakers, hooking up an amplifier (versus, say a factory car stereo, or a cheap mini-system) noticibly improves the sound. I guess that's the type of improvement I was expecting from a headphone amp.


Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox BTW. How did you achieve a line out from the iPod? Do you have an adapter of some kind or did you just volume match?

I made an ipod line-out by opening up a firewire sync cable that happened to have all pins still in place inside the connector housing.

The way I did my A/B testing was: I have 2 pairs of KSC75s. I plugged one pair into the IPOD's headphone out, and the 2nd pair into the amp. Then, I carefully matched the volume of both headphones (loud, but still a comfortable level), and listened to a variety of music.

With my ATH-PRO5's, I only have one pair, so I just quickly unplug from the amp to the ipod and vice versa while listening to test material.

Perhaps I will pick up a pair of Grados since many people here seem to speak so highly of them when amped. Hm.. then again, I also seem to recall a good amount of people speaking highly of the ksc75s being amped.

Anyhow, as far as the voltage requirements, it kinda sounds like a couple of people are confusing my statement about the LM4881. I did NOT use this to build a CMOY (you can't). It's a stand-alone audio amplifier chip that I used to try to make my own PA2V2. There's no virtual ground in this circuit, so no +/- voltage. I'm positive I didn't underpower this one (5v with a 5.5v max).

Anyhow, I appreciate all the input from everyone who responded. I suppose the saga continues... (maybe I SHOULD run??

hm.. tubes... if only there weren't giant red warning text flashing everywhere about the risk of electricution )

 

[Ikarios]

Conan - as for your KSC75s, I believe they're good enough that you should be able to hear a difference when amped. I recently built a CMoy myself, and with the KSC75s, listening to music on my portable is a much more enjoyable experience (more bass impact, warmer lows and mids). Granted, this is compared to my own DAP's headphone out (Creative Zen Sleek), which may not have as good of an amp.

I use a single 9V battery in my CMoy and it almost always sounds better than the stock DAP amp.

BTW, as for Grados - personally, I think they sound better unamped - when amped, my SR60s have a little too much attack and lower-end aggressiveness to be fun. I guess they'd be good for the occasional rock-out-and-head-bang session, but they're generally more enjoyable unamped. However, as for my iM716s... a world of difference, amped and unamped.

 

[perfectturmoil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aflac ... Grados ... better unamped ...

From what I've read, thats true for the SR-60's. However, I hear that the higher grado's benefit great from amps that can deliver the higher current that they love.